Tuesday
• Encounter a homeless man and the whole team prays and Danno washes his feet as the team shares the gospel. Then, plenty of traffic on the way to our place of residence for the week
• Jorge’s sister prepares the meals breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, a blessing the team.
Wednesday
• `1st baseball camp – 9 kids give their hearts to Christ as others hear the word of God. Nicole Bautista wife of Jorge our coach is an incredible translator of all our ministry. We share the gospel at first base, then share the gospel at home plate with an invitation to come home to Jesus. During each invitation we had each kid stand up and read from the gospel of john that we handed out.
• 2nd baseball camp- 23 kids give their hearts to Christ and this time we preach deeper the cross and the Lordship or Christ and ask a second time regarding the reality of the decision to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
• While the guys are ministering a bus load of girls over 75 come in and are practicing cheerleading and we ask the leader, can we make beads for the girls and share the gospel. Reece, Katy and Hannah share with the girls while Reece shares from Genesis 24. And we made bracelets for and with the girls.
Thursday
• 3rd baseball camp – 4 kids give their hearts to Christ
• Preaching and testimony by each of the team members at Iglesia Bautista Church in the evening.
Friday
• Invited to share at the assembly of the Christian School where over 100 kids attend. We found three kids interested in coaching and being part of Jorge Bautista team and join SOI as a volunteer coach to be mentored by Jorge.
• Afterward, Katie, Kenneth and Hannah are asked to teach at the next class where 20 students in each class get to hear their testimonies of Jesus in their lives.
• Dan plays chess with their chess clubs and ping pong with other kids sharing his love.
• The team meets with the Dean of School, who is also a pastor Santiago as he shares his heart for the gospel.
• Danno is approached by a teacher who asked if we can go to their area to do a baseball camp.
• 4th baseball camp the largest of that week and 33 kids give their hearts to Christ.
• We lose Jorge’s wallet
• At the Church our entire team ministers to their youth group of 25 plus kids sharing their testimony.
Saturday
• We are surprised when Jorge mentions another team of kids heard about our baseball camp and wants us to conduct a baseball camp for 40 kids in a remote area. So we pack up and go and as a result 12 kids give their hearts to Christ.
• At that camp, a woman stops Danno and asks and we receive an invitation to do a large baseball camp with 80 kids at a school in our next trip. (This would make seven baseball camps in our next trip.
• On our way to look for Jorge’s wallet we stopped on the side of the road and prayed for this young man and he received Jesus as his savior.
• Amazingly we arrive at the field to discover a man sweeping the street found the wallet turned it in to one of the coaches. The coach meets with Jorge and only $20 is missing. The team decides to reimburse Jorge and bless him. We all rejoice in this incredible blessing.
• The traffic is incredible and chaos reigns as we sit for a long time. Danno jumps out and becomes traffic cop and clears the bottle neck as people are thankful and he shares the gospel.
• We share our final meal together at the place and bless Jorge’s sister by thanking her and praying for her daughter who joins us. She and the daughter with tears in their eyes are blessed by our prayers.
• On the way to the chess tournament a car goes into our car and causes a major accident. At first, he denies and at the end we go to the police station, then go to a police traffic station and he finally admits the truth. Nicole is shaken up but we are all okay.
• In the evening we begin going around the room and praying for the 82 kids by name who received Christ as Savior and Lord throughout the week. Jorge puts together the list and will mail it to us. We were very intentional about having the ability for Pastor Santiago and Jorge to follow up and our team to continue praying for these precious babes in Christ.
• Dan receives prayer from a doctor and his wife.
• We all play chess together as a team for fun and Danno instructs on chess to all our team members. It was a joyful time of fellowship.
Sunday
• We retrieve our covid tests at a local clinic. all of us pass and we are cleared to go back to US.
• We drive to the new hotel for some relaxation…Thank you Alexa!!!
