Carolina Angels...great story

This was in one of the local papers today. What a great group of young men. I guess this is close to my heart as my husband and son are in the DR right now on a mission trip that includes holding baseball clinics. It is my sons second trip there this summer and he couldn't wait to get back for the second time.
OnePutt....is that your son that is quoted?

http://hpe.southernheadlines.com/index.cfm?section=8&story=2860


Baseball team chooses mission field over shot at national title

By Jimmy Tomlin
Aug 03, 2008

SPECIAL | HPE

Trey Gibson, Angels' outfielder, gives Dominican child a ride on his back. For the Carolina Angels youth baseball team, this will be a season - and especially a postseason - to remember.

The Angels, a 13-and-under select team based in the Triad, could've played for a national championship in Steamboat Springs, Colo., or taken a trip to watch the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

Instead, the Angels chose to cap off their summer season with a trip to the Dominican Republic for a week of baseball, benevolence and blessings.

Not only did the kids get to play ball against a few teams from the Dominican Republic and help conduct baseball clinics, they also visited an orphanage, helped feed one of the poverty-stricken nation's poorer villages, and gave out free candy, toys, clothing, baseball equipment and even Bibles in several small villages.

You've heard of "Angels in the Outfield"? These guys were Angels in the mission field.

"This trip was not about wins and losses," says Billy Wilson, a former High Point University baseball player who coaches the Angels and organized the trip. "This was character and life coaching, as opposed to just winning baseball games. We wanted to do something that was more long-lasting, if you will - something that would give the guys a real view on reality and life after baseball."

During the trip, which took place July 19-26, the players came face to face with poverty - many of them for the first time - and came away with a much deeper appreciation for the things they have so often taken for granted.

"The trip to the Dominican Republic was an eye-opener," says 14-year-old Duncan Sparks of Jamestown. "It let me see firsthand how little these people have and how much I have."

Duncan remembers one child, in particular, at the orphanage who asked if he could pray for the American visitors.

"He had every reason to be mad at the world for being in a wheelchair and being in an orphanage," Duncan says. "But that is just the thing - even though he had nothing, he had everything. God was providing him with everything that is really important. He was happy and at peace and knew he had something to share with us - praying that God would be with us."

Trey Dobson, 13, of Greensboro, calls the trip "a once-in-a-lifetime thing" that was far better than a baseball trip.

"Most teams would not even begin to think about going to the Dominican on a mission/baseball trip," Trey says. "Most would decide, "Oh, let's go to Florida and be the national champions.' True, who doesn't want to be the national champions? But this trip was better. It made me - and I'm sure many others - realize how much we have and how much we take for granted."

Wilson, of High Point, came up with the idea of the mission trip after he went to the Dominican Republic last November with a sports missions ministry called SCORE International.

"I just developed a real heart for the people there, and I knew I wanted to go back and take the guys so they could play against the Dominican teams and also go out and serve and give their time," explains Wilson, whose two sons - 13-year-old Weston and 12-year-old Spencer - play for the Angels.

To Wilson's amazement, the other players' families overwhelmingly supported the idea. Twelve players, four coaches and eight additional parents made the trip, which cost more than $30,000. Some of the players helped raise their own funds - Wilson's sons, for example, mowed yards to raise money - and his church, Community Bible Church, also contributed.

The team collected 30 boxes of new and used baseball equipment - uniforms, bats, balls, gloves, cleats, hats and so on - and shipped them to SCORE International, which in turn sent the boxes to the Dominican Republic ahead of the team. The Angels also provided food, clothing and other items for the Dominican people, and spent time playing with the children in the villages.

The Angels played four baseball games against Dominican teams and helped conduct a few clinics, too, but their mission work was clearly the highlight of the trip, according to Wilson.

"We would have devotions at night and let the kids share about their day and what it meant to them, and I can't begin to tell you how neat that was seeing these kids talk about their experiences," he says. "It made them really appreciate what they have here."



© 2008 by The High Point Enterprise. All rights reserved.