Day 1

Hello Everyone....

It is almost 10.30 pm and we are getting ready to all go to sleep. We are all pretty tired from the travel and today's work at the baseball field. We went to the National Stadium this afternoon and met with the President of the Baseball Federation, Mr. Roberto. Roberto told us some history about the location where the National Stadium now sits. Specifically he told us that about 10 years ago they used the area to torture and kill people. The National Stadium is actually a complex that contains an archery field, a bicycle track, soccer fields, and the baseball fields. There are mountains all around us and it is very beautiful. I hope you can see them in some of the pictures we took.

The baseball field is actually really nice and it is big. Today, there were probably ten or so Chileans who are on different baseball teams within the league there. We met one of the baseball coaches and he can speak English and he is a good player. After some brief introductions, the missionary asked one of us to speak to the Chileans abut whatever we wanted to and he gave us the OK to talk about Jesus. Pastor Dean asked me to speak and I introduced the team and explained we have come here to be servants to them and teach them what we know about the game of baseball. I gathered a baseball, a bat, a glove and a helmet to use as an illustration. I began telling the Chileans about the tools they would need if they were a carpenter or a construction worker. I showed them each of the pieces of baseball equipment and explained why we need them. I told the Chileans that these tools are necessary to get the job done and for us to be successful at what we are doing. I told them the same is true in the game of Life. It is vital we have the skills and tools needed to have a successful life and make through life when the struggles and hard times enter their life. I told them each of us (I pointed to our team) has a relationship with Jesus and we needed the Bible to help us get through life. I told them just as in baseball and soccer, they can chose which tools they need to be successful.

We decided to have batting practice and allow the Chileans to hit. There were some good ball players and we got the chance to individually work with several of them. You could tell they were having fun and they really welcomed us to their country and their ball field. Relationships are being formed already and I can see God at work already. Tomorrow morning we are going back to the National Stadium where many of the Chilean ballplayers will be and we will begin skill stations with them. Later in the evening, the Chileans want to play us in a friendly game. This should be fun.

We ate lunch at a restaurant that had the biggest hamburgers I have ever seen. It was really good. We ate supper at Pizza Hut. Yes, we flew all this way to eat at Pizza Hut in Chile.

The guys are really having fun and there is a high level of excitement among them. I really can't wait to see how their lives will be changed and how they will interact with the players. We will begin to work on the personal relationships with the Chilean players and coaches tomorrow.

We are very blessed to have four computers in the basement of this dorm and it allows us to get on the Internet. I have not been able to download any of the pictures yet due to not having wireless where I can use my laptop computer and download the pictures to the blog site. The missionary is bringing me a thumb drive tomorrow and he is going to allow me to use this. Hopefully I can add pictures tomorrow.

Have a great night and a great day tomorrow. Please continue to pray for us.

Andrew