• We have lunch together and while waiting for our food, Danno, Ken and Katy minister and pray for a woman regarding her two boys and herself.
• We reach the air & B only to discover we were waiting at the wrong house…LOL
• We enjoy relaxation
• We go to the beach and enjoy the ocean
• We have dinner together and laughed all night long as we shared stories joked around with our waiter who was taking our orders and we found out later knew English and was playing with us on taking so long for the orders.
• Dan and Jorge establish a discipleship program for all 82 kids going forward, establish a relationship with Pastor Santiago to assimilate and Disciple these precious kids, Jorge is established with the teams he knows and the new teams he did not as our Sports Outreach coach to conduct more camps and programs is now firmly established.
• Danno is teaching and mentoring Jorge at every baseball camp and he learns how to do baseball / base stealing camps without Danno. He shares and demonstrates he can as he takes on more and more of the teaching of the kids the techniques.
• Danno will have the book “Thou Shall not Steal” translated into Spanish and will air drop them to Jorge to use with the kids
• Each baseball camp is blessed with the uniforms, hats, shirts, equipment, 7 chess boards and pieces, the baseball equipment and are extremely thankful. Many sharing testimonies of their gratitude to us on the baseball field.
• Danno and Jorge have a private time of sharing our vision and strategy going forward with programs, meeting together 2x per month and follow up with Pastor Santiago. We have a time of prayer together blessing the seeds planted and the work ahead.
• Ken and Danno pray in the hallway between the ticket counter and onboarding a plane thanking God for all He has done, and hear a man praying with us behind us. We discover he is an investor and bought 3 properties and wants to connect with us. We exchange information.
At the baseball camps Danno would start the preaching, testimony and start the baseball camp, then after much instruction, one of the team members would share the Word from the Gospels of John we gave out 150 Spanish language (all of them). Then Danno would teach them stealing the next base. This would be followed by the team members sharing Christ and leading them to the LORD for salvation. I am so proud of our team that they did the preaching and leading all 82 kids to Christ!
Here are some more testimonies from our team members:
Impactful stories from the trip:
Dr. Katie Burton:
Tuesday: After getting off the plane we walked across the road to a rocky cliff over the ocean. There was a homeless man standing under a tree. Dan and the team approached him and shared the love of Jesus with him. He likely had dementia or some other condition—he was a man of few words. Dan looked down and saw his crusted feet and his heart broke with compassion. Dan removed his shirt and poured out his water—and his love—to wash the man’s feet. He wept. The man helped him stand back up and we went on our way, the man still standing under the tree looking up at the sky.
Wednesday: We were at a baseball camp when Orece saw a small group of girls playing in the distance. She wanted to share with them the story of Isaac and Rebecca in Genesis 24. We wanted to teach them about how it was Rebecca’s kindness and hospitality that made her a worthy wife for Isaac. We had brought materials to make bracelets that accompanied the story of how Rebecca was given bracelets because of her generosity, and we had printed out Genesis 24 in Spanish to give to them as well. Nicole was busy translating for the baseball camp, so we had to step out of the boat in going to talk with the girls with the little Spanish we knew. Turns out, being the hands and feet of Jesus doesn’t require many words! The girls were very grateful for our time and gifts, and thankfully Nicole was able to come at the end to translate the message behind the story for us! We were grateful for deciding to work with the girls when we did, because we didn’t see any more girls for the rest of the trip!
At the second baseball camp, ALL 33 boys stepped forward when asked who wanted to make a commitment to Christ. It was a powerful thing to see, and it was further clarified that being a follower of Christ meant living like Jesus is both their savior AND their lord—that it means picking up their cross daily and being willing to lay their life down for their faith. They were then asked a second time if they still wanted to make this profession of faith—and once again, all 33 stepped forward. Praise the Lord!
