Sunyani Games

When we first arrived in Sunyani, all of the four small branches were functioning independently of each other. One of the first things the members requested was more activities so they could get to know and interact with each other. That is how "Face Off", the Game Night, and the various recreational amenities at the various meetinghouses began. We all began talking about an athletic competion during the summer (rainy season) and it began to materialize toward the end of the year. In November we approached a large school in the center of town, met with their headmaster and were told to send a letter to their board asking permission to use the facilities on a Saturday. We selected a Saturday, January 5, 2013, and received permission to hold an Olympic-type competition on the school grounds.

We advertised the event and encouraged members as well as non-members to participate in nine different events: basketball, table tennis, volleyball, 100k run, running relay, three-legged race, javelin/spear-chucking, tug of war (peace), and of course--soccer! All of the members were scheming and practicing and so excited. We contacted the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George and they generously donated 60 medals.
They finally had all arrived in the mail and we were ready for the big event.

Basketball, table-tennis and volleyball were held on Friday at the Nkwabeng meetinghouse. The players were SOOOO competitive and wanted to win so badly. Because the three events were running simultaneously, President Thayne was reffing basketball; we had hired a pro ref for table tennis and I was designated to officiate the volleyball games. This turned out to be a joke as the teams were so competitive and yelling that they couldn't even hear my calls. Elder Larsen came to my rescue. He is large, powerful and takes no guff from anybody. He then proceeded to call the games and no one dared give him too much trouble. After the event we went downtown to check on the school facility and were told that the day before a large communications provider in town had approached them and offered a large sum of money to use the school and kick us out. Arguing didn't seem to matter as money talks, so President Thayne came up with a compromise and offered to pay 50 cedis and promise to be off the field by 1 p.m. so they could then let the other guys use it too. That seemed to work.

The next morning we arrived at 5:30 a.m. to get set up. We were about to start the first soccer match when one of the guys from the school council showed up. Gary gave him the envelope with the 50 cedis and we started the game. About an hour later another of the school council showed up for the money. We explained that we had already given it to the other guy. He said no, that they didn't have it. Try explaining that in English and no receipt. Car-David, who had proudly won the gold medal in table tennis the day before, came to our resuce. He took the guy by the arm and went and found the man we had given the money to. At first he denied having the money, but David called him on it and told him he had seen us give him the money. He finally admitted he had it and gave the money up and they gave us a receipt. What a nightmare!

The games went on without any further problems. Over 170 participated and everyione had a great time!

CAR DAVID & TABLE TENNIS:
For months Car David had been helping us get ready for the Games. He helped us find equipment, served as our translator, and hooked us up with all the right people. Every time we mentioned table tennis he would proudly say, "President Thayne, I shall surely win the gold medal!" One of the branch presidency in the Estates Branch, Pax, is a prison guard and one of his responsibilites is to coach the table tennis team. Because every branch wanted to win the most medals, he had brought in two of his best players on the pro team to compete. We were so worried that David would get beaten badly. It all came down to the finals between David and one of the pro players. Lo and behold, David won! We were quietly so excited!

DAVID & GOLIATH:
The week before the Games, each of the Branch Presidents drew to see who they would all compete with first. One of our branches, Fiapre, is smaller than the rest and has virtually very little priesthood members or men of any kind. They were obviously the branch everyone wanted to play first as they were deemed (and rightly so) the weakest.
Estates (one of the big powerhouses)drew little Fiapre in both soccer and volleyball. They figured they were a shoe-in for at least a silver medal. Elders Larsen and Otagba, the missionaries at Fiapre, worked so hard at getting their small number of members to play. Soccer was of course the big event. Nkwabeng (another of the bigger branches) defeated Penkwase in the first round. Then it was Fiapre against Estates and much to everyone's surprise little Fiapre won. In the final match, no one gave Fiapre much of a chance and figured they had just lucked out on the first match. It was hot and everyone was tired and Elder Larsen just told his team, who were all quite young, to just run the old guys into the ground. They were playing a full pitch game, which means a huge field about 120 meters long. The young guys did exactly that and they won the gold! Then in tug of war, the culminating event, it was again Fiapre against a much larger and stronger Estates team. Again, through sheer will-power, the smaller, younger team prevailed. They all compared their success to David and Goliath.

All of the branches won medals and the members were so excited! We had 27 investigators stay after and have a brief introduction to the Gospel. Many of the participants proudly wore their medals to Church the next day. Hossan called me a few days later and was almost crying, He wanted to thank us for his medal. (This in itself was really unusual because Africans rarely thank anyone verbally for anything.) He said he had never dreamed that he would be able to win such a wonderful prize and that he would cherish it forever and that when he wore his medal around town, he would tell everyone that he won it for his Church. He said it hangs on the wall in his house for all to see. It was such a positive event for all of them and one that they will remember for years to come.