Day 1
Depending on ones station in life, it was either an early, early morning for the DBU Patriot Baseball Team or it was a late night as players and administrators departed from campus at 3:00 on Saturday morning for the Dominican Republic and the opportunity to serve and play in the communities surrounding Santo Domingo.
Forty seven members of the program left the comforts and familiarity of home to spend Fall Break sharing the love of Christ with the people of Santo Domingo, Boca Chica, and other areas around the capital city and most of Saturday was spent traveling. A quick layover in Atlanta allowed the team to grab some breakfast before a three hour flight put the team in the Dominican right around lunch time. Met there by two buses, the team loaded bags into a truck and headed to the hotel in Boca Chica. After a quick hamburger lunch, players and coaches crossed the street to a city baseball park where children were already out playing sandlot baseball in the outfield. By the time players started their stretching in centerfield, word was already out that the city park had been taken over by an unfamiliar group and more kids started showing up by the handful. By the end of batting practice, there were 40 kids playing catch with DBU players, taking ground balls, and taking part in a makeshift sandlot game down the rightfield line. What had started out as a team practice ended as a time for the Patriots to bring smiles to kids and a chance to introduce themselves to the community around the hotel.
“It was fun,” said Senior Landon Anderson. “There were kids of all ages out there. A couple of the older kids could really play. We just tried to have some fun with them, give them a chance to play the game, and hopefully it was a memorable experience for them.”
Sunday will be another early morning for the team as they travel to an orphanage in a neighboring city before preparing for their first competition of the tour in the afternoon. Sunday evening, the team will visit a Christian church and take part in a Spanish-language service.
Day 2
1:58pm
You know how every now and again you come to that spot in life where you realize you need to renew your battle against pride and selfishness? I think that happened for a lot of us today.
For me, it was on the road to San Pedro. We met for breakfast at 6:40 and enjoyed French toast and fruit and loaded the small buses for a forty minute drive to the Nuestros Hermanos Pequenos orphanage and school, just outside San Pedro. We were packed into the buses tight, yet the drive was mostly silent. I don't know if it was the second consecutive early morning, the beauty of the ocean drive to San Pedro, or the fact that several guys had their cameras out taking pictures – but for me, the silence was a time for contemplation. We came to the Dominican to serve a God who loves us, who provides for us, and who protects us. We came to share that love with the people, young and old alike, we encounter on our trip. While I was thinking about that and the chance we were about to have to meet the children at the orphanage, our bus driver flipped the radio from tejano-type music to a softer genre. It took me a while but before long, I was picking up words in the songs. Santo. Cristo. Allelu. He had turned it to a Christian music station. And it hit me – our God is big. The same God I worship, the same God our team worships, the same God the Apostle Paul and Abraham and Moses worshiped is the same God the people of the Dominican Republic worship. He is not limited to the United States of America.
We get caught up in God Bless the USA and worshipping his provision, that sometimes we forget he is the God of the universe. We look around the Dominican and we may see poverty. I don't think the people of Latin America see it with the same eyes. Their joy, their light, their contentment – it's available in the same place ours is – Jesus Christ.
To make that even more real, after a couple praise songs on the radio, a man came on and started talking. I thought he was reading from the Bible so I asked one of our translators what passage he was reading. The translator listened for a little bit and then looked at me and said, “He is not reading from the Bible, it is a sermon. He is saying that our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He never changes. People change but God stays the same.”
We were expecting to pull into an orphanage that looked much like the one we visited in 2007 when we traveled to Guatemala – small, lots of concrete and cinder blocks, barbed wire. What we found was 40 acres of grass, small gardens, a soccer field, and a baseball field. The players split into groups and ran a small baseball camp with the kids. There were six different stations set up, each with a different skill to practice. Our players did a great job of filling each group with joy, smiles, and bad Spanish. The morning was capped off with three different Wiffle Ball games and a group picture before we said goodbye to our new friends. We left them with several bags of baseball equipment and headed for the field to play an afternoon game against Los Estrellas Orientales.
3:24pm
We are currently in the bottom of the fourth inning in San Pedro against Los Estrellas Orientales. We are down a couple runs but as we do some research on the internet in the press box, we are finding that we are playing against mostly professional baseball players – some of them playing as high as Double A this past season. Blake Webster just completed a shutdown inning after we scored three in the previous inning. The ballpark is beautiful and there are probably about 500 enthusiastic fans in the stands. There are vendors hawking popcorn out of large trash cans, fans blowing horns, kids chasing foul balls. Probably the neatest thing is that about five minutes ago, the kids from the orphanage showed up to watch us play.
