On June 28, 2011 we arrived in the Dominican Republic and one year later here is what the good Lord
 has blessed us with.....

 

Leaving a Mark

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
                                                                                        Galatians 2:20


An imprint is a permanent mark.  It is an engraving, etching, impression or inscription.  Every time we compete, parent, coach or work, we leave an imprint.  It can be either a good impression or a bad one, but that is up to us.  The ultimate question is not whether we have left a good or bad imprint, but whether we have left an imprint of ourselves or of JESUS.  It is so true that a person walking with Jesus will never leave an imprint of himself or herself, but only the imprint of Jesus.

Holt Rowland left an imprint in this world, not for himself, but for JESUS.  I did not have to get this put on the outfield wall in Boca Chica for us to know that. 

I cannot tell you how exciting it is to have a public field in Boca Chica that serves thousands of people with dugouts proclaiming God's grace.

He is the only way, truth and life.  Now, every team that plays at Ozoria field can read it.

Cristian, one of the players on Miguel Cedeno's team (FCA DR), gives his testimony to American players from Battleground Academy.  Cristian emphasized the joy he lives with in His walk with JESUS.  He left the imprint of JESUS.

Me, Miguel, Luis, Amandi and Jeurelin took a trip out west to Haiti.  My hope is that we left the imprint of JESUS, not ourselves.  Althought the Haitians received water filters in the past (thank you Craig), and possible food in the future, our hope is that they receive JESUS.  He is the bread and water of real life.



A note from our friends at SERV International

"It is rare these days to see a family give up the creature comforts and quality of life that suburban U.S.A. living offers.  For Mike and Jodi it seems like there was no other choice, some would say a life calling.  What an amazing thing it is to see a couple pour out their heart in service for a people that just a few years prior they had never met.  It is incredible to see the ministry progress and the personal influence that Mike and Jodi have achieved in such a short time.  Working with them in the Dominican Republic has been such a joy and we are honored to call them partners in ministry.

-Steve Kasha, founder of SERV International & Joe Garcia, president of SERV International

 

We are so blessed to have partners here in the DR that love Jesus and live intentionally.  We are extremely excited about the programs that we plan to work together on and we will continue to pray that God has his hands all over it.

                                                                                              - Mike and Jodi

Appreciate our so many Blessings

A note from the Garvins:

     We were greatly blessed to spend a large portion of our spring break with the Shaheen's in the Dominican Republic.  What a privilege it was!  We were able to witness first hand the Lord working mightily in their midst.  It is obvious - around every turn - that the Lord is using them in great ways among the Dominican people.  Even though they have really only been there a short period of time, the Shaheen's have totally embraced the Dominican culture....and the Dominicans have totally embraced them as well!

     Of course, the love of Jesus knows no language barriers!  Mike, Jodi, Wyman, and Grace are showering their Savior's love on anyone to whom they come into contact.  They open up their home and their hearts at all hours of the day and night extending food, drink, funds, Bible study, instruction, and a love for baseball.  It is cool how a common bond of a particular sport can open doors that would otherwise be closed!  Dominicans can be seen on every street corner, on every vacant field, on every sidewalk playing baseball.....and then a little more baseball!  

      God has prepared, equipped, and destined Mike and Jodi for such a ministry as this!  We would highly encourage you to pay them a visit....not for their benefit but for yours!  You can then get a glimpse of Almighty God at work!  It will be well worth your time!  You will come home with a greater desire to serve Jesus with a willing / sold-out heart!!  You will also come home appreciating your country, your home, your shoes, your electricity, your drinking water, your indoor plumbing, your trash collection, and your mail service....just to name a few!!

Pizza at our favorite place Niccolo's

Greg, Angela & Colton Garvin

Change of Pace + Change in Place = Change in Perspective

A note from Bob Worthington (Dunwoody, GA) about his trip to the DR in April 2012:

