The Happy Birthday Video

Last night, one of the other teams (Kids Across America) put on a program for the rest of us. One of the things they have been doing is singing a birthday song for those that had a birthday while they were here. Yesterday was Forrest's and Pastor Rodney's daughter's birthday, so take a look at the video. Be ready to hold your side while laughing. Forrest's response ... "I was so embarrassed."

Trip closeout (by George Murdock)

I am writing this on Tuesday afternoon, winding down from many activities in our 10 days in the Dominican Republic. Our record as a team was 2-3, but that does not matter. The ball games were not the real reason we are here. Baseball opened the door for us to begin a work of outreach, and do God’s work for Him. When we came to the DR, I referenced Matthew 28:19-20 … “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …” We have done that by helping over 400 young men in the ball field profess their lives to Jesus. We have gone out and made disciples of the Dominican Republic.
But this was not the full extent of God’s work. I sincerely believe that the children of the Dominican Republic, with God’s work, gave everyone on the trip a new life, almost born again into a life to be enjoyed. During our 10 days in the DR, we did play baseball, visited great baseball facilities, bad facilities, met Rico Carty, gave out equipment and this was what excites him, but it was our visit to the sugarcane village, orphanages as well as helping with a humanitarian food drop is what had the most impact on us. The kids in the villages and orphanages are happy boys and girls who have nothing but showing up with a soccer ball was Christmas for them. Your son’s were deeply touched by this. Then we went to an orphanage with jump ropes, coloring books and allowing the kids braid your hair was another day in Heaven. Again, your son’s were deeply moved by what they saw.
This trip only lasted 10 days, but the impact and memories will last a lifetime. Upon our return on Wednesday, we will plan a trip wrap-up to allow everyone the opportunity to share their personal testimony with everyone. When we were on the plane, I asked everyone what they expected from this trip. On the way home, I will ask them to provide me with what they got out of the trip and how it impacted heir life and I will share it with you at the wrap-up.
It has been a pleasure to lead this fine group of young men and coaches on this trip. It has presented Rhonda and me with memories of a lifetime and what great boys you have who believe and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In HIS mitt
Coach Murdock

Trip update (by Forrest)

This trip has completely changed my perspective on life. I have always been told to take what I’ve got and cherish it forever, because there are a lot of people throughout the world who don’t have half of the stuff we do. Coming down here, I had a picture in my head of people that have these really nice houses and resorts everywhere, but when I reached D.R., the picture was completely thrown out of my head. Driving down the roads, all you see is broken down houses, along with half built ones. Personally, I don’t know if I could live down here. No offense to the Dominicans, they are amazing people. But there just don’t have anything like we have. The people though, they always have a smile on their faces like they have everything in the world.
I met a kid today at an orphanage. His name was Israel; he was 13 years old, but had the maturity of an adult. You would never be able to tell that he was 13 just by looking at him. He was a very small child and sat in a wheelchair. But his heart and mind was just amazing. Like I said, he was a very smart person and very generous; always thinking about others before himself. Today he prayed for our families and our health when we should have been praying for him. He was born from prostitution and has lived out his life expectancy. He said that he wants to be an evangelist when he grows up. He wants to learn many different languages; not to share his story, but to share the many stories of the Lord across the world. He is the most amazing child I’ve ever met and I hope he will live up to his dreams.
This trip was been fun and refreshing, but I would have to say that today was made this trip a once in a lifetime experience. If I could it again, I would come back in a heartbeat.

Trip update (by Bryson)

The Dominica Republic is one of the best places I’ve ever been to. The beach was amazing and so was the pool. The SCORE complex was ice compared to most of the other houses or buildings we saw. Although all those things were nice, the people were the most amazing thing down here. They live in absolute poverty, in squalid conditions. Despite that fact, they were still happy and joyful all the time. The children at the orphanage and the children at the village really appreciated us coming down here to visit them. One of the most touching things was how many kids gave their lives to Jesus. They didn’t give in to peer pressure, even when their friends weren’t doing it. The kids were very accepting to us and especially to Christ. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting so many kids to answer the altar call. However, I was pleasantly surprised. And I know that however unexpected it was for me, it wasn’t unexpected for God.
Monday, we were lucky and got to sleep in until 8:00. Following breakfast, we got on the bus and headed to a 10:15 game. We thought we were going to play on a pro field, but it was being used. We were a bit shorthanded for the game as Andrew C. and Fleming stayed back sick and I wasn’t feel well when we got there. We won anyway behind Jon Harasin’s complete game. After the game we went back for lunch. Josh came back from the feeling sick as well. After lunch we went to a small village warehouse to unload a truck with food. After an hour and a half of heavy lifting, we returned to SCORE. From the long day a few kids didn’t feel well. On top of Flem, Josh, Andrew C, and I; Jack and Paul felt sick as well. Because of that we just relaxed and ate dinner and relaxed the rest of the night.
Today at the warehouse, our help truly meant a lot to the Dominicans. Just helping them unload a truck made them unbelievably grateful. The appreciation they show should teach us how to appreciate even the smallest things people do for us.

