Campbellsville University Athletics - Kyle Caven Dominican Diary

Kyle Caven Dominican Diary

Campbellsville University men's and women's head tennis coach Kyle Caven is on his first international mission trip, July 26-31, in the Dominican Republic. Caven flew to the Dominican on Monday, July 26, and will write a daily update each night on CampbellsvilleTigers.com.

DAY 1 - TUESDAY, JULY 27

What a day! Coming to the Dominican, I wasn't sure what to expect as it is my first time out of the country, but it was an amazing first day! Waking up to a cold shower was, well, shocking to say the least! I met Co-founder John Zeller of Score, International first thing, all my doubts disappeared. He is such a man of God and willing to do whatever it takes to make good things happen.

Our team of coaches took off early on a 45 minute car ride into the heart of Santo Domingo to one if the best tennis clubs on the island. Along the highway filled with CRAZY drivers (our driver honked his horn 57 times), was poverty I hadn't seen before. People outside, watching the cars pass by because there are just not enough jobs, and trash
scattered everywhere. God, however, showed a blessing as we drove by the beautiful deep blue ocean crashing into the Dominican coast!

We arrived just in time to meet Club Pro Marciel who has invited coaches like us for five years into his PRIVATE club!! We immediately took to the courts working with 30 Dominican children, teaching them tennis skills and more importantly showing them the love of Christ! We met so many kids and we were allowed to sit the kids down (this group could all understand English) and share the Gospel with them! We are confident we planted a seed in their hearts and God will make it grow.

I'm so blessed by the kids here bc even though they have so little, they are so genuine, so honest and they have such a thankful heart! The biggest blessing for today was Marciel as he introduced us, said we were here to coach but more importantly bc we love the Lord and God wanted us here to share about about Jesus!

I was reminded tonight in a message that as Christians we are supposed to 1.be joyful, 2.always give thanks (attitude of gratitude), 3. Serve one another in the love of the Lord. All if these according to Ephesians 5:19-21!!

It has been an an amazing day! Thank the Lord! Please pray for us that tomorrow will be successful as we are coaching, passing out Bibles and will get to speak to the club coaches and pro about their faith!!

P.S. If you travel to the Dominican, you have to try a piece of tres leche cake!

To be continued....

Kyle Caven

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY, JULY 28

God is so good! I felt like God wanted to show me new things here on the island, and I was reminded quickly, he always comes through on what he promises.

We left this morning bright and early eager for another day at the club. We came loaded with gifts and Bibles for the children. At arriving at the club (our driver was much easier on the horn today), we started speaking with the children and giving out the Bibles!!

The kids were so excited to get them but a bigger blessing for me was seeing some of the coaches (ages 17-22) asking very humbly if they could have also! My friend gave me bracelets to pass out to the children and they all wore them today including the Coaches!! They loved recieving a gift and just showed me how simple helping someone or just caring for people is!

Getting to see some of the same kids was amazing today, as their face lit up as you just remembered their name. I also felt so blessed that they looked forward to seeing us again and they told their parents about us and what were doing.

God is great! He affirmed our trip through a mother of one of the kids at lunch. I only greeted her in Spanish but she came to me after our lesson and said (luckily for me, in English), that I greeted her so warmly and that we were having so much fun on the court that she knew we were different. She explained that people in the world just don't act like that anymore. Then I told her we were here to serve the Lord. Her face lit up because she is a believer as well! She thanked us so much for coming. All glory to God because according to Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." He gets the praise and thank the Lord he lives with us always!

The other coach in our group, Lauren, got to share her testimony in front of 55-60 players. The coaches and even the grounds keeping stopped working to listen!! The kids and coaches responded and said most of them knew who Jesus is, so we ministered to them and trusted God that some may have given their hearts, and we know he will take care of the rest! We get to follow up with some of them tomorrow!

Great news!! Marcial, the club pro told us he loves the Lord and he lives in his heart! Marcial has a great program going as well helping not only coach the wealthy, but helps local kids be ballboys and gives them tennis lessons! This might seem small but with such bad lifestyles, keeping these kids off the street and being productive might save their lives!

Another of the young coaches spoke to us during lunch about how he was saved and how he has been struggling as a Christian, so God
allowed us to minister and pray for him and encourage him because many of his peers are not saved!! He also said their is a big Evangelical
movement in Santo Domingo!! God is crossing boundaries for us!

God has created so many blessing already and I wish I could write them all for you but know he is working!

Tomorrow we return to the club, and I get to share my testimony! Please pray for good weather as they say lots of rain is on the way.

Buenas noches!

