News 2006 - March

FRANK MAYFIELD'S TRIP

2 weeks in Sierra Leone! It will be a great difficulty to try and convey such an amazingly varied and fascinating two weeks in this short write up, but I'll give it a good shot! My time in Sierra Leone was an extremely intense period of learning and taking in a culture that couldn't be more different to our own and trying to make a difference for God's glory in that Country. Firstly I'd like to thank you all so much for all your support and prayers, I felt so strongly that God was calling me to Go out the Sierra Leone and I thank him that he used you as a means of working out his plan, it was a humbling experience to be a part of and I couldn't be more grateful for the support St Andrews has provided me to make it happen. So thank you again!

Sierra Leone is a country that has been ravaged by an extensive civil war that finished around 6 years ago. The evidence of the destruction and chaos that it has caused are still very much evident in all parts of the country especially its capital Freetown. Buildings and facilities that would have been good quality before the war is now in tatters and very little is available to rectify the damage. A good example of this was that while I was there a fuel crisis hit Freetown which disabled much of the transport around the City. You had to queue for at least 5 to 6 hours for around 2 gallons of fuel and even then it was never guaranteed to be sold. That's just one effect of the disjointed infrastructure of Sierra Leone that makes it such a dysfunctional nation at this present time.

However sport is a source of inspiration and joy for so many people here and gives focus and drive to their lives. It really is astounding just how much it means to these people who in many cases have an uphill struggle to live and work here. This is why sports life is such an incredible mission project, using sport as a means of reaching people for Christ and spreading Gods word throughout Sierra Leone. As you know Paddy has been out there for 2 months now and my trip was really about getting alongside him in his involvement in sports life and helping to concrete the link between sports life, St Andrews and Christians in sport. I also took out a large amount of sports equipment that had been donated for them to use in their teams and coaching sessions.

Sports life is an organization set up to provide Christian sports players with support and teach them the word of God to then go out and spread the gospel through sport in Sierra Leone. The sports life team is made up of a core of around 10 volunteers and they are based in Freetown. Paddy has been doing brilliant work out there alongside sports life and especially in the cricket. He helps coach the national team and is head coach of the army cricket team!

While I was there I helped him with his training sessions and coaching, mostly with the army team. They are a brilliant group of young men who are so vibrant and friendly and always extremely enthusiastic about learning cricket which was awesome to see! Paddy and I also set up a bible study for the cricketers. We began with a study on "I am the bread of life" from John 6 as part of a series on the outrageous claims of Jesus throughout John's gospel. By Gods grace we had 11 people for our session which is just incredible! They asked some really great questions about the passage and they grasped the basic message well. So that was extremely encouraging to be a part of. Paddy is going to continue the studies for the rest of his time there, so I pray that God would be powerfully at work in the lives of all who attend those sessions.

We also got involved with the national boxing team as Sports life has been looking for a link with the boxers of Sierra Leone for some time. We met with the national team and had some intense training along with some of the national youth team! We got to know the guys well and are hoping to set up a bible study for them in the near future.

It is truly stunning what an impact God can have through sport and Paddy and I felt that it was important to branch out into as many sports as possible. At the moment sports life is extremely strong in football, with a full sports life squad of around 24 players. These players attend bible studies and training to help them evangelize through sport and spread the good news of Jesus through football. Sports life with Paddy's help have also planned a large football tournament for all the various provincial teams throughout the country. It is to be called the "Paddy Paddy" tournament, Paddy means friend in Creole so "Paddy Paddy" means Paddy's friends tournament! Plans are finalized for the event and it is due to begin in 2-3 weeks. This is aimed at drawing the large football teams together to have a chance to play competitively and also to evangelize and build relationships throughout Sierra Leone football.

All members' of the sports life team are football players and are very competent in that discipline. However sports life's aim is to "Equip and empower sports people to go out to the regions of Sierra Leone and use sport to tell people about Jesus." This aim is being very well executed in football but due to a lack of resources and man power it has been difficult for them to branch into other sports. This was the area which Paddy and I were trying to help sports life by adding experience of other sports and techniques to fulfill sports life aim of equipping all sports people to represent Jesus in their particular sport.

Pastor Yatta, the director of sports life has big plans for the direction of sports life in the future. While Paddy and I were in the provincial village of Bobo we surveyed a patch of land that Yatta is considering buying to then build a facility for sports camps, church retreats and sports ministry training with good quality sports equipment and playing areas. It's an ambitious venture and with sports life having so little funding it is a big job to undertake. I had many talks with various guys from sports life and they have some inspiring stories that are a testament to what God can do if we trust in him and have faith that he is in control. Time and time again God has provided the means necessary to carry out his work through sports life and it was humbling to hear stories of such strong faith and dependence on God.

My two weeks were a huge eye opener to the need of this country, and the huge potential that sports life offers to Sierra Leone through Gods ministry. It would be brilliant if we could set up strong links with sports life to help them put there big plans into action. It is truly inspiring to see people with very little, so passionate about Glorifying God and working to bring his saving grace to all people. I do feel with the right resources Sports life can do amazing things In Jesus name in their country and anything we could do to help would be greatly received by all involved. Thank you all again for the support you have given to Paddy and me.

God bless.

Frank