Today was another great day at the Highlands. It is 4pm right now and the Shaheen family is totally worn out. I guess that is how you know that it was a good day. Two separate groups of kids came to our field in order to play some baseball and get some love (agape). One team, from Boca Chica, was strong, fast and very experienced. The other team, from Juan Dolio, had their first practice Wednesday here at the Highlands and struggles with figuring out how to use the equipment. Team Juan Dolio was created by me and Nate Jude (he pastors a SCORE church in Juan Dolio) two weeks ago when we ran into each other and starting talking about the FCA/Score ministry. When I asked Nate about teams in Juan Dolio his answer was, "what teams?" That of course led us to think of an opportunity at his church to start a team. Jackpot! We spoke several times over the next few weeks, had sign-ups at his church, and then had our first practice Wednesday morning (the kids go to school in the afternoon).
Nate Jude (white shirt) and Cristian (teen helping me)
That brings us to today. I had the idea that maybe we should invite our friends from Boca Chica to the Highlands Saturday to play Juan Dolio and see what type of talent we really have here. Well, suffice it to say, the game lasted one inning and we decided to mix the teams and have some fun. We had to share gloves, catchers gear, and some bats because we have run out of equipment here at the Highlands. Our last baseball group came the first week in August and the storage container was full, but the need here is far greater. The sharing added to the mixing effect and the 2 hour game was a lot of fun. The Juan Dolio boys got a lot better as the game went on. I believe after 3 or 4 months of practice and games they will improve so much that they will compete with a powerhouse like Boca Chica or San Pedro de Macoris. On that note, the Coach of Boca Chica, Luis Hernandez, told me that he will come to our Wednesday practices and help out. Wow, that is great news. He is a good man (and believer) that does a lot for young men and kids.
Luis Hernandez
After the game, I had a new friend from the San Fransisco Giants, Victor Aquino, and his wife Judie come to the game and speak afterward. Judie speaks to children at church a lot and Victor obviously coaches youn men at clinics and camps. They did a great job sharing the Gospel with these boys in a way that kept their attention and got them to interact during the stories. 9 boys (aged 9-13years old) made commitments to start a relationship with Jesus. Amazing! We gave them New Testaments and made sure that they would receive help with attending church and meeting other believers in their community. After the games and Gospel, Victor and his family along with Ezekiel and Mikkie (young men I am mentoring) went swimming with us and came over to the house for some lunch. It was a great time of fellowship and eating great food (Jodi's Taco Soup). One of the best parts of the day came when Victor (Giants coach) asked me if we could meet once or twice per week for fellowship and English/Spanish practice. His goal is to get to the States in the Giants organization and so he needs to know English. Spanish is going well for me right now but this will definitely help me even more.
Judie and Victor Aquino and their son
One of my favorite poems by John Spurgeon:
Job or Ministry
A job is at your choice...
a ministry is at Christ's call
In a job you expect to receive...
in a ministry you expect to give.
In a job you give something to receive something...
in a ministry you return something that has already been given to you.
A job depends on your ability...
a ministry depends on your availability to God.
A job done well brings you praise...
a ministry done well brings honor to Christ Jesus.
Here is a video of today's events
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