Today was an amazing day for the boys! We started the day at the academy. We put on a baseball camp for some of the village kids and several of the academy players joined as well. This was great for our boys to lead the Dominican players. The highlight was educating the players on the importance of arm care and how we use our bands for strengthening and injury prevention. This was a great piece we could contribute to their culture as arm care is not a priority in their training.
Another important aspect of what we did today was present each camp kid with a cross necklace. Coach Lagatta gave an amazing presentation in which he explained to the kids through a translator that their baseball career will end eventually, but a lifetime of hope is what we have through a relationship in Jesus Christ and it is available to them as well. It was the most beautiful thing seeing the expression and excitement on the kids faces when they received the crosses. Not only were they happy for the gift, but this unlocked an amazing opportunity for everyone to connect and communicate more than they had in entire time we had been at the camp. They laughed and took pictures with each other, exchanged social media and phone numbers and joked about how much they could bench or how far they could hit the ball. My heart was so full and I was so proud of our boys!
The afternoon and evening were filled with cultural activities. We were able to visit the El Faro Colon “Columbus Lighthouse” this is a museum to honor Christopher Columbus and has information on places Christianity impacted in the world. We were also able to go to downtown Santo Domingo for dinner and souvenir shopping. The boys seem to enjoy the culture and had a great time being in the city.
My favorite thing about today had to have been giving the kids the necklaces. As you see the smiles on these kids faces and the joy they showed, you can only praise God for putting us in a place to be able to witness this. Our boys will never forget what took place today!
Another important aspect of what we did today was present each camp kid with a cross necklace. Coach Lagatta gave an amazing presentation in which he explained to the kids through a translator that their baseball career will end eventually, but a lifetime of hope is what we have through a relationship in Jesus Christ and it is available to them as well. It was the most beautiful thing seeing the expression and excitement on the kids faces when they received the crosses. Not only were they happy for the gift, but this unlocked an amazing opportunity for everyone to connect and communicate more than they had in entire time we had been at the camp. They laughed and took pictures with each other, exchanged social media and phone numbers and joked about how much they could bench or how far they could hit the ball. My heart was so full and I was so proud of our boys!
The afternoon and evening were filled with cultural activities. We were able to visit the El Faro Colon “Columbus Lighthouse” this is a museum to honor Christopher Columbus and has information on places Christianity impacted in the world. We were also able to go to downtown Santo Domingo for dinner and souvenir shopping. The boys seem to enjoy the culture and had a great time being in the city.
My favorite thing about today had to have been giving the kids the necklaces. As you see the smiles on these kids faces and the joy they showed, you can only praise God for putting us in a place to be able to witness this. Our boys will never forget what took place today!
Christ, Culture, Children - looks like you guys are hitting all three aspects of Engage! So cool! Coach L is a stud!