Thursday: At our third baseball camp, 4 boys made a commitment to Christ. One of the boys, Darling, was called by Dan to come forward for more encouragement and calling in his life. It was a special moment we know he will never forget. Dan prayed this over him: “Because you have humbled yourself and have made this decision, I am calling you out because you have separated yourself. This is a day that I am calling you to the ministry of the gospel. I am anointing you with the power of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders.”
That night, we met Pastor Santiago’s church and family. We were able to share our testimonies, Dan preached, and we were able to minister to the youth group. One girl afterward let us know with tears in her eyes the impact our stories had on her and her appreciation for us being there. Pastor Santiago was such a humble and kind man of God, and we loved getting to know him. Dan created a friendship with Pastor Santiago—a bridge, and a very special bond that we know will last a lifetime. The goal is to create a path for the boys who gave their life to Christ at the baseball camps to connect with Jorge, who will then connect them to the church for further discipleship. May this trip be the first fruits of a much larger harvest!
Friday: At the school, Dan was able to educate the faculty and students about Sports Outreach and the response was significant—several girls came up wanting to know about missions and a few approached us about being potential coaches. Pastor Santiago wanted us all to share our stories to faith and to really speak about missions—he wanted the kids to know and see from us what it was like to live out the Great Commission and to be mission minded. Thank you, Sports Outreach, for facilitating that goal! One young man was brave and raised his hand when we asked the students if anyone there wanted to be a pastor one day. It was a beautiful moment in that young man’s life when the team called him up to the front to pray for and encourage him into that calling!
Saturday: We had just left our last baseball camp giving glory to God reflecting on how 81 boys had given their lives to Christ over this past week. We were about to pull back onto the main road when Dan yelled, “Stop! Stop the car!” He jumped out of the car and approached a young man sitting outside of a small store. Dan spoke the Spanish he knew and asked the boy if he wanted to give his life to Christ. He said yes! We gave him the gospel of John and the team covered him in prayer. We got his contact information to follow up with him—he was our 81 plus the 1. He became our 82. Gloria a Dios!
Sunday: We had to get COVID tested, and it was more time consuming than anticipated. Unfortunately, that meant we had to miss church. Once the testing was over, we headed to the beach with the team to relax and reflect on how mightily the Lord had moved over the course of the week. We spent time encouraging each other and Nicole and Jorge for the path set before them. Coach Dan made sure they felt equipped with teaching base stealing after we left. Dan really made sure to fulfill Ephesians 4:12 and “to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ.”
Summary: The camps were amazing. “This is going much better than I could have expected,” Coach Jorge said. “The kids and the coaches have been very impressed.” It was easy to see why! Coach Dan had an ability to get the kids attention and respect from the beginning of each camp. He kept them engaged and Nicole was an incredibly talented translator—she mirrored his energy, and there was a lot of it! Regarding raising up and establishing Jorge as a coach, Dan truly did 2 Timothy 2:12: “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Hannah Mae
1. I would say that I learned how to be even more flexible and to give up our schedule times to do something else to minister better and to be an encouragement to Jorge and Nicole
2. I really enjoyed the baseball camps, getting to share the gospel with the kids and seeing their excitement when they heard about what Christ did for them. I was encouraged to see how well out group did with the organization of the camps.
3. I really liked our relationship and time we got to spend with Nicole and Jorge. I think our time there was an encouragement for them and for me as well! Our time there I believe set up a future for their ministry and planted a seed that they can continue to water.
4. I was encouraged by pastor Santiago and his family and their ministry there. I got to talk with his daughters a lot and they seem to be very solid and devoted to following Christ.
5. I was thankful for the testimony our group could be to Jorge’s sister and niece. I believe they saw the unity of Christ in our group and I pray that this will be an example to both of them individually and that they will both come to know Christ.
Oreece Carty:
The Lord moved mightily during the trip. All the group, using Dan leaderships were allowed to grow in spirituals gifting’s. He instructed us to, too step out of the boat, and urged us to walk in our callings. I was able to teach, evangelize, operate in word of knowledge, mentor, and share my testimony with boldness.