“Recently my 21 year old son and I traveled to the DR, along with another father/son team, to witness and experience the FCA Baseball ministry there.  I expected to see poverty, and we did.  I expected to see baseball being played with a passion and fervor, and we did.  And, I expected to see Mike and Jodi investing themselves daily into the lives of local men, women, and children with the purpose of spreading God’s love and grace in their community, and we did.  But the effect that these observations had on me was quite different than I had envisioned.  In their poverty I saw an ability of the Dominicans to find happiness in “the simple things” which left me humbled and disappointed in my own sense of priorities.  Through their approach to playing baseball, I became reminded of the days when we played the game for the purist of reason…because we loved it.  The games were played as just that, they were simply games.  The kids shared gloves (where gloves were available) with the opposing teams, settled their own close calls, and never seemed to be too concerned with the score or inning.  They just wanted the sun to never go down and end their game!  It was refreshing to watch them come and leave as friends who would need one another tomorrow for another game to take place.  But, most of all, I was amazed by the platform for Christian discipleship which the Shaheens had found in the DR, and by their unbridled passion to serve as missionaries for Christ!  Their daily drive to grow this platform and expand the mission was and is awe-inspiring to me, and I cannot find words which adequately express my feelings in this regard.  Some things must be seen and not just heard to be properly conveyed.  Finally, as a Christian I know intuitively that God is omnipresent.  But for me I felt closer to Him and to my son during my days in the DR than I had ever felt.  Perhaps it was because of a sudden appreciation for all my earthly possessions?  Perhaps it was through my experiencing of a simpler and less intensive daily rigor, allowing more quality time for God and my son?  Or perhaps it was because I was not distracted by man’s creation from truly seeing the natural beauty of God’s creation?  I suspect it was some of each, and more.   I honestly can’t say.  But what was clear, crystal clear, was that God was in the DR and He was diligently at work through FCA Baseball and His faithful servants, the Shaheens!   I would STRONGLY suggest to anyone who is capable of doing so to accept Mike’s and Jodi’s generosity and go visit them.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                -Bob Worthington

Thanks be to God!  Jodi and I  are so grateful that God put us here and that we are friends with Bob and his family.  All are welcome to come visit and spend some time in the ministry.

Blessed

This is my "to go" bag.  Everywhere I go I need to be prepared to share a devotion with a group of coaches or players.  FCA Devotional and FCA New Testament (both in espanol)

Spent Friday morning with the Mayor of Boca Chica.  He is a big baseball fan and also a fan of the FCA ministry in Boca Chica.  I gave him an FCA armband and a childrens "Espiritu de Beibol" by Trot Nixon's wife Kathryn.  He loved both gifts.  He told me his family owns a lot of land near the Marlins baseball academy and they would sell it to FCA in the future if we ever wanted to build an academy or Boys/Girls club.  That is definitely a dream of mine.  Also in the picture: the mayor's assistant, Nino, Willie and Luis.

Our first coaches dinner/Bible study after the conference.  20 people showed up for "Dumplins de Willie" and the word of God.  We are planning on having it every other Thursday in the classroom next to "la cancha" (basketball/volleyball court) in Boca Chica.  This is what it is all about.  Discipleship, discipleship, discipleship!

Here are the 7 guys that stepped forward at the end of the conference and stated that they want to surrender to the Lord and spend eternity with Him.  The two middle guys are from Boca Chica and they attended the first Bible study after.

Willie and Miguel taking a picture with bunch of our new friends from Tanquesito near Baseball City.  David, their coach (red shirt), is a believer and wants us to come support him each Friday with a study with his team.  Really cool opportunity.

Team Juan Dolio and Team San Jose together after their game.  We are having blast with these kids.  Just think, last October, not one of these kids played on a baseball team.  It has really been a huge blessing to all of us to see the growth in this program.  Both teams are supported spiritually by their Pastors (Nathan and Craig/Omar) and the churches.  All these players attend church every Sunday usually with their mother and other family members.

Rogelio and Ti Ti.  Rogelio had some great hits in the big game.  He is always smiling and I love it.

Angelito and Gayron (HiRon).  It is great to see the two teams get along and play hard.  The coaches are doing a great job making sure the players understand good sportsmanship.

How amazing does this field look now?  This was the cow pasture you saw in January.  Thank you God for this blessing.  This field will be used to glorify You only.

Wyman just got a double and is waiting for the next guy to knock him in.  I was happy to see Wyman play with the little guys (7-9 yr old).  He still has much more fun climbing the trees.

Mimi learning how to pitch the softball with Miguel.  We are trying really hard to work with the girls too.  I will be happy when Lindsay comes in June and July.  These girls deserve to have a coach and time on the field.  If you know any women that is looking to do sports ministry, have her call me asap.

All thanks goes to God.  He is has had his hands all over this ministry from the start.  The Shaheens are blessed in a big way each day.  May God continue to work though the FCA ministry in Dominican Republic.



So Much to be Thankful For

Let me just say that I use the saying "bittersweet" all the time.  I have never used it and meant it in such a big way.

