June 17, 2011

The third day of camp started with only a few kids in attendance. Most of the kids had finals or testing at school to see if they would move to the next grade. So we spent the day visiting the school and meeting teachers and school officials. We were also able to see the house of Alfre, the Dominican coach at our site. Sarah King, one of our site members, had previously visited his house and noticed how bad one side of the roof was, and she was determined to get it fixed.  The roof was in need of major repair -- gaping holes in the tin must make a mess each time it rains.  We are going to ask some of our team members to help us collect enough money to add new tin. 

Once we returned back to the baseball field the camp time was almost over so we served lunch for the kids and had Bible Study. Our Medical team at the site was really overwhelmed with sick kids needing attention. Dr. Ramsey was at our site to help some of these kids and also to show Stacy and Lisa how to administer parasite medicine and vitamin A drops.  Intestinal parasites are a huge problem in the Sosua area.  This area has alot of poverty; so out of necessity many will drink the tap water.  The tap water is not safe for drinking; it causes intestinal parasites and the majority of the children and adults deal with this on a daily basis.  The parasite medicine we're distributing will keep the parasites away for 4-6 months.  The parasite medicine, vitamins, and baby formula distribution is a huge part of our trip this year.

 After camp four of our American boys played another exhibition game against a Dominican team at La Union. Cody had so much fun playing against the boys he helped teach last year. After that game we played in a coaches game of softball. I was an honorary Dominican Coach because I am so dark, just kidding. It was fun and this was the first time that the Dominican coaches had done anything together, so they are learning that teamwork is a key to the success of their program.

God Bless,

Carlos

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6)

2nd day of camp...

June 16, 2011


Today went much smoother, and more as planned. All the baseball stations went well and I was even able to teach some baseball. I love teaching baseball – it’s definitely my passion and a God-given talent. We counted the children today and we had a total of 94 attend camp at our site. After camp my wife and I visited the site we were at last year, La Union. We had made so many good friends there that we had to go back to visit. We brought clothes, shoes, and necessities for a family that we really got to know. We have so much at home that it was our pleasure to give them just a little bit. The happiness of the Dominicans is overwhelming; they have nothing according to Americans but in reality a lot of them have far more than most Americans. And by that statement you know I’m not talking about money or material things. Most Americans won’t understand that concept unless they have visited a poor area outside of the U.S., or had the privilege to go on a mission trip.

God Bless,

Carlos

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6)

We are behind on the blog...but we're getting there!

Okay…so we’re a little more than 1 day behind…more like a week behind. :).  This past week has been SO extremely busy and we just haven’t had the time to update the blog. But we are working on that now that camp is over.


June 15, 2011

Wednesday was our first day of camp and needless to say it was chaotic. This year we are at a site called La Cienega and I’m the site leader. As a site leader I was pulled in a million different directions and it was quite a growing experience for me. We had a plan and in the Dominican the plan is always flexible! God gave us all the strength to get through the 1st day of camp and still be able to teach some baseball. Most importantly we were able to reach some kids spiritually. We had 25 kids come to Christ and that’s what we want; we always want “one more” for God’s Kingdom.

The Dominican coach at our site is a young man named Alfre. Last year he was an assistant coach at the camp, and this year he is a coach of his own league. It’s awesome to see how he has grown over the past year – spiritually and in his leadership skills. He is only 27 years old and truly has a heart for these children and for God. To me, it’s very cool to see how we can bring a group of children together to help teach them baseball and at the same time, use that sport to preach the Gospel and get these little souls saved.

Today our group was also interviewed for two local TV stations. The stations wanted us to explain why we are here and what we are doing. I thank God for giving me the strength to give the interview in Spanish. After camp our young 11-14 year old American boys played a game against a Dominican team from Los Castillos. All of the boys, and the adults, thoroughly enjoyed that!

Our site is also one of the sites where a nutrition program was implemented. Stacy will elaborate more on this because she was part of that group.  We hope reading our blog will inspire you to "get out of the boat" and listen to where God may be calling you to go.  Enjoy reading about the next few days of our work here in the DR.

God Bless,

Carlos

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6)

We have arrived in the Dominican Republic!!

June 14, 2011

Today we returned to the Dominican Republic and the reception was overwhelming. I really felt like I was returning home. Internet access is very intermittent so far, and we’re busy running the camps, so the blog will probably be at least 1 day behind. We were blessed to have a great flight and we are so excited to be working with the Dominican children again. The people were overjoyed to see us return and many of them met us at the airport. It was an awesome feeling and we will definitely enjoy spending time with them this week and teaching the word of God.

Thank you so much to all of those at home that prayed / are praying for our trip, and to those who donated equipment and/or finances. Keep reading the blog to see how you are also blessing others, thru our work here.

God Bless,

Carlos & Stacy

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6)