Dominican Republic Mission Trip - Day 4 (Mid-day Update)

We are on day 4 and our last full day here in the DR.  Last night was an awesome evening.  However, the hotel internet was down after our evening session preventing us from posting updates or calling our families.  That was a bummer.

Our evening session last night first consisted of a testimony time from Yankee great Mariano Rivera.  He shared about growing up in Panama and never imagining being given the chance to play in the major leagues.  He also shared about how he was discovered and how his coming to Major League Baseball opened up the chance for him to find Jesus Christ and lead his whole family to Christ.  SCORE had another group that was in a different part of the DR that joined us last night.  In that group were Kevin Malone, former GM of the LA Dodgers and several former and current Dominican players.  One was Melky Mesa, a current Yankee prospect.  We were also joined in the evening by Nelson Cruz who drove 7 hours from his hometown to join us.  We were challenged from the word by Ken Whitten, pastor at Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa.  He gave an awesome challenge about having hope and resolve in tough times.  The evening session was closed out by a lady who is here with her husband who did a wonderful painting of Jesus on the cross in front of us.  One of the highlights of the evening was an unexpected update from the dad in NC that we had talked with the day before whose 14-year old son has cancer.  They were told by the doctors last night after the latest scan that the tumors had shrunk and there appeared to be no sign of cancer!  It was an emotional moment for everyone and an affirmation of the healing power of God.

After the evening session, we were given a chance to talk with and get autographs from Andy Pettite, Mariano Rivera, Nelson Cruz, Melky Mesa, Chris Coughlin, and Mark Melancon.  We were also given a chance to shop for some local items being sold by local SCORE missionaries.  It was a late bedtime last night.

This morning's devotional was led by Pastor Steve Berger from Grace Chapel in Franklin, TN.  Fourteen months ago Steve's son Josiah was killed in a one-car accident.  He shared the painful story and how it led he and his wife on a journey to help people better understand what the Bible has to say about heaven.  It was a stirring time.  Steve and his wife have written a book and have a website to help with their story.  The website is HaveHeart.net.  After the devotional, our team loaded for about an hour bus ride to Medina for a clinic.  We were joined in our clinic today by Andy Pettite who led a pitching clinic and Nelson Cruz who worked with hitters.  Because we had some MLB stars, there was a huge crowd and a lot of media.  We kept having to back the media away because they interfered with the clinics.  Andy Pettite shared his testimony, John Zeller shared the gospel.  We had about 115 decisions and got follow-up cards on them afterwards. 

We came back to the hotel for lunch.  I am staying at the hotel to do some sermon work and update the blog.  The other guys from Sixth Street went out today for another clinic and pick-up game.  Thanks for praying for us.  We are seeing God do some awesome things both in the Dominican people at the clinics and in our evening sessions with us.