The Testimony of the 2021 Stony Brook Quiz Team

The testimony of the 2021 Stony Brook quiz team begins early in the fall, about late September or early October. The worship team takes the stage, and Jon Metzler gives the call of worship. At some point, Jon uses one of the big words in his vocabulary, which causes his daughter Kate Metzler to give him a confused look. Jon eventually notices, and he says, “I guess that word isn’t in your 7^th grade vocabulary.” At that point, Graham Holcomb almost jumped out seat and yelled, “Wait, Kate is in 7^th grade? That means she’s eligible to quiz!” See, in previous years, Graham had made quizzing known and an available option to Stony Brook’s 2 adolescents Caleb Metzler and Lauren Keeney, but with only 2 eligible teenagers, it never went anywhere. Now with 3 eligible youth, the tides may turn.

Around mid to late October, Graham approached Caleb, Kate and Lauren. He said, “If 2020 doesn’t ruin 2021, Bible quizzing will start up again this upcoming January. Would you be interesting in starting up a Bible quiz team at Stony Brook?” At this point, Graham got a probable, a questionable and a doubtful. Graham replied, “Well, I usually have to tell the quizzing coordinator around the last week of October or the first week of November my availability for staff. Take a couple weeks to think and pray about it, and I will do the same way for you.” The 3 teenagers agreed to pray about, and Graham kept his end and also prayed.

Indeed, Graham prayed, and Graham prayed hard, not only for the 3 youth of Stony Brook, but also for quizzing in general. The whole month of October passed, and Graham had not heard anything from the Bible quizzing coordinator. He feared that quizzing had also fallen victim to the coronavirus. Graham prayed to God, “Don’t give me hope.” As Graham prayed harder, the Holy Spirit reminded Graham of Philippians 1:6- “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Graham tone changed, as he now prayed, “Lord, I know that I have asked to coach a quiz team for the past 10 years, and every time you have said no, you have made your answer clear by shutting it down from the onset. Now this is the best answer I gotten in the past 10 years, and I know you would not give me a false sense. Now I pray that this good work you have begun you will bring to completion.”

In the beginning of November, Graham did hear from Bible quizzing through the quizzing website with 2021 Bible quizzing schedule. It looked like quizzing would proceed as normal. Around mid-November, Graham approached the Caleb, Kate and Lauren again. He even threw in, “Listen, I know Stony Brook does not have a youth group. Not having a stable youth group myself, I would not make a good youth group leader. I do have Bible quizzing experience, so I do make a good quiz coach. Think of a Bible quiz team as our youth. I will make it feel as much as youth group as possible. If you promise me at quiz practice to read through the material at least once and to have 3 practice matches, I promise you that the rest of quiz practice will feel like youth group, whether that be eating a snack or playing a game.” The probable, the questionable and the doubtful became a yes, yes and yes. Stony Brook had the beginnings of a quiz team!

Graham then followed up with the 3 youth, “Alright, 3 quizzers can technically work, but 4 is good, 5 is better, and 6 is best. Who can we ask to join our quiz team? What about Bridge Kids? Who can we ask from Bridge Kids to join our quiz team?” They gave the reassuring answer, “We were pretty much Bridge Kids.” That was not reassuring at all! After asking Jim Heindel and Jon Metzler for the Bridge Kids rosters, they suggested contacting Lindsey Steiner. That made Graham a bit nervous. Graham knew Lindsey was on an online fast. What if she never replied? The Holy Spirit reminded Graham of Philippians 1:6, and he prayed again, “Lord, the good work you have begun, please let it come to completion.” Then Graham proceeded to e-mail and Facebook message. A day later, Lindsey acknowledged she received my message and would look for the rosters, and a week later, she gave me a list of Bridge Kids who might be interested in Bible quizzing.

Ok, first on the list: Olivia Farag. Graham called up her father Shawkat Farag. He was very excited to hear from Stony Brook! Graham set up a time when he could meet with Shawkat and Olivia over Zoom to present the possibility of joining the quiz team. On a later date, Graham made his presentation on Zoom, after it, he asked Olivia what he thought about joining quizzing. Her father Shawkat volunteered immediately with an enthusiastic, “She will join!” Graham had to ask Olivia directly what she thought. Olivia’s answer went from “I guess” to “Yeah I guess” to “Yeah.” Stony Brook now had 4 quizzers, enough for a full starting lineup!

