Mission trip to Liberia life-altering experience for Auburn players

[Saniflush]

AUBURN, Alabama -- The mission was to help others, but Auburn coach Gene Chizik had something more in mind when he decided to take seven veteran players to Liberia over spring break.

Chizik's goal was to expand their horizons beyond the day-to-day grind of college and football.

"It was very eye-opening," Chizik said. "The group of young men got a great experience of what life is like outside the United States."

Based on awed comments from players who returned from Africa last month and dived immediately into spring football, the trip accomplished its purpose.

"It was a great experience. You really can't put it into words," said linebacker Daren Bates. "The people there probably saw us as helping them, but they really were helping each and every one of us.

"It was amazing. I never thought I'd be able to go overseas like that to Africa, but it was a blessing to go."

Bates, receiver Emory Blake, quarterback Clint Moseley, defensive back T'Sharvan Bell, offensive lineman John Sullen and defensive linemen Ken Carter and Dee Ford accompanied Chizik and his wife, Jonna, to the West African country. Auburn team chaplain Chette Williams and his wife, Lakeba, helped organize the trip.

It's the second time that Chizik and Williams have taken players on a spring mission. Two years ago, they went to the Dominican Republic.

The athletic department did nothing to publicize the trip to Africa. A request for photos to accompany a story was politely turned down. Without player comments on Twitter and other social media, Chizik and his crew might have traveled there in anonymity.

The Auburn group worked on the ground with Samaritan's Purse, which describes itself as an international Christian relief and evangelism organization that "provides spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, poverty, natural disaster and disease."

Liberia, which was founded by freed slaves from the United States, is still recovering from a bloody civil war that ended in 2003.

Even so, players found Liberians warm and welcoming.

"It was experiencing the different culture that lives a completely different way than we do," Chizik said. "The overall mission of the trip was to let them realize and understand that we all have hard times, but there's a bunch of people out there that have got it much more difficult than we do. And that was made very loud and clear."

Bates said he'd never been outside the country, but didn't hesitate when Williams asked him to come on the trip.

"I said yes right on the spot," Bates said. "I couldn't pass that up. I had to go."

He said he was inspired by the people he met.

"Every place we went, it opened our eyes," Bate said. "From what we have over here in America and going to Africa and see what they struggle with and the pride and the ability they have to get up every morning to go to work to make money or get food for their family, I can't even put a perspective on it."

Moseley said he'd scarcely been out of Alabama, so Africa "was a culture shock at first," but he ended the week with a life-altering experience.

"I can't really explain it or do it justice. It's the best trip I've ever taken, for sure," he said. "It really doesn't register in your mind until you actually see it."

One girl who described her 2-mile daily trek to get clean water stuck in his mind.

"She was just telling us that, not crying or wanting pity," Moseley said. "That really made me think about we have it really good over here."