That is what is printed on the front of the new FCA DR t-shirts we had made up for the coaches clinic in April. I stole the idea from the school I taught at prior to this ministry (Wesleyan - JOY banner) and the motto on the t-shirts of a million football teams across the country (TEAM me). The idea is that God comes first, others around us come second, and then we are last. I really like the idea of the "I am second" ministry, but never really bought into being second. At Wesleyan, I really enjoyed using the Biblical model of "JOY", Jesus first, others second, and yourself last. In that context, we are last (or third). Either way, the point is clear, Jesus is first. When we surrender our lives and put Jesus at the forefront, we become slaves to the one and only righteous King. When we become His slave (instead of a slave to sin), we will find joy in our hearts each and evry moment, no matter the circumstances.
Today was such a blessing for me. From the outside it may have seemed like the typical Thursday. I ate breakfast and had Bible study with a bunch of players. After the Bible study, we went to the to preach the same message of the Bible study to 50+ players at the local field in Boca Chica. After the meeting with the team, we ate lunch together at a empanada restaurant. At approximately 12:30, we jump in the truck and head for San Jose in order to play basebll and softball witht he kids and adults. At the end of the play time, Willie usually preaches a message to the locals at San Jose. When I get back from San Jose I have a few hours to play with Wyman and Gracie and make them dinner. At about 7:30pm, the kids go to bed and a bunch of coaches come over for Bible study. Then I usually spend a little time telling Jodi how awesome the Bible study was with these coaches. That is a typical Thursday.
Today, it was different. One of my former players from Wesleyan Will Anderson is staying with us for a few days and he joined me and the boys for breakfast and Bible study The topic of the Bible study was "One thing". The main scripture from the topic was from Luke 10:38-42. We have all heard the story of Martha and Mary before. I really enjoyed talking with these guys about these verses from scripture. Martha's focus was on a lot of things like cleaning and cooking and making sure the house is in good condition for someone she is a real "fan" of. Mary, on the other hand, was overcome with joy as her Savior was in her presence for only a short periods of time. She was no fan of Jesus. She was a follower. I can recall so many times in my life where I had so many things that were more important than Jesus. It's easy to do when you are just a "fan". It was especially amazing to have my American friend, Will, take part in the study and enjoy being with my new friends. He did a great job following the study in spanish (only two years of spanish at Wesleyan) and talking about his heart. After the study with the boys, we went of to the baseball field. Usually I stand in front of 50+ players that are seated in the stands and preach a message. Today, there was a truck with 10 enormous speakers in the back blaring the same song (about the Presidential candidate Danilo) over and over. If that were tough enough, it was raining pretty hard. Instead of canceling, I looked at it as an opportunity to be really loud. I spent about 30 minutes screaming about Luke 10 (Martha and Mary) and the difference between one thing and a lot of things. It was hard, but fun. I am not sure if I will have a voice tomorrow, but it was worth it.
Usually in the afternoon on Thursdays we go to San Jose to play baseball with the kids. When we play baseball with the kids we always invite every kid to play, but unfortunately some of the girls feel overwhelmed being wih the boys. Today was different. Luis and I brought two girls from Luis' team in Boca Chica in order to teach the girls of San Jose (only girls) how to play softball. We brought a bunch of gloves, bats and balls for all the girls to use. It was amazing! The girls were laughing and smiling the whole time we played softball. We ended the softball time with a little game and they loved it. I was so proud of those girls (Beba, Nana, Julie, Beronica, Naroli, Erika, Mimi, Alondra, etc...). I am so excited for Lindsay Emerich to come to the DR for two months in the summer and play softball with these girls. I need to start looking into uniforms.
After softball and stickball with the boys, it started to rain again really hard. That became a great opportunity for Willie to preach to 50+ people crammed into a really small dugout about Noah and his ark. Willie did such a great job painting a clear picture of Noah's faith. All of the people in the dugout seemed really attentive to the message. Jeff and Lee Anderson accompanied Will and I to San Jose and they did a great job playing with the kids. They will always get to say that they attended San Jose's first softball practice. They even got to eat some guayaba from the trees. On the way home it really started to rain hard. Will and Jeff were in the back of the truck and got pelted by rain for a good 20 minutes. It was good father/son bonding time.
After a quiet dinner with Jodi and the kids, I started to realize that we would probably not have the Bible study for coaches. All the coaches either own a motocycle or would take one as a taxi for the Bible study and it was raining pretty hard and it looked like it could rain all night. After Jodi, the kids and I made some homemade cookies, we tucked them in, said our prayers, and the kids went to bed. I then tunred my computer on and tuned into to Sox-Yankees spring training game (yes, that's right, I watch spring training over NCAA basketball). at about 8pm, one hour after the typical time we start Bible study, I heard a knock on the door. It was Miguel Cedeno, one of the coaches from our Bible study. He did not get the memo that it is way too rainy to have Bible study. I was clearly unprepared and dazed and confused, but extremely excited to see him. After some juice and some pleasantries, we sat down and began to talk about several things including John Piper's book, "Don't Waste your Life", our influence as coaches in Boca Chica, and the topic from the earlier Bible Studies, "One Thing". We spent a good hour and a half talking and praying. It was awesome! It is amazing how much you can learn about someone when you talk about faith, one on one.
What a day, huh? Sometimes it just feels like I am dreaming. Our life down here is so different. We are so blessed that God called us to the DR to be with or friends down here. Our lives have changed so much. What we once deemed important, we now look at as insignificant. Serving and spending quality time with people in San Jose, Boca Chica and Juan Dolio has been a blessing I cannot quantify. We feel so much JOY each day we are focused on Him. Thanks be to God!
Willie sharing in front of the dugout in the pouring rain.
Luis leading the first softball practice and game in San Jose.
Stickball in the street after Bible study.
Bob Worthington horsing around with the kids of El Penon.
Wyman swimming in the lake in San Jose with the local boys. Not sure if it is clean, but they are having fun anyway.
Will Worthington, my cousin Tony, Charlie (Will's friend) and Omar are playing a friendly game of Dominos in San Jose.
A bunch of Americans ready for worship in san Jose in spanish.
Jeff Anderson helping Armandi with his swing.
15 kids stand up and make the decision to live their life with Jesus.
The big hurt Willie Martinez hitting some frozen ropes at the beach.