Next on the list: Kaylee Snyder. Graham called and texted Kaylee’s mother Cynthia Snyder, and Graham eventually got ahold of her via text. They set up a time where Graham, Cynthia and Kaylee could meet to discuss potential of joining the quiz team. On a later date, Graham made his presentation on Zoom, after it, he asked Kaylee what he thought about joining quizzing. Kaylee didn’t know at first, but her mom chirped in and said, “She’s shy at first. I bet she’s excited to join.” Kaylee nodded in agreement. Just as they were about to disconnect, Kaylee spoke up again, “I look forward to joining the quiz team.” Now Stony Brook had 5 quizzers, enough for a starting lineup and a sub!

Now Graham did contact another family for 6^th and even possibly a 7^th quizzer, but after 2 calls, 2 texts and 2 Facebook messages, he never got a response. While a little disheartening, the Holy Spirit reminded Graham of Philippians 1:6. These 5 youth were the quizzers the Lord had chosen for the Stony Brook quiz team, so now the quiz team was at full completion. As the year would go on, it would become so apparent that 5 quizzers worked best for the Stony Brook quiz team. The Holcomb home had exactly 5 seats for the quizzers (just ask the quizzers about the Blue Chair and Pink Chair). Only in 1 match did Stony have 2 quiz outs, resulting in an empty seat (technically, Stony Brook had 2 matches with 2 quiz outs, but on of those quiz matches, the second quiz out came on the last question, so in a way, that doesn’t count). Indeed, 5 seemed like the perfect number, so Stony Brook had its complete quiz team by the end of November.

Then at the beginning of December, Graham received a text message from the quizzing coordinator stating “Please look out for an e-mail regarding Bible Quizzing 2021.” Graham’s heart sank. Besides that preliminary quizzing schedule posted on the quizzing website, Graham had not heard directly from the quizzing coordinator all since March. Had that preliminary schedule gone up in error? Once again, Graham prayed Philippians 1:6 harder. A couple days later, the quizzing coordinator announced that quizzing would happen, albeit an alternative, modified quizzing. Quizzing would have 6 biweekly quizmeets instead of 8 weekly quiz meets, 0 tournaments instead of 2 tournaments and the Gospel of Mark instead of 5 Old Testament excerpts. Graham felt so relieved, almost the point of tears! The good work God had begun he did bring to full completion.

The Stony Brook quiz team had a “quizzing meeting” on Sunday, January 3 to learn the quizzing rules and go over the study methods. On Friday, January 8, the quiz team had their first real practice. From there, it is history. Remember how Graham promised a quiz team/youth group hybrid, with games and snack in exchange for 1 reading and 3 practice matches. While the quizzers kept their end of the agreement, Graham never had to keep his end of the promise. Every quiz practice, these 5 quizzers wanted to practice quizzing until the time was up for quizzing practice. They always wanted that 4^th optional set that I made. Don’t get it wrong, though. Graham did still keep his end of the agreement. The Stony Brook quiz team always had snack time at the end of every practice (in which everything was individually wrapped to stop the spread of COVID-19), and the Stony Brook quiz team got to try some of Graham’s video games during the break between Sunday quiz practice and Sunday dinner, like Ring Fit Adventure, Nintendoland and RockBand 3, as well as Lightning Reaction Xtreme.

After 12 quizmatches over 6 biweely quizmeets, Stony Brook finished with a record 2 wins, 7 losses and 3 ties (that’s the most ties Graham’s team ever had in a season). Stony Brook accumulated  730 points, averaging 61 points per match. That placed Stony Brook 19^th of 26 teams in League A, and 37^th of 51 teams overall. This is very impressive for a brand new quiz team, made of brand new quizzers, who had no previous experience with quizzing.

With this testimony in mind, each and every quizzer individually for joining and contributing to the quiz team this year.

LAUREN KEENY: Lauren scored 40 points answering 4 questions correctly this year, which is quite impressive for her rookie year. Last time Graham coached, he had a quizzer did not score any point at all during the season. In Graham’s 8 years as a quizzer, he had teammates that would only answer 1, 2 or 3 questions right all season, and they had an 18 or 19 quizmatches over an 8-week season! Lauren scored 40 points answering 4 questions correct in 12 quizmatches over 6 biweekly quizmeets. Unfortunately, the final individual standings do not reflect how important those points were to the quizmatches in which she scored. Lauren answered her first question correctly as the 4^th quizzers on our team to buzz in and answer right, thus giving Stony Brook team bonus for the 1^st time. For Lauren’s 2^nd question right, while she didn’t technically contribute to team bonus, her correct bonus on question 1 made the team bonus tie the match after 15 questions. If it wasn’t for Lauren answering the bonus correctly on question 1, Stony Brook would have lost the match, despite team bonus. Lauren’s 3^rd correct answer came in the match against Calvary Monument 2, which, as the 2^nd place team in Stony Brook’s league, became Stony Brook’s 2^nd hardest match. A lot of the team felt hopeless going into the match, thinking Stony Brook could only get in on the last 3 question once all 4 Calvary Monument 2 quizzers quizzed out on question 12. Yet when Lauren got bonus sent her way because the quizmaster asked a hard question, Lauren still pulled out the right answer. More importantly, though, Lauren contributed to the team more than just points. Lauren was definitely the extrovert of the team, and she always made sure to keep the fellowship going. She would keep the conversation going at quiz practice snack time and during the meals on quizzing Sundays. She would always share the fun antics at Red Lion High School. Lauren is also great encourager. Whenever the quiz team had a tough quizmeet after facing 2 tough teams in 2 tough quizmatches, Lauren was the first one to text everybody to congratulate everybody on a good quizmeet well done. It was very uplifting. Lauren, thank you for being a part of the quiz team. It would not have been the same without you.

KATE METZLER: Kate was probably the most excited to join the quiz team (she would later on reveal her excitement was due to having an opportunity to fellowship with peers). Kate’s excitement showed in her readiness to quiz. Everybody came prepared to every practice, but Kate always seemed the readiest. While no practice statistics were kept, Kate was a consistent top performer at practice, regularly quizzing out on both Friday and Sunday practices. Her readiness in practice reflected her performance. At the end of the quizzing season, Stony Brook scored 145 points, which included 1 quiz out. Indeed, Kate knew the quizzing material. By the end of the quizzing season, Kate got 9 bonuses, and she answered every single one correct. Yes, she never dropped a single bonus. Without a doubt, Kate new the material. Kate also brought a huge dose of encouragement to the team. Whenever somebody answered a question correctly, either in practice quizmatch or a real quizmatch, Kate was always the first one to congratulate that someone with a hearty “Good job!” or “Way to go!” or “Nice!” That encouragement alone encouraged other quizzers on the team to buzz in more and answered more. Kate, thank you for being a part of the quiz team. It would not have been the same without you.

CALEB METZLER: Caleb is a very talented young man, enough to make one jealous. Let’s be honest: he has musical coming out of the wazoo. As a very talented young man, he is also a very busy young man. From choir and the church worship team to cross country and disc golf, Caleb has a lot on his plate. Both Caleb and Graham knew this, but Graham felt like it would not be a true Stony Brook quiz team without Caleb on it. So when Graham asked Caleb to join the quiz team, he simply said, “Caleb, all I am asking and expecting that you simply try, and your best.” Not only did Caleb try his best, he did his best. After the quizzing season finished, Caleb scored 155 points, which included 1 quiz out. Yes, to cause some sibling rivalry, Caleb scored 10 more points and got 1 more right answer than his sister Kate. More worth appreciating is what Caleb brought spiritually to this team. Whether it was because Caleb was the oldest or Caleb was the only male of the group, Caleb became a spiritual leader among the quizzers. He was the first one to volunteer to pray for practice, first one to volunteer to pray for the Sunday meal and the first one to pray for the quizmatch. Caleb leading by taking the initiative demonstrated anyone could prayer, and everybody would follow suit. Anyone could see that spiritual leadership continue to grow when Caleb shared a testimony at church on Palm Sunday. Yes, Caleb probably would have shared whether on the quiz team or not, but either way, it was great to see Caleb spiritual grow this year, including during quizzing. No matter what Caleb’s future family looks like, Caleb will make a great spiritual leader as the head of the household. Caleb, thank you for being a part of the quiz team. It would not have been the same without you.

KAYLEE SNYDER: Stony Brook’s 2^nd quizmatch of its 1^st quizmeet ended up as Stony Brook’s worst loss, losing to Strasburg 25-145. After the quizmatch ended and the quiz team got back together, Kaylee said, “Oh, so that’s what we’re striving for?” to which her quiz coach affirmed, “Yeah, that’s what striving for.” From that day on, Kaylee truly did live that out. She did truly strive for that. Every time she came to practice, she proved she studied hard. Kaylee was sharp and on point every time she came to practice. Although no practice statistics were kept, Kaylee seemed to answer more practice questions right than wrong. When Kaylee did answer incorrectly, most of the time, it was a simple mistake, like buzzing in too fast or confusing two very similar passages. The few and rare times she answered wrong because she did not know the answer, she was always the first one to look in her quizbook and to mark what she got wrong, so she could study it more. Her study methods are worth copying. Again, Kaylee’s striving to study better paid off in the real quizmatches. Kaylee scored 85 points, which included 1 quiz, and she contributed to both our team bonuses. All 4 times she buzzed in, she answered the question correctly. When Kaylee buzzed in, she knew the answer. Kaylee got sharper as the year progressed, almost to perfection. The last question she answered correctly was perfect. The quizmaster asked the question, “The high priest tore…” Kaylee buzzed in a “tore” because she knew “tore” was a keyword (meaning it only appears once in the material), she answered the direct text answer “his robe” and then she went back to specify the pronoun as “the high priest’s robe,” which got her marked as correct. It was – mwah (chef’s kiss) – perfect! It is sad that the quizzing season was a modified, shortened season, because if Kaylee had a full 8-week season with 18 or 19 quizmatches a year, Kaylee would have gotten better, almost to perfection, on those last 2 weeks. Again, Kaylee set a good example to the team on how to study, how to practice and how to quiz. Kaylee, thank you for being a part of the quiz team. It would not be the same without you.

