It’s Clear Now Why We Are Here

                 In two and a half days it has been clear to me and everyone involved with the ministry down here that FCA was placed with perfect timing.  I read the FCA vision and mission statement over and over the weeks leading up to our departure.  The mission and vision are pretty straightforward…To see the world impacted for Jesus Christ and through the influence of athletes and coaches and To present to athletes and coaches and all whom they influence the challenge and adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, serving Him in their relationships and in the fellowship of the church.  What was not straightforward and has not been until now, was what that meant for the Dominican Republic and for me and my family in particular.  It is one of my duties as an FCA staff member to design my plan for the year in the month of “July.”  I put quotes around July for a reason that you will come to understand later.  The past 72 hours have been an amazing testament to the fact that God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)  As we wake up each day asking God to: Show me your ways, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25) …God listens and blesses us with situations that can bring Him glory and those around us closer to him.

 The basketball group from TN

 Here we are with Adrienne Christian who is here for a couple of months this summer as an intern for Score.

 Here is one of the facilities on our compound.

Here we are with our new friends here from a church from TN

Michael working on his Spanish with the guards

                On Saturday morning I had a meeting scheduled with a Pastor named Aby.  He is the Lead Pastor for Score International and is in charge of planting churches.  He has already been the leader of 5 church plants in a few years.  Along with Aby at the meeting were going to be several of his pastors of the church plants along with sports (baseball) leaders in the community.  What ended up happening was a church filled with all of those people I just wrote about and about one hundred others in the community in San Pedro de Macoris (baseball capital of the world).  I had the pleasure and honor to be able to stand in front of this large group and tell me story along with the vision of FCA in the Dominican Republic.  After giving a 15 minute summary, I prayed for the community and answered any questions.  It went extremely well and many of the pastors and coaches in the church community are eager to get the “ball rolling” with FCA.  It is clear that baseball can be used as a platform in a town that has had “79” Major Leaguers.  Yes, 79 MLB players from one town.  From Rico Cardy to Robinson Cano.  Even more clear is the fact that Aby has done an amazing job spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to an area in need.  It is clear now why we are here!

                [Side note: Yesterday the people of the Greater Santo Domingo area announced that they are going to perform a strike on Monday because the price for fuel is way too high and they cannot afford public transportation to get to work each day.  On our way to church in Santo Domingo yesterday (Sunday) a riot broke out on the highway as we were driving through Boca Chica.  About 100 yards in front of me I could see 20 young men throw tires and big rocks on the road in front of us in order to block our way into the city.  Scary.  I had my family and Jonah Huff and Austin Galloway with me.  We had to turn around and drive the wrong direction on the highway for 200 feet until we could get on the correct side.  It ended up a blessing because we got to attend a local Boca Chica church and it was wonderful.]

                This morning I found out that one of our FCA teams was going to play in downtown Boca Chica at 9am.  Great news!  Downtown BC is just a few miles away from my house.  I drove Ezekial and Javier (my new Dominican teenage friends) to the game so that they could play with FCA.  I also brought Jonah and Austin so that they could talk to Dominicans at the field.  It ended up being a great opportunity for the ministry and the handiwork of God.  I had the honor of meeting the two main coaches in the community (who happen to be Christians) and we talked about how I can help their programs.  It was so much fun getting to know them and hearing their testimonies.  I invited them to our facility for a clinic and opened up the door for FCA to be involved at their ballpark and with their coaches/players in the future.  Very exciting!  One of the coaches, Willie, told me that he has been working hard to witness to the young men on his teams and invites them to church all the time.  That was great to hear.  Again, it is clear why we are here.

               

                I am now going to tell you about something I am still not totally over with.  I am still in awe of the situation.  It’s one of those situations that you have to believe in Christ after hearing it.  It started three months ago when a man named Eliezer (pronounced El ee say) Lembert emailed Bob Wiedemann in the USA from the DR.  The email basically stated that he had heard of FCA and wanted help.  He said he was a pastor and coach and needed help asap.  Three months ago I was swamped with baseball, finishing school, moving and making getting rid of my stuff.  Although I was intrigued by the email and kept it in my inbox, I definitely put it on the back burner.  I figured that I could get back to it when we actually live in the DR.  Well, the emails never stopped.  He then asked for my phone number and started calling me a few days ago to tell me he would like to meet.  Of course I had no issue with that and invited him to the Highlands for lunch scheduled for today.  What I am about to write now is in no way exaggerated.  After being stood up for lunch, I figured he just could not get here because of the strike.  Then, I heard a knock on my door and it was one of our guards telling me that Eliezer was at the gate.  I told him to tell him to drive on up. Of course he has a car, right?  Wrong!  He walked from the gate to the door and I started walking down toward him.  I did not see a vehicle other than a moped motorcycle driving away.  I greeted him, hugged him, and asked him how he got to the house.  He told me that he took a taxi from town.  (Taxis in the DR are moped motorcycles)  Ok, that’s ok, he must have been dropped off in town by his friend.  Nope.  He took taxis from the capital (30 minute car ride) to my house.  Alright, that is not too bad, right?  You wait and see.  I saw that he was sweating profusely and tired so I gave him some mango juice and snacks.  After several minutes of just chatter talk, I asked him where he came from.  Ah, here goes…  He told me that he took buses (3) for 5 hours yesterday in order to get to the capital where he could stay one night with a friend.  He told me that he lived in a community that is a 3 minutes car ride to HAITI!  WWWWhhhhhhhhhhhat?   “That is amazing”, I said with my mouth open wide.  I of course them asked him how many days he was going to stay with his friend in the capitol, because of course, he must be making this trip into a vacation, right?  Ah, wrongo again!  He was just going to stay the night to sleep at his friend’s house and then go back to his community that needs him.  He came all the way from the Haitian border 5 hours on 5 buses over two days in order to meet with me for 2 hours and start a relationship.  WOW.  God, are you kidding me?  Is this true?  The two hours I spent with this young man was tremendous.  He comes from a community in the undeveloped part of the country out west.  His community loves sports but does not have the resources to play at a high level against other communities.  Moreover, he told me that he needs someone (or many) to come to his community and teach the coaches about how to use baseball and basketball as a platform for Jesus Christ.  By the time we were done meeting, I had our head of evangelical ministry at the Highlands Eddy Jesus working with me to set up an opportunity for us to go out there to train them with the possibility of their whole youth group (60) coming here for a retreat later in the Fall.  Eddy was amazed too.  It was a great two hours.  The best moment came when I offered Eliezer equipment, baseballs, or uniforms.  His answer was truly humbling, “No, I just came here to meet you and start a relationship that will last a long time.  My community needs it.” 

Today Bob Wiedemann (FCA Director in GA) and one of our FCA teams went to San Pedro de Macoris to play against a team there.  Bob sought out the coach of the opposing team and decided to ask him a few questions about his faith.  After a several minutes talking about each other’s stories, the coach whose name is July (pronounced Julie), broke down and told Bob he has had enough of living the way he is.  Bob basically laid it all out on the table for July and asked him if he wanted to give up that life.  July said yes and later after prayer and petition, asked God to come into his heart.  Amazing!   I was later told that July had been witnessed to hundreds of times over the past 5 years but never was willing to “give up his life.”  What he is now realizing is that he just received his life back because he was willing to give it up.  July received the greatest gift of all in July.  Folks, it is very clear now why we are here.