The month of June saw us hold our first out-of-school Sports Day of 2010. 

Held during the half-term Whitsun break at Tonypandy Community College, we had over sixty children and fifteen All Stars in attendance - see group picture, foot of the page - and not even the atrocious weather could dampen their spirits.

Here are the Top Pictures of the 3day summer camp 2010! Hope you enjoy them! #

Rachel from Pontrhondda - “It was so brilliant, I wish it could last all summer. Ricardo’s awesome. He’s really funny and he's been trying to teach me to play table tennis as good as he can“ I was in Jody’s team and she brought all Australian stuff for us to wear. It was awesome,” said Courtney, Treorchy, while Katy, Tonypandy, said, “Chelsea’s the best team leader ever. Even when we lost, she kept encouraging us!”

Ending the school year well has always been a big deal within the Sporting Marvels ethos and this year, the team has excelled themselves!   

And the “end-of-the-end” takes the form of Summer Camp: three days of extreme fun and adventure for youngsters from Years 5 to 9 inclusive.

People Updates: Grant Adams is back in Wales! And the mighty Steph Brooks has called 'time' on her period of service to Sporting Marvels. 

In last month’s newsletter, we ran a story focusing on what the kids were saying about the Mighty Marvels programme.

This month, we thought we’d share some of the comments made, in writing, by their headteachers!!

“Our pupils benefit greatly from engagement with Sporting Marvels. The lessons enhance the RE, PSHE and PE curriculums and the children look up to the Marvels....They are excellent role models with an enthusiastic approach, good subject knowledge and excellent teacher/pupil relationships”.
Sue Ellison, Porth Juniors

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!”