Last week, FCA DR (The Shaheen Family, Luis Hernandez, Willie Martinez and newby Miguel Terrero) hosted the first annual (or bi-annual) baseball coach's conference at the Highlands.  We hosted 60+ coaches from Hato Mayor, La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris, Boca Chica and Santo Domingo from Wednesday to Saturday.  It ended up being everything and more than we could have imagined.  God was in control of the whole conference and He was praised and worshipped the every moment.  I would like to write down some of the highlights from the 4 days.

* Boston Red Sox pitching instructor Amaury Telemaco (Dominican, played 8 years in Big League) started us out on Wednesday night with a great message about doing everything for God's glory.  He grew up in a batey with 8 brothers and sisters near La Romana and became a very good player.  He spoke about Jesus for the whole time and gave his testimony.  We did a Q&A after so that the coaches could ask baseball questions.  Amaury and I started what hopes to be a great and long relationship. 

* We split the coaches up into 6 small groups (Bible studies).  We met 7 times in our small groups in order to study a particular topic from the FCA Devotional or to discuss what a speaker shared.  The small group meeting after watching the movie "Courageous" was particularly emotional and special.  I have no problem saying that this was the best and most significant part of the clinic along with the Praise and Worship each night.  Many coaches came up to me after the small group meetings and asked for more time in those groups. 

* Two speakers in particular were especially significant because they were not even scheduled.  Going into the conference we did not have one clinic spot covered.  I was not sure what to do, but I knew God would provide the answer at some point.  Well, he did.  After talking with Amaury Telemaco over dinner Wednesday night, I asked him if he knew someone who could come last minute.  Guess what?  He did.  He ended up sending us Wilton Veras who played a bunch of years for the Red Sox at 3rd base and outfield.  Wilton now coaches for the Sox in the DR and is also a disciple of Jesus Christ like Amaury.  Wilton, like Amaury, shared his heart for an hour and then answered some good questions.  Both men were very intentional about their faith.  The other really special situation came when I bumped into the strength and conditioning coach for the SF Giants academy team.  I already knew he is a disciple of Jesus and shares his testimony all the time.  I asked if he would like to share a message with the coaches before lunch Friday and he said, "Claro que si" (that means 'of course").  His name is Soriano and he did an amazing job sharing about his faith journey.  Two huge blessings!

* Other speakers: Luis Silvestre (Hitting), Pedro de la Cruz (Infield), Gus Hernandez (Baserunning), David Franco (Mental Side of Game) and Mike Shaheen (Pitching - who is he?) did a fine job presenting baseball drills and also sharing their heart.  Every coach that I spoke to during the conference said that they learned a lot and enjoy how each coach shared their faith.

* Watching "Courageous", swimming in the pool, and playing a softball game were moments of fun and opportunities for all the coaches to spend quality time together.  Many great conversations about family, team and food were held before, during and after those events.  The loser of the softball game had to bring the winning team their dinner after the game.  That was fun.  I love playing for something and competing.

* My 3 FCA DR leaders did an amazing job supporting me throughout the clinic.  Miguel, our newest staff member, spent the whole conference doing the dirty work.  Anything I needed him to do, he did.  Great job, Miguel!  Luis played a huge role in being the dorm leader and person in charge when I was not there. (I will write later about why I had to poke my head out for a few moments)  Thank you, Luis!  Willie did an amazing job as a small group leader and as our big presenter on Friday night.  He shared about some of the trials in his life and how God rescued him.  Willie's presence is huge figuratively and literally.  Everyone loves being around him.  His wife is pregnant and sick and yet he still helped out a lot.  Thank you, Willie!  Just an overall great team effort.

*  I would also like to thank Eddy Jesus, Gus Hernandez, Craig McClure and Omar Altagracia.  Eddy was the MC of the whole clinic and did an amazing job.  He is very funny and very good at presenting to any types of groups.  Eddy finished us off with a great Gospel message on Saturday morning.  Thank you, Eddy!  Gus is the leader of the Highlands facility and is the former head baseball coach at Tennessee Temple.  He did an amazing job running the show, presenting baserunning, and sharing a devotion to all the coaches.  Thank you, Gus!  Craig and Omar are the Pastors in San Jose.  They have always been there for me whenever I have needed them.  They are selfless men that love Jesus.  They are true servants.  Omar led our praise and worship, which by the way, rocked.  Every coach was singing praises and rocking it out.  Thank you, Omar!  Craig did a 5 star job presenting the topic of love on Saturday morning.  Craig looks like he should be playing bass for Whitesnake, but leads a church better than anyone I know.  Craig's biggest moment at the clinic was actually not at the clinic.  That leads me back to the beginning of this write up about it being bitter-sweet.  Clearly the clinic was sweet.  It was amazing.  7 men made commitments and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.  I am so excited to spend time with those guys.

