Friday 25th June saw a crowd of over 150 people gather at Porth Rugby Club. The occasion? The first Sporting Marvels All-Star Presentation Evening.

In what was something of a Red Carpet event, the many parents present must have wondered if they’d been transported somehow to more salubrious surroundings of Hollywood!

Our relationship with East Africa began when Pastors John and Debbie and their two small children - Chris (now a Marvel) and Beth - left the UK to work as full-time missionaries, overseeing Elim’s work in five countries!

The year was 1997 and no-one save God himself, could have predicted how those years on the mission field would impact what was to come!

East Africa and the thousands of prayer partners in particular, affect every level of our vision in ways we almost certainly, still do not fully appreciate.

Christiaan Welman, the first ever Marvel, recently sent Phil an email.....

“Phil, you won't believe what happened here today! I was attending a meeting at a venue I’ve only been to two or three times before when I saw Alex Ashton, PE teacher at Treorchy Comp! Behind him was the school’s senior rugby team on South African tour!!!!

Jodie & Kirsty, forever known as “the Twins”, for obvious reasons (!!), have featured in several news updates over the years. The pair were heavily influenced by Kate, our Marvel at Tonypandy from July ’04 to July ’07.

In the Spring of 2007, the then 15 year-olds (see pic below) were quoted as saying, “If it wasn’t for Kate we both think our lives would have turned out very differently. When she first arrived we were a bit off the rails and she helped us get on track. She’s a great listener and encourager and is always ready to give us good advice.”

“Please thank the Delta Force for all their prayers”, he told us through a big smile. “It’s a joy to be back and I’m raring to go. I used my six months in South Africa to good effect and even led my sister to the Lord!”

Over the years we’ve enjoyed many hugely successful “Adventure Days”. But the most recent, last month, at Treorchy Comprehensive School was a little different - four junior schools and 128 ten and eleven year-olds who unfortunately, are yet to be part of Sporting Marvels!

Pastors John & Debbie recently visited Tanzania where they dedicated some of their time to Sporting Marvels/Delta Force matters.

John told us, “Despite a five day delay, courtesy of the Icelandic volcano problems that brought air travel to a standstill, the trip turned out to be a highly successful one.”

Friday 14th May marked our annual Council of Reference meeting.

The Council are an external oversight type body, to whom the trustees make themselves accountable.

The man Phil describes as “the unsung hero of Sporting Marvels - the glue that helps keep all the parts together” gets married on Saturday, 12th June.

Ian marries the lovely Tracey in a service conducted by Pastor John at the Gatehouse Church. Hopefully they’ll have great weather, an awesome day and a truly amazing marriage.

It’s always nice to valued and appreciated and “appraisal season” gives our partner schools the opportunity to put their appreciation in writing.  

Though the work at Treorchy Comprehensive School has been detrimentally affected by the temporary loss of Grant, who is stuck in South Africa awaiting a visa, the Treorchy appraisal read like a very good school report.