if there's one thing that is missing in my life, it's sports. i love sports. the thrill of sports. the nerves and butterflies and rush of energy before a big game. the smell of the grass on a freshly cut soccer field. the peanuts and bratwurst at baseball games. the camaraderie during march madness.
so when there is a sports week down here i am all over it like white on rice. and baseball week lived up to the hype.
there is something so incredibly special about being part of someone's future. and if there is one thing that i have found in over two decades of playing sports, is that sports can change someone's future. and it is no different in the dominican republic.
unfortunately for kids here, young boys especially, it is easier to get involved in drugs and alcohol than anything else. these things are readily available. laws for underage drinking aren't enforced. the scene is very accessible. and sometimes drugs and alcohol appear to offer a life of luxury and opportunity more than anything else they are presented with. but what G.O. is doing with sports is absolutely incredible. will partin, mike braisted (my husband) and a dominican/haitian staff of ten are going to great lengths to invest in the youth in our community, through sports.
when the baseball group was here this week i had the opportunity to see this interwoven group of men offer more than just instruction in baseball. they offered their life experiences and their love of jesus. they offered vulnerability and honesty. they offered these young boys hope. a group of men, who, for all intensive purposes were heroes and incredibly talented baseball players. someone these kids could look up to and find real, tangible ways of living out their faith but still staying relevant in their culture. there is nothing like finding a common ground like sports and using it as an avenue to better someone's life. i'd even go as far as to say that at least one of the kids this week had their lives changed forever.
so when there is a sports week down here i am all over it like white on rice. and baseball week lived up to the hype.
there is something so incredibly special about being part of someone's future. and if there is one thing that i have found in over two decades of playing sports, is that sports can change someone's future. and it is no different in the dominican republic.
unfortunately for kids here, young boys especially, it is easier to get involved in drugs and alcohol than anything else. these things are readily available. laws for underage drinking aren't enforced. the scene is very accessible. and sometimes drugs and alcohol appear to offer a life of luxury and opportunity more than anything else they are presented with. but what G.O. is doing with sports is absolutely incredible. will partin, mike braisted (my husband) and a dominican/haitian staff of ten are going to great lengths to invest in the youth in our community, through sports.
when the baseball group was here this week i had the opportunity to see this interwoven group of men offer more than just instruction in baseball. they offered their life experiences and their love of jesus. they offered vulnerability and honesty. they offered these young boys hope. a group of men, who, for all intensive purposes were heroes and incredibly talented baseball players. someone these kids could look up to and find real, tangible ways of living out their faith but still staying relevant in their culture. there is nothing like finding a common ground like sports and using it as an avenue to better someone's life. i'd even go as far as to say that at least one of the kids this week had their lives changed forever.