*  Ok, so what was bitter?  Well, my baby girl, Gracie, became really ill on Wednesday night.  Yes, of course that would happen the opening night of the conference.  After a whole night of vomitting, Jodi took Grace to the clinic/hospital Thursday morning.  Craig (my hero) went with Jodi because he is fluent in spanish and also very knowledgeable about Dominican life.  I am so thankful that Craig was willing to spend a whole day with my love and my little girl.  He did a great job.  After spending a night with Grace in the hospital (not sleeping), I went to the conference and taught about pitching.  It was a great achievement in my life (haha).  Grace got better and came home Friday afternoon.  I was so worried about my little girl and am so thankful that God took care of us in that scary moment. I also want to especially thank Whitney Franco (wife of David - speaker) for watching Wyman while Jodi and I were tending to Grace and the Clinic.  Whitney, you are awesome!

*  I am so thankful that we have an amazing God.  He is so faithful.  I am so grateful that He has allowed us to live here in the DR and spend each day "recruiting" people for Christ.  Jodi and I have so many great people that God has placed in our lives here. 

*  Every coach that attended the conference received free bus rides, 8 meals, room and board, swimming, softball, speakers, a movie, a shirt, devotional, New Testament and an armband all for free. I am so thankful to those people that support this ministry so that we could pay for this clinic.

Here is a video that Jodi made using the pictures from the conference.  She will replace this video with a better one (video footage) on a later date:

Church and Baseball: A Match Made in Heaven

                      So last week I was talking with Jimmy (the player/coach) of the adult team in San Jose.  I asked him how his Sunday games were going against the neighboring village (Blanco).  He told me that Blanco stopped playing San Jose a few weeks earlier and started playing a different village.  I asked why and he told me that San Jose had won the last 5 or 6 Sundays in a row.  Wow.  I told him that is unfortunate that they decided to go somewhere else even though they have had a tradition of playing every Sunday for many years.  After several minutes of small talk, I asked Jimmy if it would be ok for me to bring a team to play his team each Sunday after church in San Jose.  Jimmy told me that would be great and I was excited.  Now was the hard part.  I needed to find at least 9 different guys that could play the 9 different positions.  A bunch of the young men at my Bible studies are pitchers and I know that they will want to play.  For a few days, I set out and asked young men that I thought were either Christians or at least "good kids" to play this Sunday.  After several days of recruiting, we had a team of 13 players, only 4 of which were pitchers.  Perfect!  Not only were they going up to San Jose for a game against some pretty good adult players, but they were also going to a church service first.  I was pretty excited that 13 young men committed to spend the day in San Jose with me on Sunday.  Below are a series of pictures from the day.  We ended up winning the game in 5 innings 7-4, because of rain, but that was not the best part.  The best two parts were that fact that all 13 young men worship our Lord and Savior before the game in a tiny church, and served the community after the game by working on the field in the rain.  It was glorious.  God is so good!



13 strong piling into the Nissan Frontier.  We are ready for some Praise and Worship and then some baseball.

The kids were cheering while using the truck as a jungle gym.





Luis calling balls and strikes.  He did a great job of "ringing players up."

Yeurelin worshipping in his new game jersey.  Juan 3:30

Boston fans may like their Fenway Franks, but those dogs cannot compete with a 20 pound catfish in the 3rd inning.

The rain may have stopped the game, but we were ready to serve. 

El Equipo de Gracia (Grace Team)



Dios - Otros - Yo

                  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. 

Sunday School in San Jose

                          Every Sunday I get the opportunity to share a lesson from the Bible to 20-25 kids in San Jose. I am so blessed to be able to spend time with these beautiful children. Today we talked about Fruit of the Spirit from the book of Galatians. I read from a book that Trot Nixon's wife Kathryn wrote called, "El Espiritu en Beisbol." After reading the book, I showed the kids a rotten orange and a ripe, red apple and explained what Christ does in our hearts when we surrender to Him (we become a beautiful and sweet apple to those around us). The kids did such a great job listening and contributing to the lesson. After the lesson, I passed out a picture of a tree with the fruit of the spirit inside of it in order for them to color. I also gave them some Double Bubble gum to chew on. Mixing baseball with a Bible lesson brings me a lot of joy.  Here is a picture of the group when we finished.

Here is a video from today to give you a little bit of an idea of what a church service is like for us here.