NATCHEZ — When most people take a trip to Europe, they do it either for business or pleasure.

Randy Smith does it for both.

Smith, a Natchez native who splits his time between homes in Lafayette, La., and Natchez, recently took first place in the 2008 British Masters Basketball Championships in Dundee, Scotland.

It is the second time that Smith’s senior basketball team has won the event.

Teams competing in the tournament were from Ireland, Wales, Germany, England and the United States.

The British Masters Championships take place each year in the United Kingdom for over 40 and over 50 teams.

Smith’s team competed in the over 50 division and took first place for the second time in the six years they have been competing.

“It’s a real fun experience,” Smith said. “We go over there and play some golf and some basketball.”

Smith said he became interested in the United Kingdom when he lived in Aberdeen, Scotland in the 1980s while working on a drilling rig.

Smith, who played for the Co-Lin Wolves and Delta State Statesmen in college, played in basketball leagues in Scotland when not working on the rigs, and came to love the place, he said.

“I started my own business and I have a business in Aberdeen now,” Smith said. “I started forming a team about six years ago to play over there and I’m always recruiting to the team.”

Smith has an interesting strategy to recruit to his team.

He also leads a prison ministry where he and many others go to different prisons and have softball, and sometimes basketball, games against prisoners.

“We go into prisons like Angola, play ball against prisoners for a day and do a ministry,” Smith said. “That group will go to Europe with me. I tell them, if you want to go to Europe, you’ve got to play prison ball.”

Smith said his goal is to just plant a seed in the prisoners minds about faith and turning their lives over to Christ.

“Its (the prisoners’) day of feeling normal again,” Smith said. “Most won’t go to church, but they’ll go to a game so we preach to them a little bit after the game and plant a seed.”

Smith has been going into prisons as long as he has been playing basketball in Europe, about six years.

“We go to prisons in Louisiana, Texas and Colorado,” Smith said. “Our next goal is Mississippi prisons.”

Smith said using sports is his way of trying to be a witness for Christ.

“You go to church and say you’re going to go witness, but most don’t do that,” Smith said. “You find people who love to play ball and love preaching the word.”