Boomer Collins just picked up his second hit of the afternoon – a double to right center.
Ronnie Mitchell also has two hits so far. We're down 9-4 but have scored the last four runs of the game.
3:48pm
The current pitcher for Los Estrellas is pitching in the upper 90's.
Ryan Behmanesh just struck out on a 96 mph fastball. Every pitcher so far for Los Estrellas has been in the 90's... Jay Harley just completed some research and almost every player on Los Estrellas has some minor league experience, including Double A and Triple A All-Stars.
4:36pm
We're heading to the bottom of the 8th and the Patriots are down, 10-5.
Cy Sneed is replaced by
Tyler Rockafellow after throwing 1.1 innings, giving up no runs, and striking out all four outs he recorded. Rockafellow recorded two quick outs to start the inning and just gave up a bloop single.
4:43pm
Rockafellow gave up another hard-luck single after completely sawing-off a Los Estrellas batter, breaking his bat, only to see the ball trickle through the five hole... A groundball to
Kenny Hatcher gets him out of the inning. Hatcher has made several great defensive plays today. On to the ninth!
4:55pm
Los Estrellas hold on to win, 10-5. Collins,
Ronnie Mitchell, and
Landon Anderson all collect two hits on the day.
We will pack up, load up, and head back to the hotel to shower and change before heading down the street to a church service. Coincidentally, one of our hosts for the week is a pastor at the church. Not sure if Willie will be preaching tonight or not but hopefully we will see him there. If we have internet access tomorrow during the day, I will try to post some updates from Day 3. If we don't, I will try to leave some notes after we return to the hotel for the day.
Day 3
10:16pm
I know everyone has waited with baited breath for today's update from Boca Chica – but we did not have internet access at the game this afternoon so tonight at the hotel is the first chance I have had to get on the computer. If I were to say that I've missed being over-connected to the world with internet and phone, I would be a liar. Do I miss talking with my wife? Absolutely. Do I miss my phone beeping every other minute with a new message or text or email? No. Do I realize there is a use and a place and a purpose for technology? Sure. Are we overdependent on it? I'll let you answer that for you own life. I did just have a conversation, though, with one of our players as I found him in the lobby of the hotel, secluded from his teammates, secluded from nature, secluded into his own thoughts and wants and needs and we discussed his need to stay “updated” with the people in his life and to “check in” constantly and to always have the latest information regarding culture and fads. Dr. Tim Elmore discusses this need for today's generation in some of his research and he says that kids born in the late 80's and the 90's are over-connected yet secluded by and with technology. I realize that an athletic website for a university is probably not the place to discuss the merits or arguments against his research but I think it is a great question for today's American baseball players in light of our mission trip. Why are there, per capita, more players in Major League Baseball from the Dominican Republic than any other country in the world? I think we've seen several answers to that question this week. But I digress…
Last night's church service was an awesome display of passion for God's grace. The church met in a small building around the corner from our hotel. One of the men who has acted as a guide for our trip is one of the pastors there and was kind enough to save a section of the pews for us to sit together. With us in attendance, there was an overflow crowd for this small church and several of the members sat in the alley next to the church where they could hear through the open windows. Willie, our guide, played piano during the service and spoke during the testimonial portion. Willie is a large young man and with a booming voice, he addressed the congregation and spoke of us and our trip to his country. Luckily, Dr. Bob Garrett was sitting behind me in the church and translated as Willie spoke of our team and our purpose being more than baseball. Through a chorus of Amen and Gloria a Dios, Willie thundered away at the congregation for several minutes and closed his testimony by addressing our players with this thought, “I may never see you again, but I will see you one day in heaven.”
The preaching pastor for this Sunday spoke from the book of Matthew when Jesus asked his disciples the most important question ever spoken, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” He reminded us that each of us must answer that question for our self. He went through the answers of the people of that day. They say you are a man, John the Baptist. They say you are a prophet, Elijah. The pastor reminded us that those two answers are correct. Jesus died like a man. Jesus was prophetic. And we cannot separate those from Jesus the Christ. But we must also answer and believe that He is the Son of God, risen from the grave. Our Savior. Our Helper. Amen. Gloria a Dios.
This morning was another early morning as we left the hotel at 7:00 am to serve in a rural area about thirty minutes from our hotel where the main source of income is the sugarcane fields. We went to paint a school and hold a baseball clinic and had those two destinations not been at the end of a dirt road, it would have only taken us fifteen minutes to get there. The rains and erosion made for slow travel as our buses had to avoid runoffs and large puddles to get to the school. Once we made it there, the players working the baseball clinic had another twenty minute walk because the roads were impassable by bus.