Dan was not afraid to move in his prophetic anointing, he will stop everything to go after the one. He stopped what he was doing to minister to a man, on a beach. He seemed confused, or had dementia. Dan washed his feet, and prayed over him. He portrayed Jesus, something I believe that the Man on the beach could understand, when words are just not enough.
We built a relationship with a local pastor, Pastor Santiago, a Baptist Pastor, that has a heart of Gold. He shared his testimony with us, and his burden to see his country get ready to see Jesus someday. I got to share with him that holiness is not honored in our culture, and he is trying to raise three daughters in the culture, that is very contrary to word of God. He desired them not to settle, when choosing a future spouse and that they will be salt and light in their community. Dan shared prophetic words over the girls, that youngest wants to preach gospel. We found out she wanted to go bible college later, after talking to her.
I believe that Lord chose us 5 people to go on the trip to sharpen each other. Proverbs 27:17 As Iron Sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. I believe all five us were leaders in their own right, we have different testimonies, and life experiences. We all had strong personalities, how do you take five people and place them on mission trip, we have the Holy Spirit teaching us how to respect each other and do the work of the ministry, even though we have different opinions. We served each other with love, we got to use all our gifts thanks to Dan. We got to grow in evangelism which allowed us to reach 82 people to turn to Jesus, and make Him the Lover of their life.
Our missionary partners Nicole and Jorge, were wonderful, she translated for us, never complained and had a love for the people that they were serving. Even despite challenges such as a car accident, Jorge losing his ID twice, Jorge kept his peace. I am not sure how I would feel if I lost all my documents that proved my identity. He taught me that you can have peace and joy even during a difficult circumstance. Praise be to God we found his wallet.
Dan was a strong leader, but did not want the spotlight only to be on him. He encouraged us to do morning devotionals, teach in church, evangelize, walk in word of knowledge. Have a love for the word of God use our spiritual gifts. Pray for the sick. His life demonstrates that we should be always listening to the Lord our God and what He wants us to do, even if means interrupting our day and the tasks we had that day.
Baseball camp, I did not necessarily want to do the home run which involved doing the alter call. I thought Kenneth would do a better job than me. Dan wanted me to do it. When I saw the reactions of the boys on the field, some of them weeping, when I shared and 12 young boys gave their life to Jesus that day. I was honored the Lord used me. I did not have scripted lines, I allowed Holy Spirit to tell me what to say. Jesus of course gave me the words to say and believed there was a lot of rejoicing in heaven when the boys gave their life to Jesus. I believe that the Lord had us protected. He went before us. Protected us from covid. Closed any doors he did not want us to walk through. Grew us in our spiritual gifts, and set the right people to do the work of ministry.
Our cook Calina, was wonderful, she was never frustrated with us. She served us with gladness, ate dinner with us. Gave us nutritious food. She never once complained. I believe the Lord is going to honor her for cooking and serving us. She is a beautiful woman of God and met we her daughter she also was just as beautiful. I pray that Lord blessed her abundantly and she opens a restaurant one day in her heart desires. The food was amazing and living accommodations were excellent.
some expressions of the coaches from Coach Jorge Bautista
1. Juan academy: The truth is that I did not expect so much about the clinic, I thought it would be something simpler, we have been practicing every day.
2. Thomas (The Hawks): Since Jorge told me that we were going to receive a clinic I was moved, I think that the whole team, including the pitchers, took advantage of that time very well. You will always be welcome on our land.
3. Baní academy: We were blessed with your visit, my boys were really excited about base stealing clinic and they're practicing every day.
4. Coach Los Ramirez: We are super excited for your visit, and the most important thing, to have the Word of God between us. I wish to have SOI back again.
5. Coach Guillermo: Base stealing clinic was really good. My boys were practicing the same day of the clinic, I would like to have a SOI coach in my team.
