Mission: Batangas Province

The American Ventures for Victory/Sports Ambassadors basketball team will be in the Philppines on July 28 to August 16, 2008.

The team will be led by David Swanson 6'6, Jacob Peattie 6'3, Jacob Koons 6'2, Stephen Kaufman 6'1, David Henry 5'11, Stephen Groves 5'11, Ryan Eakins 5'9, Andrew Traeger 6'4, Clarence Jeffrey 6'2 and TJ Caparros 5'8. Joining the team is former SA International Director Bud "The Cat" Schaeffer and Coach Jim Keesler, headcoach of Grace College Lancers, Indiana.

We will be playing some goodwill games and will be sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in Metro Manila and Batangas Province. Coach Jim Keesler will also be conducting coaching seminars in Manila, Lipa City and Batangas City.

Please remember to pray for us during this time as we play in the different colleges/universities and barangays in the area. Pray for the pastors & churches who will be helping us in doing the follow-up for those who will received Christ and wants to attend a bible study.

Coach Jim Kessler coming to the Philippines

Coach Jim Kessler, headcoach of Grace College Lancers from Indiana, USA will be coming to the Philippines this coming July 28 to August 16, 2008 to lead the Ventures for Victory/Sports Ambassadors team who will play a series of goodwill games in Manila and Batangas Province. Coach Jim will also be doing a series of coaching seminars in Manila, Lipa City and Batangas City.

During his tenure at Grace College, Kessler has taken his teams on more than a dozen international outreach basketball camps in nations such as the Bahamas, Philippines, Egypt and Germany. Kessler and his players took part in a mission trip in Africa at the 2004 HIV/AIDS Kenyan Basketball Federation National Clinic. His teams have also conducted outreach camps with inner-city programs and on Native American reservations.

Coach Jim Kessler has also made extensive contributions on his campus and in the local community by organizing annual tournaments to benefit Habitat for Humanity and the Kosciusko County Cancer Fund. He has established campus projects that have raised funds for the college library as well as funds for equipment and programs aimed at enhancing the quality of life at the college. For his contributions to the lives of youth in the Warsaw community, Kessler received the 2005 Pete Thorne Memorial Award.

Coach Jim Kessler has won many awards in his tenure at Grace College, including four (4) NAIA District 21 Coach of the Year Awards, two (2) NCCAA National Coach of the Year Awards

Kessler has won many awards in his tenure at Grace, including four NAIA District 21 Coach of the Year Awards, two NCCAA National Coach of the Year awards and an NAIA National Coach of the Year award. He has had 15 winning seasons and 11 with 19 or more victories. His teams have won the Mid-Central Conference Championship eight times and he led the 1991–92 squad to the NAIA Division II National Championship.