LOCALS PLAY HOOPS DURING CHURCH MISSION

Four area high school basketball players honed their skills in South America during a sports evangelism mission this summer.

Chris Sisk and Nick Centanni of Scott City joined Andy Barnes of Marquand and Matthew Hale of Millersville on a mission trip to Ecuador from June 13-22. The Rev. Daniel Hale, Matthew's father, led the mission which helps to work on churches and gain new members to the church.

"We help to make the contacts and (the Ecuador missionaries) do all the work after that," said Rev. Hale. "We leave the local church with at least 70 new prospects as a result of the clinics."

The group put on basketball, coaching and referee clinics in the coastal town of Bahia de Caraquez. But it wasn't all work for the players.

The Missouri Baptist Convention All-Stars, which the local players played on, won every game they played on the trip. The Missouri team consisted of players 18-and-under, while the Ecuador national teams were between 24 and 32-years-old.

"They were better than I thought they'd be," Centanni said of the foreign competition. "They were really quick and strong. They had quick hands."

Centanni, entering his senior year at Scott City, said the trip was a lot of fun, but understood the real meaning behind the trip. In addition to the basketball, there were two church services performed by the group.

"We drew a lot of attention to their church down there," said Centanni. "We got a lot of the people interested in the Lord."