As has been the case everywhere we have gone in country, we were met with smiles and generosity at the school and at the baseball field. The paint crew of 16 players spent nearly three hours on the exterior of the school. When we left, there was only one little area near the top of the front wall that had not been finished. The baseball clinic, led by the rest of the team, lasted around two hours with the twenty minute walk making up the rest of the time to and from the paint crew.
We returned to the hotel for a quick lunch and prepared for the afternoon game against a team sponsored by the Dominican Republic Police. The field we played at is across the street from the hotel and what it lacks in amenities was more than made up for in pomp and circumstance. A play-by-play announcer worked the loud speakers in Spanish, updating everyone within four city blocks (it seemed) about the results of each pitch of our game. It took a little while to get used to announcing during the pitch but it seemed everyone was comfortable with it by the second inning. We scored four runs in the first and held on to win the nine inning game. Jordan Staples started on the mound for us and Boomer Collins reached base in all five of his plate appearances and Ronnie Mitchell and Patrick Hicks collected a couple hits apiece.
This evening, and the reason this is getting posted so late, we met as a team and guys shared their thoughts on the trip thus far. The main theme that came out of our meeting is a reminder to not let pride get in the way of our mission and our interactions with the people of the Dominican Republic. We get caught up thinking we are so blessed to be from America and that we have so much to offer the people in this nation. It ties in to what I wrote at the top of this post (which I actually wrote before our meeting). We have so much in America. We have technology. We have sports. We have money. Is that a blessing? Or do those things draw us away from communion with a holy God? It is hard to enjoy missional living, it is hard to enjoy a constant relationship with our Father when our only thought is the next email, the next meeting, the next Facebook post. Communion with God through His Son Jesus Christ? We can learn a lot from the people of the Dominican Republic.
Day 4
10:54 am
Today's game against the Licey Tigers is about to begin. Licey is the New York Yankees of the Dominican League – having won over 22 League Championships. We are playing at the New York Mets facility just outside Boca Chica where there are three fields and a large bullpen built around a quadrangle. In the middle of the quad is a tall viewing area with seats and a shelf where the New York administration can watch all four areas at one time – just like they can at the spring training facilities in the States. This will be our vantage point for Game 3 of the Dominican tour and we are surrounded by six or eight scout-looking types who are speaking Spanish and filling out reports.
11:08 am
The Patriots leave a runner on in the first after a Joel Hutter two out walk. Jake Johansen taking the mound in the bottom of the first.
11:22 am
Johansen gives up back-to-back doubles to lead off the game but holds steady to limit the damage to only one run. His first out was recorded when he struck out former Major League Player Willie Aybar on a 3-2 fastball.
11:36 am
We were just handed a roster for the Licey Tigers. In today's lineup, there are five players who have seen significant time in the MLB, including former Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa. The rest of the lineup is made up of guys who play professionally in the States, some who have had a cup of coffee in the Big Leagues.
12:01 pm
A long inning for the Patriots leads to a 6-0 deficit but it wasn't as bad as it looks on paper. An error in the inning, five seeing-eye singles, and a bloop double score the five runs for Licey.
12:45 pm
Michael Miller pitches two innings, striking out three, walking one, and allowing one run.
1:20 pm
Tyler Wilhelm just threw the bottom of the sixth inning – the first three up-three down inning for the Patriots on the day.
1:28 pm
Logan Brumley picks up the first RBI for the Patriots with a single past the first baseman to score Ryan Behmanesh, who reached on a walk.
2:09 pm
Patriots fall to Licey, 11-1. Hatcher, Hutter, Anderson, and Brumley pick up the only hits for DBU.
8:51 pm
We just returned to the hotel from Santo Domingo where we toured the Colonial Zone and looked around a fortress that was built in the 1500's. The guys were able to buy some curiosos and barter with the vendors so we learned business skills during our visit – although some guys are better businessmen than others.
A couple thoughts circulated in my mind as we drove the thirty minutes back from to Boca Chica. One, Dr. Bob Garrett reminded us the other night, “Different is just different. It's not good, it's not bad. It's just different.” Santo Domingo is different than the United States. The second thought is a quote from Ron Wolforth, an innovative pitching coach from the Houston area. Last year as the coaching staff visited with him he said, “Awareness in and of itself is curative.” I think our awareness in the United States is lower than the people of the Dominican Republic. I go to my refrigerator and get a cup of water. I never have to think about it making me sick. When I get a green light on the road, I feel fairly sure I can proceed through the intersection. Here, those fair certainties do not exist for us as outsiders. The rules of the road. The source of our food. We have to be vigilant about what is going on around us. That should be a good parallel to our faith life as well. We are strangers in this world. Engage with what is going on around you, be vigilant, and press on toward the goal.
