Terry Field has been on twelve Athletes in Action basketball tours and three coaching trips and also served at the 1996 AIA Olympic Project in Atlanta . A math and science teacher at Covington High School in Covington , Indiana , Terry coached high school basketball for 30 years. A sponsor for Fellowship of Christian Athletes at CHS, Terry also leads both a neighborhood and young couples' Bible study with his wife Anita.
Years ago, I made a decision that changed my life and that of my family. In 1987, a coaching friend and a former player of mine both came back from Athletes in Action basketball tours, convincing me that I should participate too. My wife, Anita, and I prayed about it, and I went to Kenya and Sudan in 1988.
 Knowing I would leave my wife and three children for five weeks was only one of the difficulties I faced. Asking people to support me prayerfully and financially so I could go also took me completely out of my comfort zone. But God provided all I needed, as He has every trip I have taken.
On that first trip, I saw Christians with very little materialistically but had a love for the Lord that spoke volumes to me. I was amazed that God could use me, a small high school Indiana basketball coach to tell His story to others.
I learned to communicate my personal story of faith as well as tell others how to become a Christian. You would think at 38 years old I knew what I was doing, but I didn't. God stretched me, and made me more confident of what He could do with a life totally surrendered to Him. A verse that I've often reflected upon is Matthew 19:29: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." We go to bless others but find we are the ones truly blessed.
 AIA has also had an incredible impact on the lives of my children. In 1994, my oldest son Travis was going through a time of rebellion, and I hoped that an AIA trip would help him see that being a Christian did not mean living a life of boredom. He agreed to go to Brazil and Bolivia with me. When he returned from the trip, he was convinced that Christians could have fun, thus committing to a personal relationship with Christ that fall at Indiana State University .
Tyler, our second son, has been on three AIA trips. Our daughter, Tiffany, has been on an AIA women's basketball tour to Africa and also worked with AIA at the University of Hawaii for three months. In June 2000, we went to Africa and had the AIA training camp here in our home town. During this time, Tiffany met one of our basketball players, Jeremy Treat, and married him five years later.
In 1994, I did a basketball clinic in Bolivia for 40 coaches. After the clinic, I gave my story and communicated the gospel. Half of the coaches prayed and received Christ. What an experience.
In 1996, Anita and I worked an international AIA Olympic Project in inner city Atlanta . (This was also Anita's first AIA trip.) People from South Africa , Brazil , Philippines, and India heard our stories and about our experiences with AIA and asked us to come to their countries and work with them. Amazingly, we have since been able to visit every one of their homes and communities.
Last summer, we traveled to Mauritius . While doing neighborhood ministry we saw a Hindu couple walking down the street. We asked if we could tell them about Christ, they agreed and ended up praying to receive Him. Afterward we found that the Hindu lady had a brother who was a Christian and had been witnessing to them. God put us there at the right time. 
Two days after arriving back from Mauritius, another coach, Don Zawlocki, and myself went to Kosovo to do a basketball camp for the Kosovo Basketball Federation. When we were finished we were allowed to tell 20 Muslim coaches about Christ and hand out Bibles. I call this pioneering evangelism. We tried to get a Christian influence in the sports world there and develop good relationships with the coaches and players in Kosovo.
We have learned many things from our involvement with AIA:
1. The more you do for God the more opportunities He gives to you.
2. You can't out-give God. You always get back more than you give.
3. The harvest is indeed plentiful. (Matthew 9:37)
4. What a joy it is to serve Him.
5. God is good all the time.
If I hadn't been obedient to God, my family and I would have missed out on so much. Our desire for next summer is to have the opportunity to go to East Asia and be involved with AIA. We wait patiently to see what the Lord does.
Photos courtesy of Terry Field:
Top: Terry and Anita pose with top players and coaches in a region of India in 1999 during a coaching clinic. All 30 recipients received a Bible.
Middle: In the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, Terry tells others about Jesus during a tour in 2000. All three women prayed and received Christ.
Bottom: The Fields tour Red Square in Moscow, Russia, in 2005.
Each month you will be introduced to a life changed through Athletes in Action. If your life (or someone you know) has been greatly touched through your involvement with AIA, please send an e-mail to communications@aia.com.
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