• Encounter a homeless man and the whole team prays and Danno washes his feet as the team shares the gospel. Then, plenty of traffic on the way to our place of residence for the week
• Jorge’s sister prepares the meals breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, a blessing the team.
Wednesday
• `1st baseball camp – 9 kids give their hearts to Christ as others hear the word of God. Nicole Bautista wife of Jorge our coach is an incredible translator of all our ministry. We share the gospel at first base, then share the gospel at home plate with an invitation to come home to Jesus. During each invitation we had each kid stand up and read from the gospel of john that we handed out.
• 2nd baseball camp- 23 kids give their hearts to Christ and this time we preach deeper the cross and the Lordship or Christ and ask a second time regarding the reality of the decision to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
• While the guys are ministering a bus load of girls over 75 come in and are practicing cheerleading and we ask the leader, can we make beads for the girls and share the gospel. Reece, Katy and Hannah share with the girls while Reece shares from Genesis 24. And we made bracelets for and with the girls.
Thursday
• 3rd baseball camp – 4 kids give their hearts to Christ
• Preaching and testimony by each of the team members at Iglesia Bautista Church in the evening.
Friday
• Invited to share at the assembly of the Christian School where over 100 kids attend. We found three kids interested in coaching and being part of Jorge Bautista team and join SOI as a volunteer coach to be mentored by Jorge.
• Afterward, Katie, Kenneth and Hannah are asked to teach at the next class where 20 students in each class get to hear their testimonies of Jesus in their lives.
• Dan plays chess with their chess clubs and ping pong with other kids sharing his love.
• The team meets with the Dean of School, who is also a pastor Santiago as he shares his heart for the gospel.
• Danno is approached by a teacher who asked if we can go to their area to do a baseball camp.
• 4th baseball camp the largest of that week and 33 kids give their hearts to Christ.
• We lose Jorge’s wallet
• At the Church our entire team ministers to their youth group of 25 plus kids sharing their testimony.
Saturday
• We are surprised when Jorge mentions another team of kids heard about our baseball camp and wants us to conduct a baseball camp for 40 kids in a remote area. So we pack up and go and as a result 12 kids give their hearts to Christ.
• At that camp, a woman stops Danno and asks and we receive an invitation to do a large baseball camp with 80 kids at a school in our next trip. (This would make seven baseball camps in our next trip.
• On our way to look for Jorge’s wallet we stopped on the side of the road and prayed for this young man and he received Jesus as his savior.
• Amazingly we arrive at the field to discover a man sweeping the street found the wallet turned it in to one of the coaches. The coach meets with Jorge and only $20 is missing. The team decides to reimburse Jorge and bless him. We all rejoice in this incredible blessing.
• The traffic is incredible and chaos reigns as we sit for a long time. Danno jumps out and becomes traffic cop and clears the bottle neck as people are thankful and he shares the gospel.
• We share our final meal together at the place and bless Jorge’s sister by thanking her and praying for her daughter who joins us. She and the daughter with tears in their eyes are blessed by our prayers.
• On the way to the chess tournament a car goes into our car and causes a major accident. At first, he denies and at the end we go to the police station, then go to a police traffic station and he finally admits the truth. Nicole is shaken up but we are all okay.
• In the evening we begin going around the room and praying for the 82 kids by name who received Christ as Savior and Lord throughout the week. Jorge puts together the list and will mail it to us. We were very intentional about having the ability for Pastor Santiago and Jorge to follow up and our team to continue praying for these precious babes in Christ.
• Dan receives prayer from a doctor and his wife.
• We all play chess together as a team for fun and Danno instructs on chess to all our team members. It was a joyful time of fellowship.
Sunday
• We retrieve our covid tests at a local clinic. all of us pass and we are cleared to go back to US.
• We drive to the new hotel for some relaxation…Thank you Alexa!!!