More excitement than we want ...

Yesterday, I asked that you pray for health and safety for the team as we finished out the trip. I'm sure you prayed, but God had another plan for us. Four of the boys (Josh, Fleming, Bryson and Andrew Clingan) were severely dehydrated and required two litres of IV fluids. Fortunately, God provided a doctor here at SCORE that was able to look at the boys and treat them. Now that the IV is done, they are feel (and looking) much, much better. The doctor recommended (and the coaches have agreed) that we won't do anything tomorrow (except rest and drink, drink, drink). While checking them out, he also found that Josh and Fleming also have ear infections and are now on antibiotics to clear that up.

On to the lighter highlights for the day ... we played our 5th (and last) game this morning and won with Jon pitching a complete game. After lunch back at SCORE, the healthy part of the team headed out on a mission to help out SCORE. A shipment of 200,000 meals had just arrived and SCORE was given about an hours notice that it had cleared the port and would be showing up at their storage facility. The team helped unload 5 palates of food.

After dinner, they team is relaxing in front of the TV watching baseball. Oh, and drinking, drinking, drinking water. Please pray that our light schedule the rest of the trip will be effective in keeping us healthy. Praise God that the SCORE physician was here on site; last week he and his wife were in Costa Rica.

Sunday ... a day a rest (sort of)

Today was a day of rest. We started with a light breakfast and headed of to Santo Domingo for church. It was a small congregation of about 150 people. As the lucky visitors, we were given seats in the first few rows. I'm sure for each of us, it was an interesting experience as the congregation sang in Spanish and we tried to sing along (sometimes in Spanish and sometimes in English). It was pretty cool listening to fellow believers worship in a different language. Jeff introduced the coaches of the team and described how we use baseball to gain an opportunity to build relationships and share the gospel. Next, George gave a brief message followed by a longer, energy packed message by the local pastor. At the end of the service, it was back to SCORE for lunch.

After lunch, we had the afternoon off and the boys decided to head off to the beach (and so the adults got to go too). As you can see in the pictures below, they had fun and even caught up on some sleep.

Tomorrow, we have another game and will visit a different orphanage in the area. Continue to pray for our health and safety as we finish out the trip.

Saturday update (by Jon)

Today we went to San Pedro and taught kids from the age of 8-16. When we split into 3 groups, I got the outfield group. I also met a kid who is 16 and who is getting looked at by pro scouts! The next clinic was packed at a very nice field. My station was pitching and those kids throw hard! Then I gave my testimony in front of all those people. It meant a lot to me when all those kids gave their life to Christ.

Saturday update (by Coach Feehs)

As you will see, today we had the opportunity to share Christ with hundreds. In the morning, we split into two groups and held clinics for two different baseball programs in San Pedro; Nelson Rodriques and Rico Carty. As you can see by the pictures below, we had between 120 and 150 kids in each clinic. Each clinic had five stations (throwing, hitting, outfield, infield and base running). In general, the boys ran the stations and did it without an interpreter. They did great!! Our group was having so much fun that we ran over by about 40 minutes. The other group took advantage of the time to watch a local softball game. Each clinic was ended with a testimony by one of the boys and presentation of the gospel. Today it was Fleming’s and Andrew’s (Clingan) day. In both cases, probably two-thirds of the kids prayed to accept Christ.

After the bus ride back to SCORE, a quick lunch and a brief rest, we headed back out for our afternoon clinic. This one was held had the pro baseball stadium in San Pedro. Many of the kids that we saw in the morning came back in the afternoon. However, probably an additional 200 to 300 more kids came in the afternoon. It was quite awesome to arrive and see the mass of local players that we would have the opportunity to minister to.

Much of the equipment that we brought down was donated to Rico Carty’s program and they were very appreciative.

For those might not know, Rico Carty was the hitting champion in 1970 in the MLB. He was there to greet us and took the time to introduce himself and shake the hand of every one of our players.

At the end of the clinic, Jon shared his testimony and Jeff presented the gospel to a sea of faces. Once again, many, many, many kids raised their hand to say that they had prayed with Jeff.

The last picture is of one of the local boys as he ran to first base as part of the drills, You can see from his face, the joy that our efforts are bringing to the Dominican kids through the great game of baseball.