Day 5
9:55 am
The final game of our Dominican trip has begun. Austin Elkins is leading off for the Patriots and grounds out to second.
Today we are playing at the Phillies complex outside Boca Chica against a team made up of younger players who have not yet started at La Academia. It is starting to get warm but is a beautiful, sunny day.
Ronnie Mitchell reached on a strikeout/E2 and Landon Anderson just singled sharply to right center to put runners on first and third with one out.
A sacrifice fly by Joel Hutter scores Mitchell and Anderson moves up to second on the throw.
A Ryan Behmanesh walk sets up a double steal to score Anderson from third and now a Patrick Hicks' double down the left field line scores Behmanesh. 3-0 Patriots.
11:14 am
The Patriots have scored a bunch of runs on some hits, errors, and walks. Jay Calhoun completed three innings of work and allowed no runs on no hits while striking out three and walking two. 12-0 Patriots after three.
2:00 pm
We win the final game of our trip a lot to zero. Several players had multiple hit games and obviously no pitcher gave up any runs.
8:46 pm
This afternoon, we had the opportunity to run a baseball clinic across the street from our hotel where we played the other afternoon. This clinic was special, though, because it was set up by Willie – the guy who spoke about us at church the other day. Coach Heefner reminded our players before this clinic started that The Great Commission commands us to “Go into all the world… teaching.” Mission trips are great because they allow you to meet and share Christ's love with many people. We have the common language of baseball to use to love on these kids we've met this week. Today, we had an opportunity to get these kids plugged in to a church in their area that can continue to help them grow and mature in their faith and to love on them after we leave. At each clinic we have held this week – at the orphanage, in the sugarcane fields, in Boca Chica – we have six stations. One of the stations is DBU Baseball Players working through Chris Holloway and Dr. Bob Garrett to share their testimonies and stories about the love of Christ and the importance of a relationship with God the Father. Today, not only did they get to speak about their story, Willie got to speak about his church and hopefully some of the kids will take the opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded people and then those kids will take opportunities to share their faith with the people around them. How awesome would it be if Boca Chica, Dominican Republic became a hotbed for Christianity and started a revolution in this country? How awesome would it be if Big Willie used baseball to send out missionaries amongst the people? Pray for that. Pray for Boca Chica. Pray for Willie, and for Sam, and for David Franco. Pray that God would stir up a revolution in La Republica Dominicana.
Day 6
5:08 pm, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean
Many adjectives can describe our trip to the Dominican Republic. Many thoughts, words, pictures, and stories will remain with us for the rest of our lives. It is probably cliché to say the trip did more for us than it did for the people of the Dominican Republic – but it may be true.
The players are tired. Three camps and four games in five days can wear a body down. This morning, they got up early and went through a workout on the beach… Dominican style. Coconuts as line markers, running in the sand, running in the water, maxing out their bodies in order to get their best out of the talent God has blessed them with. Would it have been easier to sleep in, get up for breakfast, and then load the buses? No doubt. Would that have helped them reach their ultimate goal as a baseball player? I doubt it. They had to make a decision this morning. Coach asked them to go to the beach to work out. Did they have to go? They'll tell you yes. But they had a decision to make: they could either go down to the beach, take off their shoes and socks, give a half effort and try to fool the coaches into thinking they were working hard - or – they could delay the simple gratification of lying in bed and give full effort on the beach knowing the reward of that effort will be more gratifying than an extra half hour of sleep.
We each have that decision to make in our faith life, also. Did the players have to come to the Dominican Republic during their Fall Break? They will tell you yes. But they had a decision to make. Give half-effort, get through the week without risking much, and return home – or- engage with the people around them, engage with their own body and soul, and engage daily in a personal relationship with the Father. Which is easier? Which has a greater reward? Coach Heefner tells the players often that discipline is delayed gratification. Give up something simple now to enjoy a greater reward later. It is an easy parallel to draw between baseball and faith life, baseball and marriage, baseball and family. Our prayer is that the discipline these guys showed on this mission trip and the discipline they show in baseball will carry over into every aspect of their life – especially their relationship with God the Father through faith in His Son, Jesus.
The players did great this week. They persevered outside their customary parameters of daily life. They engaged strangers will smiles and handshakes. They fought through tired bodies and tired minds to think outside their own wants and desires to truly think of others first. They lived open-handed and transparent lives with their teammates, with our hosts, and with the children of Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, and the sugar cane fields of the Dominican Republic. May God grant that this discipline and authenticity permeate every aspect of their lives as they continue in the mission field of daily life.
