October Mission Trip

Coming in October, 2014, we will be making our second mission trip with youth players.  Any player between the ages of 13 and 17 are welcome to attend, along with parents (or any other adults).  The purpose of this trip to a provide the opportunity for an experience with God while travelling to the Dominican Republic for 5 days.  During the trip, the boys would play teams from different communities and would also play WITH Dominican players who would stay with us for the entire time that we are in the country.  The boys will have the opportuntiy to build lasting relationships with the Dominican players which usually leads to an eye opening experience for the boys from both countries.  There will also be an opportunity to do a service project of some kind, which is yet to be determined.  Examples of the service project could be to visit a haitian refugee village and bring clothing or other supplies, provide work on a Dominican field, bring some much needed equipment to a field or anything else that we 

may think of.  

Dates:  October 2nd - October 7th

Cost:  Approximately $1,000 (depending on cost of airfare)

Includes:  Airfare, accomodations at the MGM Mission complex, transportation, food, translators.  

Tentative agenda

October 2nd - Travel

October 3rd - Introductions, morning devotions, game in the afternoon

October 4th - Morning devotions, game in the morning, game in the afternoon

October 5th - Morning devotions, game in the morning, game in the afternoon

October 6th - Service Project

October 7th - Travel

The boys will have plenty of supervised free time.  We will do other things in the evening such as visit the downtown areas of Hato Mayor, visit a Dominican church, visit the beach etc.  The goal is to allow them to see some of the country and experience something that God may have planned.  They will learn the concept of "Dominican time" and also the concept of being flexible.  

To be put on the e-mail list with updates, simply contact Play Ball Sports Academy at (330) 928-1551 or send an e-mail to dante@playballohio.com.  You will be informed of dates (deadlines) and any updates to the travel dates, service project, fundraising opportunities or cost.  Click here (coming) for a summary of the meeting that was helf on April 6th with other details.

In my many years of visiting the Dominican Republic, I have never had two trips that were the same and I have never had a trip where some small miracles didn't occur.  God has a special place in his heart for people of the Dominican Republic and it's obvious in many ways.  I've always been able to "quiet my mind" and more clearly hear the Holy Spirit guiding me in many situations because life there is so much simpler.  The kids on the baseball fields of the Dominican Republic remind me of what it felt like to be a little kid when we were all there simply for the love of the game.  I want these young players to experience that for themselves and in the process they will receive blessings and feel God's presence in ways that cannot be predicted or explained, only experienced.

-Dante Sabatucci