OLIVIA FARAG: Statistically speaking, Olivia was Stony Brook’s top performing quizzer. Once the quizzing season had come to and end, Olivia scored 270 points. 210 of those points were due to Olivia’s 6 quiz outs. Yes, Olivia quizzed out half Stony Brook’s quizmatches. Furthermore, on the last week of quizzing, Olivia had the perfect week. She quizzed out both quiz matches, the first week she did that all year. Just like Kaylee, it’s disappointing that the quizzing season was cut short this year because Olivia could have easily had perfect weeks for her 7^th and 8^th week of the season. Due to Olivia’s 270 points, Olivia finished 66^th place out of over 250 quizzers. She was 6 places and 30 points short of the Top 60 Bible Quizzers List. In hindsight, her quiz coach feels bad not starting her that one match or pulling out early a couple matches, fearing he may have prevented her from finishing in that top 60. Olivia probably doesn’t feel that way. What the final individual standings do not reflect is the humility Olivia brought to the quiz team. Olivia demonstrated humility in practice when she said “I don’t know” 7 times after buzzing in, only to give the direct answer on the 27^th second. Olivia also displayed her humility in her willingness to substitute in quizmatch. Yes, Olivia felt bad she was starting every match, and she let her quiz coach know she was willing to sit out and sub. Graham tried explaining to Olivia, “Olivia, you proved you deserve to start every quizmatch,” but she insisted that she sit out to sub. Her quiz coach did appreciate it. The Stony Brook quiz coach would always tell the quizzers, “I believe each one of you can quiz out and participate in team bonus.” Sometimes the quizzers must have rolled their eyes, thinking “Coach is just saying that because it’s the right thing to say.” Olivia did believe that and lived that out. She willingly sat out because she knew her teammates could quiz out, thus letting her come into the quizmatch. That humility was the support the quiz team needed. Olivia, thank you for being a part of the quiz team. It would not be the same without you.

A big thank you goes to Stony Brook Mennonite Church. When I announced that Stony Brook would have a quiz team at the beginning of the year, I told the church “They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I say it takes a church to raise a quiz team.” Stony Brook Mennonite Church lived up to that challenge. So many congregation members read along with the quizzers the quizzing materials, and so many congregants prayer for the quizzers on a regularly basis. Between Graham’s 8 years of quizzing as a quizzer and the last time Graham coached, Graham never remembers the church getting behind the quiz team like that. On a similar note, thank you to all the preachers of Stony Brook who preached from Mark, so the quizzers won’t feel the temptation to study quizzing instead of listening to the sermon. Thank you for all the secret sponsors who volunteered to pray for the quizzer, send words of encouragement to their quizzers and give gifts for the quizzers. The secret sponsors did a good job in their secret sponsoring, as all the quizzers appreciated the thought put into their notes and gifts. Thank you to those who volunteered to either host, donate or sponsor the quizzers’ dinner on quizmeet Sundays. The quizzers found all the meals delicious. Thank you to the parents of the quizzers for coming to the quizmeets to watch the quizmatches. If quizzing was open to the public, Stony Brook’s fans would easily double, if not tripe, but due to the closed, private nature of quizzing this year, the parents made sure we had enough fans. Thank you to the Metzlers and Keenys for providing help transporting quizzers. The one thing Graham miscalculated was not having enough seats for his car to transport quizzers. Between the Metzlers and Keenys, everybody got to the quizmeets. A special thank you to Jon & Ann Metzler, who would drive the whole quiz team, including quiz coach Graham, in their van, so Graham could ask quizzers questions. Most importantly, a huge thank you to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He made sure that there was no coronavirus outbreak at Bible Quizzing this year, especially for the Stony Brook team. Indeed, in the words of Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”