Men’s lacrosse players partner with FCA on sports outreach trip to Kenya

Liberty's players are surrounded by enthusiastic Kenyan youth, who proved to be quick learners in the sport of lacrosse.

Men’s lacrosse players partner with FCA on sports outreach trip to Kenya

8/9/2024 5:06:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Flames rising junior attack Luke Branham, middie Ben Lapole, and defender Brody Ashworth as well as graduate goalie Eric Warnstrom (’24) joined six players from Maryland, exposing more than 3,000 teenagers to the sport, and the Gospel.

Gallery: (8-9-2024) Mens-lacrosse-Keyna-trip

Four members of Liberty University's men's lacrosse team joined six coaches and players from FCA Harford County in Maryland for an impactful two-week mission trip to Kenya from July 15-31.

"It went really well," Flames junior defender Brody Ashworth said. "We all had the same mindset to grow the sport of lacrosse but more importantly to spread the Gospel to these kids that might not know Jesus, and to expand the Kingdom of God. The group was awesome. Partnering with FCA Lacrosse is a great vessel to share your faith."

After flying into the capital city of Nairobi, the group that included rising junior attack Luke Branham, middie Ben Lapole, and Ashworth as well as graduate goalie Eric Warnstrom ('24) drove 10 hours to Mumias, in the Western region of Kenya. There, the student-athletes teamed up with five players from the Kenyan National Team to lead clinics for players ages 12-18 at various schools, instructing and ministering to more than 3,000 youth during their physical education class time.

Flames Assistant Coach Mike Zumpano took four Flames to play on FCA's Team Serve at the World Lacrosse Championships last summer in San Diego. That was where they met Fred Osore, director of FCA Lacrosse in Kenya, who alerted them to the need for support of his country's developing lacrosse community.

"Sending college players over to countries like Kenya, which is in their infancy of player development, is a huge boost for those countries' programs and their national organization," Zumpano said. "Partnering with a group like FCA, we were able to be missional with groups over there and follow through with our mission to Train Champions for Christ."

The 10-man team from the U.S. practiced with and scrimmaged against the Kenyan National Team at St. Peters Boys School in Mumias.

"We worked with a lot of the guys on the team and taught them how to take lacrosse to the next level, to give them more advanced strategy and show how they can take that and apply that to their teammates," Branham said.

A few of the national team players are students at nearby Kibabii University, which received much of the van full of equipment the players brought with them, nearly doubling its supply.

The clinics were broken up into four stations covering skills such as picking up ground balls, shooting, passing, and other fundamental skills, with a fifth station added for a more personalized evangelistic opportunity than would be available in a large group message. Players introduced the Gospel to the kids through bracelets with four symbols — a heart, a division sign, a cross, and a question mark.

"We told them, 'As Christians, this is what we believe, and why we are here,'" Ashworth said.

Pointing to the heart, the athletes would tell the kids that Jesus loves them, He created them, and He wants to have a relationship with them. They would note that the division sign represents sin that divides us from God and that in order to bridge that gap, God sent His Son, Jesus, Who lived a perfect life and died for our sins.

"Then, when we got to the question mark, we would ask, 'What are you going to do with this knowledge?'" Ashworth said. "'Are you going to choose to believe, knowing that He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you?'"

The players gave the bracelets to the youth after they recited the meanings of the symbols back to them, and challenged them to share that Good News with their friends.
Branham said the Kenyan players and youth were extremely personable and embraced the American players.

"Just interacting with the people and experiencing the culture was really life-changing, to see how joyful they are with so little and how important the relationships were," he said. "They were thrilled to try a new sport and welcoming to the university players. They were so hospitable and cared about us so quickly. They wanted to invest in us."

He said the experience made him and his teammates more eager to develop their own games and to continue to spread the love of Christ wherever they go.

"(The trip) definitely made me more passionate for the sport and reminded me of why l love the game so much, seeing these people that are so passionate about it when they know so little about it," Branham said. "One of the things I learned was how important it is to have a servant's heart, because that's such a form of worship to God that I hadn't really tapped into before."

Ashworth, who went on a mission trip to Honduras a few years ago that opened his eyes to the plight of that developing nation, said Kenya was more refreshing and spiritually invigorating.

"It changed the way I see the world and it was very humbling," he said. "Kenyans are always so happy with the little that they have, so it gives you a different view of God's love through each of us."

Branham, who is pursuing his B.S. in Aeronautics: Commercial/Corporate, became more interested in using aviation in ministry in the future.

"An experience like this definitely has an impact on my heart and opened the door to the idea of using my education to do mission work, with a ton of avenues through aviation," he said. "Seeing the joy those people have, especially among the believers, I realized that I never need to worry about my own needs. The Lord has always provided for me. I was able to see how much I have and how much the Lord has blessed me with, and that I can be extremely generous and help so many people."

Branham said the experience strengthened relationships between the Liberty players.

"It definitely bonded all four of us together and we want to encourage our teammates to have experiences like that," he said. "Lacrosse is played all over the world and another mission with the team would be incredible."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer