The Wheaton women's basketball team will be taking part in a Sports Ministry trip to the Dominican Republic from May 13-19. The women's basketball program will be partnering with
SCORE International during the trip.
The women's basketball team will play four games during the trip, facing Dominican clubs. The players and coaches will also work with area children's ministries and conduct a basketball clinic.
The team and coaches will be sending updates throughout the trip that will be posted here on the Wheaton Athletics Website, so be sure to check back throughout the trip.
UPDATE #1 --- UPDATE #2 --- UPDATE #3 ---- UPDATE #4 --- UPDATE #5 --- UPDATE #6
UPDATE #6 (MAY 18)
Senior, Bri Graham, shares today's recap of events:
Today was a great last day; we went into the the city of Santo Domingo again. We arrived at the gym we played at last night and helped run a basketball clinic for 70 boys ranging from ages 6 to 13. We set up a few stations consisting of ball handling, passing, rebounding and shooting. We taught the already very talented boys what we knew about basketball, and even with the language barrier we all could see how much joy basketball brings to not only us but to those Dominican boys. We had so much fun in the very hot gym teaching, but also watching how great all of the players were. After a long round of knock out, Lauren Graham shared her testimony with the kids. It's amazing to watch a group of 70 boys sit and respectfully listen to what we have to say. This clinic was part of SCORE International's boys' basketball ministry that has these boys at Bible study on Fridays, playing basketball on Saturdays, and at church on Sundays, and it was definitely a great experience to get to be a part of one today. After leaving, we spent some relaxing hours by the pool and on the beach. The fellowship we got to share as a team here on this trip was unreal. Teams already create very unique friendships, but being able to share this mission trip together adds another level to them all. After some time in the sun (many of us very burnt, I might add), we had our last devotion together. Brooke Olson and Breanna Bohlen shared their last thoughts with us before departing the program. The insights given, and the lessons learned are indescribable. It was a great way to wrap up our time here. We have grown as a team, and have been humbled by the Lord. Even though our trip will end tomorrow, the people we have met, and the experiences we have had will be with us for a life time. Glory to God! He is good, all the time. And that is very evident here in the Dominican Republic.
[Final editorial comments from Coach Harris: We head back to Chicago tomorrow afternoon, and pray that we have another day of smooth travel. It has been a tremendous blessing to be able to minister through basketball and relationships this past week. We have heard comments from the team all week about how encouraging it is to see God's church in this place and have the opportunity to have such a captive audience when we share our faith in God. The team continues to share that, while we recognize that our time here is wrapping up, we know SCORE's ministry in the Dominican Republic with continue faithfully, and we want our desire for the Kingdom of God to grow to exist wherever we are present. Thank for reading and praying for our team!]
UPDATE #5 (MAY 17)
Today the Wheaton Women's basketball team went to the Straw Village School to play with children. “Hace calor.” I said, attempting to small talk with the few Spanish words I knew. A precious five year old girl with braided hair, and bracelets, and necklace beads adding to her beautiful said, “Si, hace sol.” She smiled love at me.
I tried to smile love back.
Looking around was joy. The coaches, trainer, and players all playing on the court at once: running in the same direction towards joy and Christ. Small, joyful children are laughing and running. Joy in this heat. Some girls paint faces, some play tag, some draw pictures with chalk. I am in charge of beads. We all are in charge of loving and being Christ. The joy from the children with nothing make my heart want to burst. Nothing and everything. These children are living beautiful.
How am I living?
In the midst of the chaos: three girls pulling my hair braiding, ten thrusting string in my face asking me to braid it in Spanish. “No sé.” All I can do is smile, braid, and love. They smile back. I think, “So hot.” The children sat on me, climbed on me, my arms ached, my legs and abs were trying to hold up my body with children pulling me down, yet I loved every second. I wouldn't move for anything. I was holding precious life and loving them by holding their necklaces and stringing beads.
Please, Lord, teach me thankfulness.
We leave these gifts of life and head to our lunch. On air-conditioned bus I look out the window. We begin to talk about how beautiful the ocean is. Hannah, sitting beside me on the cool bus says quietly, “Our God is so creative, isn't He?” Why am I not in awe more? The vast, refreshing, beautiful ocean is in sharp contrast with the people I see walking along the side, knocking on the bus window and trying to sell. It's amazing how sin changes what beauty is, but how beauty seems to come through anyways. There was beauty in every life smiling at us. Beauty in the stone buildings and the Dominican stone. Beauty in the trees and the half-naked children running. “You make beautiful things,” the team sang on the ride home. Singing joy. Living beauty.
Our God is good. We all learn more every day. It's amazing how God created us to learn and learn and never be full. We thirst for more and long to be full. Praise God for His creativity. As the team laid hands on and prayed for Coach Harris as she heads away to coach, I was left in awe of the power of prayer. Here in the Dominican and in America, we pray. We talk to the same Creator and same God. The Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. For Christ and His kingdom.
Amen.
For those of you wondering about what took place on the basketball court, we ended the week with our most exciting basketball game of the trip, losing in double-overtime to our now, extremely familiar opponents from Tuesday and Wednesday. Mental mistakes found us with an 11-point deficit in the third quarter, but we were able to fight back and spark an emotional rally. A strong post presence from
Maris Hovee and
Sarah Drury exposed our opponents' weakness in the low-post. Unfortunately, the game was cut short and only a 2-minute double-overtime was played due to the court being needed for another commitment, and our Dominican opponents walked away with a 62-68 victory. Despite losing the "rubber-match" we thoroughly enjoyed competing against the group of talented players and, as one of them shared following the game, we shared some elbows and pushes on the court, but the common bond of Christ we share is far more important.
UPDATE #4 (MAY 16)
This is Makayla Seibold reporting the update for day 4 in the Dominican Republic. In the morning, we traveled to the Straw Market and had the opportunity to barter for different items. I quickly found out that bartering was not my calling as I spent $18 for 2 items right before heading to the bus. Luckily, Sarah Drury proved to be a pro with her classic wal- aways that followed up with a cheaper buy. This was an awesome opportunity for us to practice our Spanish and to shop in a very different way from our United State malls. After shopping we headed over to the gym for our third game of the week. Although the gym was very humid, we came out with a solid victory, winning 56-44. As rewarding as a win can be we also had a chance to minister to the women we were playing. I was blessed with the privilege of sharing my testimony with these ladies, while Maria translated, of course. This was an amazing experience for me and I pray that I could speak to at least one person through my words. After leaving the gym, we headed to the old colonial part of the city to walk around and gain a better understanding of the history that impacts this country. We had a great day as a team and are not looking forward to this week coming to a close. We would all appreciate your continuing prayers for our last three days in the Dominican Republic. Thank you for all your support and prayers.
UPDATE #3 (MAY 15)
Senior, Kate Hoeksema, is sharing this morning's activities:
This morning we woke up and ate breakfast together as a team. We then got ready and headed to the town of Aleman (Germantown), where a small school for children called "Streams in the Desert" is located. The small school has approximately 40 students ranging in age from 3-13, and most of them are from Haitian families. We all got off the bus and filed into the small two room school building, which was filled with the faces of many smiling children. We went into the back area, which was a small yard with little grass and lots of cement. All of a sudden the area was full of kids running back and forth, blowing bubbles, laughing, and making balloon hats. One of two kids took hold of each of us players and proceeded to show us what game they wanted to play or look desperately for our cameras so that they could yell "Photo! Photo!" These kids were very energetic and friendly. I met two boys named Christian and Mario. We bonded when I pointed out the Chicago Bears logo on one of their t-shirts. The boys were very nice and asked for their own bracelets, like the ones they saw us wearing. They were very excited to receive the bracelets, along with their very own Bibles. It was a blessing to get to spend time talking to them and have them find so much joy in these simple gifts. We then went to their chapel building next door. The building was filled with song and dance. The most fun part for me was getting to lead the group in singing "Days of Elijah" and showing them all the actions that go along with the song. Bri Graham was then asked to come up and share a Bible story. She talked about the story of Moses and the Israelites. These kids are so smart! They were asked questions about the story and they were answer them all. They received prizes of t-shirts that we brought along with us. It was very humbling to get to be a part of their worship service. These kids sang and clapped their hands without holding back. They are from poor families and have probably been through very hard times, but they are filled with so much joy. It was a day and a memory I will never forget. I am very thankful for the ministry that the local Assemblies of God congregation is doing there and for SCORE's participation with that.
After our morning full of song and games (and many hugs and high-fives), we had a couple hours to rest before the team headed back to Santo Domingo to seek redemption against the select team we lost to last night. This time we faced the same team in a different gym and achieved a different outcome. Once again, the game see-sawed back and forth. Personal fouls kept us from pulling away as the Dominican team stayed in the game with free throw shooting. However, a balanced offensive attack helped the Thunder protect the lead and finish with a 66-62 victory. Four players scored in double-figures as Brooke Olson led the team with 15 points, Ellie Zeller added 12, and Maris Hovee and Lauren Graham each chipped in 10. In many ways, it was a blessing to face the same team beyond our familiarity on the court. After the game we shared some laughs, Hannah Considine presented the gospel (in Spanish without a translator!), and we prayed with our, now familiar, opponents.
Tomorrow we plan to head to the Straw Market in the morning to experience the culture of shopping and bartering firsthand before heading back to the basketball court for an early afternoon competition.
UPDATE #2 (May 14)
Yesterday we were immediately introduced to the visual beauty of the Dominican Republic when we flew over sugarcane fields and walked to the Caribbean from the SCORE ministry complex. Today we encountered the beauty of the people here as we were able to spend time with both competitors and children during the day.
We spent the morning at
Emanuel House, a ministry started in 2000 by Mirqueya Guzman, a local schoolteacher who was well-aware of the stark poverty keeping young children from receiving food or education. Located in Quisqueya, Emanuel House currently serves 130 children aged 3-13 who receive two healthy meals, classroom instruction, and Christian education each day. When recess rolled around, about 20-30 high-energy children came sprinting at us, grabbing our hands, and grinning bright smiles. We spent 45 minutes playing chase, creating games in the playground, pushing the children on swings, and delighting in having them climb all over us. The 7-year-olds returned to class and we had 90-seconds to recover before we were hit with a second onslaught of energy and screaming--this time with 9 to 13-year-olds. Before returning to the SCORE complex, we visited a couple of the homes where current students live. The extreme poverty that is their "norm" is stark and disturbing to those of us who benefit from such material abundance and wealth, but we were reminded that regardless of material wealth, we all share a desperate spiritual poverty and need for the abundant spiritual wealth offered in Christ.
The team spent the afternoon resting before heading into Santo Domingo in the late afternoon to compete against a select women's team. We struggled to find an offensive rhythm during the entire game. The score see-sawed back and forth during the first half, with both teams knotted at 20 at halftime. Our offensive struggles continued throughout the second half and were highlighted by poor free throw shooting, allowing our Dominican opponents to start to pull away. Despite a late rally, we feel short, losing 48-56.
Lauren Graham led the way in scoring with 17 points. One can easily look at the game as a loss, but the fact that
Maria Panaggio was able to share her testimony and we could pray with our opponents following the game meant a far greater victory for us.
We are looking forward to another full day tomorrow as we plan to spend the morning visiting a local church and their children's programs followed by a game against another women's club team in Santo Domingo in the afternoon. ....... Submitted by assistant coach Sarah Haris.
UPDATE #1 (May 13)
We left 40-degree temperatures when we departed Wheaton's campus early this morning, only to arrive in Santo Domingo this afternoon and step out into a sunny day in the high-80's. Today was primarily a travel day, and we were blessed to have smooth travels during the entire trip down to the Dominican Republic. We arrived to the SCORE International facilities in Juan Dolio, about 25 minutes east of the airport and spent the afternoon getting oriented to our home for the next week. Between the heat and humidity that hasn't yet reached Wheaton, the early morning, and the day full of travel, the team is spending the evening relaxing and cheering for the Bulls to even up their playoff series against the Heat (We travel with our Chicago pride with us!).
We want to be well-rested because we have a full day tomorrow. We will spend the morning in Quisqueya (Alfonso Soriano's hometown, for Chicago Cub fans) at Emanuel House, a ministry affiliated with SCORE that provides educational instruction and meals for needy children who cannot afford to attend school. We'll take the court in the afternoon against a club team in Santo Domingo.
We'll look forward to reporting back to you on those activities and how the Lord uses us for His work! ....... Submitted by assistant coach Sarah Haris.
