The Hot Sun

Today once again started with a great breakfast of eggs, Dominican sausage and fruit prepared by the cooks that have served us so intently this week.  After breakfast, we sat down as a group for devotions.  Today’s devotion followed the theme that we have been discussing this week of being ‘Outsiders’ within the church.  We discussed how, just as Jesus communicated to his disciples that his salvation is not limited to any one exclusive group of people, that it is further the responsibility of those who believe in the power of Jesus Christ to go into the world and spread the gospel to all people in all nations.  We closed with prayer and prepared to head to the Go Ministries property (the LDC) to continue helping with the batting cages project that has been ongoing throughout the week.

As we continued to work alongside some of the Go baseball players while working on the batting cages, several of us have discussed how each day has become more and more enjoyable because of the continued growth of relationships with these young men.  We have all grown to be connected to these guys while attempting to have conversation in a cross between English and Spanish.  It is also worth mentioning that today was exceptionally hot, and some of us didn’t make it terribly long while continuing to work in the heat.  However, with consistent water breaks and group accountability and encouragement, the cages were completed, and we walked away alive and very sweaty.

Upon finishing the cages, we headed inside once again to join some of the guys in the intermediate-level English class.  In class today, we primarily had conversation about jobs and occupations, and how each of the players viewed their future and desired careers.  Throughout the week, we have had multiple opportunities to converse with and get to know many of the players and coaches at Go, and today’s class was no exception.  Many of us would agree that hearing the stories and aspirations of these players is truly inspiring.

We then returned to Calle 2 for lunch which today was rice, beans and beef which was a change of pace from chicken.  We then had about an hour of down time where many of us played cards and a few people took a quick nap before heading to girls’ basketball practice.  While playing cards, we seem to have quickly worked our way through two massive bags of candy in the past twenty-four hours…

At practice today, we had the opportunity to run a few stations of ball handling, shooting and passing.  The first session consisted of a younger age group, where we ended up slitting into girls and a few young boys who showed up to practice which seemed to not be out of the ordinary.  The second group was girls who were a bit older, and we were able to have three groups where we followed a similar format while joining and playing alongside them.  We finished with a game of lightning/knockout and then stayed to watch a little of the boys’ high school-age basketball practice before heading back for dinner.

Dinner tonight was tacos with several Dominican vegetables and authentic cheese sauce served with pineapple.  This once again was delicious and served as a reminder of how spoiled we have been to have the Go cooks taking care of us all week.  After dinner, several of us played a game of cards before heading to get some ice cream at Bon, the same ice cream shop that we went to our first night here.  We then headed home for debrief where we shared some concluding reflections before wrapping up the night with a time of journaling, reflection and card playing.  Overall, today was another great day, where we had the opportunity to serve and learn about the glory of God and the extensive beauty of his creation.

Thanks again for reading,

Sending lots of love from the Island in the big Mexican Gulf,
Rose, Sally and Brady

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *