The SWU men's basketball team left this past weekend for the Dominican Republic and their missions trip through SCORE International. Each day the team will provide a glimpse of their day's activities. Check back daily for updates. DAY ONE-Monday, May 11
Greetings from the Dominican Republic! Our trip started around 12:30AM Sunday morning as we headed to the Atlanta airport. We had an hour and half wait for the ticket counter to open. We had a great flight and our trip sponsor met us at the airport. Our orientation provided a glimpse of just how blessed we are in America. We were told that due to the sewer system capacity, no toilet paper could be flushed any where in the country! The trash cans were the only option which made soap and water a premium. We were also told to be cognizant of the armed security detail on site and to look both ways twice before crossing the road. It seems drivers will drive extremely fast and on either side of the road at times. Monday brought a trip to one of the Sugarcane villages. We arrived and children began to emerge as the driver blew the bus horn. We played games with them and visited their village’s school. Many of the kids go to school early and the others attend later. Quite a few of the kids had only their underwear to wear and even more had no shoes. They played as though they had the best equipment. The houses were very small and many had rock/gravel floors and tin or thatch roofs. They were very attentive to our testimonies and were even more appreciative of the hugs and piggyback rides. Their behavior was impeccable! The desire to learn about Christ was impressive and they asked questions. In the afternoon, we went to downtown Santo Domingo and had a basketball clinic for about 90 to 100 kids. Once again, the behavior was impressive, especially since we were told these kids were unruly and in a very poor part of town. We left the clinic and headed to play our first game. We were able to win 109-96 in our initial international game. We had to learn some new rules and how to handle the officiating (or lack of it!). Then, there was the issue with the clock mysteriously changing scores and not running when we were ahead! Our players had a great attitude and played through the situations. We are eagerly awaiting tomorrow! We all realize what a blessing it is to witness for God and represent SWU. We are also very grateful for our families, our country, and our freedoms. DAY TWO-Tuesday, May 12
Today we visited a much poorer Sugarcane village. We arrived to find there was no level ground and the playground was an unused pasture full of rocks and some splintered wood. The kids “adopted us as we exited the bus. We played baseball, soccer, and modified volleyball. The village water source came from a very old tank it was located near a cave where the children played. The kids hid a couple of balls in the cave in hopes we would leave them. Unfortunately, we needed to keep them for the next village or school we visited. We returned to Santo Domingo for a game against another Club team. We lost 89-87 in part due to our poor free throw shooting (12-23), while they shot over 41 free throws. We got a real taste of international rules and officiating as we even got a foul for clapping at a player while he was shooting! Yesterday we only made 22 of 41 free throws. We were led in scoring by Nick Lagroone with 28 points, Ty Horton with 14, and Brandon Jankowy with 13 points, We also missed a few layups which did not help our cause. The team attitude is wonderful, especially with playing hard all morning with the kids and then playing a game. We have a game tomorrow, which has been advertised on TV and a large crowd is expected. We did not have a clinic today after the outdoor clinic yesterday. We were told one of our games will be played at an outside facility. There are quite a few outside facilities with concrete bleachers. We are getting used to drinking bags of water! The team and I have been blessed with our visit so far and we hope everyone continues to pray for us. DAY THREE-Wednesday, May 13
Today we visited a school near Juan Dolio. It was built near the sugar factory by the company who owns the factory. It was a stark contrast to the schools in the Sugarcane villages. The building was new and extremely well equipped. They had electricity and an emergency backup system using 12 volt car batteries. There was an immaculate computer room with about 30 computers. The basketball court was better than some we had seen, even though it was outside. They had a baseball field better than most high schools in America. Most of the children spoke some broken English. We played some games with them and shared our stories about Christ. Nearly 18 children gave their lives to Christ. The afternoon was free time to visit the beach and walk around. The beach was incredibly clean, as opposed to the rest of the country. The water was quite warm and crystal clear. The coaches went for Ice Cream at an Italian Pizzeria and had homemade Pineapple and Mango flavors frozen inside the fruit! It was an incredibly delicious treat. The game tonight was against O & M University and held at an open air gym. For those who are wondering what type of gym this was, this is a gym with a roof and sides that only comes down about six feet then has fencing down to the bleaches. The gym was powered by a generator on end of the court. The game was extremely exciting. There were still some Dominican surprises. At the end of the 3rd quarter, play was halted to allow the SCORE ministry to conduct their mission. About 50-60 people gave their lives to Christ. We were leading 70-64 when play was interrupted. The game ended in regulation with the score tied at 85. We fell behind by 5 points early but managed to tie the game on 3 free throws by Nick Lagroone at the end of the first overtime. We made up a 5 point deficit in the last 36 seconds. In the second overtime, we were behind until the last 30 seconds when we scored after forcing a turnover on the press. With the score 117-116 in favor of O & M and about 6 seconds left, Nick Lagroone hit a streaking Nick Crowder for the game winner with 1.3 seconds left. We were again led in scoring by Nick Lagroone with 43 points followed by Ty Horton with 29 points (8 3 pointers). Also in double figures were Brandon Jankowy with 13 points and Nick Crowder with 10. We hope to keep this good play going as the level of play has increased each day. DAY FOUR-Thursday, May 14
Today we headed to LaRomano to visit a Christian Orphanage. On the way, we stopped to take pictures of a herd of bulls that had escaped their fence and were grazing along the highway. When we reached LaRomano, we saw a large sports facility where there were numerous soccer and baseball fields. A professional baseball stadium was adjacent to the facility. We drove towards the outside of town towards the landfill and saw a concrete wall with a large gate. This was the Christian Orphanage. Inside was a very clean and well kept facility. There was a lot of new construction taking place inside. A new Chapel, computer lab, art room and sewing room had just been completed. A new basketball court was in the finishing stages of construction. They had a picnic area with a thatched roof and playground equipment the same as found in America. The children met us at the gate as before, but this time, most of them spoke some English. They have English classes like we have foreign language classes. We played volleyball and other games and some of the players even got in some dancing with both the older and younger children. This was an all girl facility. They are taught life skills and prepared for work since they must leave when they turn 18. They were all well dressed. The game today was in San Pedro again in an open-air facility. However there were definitive differences! The parking was a swamp like field with a marsh behind the gym. A horse was grazing in the marsh with a couple of goats on the other side. Directly behind the gym was Sammy Sosa field which could be seen as you dribbled down on end of the basketball court. The floor was very uneven in a lot of spots. There were spots with round head screws sticking up slightly and a hole in the floor under the basket on our end of the floor. We had to place some cardboard in the hole and cover it with tape before the game could begin. There was no scoreboard, so the score was kept on a numerical flip chart! Time had to be kept manually using a cell-phone. The end of a Quarter was signaled by a person yelling and waving at the scorers table. As for the game itself, we were again behind most of the time, partly due to our shooting a lot of jump shots and partly due to their unique scoring system (1 for you and 2 for me)! The final score was SWU-75, Consueco-71. We were once again led in scoring by Nick Lagroone with 18 points despite being in foul trouble (3 in the 1st quarter with 2 of them phantom fouls) and aided by Tae Roebuck’s 15 points. Also in double figures were Ty Horton with 13 points, Byron Wimphrie with 11 points and Brandon Jankowy with 10 points. There is no game tomorrow, so no facility challenges are expected unless the power goes out (we are on an electric generator as I write these notes). We will be well prepared for any physical sports when we return as the officials have given us plenty of experience! DAY FIVE-Friday, May 15
Today we visited downtown Santo Domingo to go to the Straw Market. We were told that people would try to sell us things at every turn. What they did not prepare us for was the people selling items as we attempted to exit the bus. There was a store at the entrance of the market that had an agreement to give SCORE missionaries a 50% discount on all items in the store. As we exited this store to enter the rest of the market, other vendors began to approach us immediately to invite us into their store. Most stores carried the same or similar items and our dilemma was to evaluate the best deal, which at times meant returning to the original store. If this happened, if you negotiated, you could get the item even cheaper than the original agreement. We could not take 2 steps before being invited into another store. High pressure marketing was at its best! There were over 100 stores in the market. It was an incredible experience in negotiating! We were literally attacked with offers from street vendors as we attempted to get back on the bus. We found out our best negotiator was Nick Lagroone who beat out a vendor of a $20 necklace for $5 as we closed the door! We went to a walking street full of stores. We found the stores had most of the same items we found in America and some of the same stores such as Payless Shoes, KFC, Baskin Robbins, and Pizza Hut where we at lunch. We found a new pizza eating champion in Nick Crowder who consumed about 12 slices! The next stop was Jackie’s House Orphanage which is for children mostly born from prostitutes. Jackie was born in Chile and moved to Miami with her daughter to begin filling a dream she felt was a calling from God. In her dream, she saw a man who told her to start a home for the children of prostitutes in the Dominican Republic. She believed so strongly in her calling that she had an artist create a drawing of the man in her dream in detail. One day she was told she needed to meet someone about her mission. They talked on the phone several times and agreed to meet. He was not a fan of helping anyone in the Dominican but agreed to meet with her. They met in a crowded are and she picked him out immediately. He looked exactly like the picture! The man agreed to set up the orphanage and did. She