• We have lunch together and while waiting for our food, Danno, Ken and Katy minister and pray for a woman regarding her two boys and herself.
• We reach the air & B only to discover we were waiting at the wrong house…LOL
• We enjoy relaxation
• We go to the beach and enjoy the ocean
• We have dinner together and laughed all night long as we shared stories joked around with our waiter who was taking our orders and we found out later knew English and was playing with us on taking so long for the orders.
• Dan and Jorge establish a discipleship program for all 82 kids going forward, establish a relationship with Pastor Santiago to assimilate and Disciple these precious kids, Jorge is established with the teams he knows and the new teams he did not as our Sports Outreach coach to conduct more camps and programs is now firmly established.
• Danno is teaching and mentoring Jorge at every baseball camp and he learns how to do baseball / base stealing camps without Danno. He shares and demonstrates he can as he takes on more and more of the teaching of the kids the techniques.
• Danno will have the book “Thou Shall not Steal” translated into Spanish and will air drop them to Jorge to use with the kids
• Each baseball camp is blessed with the uniforms, hats, shirts, equipment, 7 chess boards and pieces, the baseball equipment and are extremely thankful. Many sharing testimonies of their gratitude to us on the baseball field.
• Danno and Jorge have a private time of sharing our vision and strategy going forward with programs, meeting together 2x per month and follow up with Pastor Santiago. We have a time of prayer together blessing the seeds planted and the work ahead.
• Ken and Danno pray in the hallway between the ticket counter and onboarding a plane thanking God for all He has done, and hear a man praying with us behind us. We discover he is an investor and bought 3 properties and wants to connect with us. We exchange information.
At the baseball camps Danno would start the preaching, testimony and start the baseball camp, then after much instruction, one of the team members would share the Word from the Gospels of John we gave out 150 Spanish language (all of them). Then Danno would teach them stealing the next base. This would be followed by the team members sharing Christ and leading them to the LORD for salvation. I am so proud of our team that they did the preaching and leading all 82 kids to Christ!
Here are some more testimonies from our team members:
Impactful stories from the trip:
Dr. Katie Burton:
Tuesday: After getting off the plane we walked across the road to a rocky cliff over the ocean. There was a homeless man standing under a tree. Dan and the team approached him and shared the love of Jesus with him. He likely had dementia or some other condition—he was a man of few words. Dan looked down and saw his crusted feet and his heart broke with compassion. Dan removed his shirt and poured out his water—and his love—to wash the man’s feet. He wept. The man helped him stand back up and we went on our way, the man still standing under the tree looking up at the sky.
Wednesday: We were at a baseball camp when Orece saw a small group of girls playing in the distance. She wanted to share with them the story of Isaac and Rebecca in Genesis 24. We wanted to teach them about how it was Rebecca’s kindness and hospitality that made her a worthy wife for Isaac. We had brought materials to make bracelets that accompanied the story of how Rebecca was given bracelets because of her generosity, and we had printed out Genesis 24 in Spanish to give to them as well. Nicole was busy translating for the baseball camp, so we had to step out of the boat in going to talk with the girls with the little Spanish we knew. Turns out, being the hands and feet of Jesus doesn’t require many words! The girls were very grateful for our time and gifts, and thankfully Nicole was able to come at the end to translate the message behind the story for us! We were grateful for deciding to work with the girls when we did, because we didn’t see any more girls for the rest of the trip!
At the second baseball camp, ALL 33 boys stepped forward when asked who wanted to make a commitment to Christ. It was a powerful thing to see, and it was further clarified that being a follower of Christ meant living like Jesus is both their savior AND their lord—that it means picking up their cross daily and being willing to lay their life down for their faith. They were then asked a second time if they still wanted to make this profession of faith—and once again, all 33 stepped forward. Praise the Lord!
Thursday: At our third baseball camp, 4 boys made a commitment to Christ. One of the boys, Darling, was called by Dan to come forward for more encouragement and calling in his life. It was a special moment we know he will never forget. Dan prayed this over him: “Because you have humbled yourself and have made this decision, I am calling you out because you have separated yourself. This is a day that I am calling you to the ministry of the gospel. I am anointing you with the power of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders.”
That night, we met Pastor Santiago’s church and family. We were able to share our testimonies, Dan preached, and we were able to minister to the youth group. One girl afterward let us know with tears in her eyes the impact our stories had on her and her appreciation for us being there. Pastor Santiago was such a humble and kind man of God, and we loved getting to know him. Dan created a friendship with Pastor Santiago—a bridge, and a very special bond that we know will last a lifetime. The goal is to create a path for the boys who gave their life to Christ at the baseball camps to connect with Jorge, who will then connect them to the church for further discipleship. May this trip be the first fruits of a much larger harvest!
Friday: At the school, Dan was able to educate the faculty and students about Sports Outreach and the response was significant—several girls came up wanting to know about missions and a few approached us about being potential coaches. Pastor Santiago wanted us all to share our stories to faith and to really speak about missions—he wanted the kids to know and see from us what it was like to live out the Great Commission and to be mission minded. Thank you, Sports Outreach, for facilitating that goal! One young man was brave and raised his hand when we asked the students if anyone there wanted to be a pastor one day. It was a beautiful moment in that young man’s life when the team called him up to the front to pray for and encourage him into that calling!
Saturday: We had just left our last baseball camp giving glory to God reflecting on how 81 boys had given their lives to Christ over this past week. We were about to pull back onto the main road when Dan yelled, “Stop! Stop the car!” He jumped out of the car and approached a young man sitting outside of a small store. Dan spoke the Spanish he knew and asked the boy if he wanted to give his life to Christ. He said yes! We gave him the gospel of John and the team covered him in prayer. We got his contact information to follow up with him—he was our 81 plus the 1. He became our 82. Gloria a Dios!
Sunday: We had to get COVID tested, and it was more time consuming than anticipated. Unfortunately, that meant we had to miss church. Once the testing was over, we headed to the beach with the team to relax and reflect on how mightily the Lord had moved over the course of the week. We spent time encouraging each other and Nicole and Jorge for the path set before them. Coach Dan made sure they felt equipped with teaching base stealing after we left. Dan really made sure to fulfill Ephesians 4:12 and “to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ.”
Summary: The camps were amazing. “This is going much better than I could have expected,” Coach Jorge said. “The kids and the coaches have been very impressed.” It was easy to see why! Coach Dan had an ability to get the kids attention and respect from the beginning of each camp. He kept them engaged and Nicole was an incredibly talented translator—she mirrored his energy, and there was a lot of it! Regarding raising up and establishing Jorge as a coach, Dan truly did 2 Timothy 2:12: “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Hannah Mae
1. I would say that I learned how to be even more flexible and to give up our schedule times to do something else to minister better and to be an encouragement to Jorge and Nicole
2. I really enjoyed the baseball camps, getting to share the gospel with the kids and seeing their excitement when they heard about what Christ did for them. I was encouraged to see how well out group did with the organization of the camps.
3. I really liked our relationship and time we got to spend with Nicole and Jorge. I think our time there was an encouragement for them and for me as well! Our time there I believe set up a future for their ministry and planted a seed that they can continue to water.
4. I was encouraged by pastor Santiago and his family and their ministry there. I got to talk with his daughters a lot and they seem to be very solid and devoted to following Christ.
5. I was thankful for the testimony our group could be to Jorge’s sister and niece. I believe they saw the unity of Christ in our group and I pray that this will be an example to both of them individually and that they will both come to know Christ.
Oreece Carty:
The Lord moved mightily during the trip. All the group, using Dan leaderships were allowed to grow in spirituals gifting’s. He instructed us to, too step out of the boat, and urged us to walk in our callings. I was able to teach, evangelize, operate in word of knowledge, mentor, and share my testimony with boldness.