Saturday update (by Fleming)

This morning we woke up around 7:30 and some of us went to breakfast. At 8:30, we gathered in the lobby and loaded the bus. We drove out to San Pedro and dropped one group off to run a clinic at Nelson Rodrique’s baseball program (with Denny) and the rest of us went to run a clinic for Rico Carde’s baseball program. There were 6 of us at Rico Carde, and we all broke up and ran different groups like hitting, throwing, fielding and running. I ran the hitting station. There were a lot of kids, so I had them each take 5 swings, and then rotate out. I was impressed by all the kids and I can tell they are very well taught. While I was throwing to them, a man come over and started talking with me, and I was able to use my Spanish to talk back to him. After the clinic, I gave my testimony as Mercedes translated to them and prayed with them and a lot of kids accepted Christ as their Savior.

Saturday update (by Andrew Clingan)

We got up at 7:30 to leave by 8:30. We had two clinics. One group went to Rico Carty. Mine went to Nelson Rodriquez. We had three stations; hitting, base running and fielding. Afterwards, I shared my testimony and Dad and I shared the evangecube. We saw 70+ kids give their life to Christ! It meant a lot to me those kids came to Christ. Then we went back to SCORE for lunch.

Friday update (by Josh)

Today was an amazing day. We left at 8:30 to go visit an orphanage. As soon as we got there, some of the little children took us by the hand and led us over to color. As seen in the picture below, some of the girls were eager to style our hair, and anyone with long enough hair got it styled. It was amazing to see how happy they were just having a few decks of cards, some jump ropes, and some coloring books. And seeing what little they had made me appreciate what we have at home.

In the afternoon, we went to Astros’ stadium down here and played a 7-inning game against on of Rico Carty’s teams. After a flat-footed first inning, our bats caught fire, and with solid pitching of Andrew and Bryson, and a lot of good hitting, we won 8-3. After the game, Paul and I shared our testimonies. It was easier than I thought it would be, and the boys really cared about what we said. Later, many of them were saved. Today was a great day.

Friday update (by Paul)

Today we visited an orphanage. The experience had a great impact on the orphas’ lives and on ours. It was amazing to see who those less fortunate children could be so happy with something as simple as a coloring book.

We won our first game in the Dominican! We beat Rico Carty Team #1 (an All-star team) 8-3. Afterwards, Josh and I shared our testimonies and six kids came to Christ. Awesome.

Team Picture

Here we are in the SCORE complex

Happy 4th of July

The consensus of the team is that it was a great day (even though we didn't get to see any fireworks). In the morning we headed out to San Pedro to visit one of the local orphanages. It was predominantly girls from 3 or 4 years old to late teens. Like the village, we brought about $200 worth of food. Mrs. Murdock also brought coloring books and crayons. As you’ll see by the pictures below, we were quickly engaged by the kids in the orphanage into many activities. They included coloring, playing cards, jumping rope, getting your hard braided, swinging the kids in the air and just hanging out. At the end of the trip, Coach Murdock asked the boys what they wanted to do on Monday … play a 2nd game of baseball, visit another village or visit another orphanage. They chose the orphanage. We headed back to SCORE through a heavy downpour; not knowing if we’d be able to play our game this afternoon.

After lunch, and a few hours of DR heat and sun, we headed to the ball field and had our 5th game. To celebrate the fourth of July, the boys put together a great game and ruined their perfect record of no wins. That is, we won 8-3. At the end of the game, both Paul and Josh gave their testimonies and Jeff Seigel gave the gospel message using a baseball glove as a prop. Three boys excepted Christ as their Saviour (one of them is pictured below). The evening was filled with dinner, the pool, dividing up all the gear to give to the local kids tomorrow and our daily rap-up.

Bob and Matt arrived close to on time and joined us at the game. Tomorrow we are splitting up in the morning to hold two separate clinics for kids between 5 & 12 and then one in the afternoon for kids 12 and up.

Thursday in review (by Jack)

We woke up this morning and had a good breakfast of toast and cereal. Afterwards, we took a bus to a village in San Pedro. We took $300 of food to the village. We played with the kids and had alot of fun. Even though they had almost nothing, there were smiles on the faces of everyone. After we gave the food away we went back to the SCORE facility and had a lunch of rice and beans. After lunch we headed to the Straw Market. The team searched for goods and many bought trinkets or other items. After we bought things, we went to dinner at a native restaurant. The food was great. We at fried chicken, avacado, salad and rice. Altogether it was a great day.