has not seen or heard from him since! The house they had been staying was costing about $1800/month not including food. When she first started, she made meat sandwiches and sold them to buy for the children. If she did not sell the sandwiches, the children did not eat. Donations soon began to come in to cover the expenses. An American has no agreed to sponsor the home and bought a place to lease to them for 700 pesos/month (about $20)! The children are fantastic even though some have not seen their mother since they arrived at Jackie’s house. They drew pictures and we helped them color after we were forced inside by a torrential rainfall. There was a child named Isreal who plans to become an evangelist that prayed for us and our safe return home but never mentioned being in a wheelchair or his deformity. How awesome is it to see the selflessness of a true believer of God! We were blessed to be a part of his journey. We returned to SCORE for a wonderful devotion with a group from Hilton Head who arrived today. This was truly our most rewarding day so far! DAY SIX-Saturday, May 16
Our day began with an early trip to Santo Domingo for a clinic and basketball game. On the way, a guy on a motorcycle was hit and killed. We said a short prayer and did not stop. We were advised that stopping in the Dominican Republic when you were not directly involved could result in you being accused, especially if you were American. The clinic was held at a gym just a mile or two from downtown Santo Domingo. When we arrived, there were a dozen or so kids waiting outside for us. Inside, there were about a hundred more kids playing basketball or shooting on just the 2 goals. We divide them into groups for dribbling, shooting, passing, and defensive movement instruction. Coach Wimphrie shared his story of discipleship with the kids as did our interpreter from SCORE. The game immediately followed. SWU took a slim lead in the first quarter at 15-14. The game was tied at the half 35-35. SWU led 66-58 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Early in the 4th quarter, the Warriors really turned up the heat and easily won 99-79. Every player scored in the game:
Nick Crowder 19 points
Nick Lagroone 18
Ty Horton 16
Tae Roebuck 13
Seth Mills 11
Joey Cavissini 8
Brandon Jankowy 8
Byron Wimphrie 2
Quinton Cannon 2
Aaron Lane 2
Nick Crowder and Tae Roebuck each had double digit points and rebounds. After the game, the professional player on the opposing team gave Nick Lagroone his pro game jersey complete with autograph and thanked us for coming. A small kid gave Byron a silver Cross and said “God Bless You” in English. We gave out some SWU clothing donated by members of the Athletic department. There were cheers as though someone had won the lottery! We left the game to visit a state operated handicap Orphanage. We prayed for strength before we exited the bus as we were told of the unfortunate conditions we would find some of the children. Some of the children could only stay in one position but would smile as we rubbed their head or arm. A couple of the kids were able to be held and a couple of the followed us as we proceeded through the facility. The hardest part was seeing a group of boys who were inside a fenced area because they would attack anyone around them. This included the workers. We were also told they refused to wear clothes and would throw them out the window. Some of them had physical issues along with their mental challenges. This showed us how blessed we all were with the gift of good health. We look forward to returning home tomorrow. DAY SEVEN-Sunday, May 17
Today was our journey home! We left for the airport at 5:30 A.M. We arrived and discovered that our baggage had to be screened before we entered the airport. We collected our luggage and proceeded to check-in. We were given our immigration cards for the Dominican Republic embarkation. When we arrived at the security checkpoint, we needed to complete another form for the entire group. We proceeded to the concourse and had about an hour to wait before boarding. We met an assistant couch from Auburn University who was there for a marriage and coach’s retreat. They had visited the all girls Orphanage in LaRomana. We reached Miami by 10:00 A.M. and began the process through U.S. Customs and immigration. Another card was required and the process was much more formal and strict. We retrieved our luggage and proceeded to the area to have it re-screened and checked for U.S. travel. One of our teammates inadverdently placed his untagged, unmarked carry-on with the checked baggage and was unable to retrieved. The security agent did not speak much English and this caused confusion. One would have thought we were used to continue to ask questions if you did not understand especially after being ai the DR for a week! We loaded the plane for Atlanta at 3:50 P.M. and waited until 4:50 P.M. to leave because we did not have a crew to fly the plane! It turns out that the original crew’s plane to Atlanta was late and another crew had been summoned. The flight to Atlanta was very bumpy at 37,000 feet and even worse as we prepared to land due to the weather. It was sunny and 88 degrees in Miami and 60 degrees and very rainy in Atlanta. We retrieved our luggage, and to our surprise, every piece of luggage was accounted for including one marked “LOST”. Coach Herman met us to help bring the team and all the gear back to SWU. As we left the Airport, Coach Herman had a blowout. After changing the tire, we returned to SWU tired but grateful that God had protected us during our journey and had opened our eyes to see how blessed we were and to provide a blessing to those we met. We look forward to the next school year and basketball season as we clearly know now, it’s not about us!
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