Dan was not afraid to move in his prophetic anointing, he will stop everything to go after the one. He stopped what he was doing to minister to a man, on a beach. He seemed confused, or had dementia. Dan washed his feet, and prayed over him. He portrayed Jesus, something I believe that the Man on the beach could understand, when words are just not enough.
We built a relationship with a local pastor, Pastor Santiago, a Baptist Pastor, that has a heart of Gold. He shared his testimony with us, and his burden to see his country get ready to see Jesus someday. I got to share with him that holiness is not honored in our culture, and he is trying to raise three daughters in the culture, that is very contrary to word of God. He desired them not to settle, when choosing a future spouse and that they will be salt and light in their community. Dan shared prophetic words over the girls, that youngest wants to preach gospel. We found out she wanted to go bible college later, after talking to her.
I believe that Lord chose us 5 people to go on the trip to sharpen each other. Proverbs 27:17 As Iron Sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. I believe all five us were leaders in their own right, we have different testimonies, and life experiences. We all had strong personalities, how do you take five people and place them on mission trip, we have the Holy Spirit teaching us how to respect each other and do the work of the ministry, even though we have different opinions. We served each other with love, we got to use all our gifts thanks to Dan. We got to grow in evangelism which allowed us to reach 82 people to turn to Jesus, and make Him the Lover of their life.
Our missionary partners Nicole and Jorge, were wonderful, she translated for us, never complained and had a love for the people that they were serving. Even despite challenges such as a car accident, Jorge losing his ID twice, Jorge kept his peace. I am not sure how I would feel if I lost all my documents that proved my identity. He taught me that you can have peace and joy even during a difficult circumstance. Praise be to God we found his wallet.
Dan was a strong leader, but did not want the spotlight only to be on him. He encouraged us to do morning devotionals, teach in church, evangelize, walk in word of knowledge. Have a love for the word of God use our spiritual gifts. Pray for the sick. His life demonstrates that we should be always listening to the Lord our God and what He wants us to do, even if means interrupting our day and the tasks we had that day.
Baseball camp, I did not necessarily want to do the home run which involved doing the alter call. I thought Kenneth would do a better job than me. Dan wanted me to do it. When I saw the reactions of the boys on the field, some of them weeping, when I shared and 12 young boys gave their life to Jesus that day. I was honored the Lord used me. I did not have scripted lines, I allowed Holy Spirit to tell me what to say. Jesus of course gave me the words to say and believed there was a lot of rejoicing in heaven when the boys gave their life to Jesus. I believe that the Lord had us protected. He went before us. Protected us from covid. Closed any doors he did not want us to walk through. Grew us in our spiritual gifts, and set the right people to do the work of ministry.
Our cook Calina, was wonderful, she was never frustrated with us. She served us with gladness, ate dinner with us. Gave us nutritious food. She never once complained. I believe the Lord is going to honor her for cooking and serving us. She is a beautiful woman of God and met we her daughter she also was just as beautiful. I pray that Lord blessed her abundantly and she opens a restaurant one day in her heart desires. The food was amazing and living accommodations were excellent.
some expressions of the coaches from Coach Jorge Bautista
1. Juan academy: The truth is that I did not expect so much about the clinic, I thought it would be something simpler, we have been practicing every day.
2. Thomas (The Hawks): Since Jorge told me that we were going to receive a clinic I was moved, I think that the whole team, including the pitchers, took advantage of that time very well. You will always be welcome on our land.
3. Baní academy: We were blessed with your visit, my boys were really excited about base stealing clinic and they're practicing every day.
4. Coach Los Ramirez: We are super excited for your visit, and the most important thing, to have the Word of God between us. I wish to have SOI back again.
5. Coach Guillermo: Base stealing clinic was really good. My boys were practicing the same day of the clinic, I would like to have a SOI coach in my team.