Thursday in review (by Spencer)

Today we had a wonderful experience of going to one of the villages down here in the Dominican. After playing simple games with the kids, we shared the gospel with a bunch of people, and then divided food up for 20+ families. They were very appreciative for this. We then came back to the SCORE complex and ate a rice and bean lunch, and then headed off into Santo Domingo to go shopping and sightseeing. There we a lot of vendors that were very pushy towards making us buy particular things, which was very different compared to the American way of shopping. We then went to a friend of Denny's and ate a magnificent dinner that was native to the DR. We all then came back and enjoyed each other around the pool side. All in all, we had a very eventful day.

Thursday, Day 4 (from the coach)

Today was baseball free. In the morning, we loaded up the bus and headed to Jumbo (a supermarket) to buy food for families in a sugarcane village. Each of the boys gave $10 of their own money, the adults chipped in some too and FCA and Global Baseball provided even more. In the end, we purchased $300 (about 9000 pesos) worth of food; enough to feed 22 families, each for 3 to 4 days. Each family received a bag of rice, bag of beans, coffee, three cans of tuna, cooking oil, chicken buillion and salt.

When we arrived at the village, the boys played soccer and basketball with the local kids. As you can see by the picture below, the kids in the village loved having the visitors. After playing for a while, we unloaded the food and met in their local church. As you can see, the pews were full. Spencer gave his testimony and then Rodney Clingan presented the gospel using the Evangecube. At some later time, I’ll provide a description on the blog. At the end, two of the village adults accepted the gospel.

After the village, it was back to SCORE for lunch and then into Santo Domingo for site seeing, shopping, and an authentic Dominican Republic dinner. It was fried chicken (awesome), frijoles (rice and beans), avocado salad and fried plantains. Most everyone really enjoyed it. One of the claims to fame for Santo Domingo is that that Christopher Columbus settled there. The picture below is in front of a status of him and the oldest church in the new world. It was established in the 1500’s. We walked around and also saw the house that he and his wife lived in.


We made it back to SCORE around 7:00pm and the boys headed for the pool (as usual). Tomorrow, we visit a local orphanage and play baseball in the afternoon.

Wednesday Update (by Michael, aka el Mooso)

Today was a great day. This morning we went to the beach and took about 30 minutes to find someplace to swim. It was sunny though. We then came back and ate lunch and had devotions. We then played a game and lost again. But it was a good effort. We shared testimony with the other team and then came back for dinner and played I the pool. I am really enjoying it down here. Although Jack did not enjoy it last night (came down with food poisoning). He feels better know. Bryson got hit in the face with a baseball. Pray for their recovery and pray for the Dominican players as some come over to Christ. I am enjoying it here, but miss home just as all the others do.

Love you Mom and Dad. Call you in a couple days.

Look at that form

I took with picture as Coach Murdock was warming up the team. What beautiful form, Coach.

Wednesday's News

It's been an interesting day and we're glad that God is in control. At breakfast, we found out the Jack had been up sick most of the night. Forrest had stayed up with him to make sure he was alright. By early afternoon, he was feeling a lot better, but we (the coaches) decided that he would sit today's game out. However, once there, we found the perfect spot ... 1st base coach. He's been able to eat all day and I'm sure he'll be back to 100% real soon.



We had some free time this morning, so we headed off to the beach that is about a block and a half away and about a 35 minute walk (when you go the wrong way). Oops. The water was beautiful, but the kids got a healthy warning to stay away from the sea urchins. Fortunately, they did and only fun was had by all. I'd expect we'll get back there on Sunday when we have more free time.

This afternoon, we when to a baseball complex that is being built by the Rawlings Foundation. The two pictures below will give you a sense of the conditions. I don't expect the boys will play on a field like this anytime in the near future. The outfield was like walking on carpet. We played a long, 4 hour, 9 inning game and kept our record unblemished with any wins. To add to the days excitement, Bryson got hit in the jaw by a pitch. To say the least, we were all extremely concerned at first, but God's hand of protection was truly on him. He iced it for most of the game and really hasn't had too much pain. This evening, he continues to be doing well and continues to say he's alright.


Here's a shot of Michael as he shares (and Wilkin's translated) his testimony with the other team and some of the other kids that we at a Colorado Rocky's training facility next door. Rodney Clingen (he and his son joined us from Alabama) shared the gospel with the locals and between 5 and 10 stood at the end to declare that they had accepted Christ.

With the places we visited today, it's hard to sell this as a trip to an impoverished country. However, tomorrow we will be visiting one of the local villages and expect to see those that truly need our support (but more on that after tomorrow). Please continue to pray for God's protection of all of us here. Pray that Jack will get back to 100% quickly and that Bryson will continue to not have any problems with his jaw.