DAY 3 - THURSDAY, JULY 29

Never be surprised at the tactics God uses to get our attention. I have learned this week that God will use the most unwilling circumstances to enlighten our world and encourage us beyond belief!

Today started down as our ride to the club fell through because of car trouble. Lauren (our other coach) had to leave to take care of another mission opportunity on the island and all of these obstacles put a downer on the beginning of our day but GOD had other plans!

God arranged us to catch a ride with a team coaching basketball into Santo Domingo! Soon after we met a kid from a nearby town, Pedro, that came to see us at Marcial's club. He is a great tennis player and wants to come soon to the U.S. to play for a college team! I was able to play with him and speak to him about what it takes to come to America and what he needs to do. I am so happy we were able to minister to him in this way because it opened the door to speak to him about why we were here and about his faith. I hope we planted a good seed there! It feels good to be able to help him in the way of pointing him to his dream! Maybe he can be a TIGER one day!

Another great blessing happened as I got to speak to one of the young coaches for a good bit of time just about his culture and what he liked to do here! He opened up so much about his life! I love getting to know these guys here, and hopefully we are a positive influence on their life!! Unfortunately we had to call it an early day today because of our transportation and came back early in the afternoon so I didn't get to minister like we thought but speaking to Pablo and the coaches was a great blessing from the Lord! Even though it didn't go as planned, the Lord shows me EVERY TIME, HIS plan is best!! Great news as well, a tropical rain flooded the area in the afternoon so it was very good we made it in early!

I was so fortunate tonight to get to attend a SCORE International Church Service tonight along with all the other missionaries and visitors this week. I learned so much about SCORE and how much they care about the Dominican and all the missions they are involved in all the time! Kiko (fulltime missionary) spoke in Spanish and it was translated for us! He spoke with so much passion and conviction for the Lord, God was moving in the room! I was locked into the message as he spoke about how we should expect miracles from the Lord!! We should have the confidence to expect the Lord WANTS to give us blessings and waiting for us to ASK him!! LIFE is about having a personal relationship with the Lord and the actual closeness he wants to have with us! Kiko's passion for the Lord inspired me so much and I can't wait to get out there tomorrow!! God is so good to us and I can't wait to see what he has for us!!

We need to be a walking billboard for God!! Lead by example because we never know who is watching!

DAY 4 - FRIDAY, JULY 30

The Dominican way of life not only has a distinct reputation of a relaxed lifestyle, I can safely say that I have experienced and actually enjoyed the feeling of almost no time frame here. However, when its meal times that are pushed back for an hour..or two....I'm not as enthusiastic : ). We are on a mission trip here for the Lord so I have decided that my stomach will have to wait and HE comes first!

After last nights message from Kiko I was so ready to go today! We had a little unfortunate timing with our ride but made it to the club before lunch : ).It was another great day of playing with the kids. We have established a relationship with so many of the kids and we can call them by name and genuinely ask them how they are doing and we have met their families as well. Please pray God will continue to bless this ministry here and the fruits of it will come years and years later! I was able to meet new players from Puerto Rico and Costa Rica here training at the club and share with them why I was here.

I had a great opportunity at lunch to speak with a girl named Isabella! She is very sweet and I met her on Tuesday with her brother. We talked about her life and then we started talking about church and God. God impressed something on my heart to really listen to her and she had some very serious things to say. I was able to tell her that the Bible says Jesus is the only way! That as we know, it is about a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God, not about religion. She said she knows the Lord and that made my heart happy; I just pray that she really knows the power of the Lord and whatHE can do!

Marcial continues to impress me! He is such an outstanding guy b/c he genuinely cares about these kids. When I see him at the club he looks like he is at home. He is comfortable, knowledgeable, continuously positive and gives 110% everyday to the kids. His heart is as big as the ocean and he gives his all to the Lord, his family and the club to help the kids. We gave Marcial some extra Spanish Bibles and he was so grateful! He took them and said he hopes to get the kids to read a little bit each day before their training!! God is so good and it just shows that if we are in the place that he has set for us, HE will provide!!

We had a couple of great moments with the coaches today as they really opened up to get some information, both about God and about tennis. We are coming as Tennis Coaches as well so that means they respect us and what we are doing here. I've made a great friendship with a 10 yr old they call "Bin Laden" b/c he is (crazy). He embraces this title but is from a rough neighborhood here with little to no money. He is a GREAT player and beats most of the kids up to about 14 years old in the club! We don't communicate extremely well b/c my Spanish is slow but even better than his English : ). I hope to keep contact of him, b/c I know GOD has a great plan for his life!!

I'm still sad because of the terrible conditions that people are living in here. The traffic is CRAZY, but the people make the difference. When coming down I really came with an open mind and heart. God has filled it already with so many new friends and memories. The best part about that is they are SPIRITUAL memories!! I have memories of what the Lord has done, shown me, and promises to show me in the days to come. Sharing the Lord is the most important thing that we can do in life. It's not about the rewards here, but about the rewards God has for us in heaven!

This was a great day for me getting replenished from GOD and him just confirming a lot of things in my own life, but confirming again the work that we are doing here. I've been coaching many times, but this has been soo different for me b/c our main goal is to love the kids and spread the word of the Lord!!

One more day here in the Dominican and I am excited to see what God has for us! Please keep us in your prayers!!

DAY 5 - SATURDAY, JULY 31

To say that I have grown from spending just one week in the Dominican would be an incredible understatement. The Lord has shown me things that he has wanted me to learn for years and I was too stubborn or too fixed on my own issues that I couldn't see past them. God has used me and this team to not only make friendships and teach tennis but make an impact that is eternal! If just one person accepts the Lord and changes their life, it is all worth it. Every problem is an opportunity to trust God!

I have to reveal that my only fear in this country was the TRAFFIC! It was unbelievably frightening. In one week of driving, I have seen two stop signs; both of which were ignored completely : ). There are goats roaming the sides of the roads with no fences, people crossing a HIGHWAY (two lanes each side) and BARRIER to get to the other side, cars stop in the middle of the road for no reason, absoultey no blinkers are used, and in the vans we rode in, no seatbelts! All this, however, is all in the experience because we are healthy and in one piece!

I had said before the trash on the sides of the road produced a terrible smell at stop lights, but the worst thing about this is how I see people on the sidewalks digging through it to find any scraps of something worth salvaging just to make life a little more positive. The Dominican culture seems to be set, as the rich are far seperated from most of the poor and little help is given. I hope this is why we are here, giving HOPE to a country that has so little and an opportunity for success! The trash and filth is going to be here for a while, as will be the electric going out everyday! Each day this week the lights will go off for a short period of time. In poorer areas, they say it can go out for a long amount of time for no reason and no warning. I learned that the cost of electricity in the Dominican is one of the highest in the world. I wish a country so poor can get a break from feeling overwhelmed and oppressed all of the time.

Today Marcial had work he needed to complete in another town and we were not able to get to the club. This is unfortunate b/c I didn't get to say good-bye to some of the kids and didn't get a picture of "Bin Laden" : ). The opportunity just wasn't there today, which is ok, I just hope that we did all that we could have this week!I was blessed to have some time to relax today and I got to catch a bus to the beach a couple miles away. It was AMAZING! The water is so blue and where I was, they kept the beach beautiful and clean. I'm sureall thebeaches aren'tas cleanbut God used it as time to think and help me reflect on the week and also what I have ahead of me this week and the rest of this year. A new group of men and women on a mission trip this week came in today and are very excited for the week! We got to speak with them and share what we have seen this week. I hope that they can feed off of our excitement and go in full force for the Lord!

Their is so much opportunity for ministry here in the DR. This is the case especially in the tennis area! Marcial is making great strides thanks for the faithfullness of SCORE and Coach Mike Henderson who has been such a great influence here that Marcial is becoming so bold for the Lord! I truly hope that I can come back next year and bring a team with me to minister even further! These not only need the Lord but a good education to learn English and improve their lives. If we can educate them and give them an opportunity to succeed, they will come back to the Dominican and give back and improve the country!

Score International, is not only here for sports outreach but to teach english, help single mothers, church planting and many more avenues! It is such a great organization to work with b/c they truly care about the people here and the Lord has placed on their heart a passion for the Dominican people!

We are all called to spread the work of the Lord in whatever capacity that may be. In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths". You don't have to know exactly why God calls you to do something but JUST DO IT, trust him and know that He will take care of the big stuff for you. We just need to have a little faith to make a move. Remember it is all about a personal relationship with God! We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God but he wants to forgive us. If you don't have that relationship and have never asked the Lord into your heart it is not too late!!

John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 14:6 says, Jesus answered, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".

Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:9-13 says, "That is you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, For it is by grace you have been saved, not through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

If you believe the Bible offers truth and Jesus is the way, you can pray and ask the Lord into your heart. There is no special formula and you can use your own words and pray from your heart to God and he WIll save you! God wants to be close with you everyday and have an open line of communication with you!

If you have any questions about an opportunity here, or if have any questions about the Lord oryou prayed that prayer please let me know. I would love to speak with you!

Adios!