This morning began with another wake up call for a 7:30 departure. Although our time interacting with the indigenous people has been awesome, we were all excited to play and teach our sports. Our first stop was a local school about 20 minutes away where we were going to teach basketball to two of their gym classes. When we arrived we were told that the students knew English and that they should be able to understand what we were saying. While they didn't understand everything, we were able to teach them without having a huge language barrier.The first class consisted of 15 and 16 year olds. Coach Van Pelt tried to tell these kids that Derek was Dirk Novitzki but they just stared at him like he had six heads. We then broke the kids up into 4 stations; shooting, dribbling, passing and layups. Each station had two basketball players, while the baseball players filled in around the various drills. Not long into the first class we realized that today was a special day for the school. A young man came down to the court with a rose, grabbed one of the girls, got down on one knee and began to talk to her. He then gave her the rose and everyone stopped and screamed "aaaaawwwwwww!" All of us were confused. As more students received roses throughout the class, we found out that the roses were used as a way to raise money for graduation. It cost $1.25 for a rose and it could be given to anyone. It was hilarious to see and hear all the students stop and scream anytime someone was given a rose. At the end of the class, one of the boys went up to Kira and gave her a rose. The place went nuts. At the end of the class, Megan and Wes both shared their testimonies by describing things that God has taught them throughout their entire lives.
After the class left we had an hour break. So, we got a game of basketball going which included the gym teachers of the school. Jeremiah coached one of the teams and led us to a 48-40 victory. Then, the other gym class came down to the court and we started the same rotations that we had during the first class. This time however, the students were 13 and 14 years old. During this class the showering of roses continued. Kira got 2 more, including one where the boy had to be encouraged to give it to her himself. Before he did it, Taylor G. led him and many others boys in an "hombre" chant to give him the courage he needed. Megan was also given a rose. This was awesome for Kira and Megan but they were definitely not the winners for the roses. Taylor caught the attention of all the girls, which won him 5 roses and lots of screams. He couldn't have been more excited. The class ended with Jeremiah and David giving their testimonies. Both of them did an amazing job of using situations that have happened in their lives to show how important it is to have God in our lives. The school then served us lunch. We were all hoping for another helping of rice and chicken, but instead we had rice and beef.
After leaving the school, we went back to our house where everyone passed out on the couches and floor for about 30 minutes before we headed to a nearby field for some baseball. We found out on the way there that Omar, the son of a former Pirates player opens up baseball fields so that kids have a better chance of not getting caught up in gangs and other violence. Before the kids got there, we all took turns taking grounders and throwing them back to first. Let's just say Derek was meant to play in the outfield. Once the kids got there, John, Wes, and Zach took over and ran the show. This clinic consisted of about 20 boys from one of the local baseball teams. Since there wasn't too much to do and some of us basketball players felt a little out of place, we helped out by being base runners while the kids fielded grounders and tried to throw us out. We definitely got a good sprint workout in. The afternoon continued with catching fly balls, turning double plays, and batting practice. Finally, we played a couple of innings with the kids. The clinic ended with Zach and John giving their testimonies. They both incorporated baseball into what God has done in their lives which kept the kids so attentive. It was awesome to finally be able to use the talents God has given us in order to bring glory to His name.
We all have been pretty tired the last couple of days, staying up and then having to leave by 7 or 7:30, but tomorrow it will be taken to a whole new level. We are supposed to get to the island that we are going to for the day by about 7, so we have to leave at 4:30 tomorrow morning. It will be a long ride through the jungle with lots of hills and a final boat ride, but when we finally get to a beautiful, isolated, carribbean island it will all be worth it. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We have definitely felt your prayers as God has used us in some awesome and unexpected ways.
Taylor M.
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