Baby Georgia

It’s been 3 months since we welcomed baby Georgia into our family.  I am now ready to document her story. I needed time to process, to feel, to soak in His faithfulness to our family and to see clearly through the fog of what we had just experienced.  If you like adoption stories, grab a tissue, a glass of sweat tea, and enjoy!

It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon when the phone rang.  We were told that Latrice, Georgia’s birth mom, was in the hospital and had developed preeclampsia.  The doctor wanted to go ahead and retrieve baby Georgia 3 weeks early to ensure no harm would come to her or Latrice.  She was scheduled to be induced early on Wednesday morning.  Like our previous two adoptions, we threw some things in a bag, squared away child care for our bigs, and hopped in the car for an 8 hour car ride filled with excitement, anxiousness, joy and all the other feels you feel when your family is getting ready to grow!

We arrived to our hotel, settled in, slept a few hours, splashed water on our faces, and headed out the door to Kansas University Hospital. When we arrived, we received our name tags and were escorted back to Latrice’s room where she was waiting for the doctor to arrive to discuss a time to induce. We were so very nervous as we were preparing our hearts, minds and eyes to be in the delivery room to witness sweet Georgia enter the world…as this was nothing we had ever experienced before.  Latrice was so very gracious to want us there, as she truly desired us to experience everything we possibly could as she was gifting this dear child to us.  This baby was ours. 
We sat, we waited, we talked, we laughed, we told stories and we waited some more.  After a whole day of waiting and sitting in the delivery room with Latrice, the time had come.  Her body was ready to bring baby Georgia into the world.  A rush of emotions overcame us as we experienced such beauty for the first time…the sites, the sounds, the rush of doctors into the delivery room…all of it. 
After just a few pushes….there she was…we saw the miracle happen right in front of our eyes!  It was just the way God had designed it to be. Georgia Rae was so beautiful with a head full of hair!  The little squeeks she made were sounds of pure bliss in our ears.  As Will was cutting the cord, the tears flowed…the representation of what that signified was overwhelming to our souls.

We spent the next few days in a hospital room caring for our sweet angel.  Will had some good time with Latrice in her room as she recovered.  He talked to her about Jesus, about who He is and what His characteristics are.  He talked to her about how God can Redeem all thing and all situations for good.  We had a bracelet made for her with the word Redeem etched in the middle. 

Fast forwarding a few weeks.  We’re back in Louisville.  Our family of 5 is reunited after a long two weeks apart.  The reunion was so glorious!  Our two bigs, Ruby and June, just adore their baby sister…as we knew they would!

Just a few days later…
The phone rang. The gentle voice on the other end carried a deep sadness in her tone.  We received the news that Georgia’s birth mom, Latrice had passed away. Our minds went into a fog as shock set in.  The heart break, oh the heart break.  It was all so very surreal.   All the questions swirling around in our minds. Sweet baby Georgia.  How will we navigate these waters?  Did we properly thank her for giving us the most beautiful gift and for helping us fulfill our desires to grow our family? 
We were told that Latrice was wearing her Redeem bracelet on her wrist as she took her last breath and passed into eternity.  Our prayer is that seeds were planted and that she truly felt God’s redemption in her life.  We’re praying that God used us to be Light.  We’re praying that Georgia Rae will use her story, her journey in this life to reach others, to share what redemption looks like, to glorify Him!

God chose to expand our family again.  He has done it through something so beautiful…Adoption.  The story He has written is breath-taking.  It’s a life full of complexities, curves, twists and turns.  It’s complicated, but not, because it’s of Him.  It’s ingrained so deeply into the fabric of who we are because it’s all we know. It’s our life.  It’s what He has so graciously given to us.     

He brings such beauty from ashes, His kindness is so evident, His goodness is over whelming, His gifts to His children are wrapped in such beauty.  And that’s what Georgia Rae is to our family…a gift.     

The seed that fell on fertile soil

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”  - Matthew 13:1-9

For those of you that have been following our blog for a while, you have heard me mention the basketball camp we have been doing for over 200 kids in the community of Hoya del Caimito every summer since 1998.  This was the very camp that changed my life forever and caused us to move to the Dominican Republic as missionaries.  Two days ago, I received this email and it brought tears to my eyes as God allowed us to see fruit of a life forever changed because of a 3 day basketball camp.  These are the words of Francisco Martinez.

"hi my name is Francisco Martinez, I am 32 years old. I am en english teacher, and interpreter, Church Leader and basketball player (Leader too)

I grow up in Santiago, Dominican Republic. but right now I am living in Barahona. ( In the south).

I was in a basketball camp in 2001,2002 and 2003 in Hoya del Caimito, Santiago, 

I wasnt cristian at that moment but i remember I learnt 30 bible verses. now i remember that and i thank God for everything. also my basketball skill that I have now I learnt there.

you are doing a great job for Jesus. God bless you!

I would like to have a basketball camp here in barahona to change their life too.

maybe one day....

If you would like to bring a team to this area (Barahona) I am more than willing to help you and serve together. Its my dream!"

Why short term missions?  Why sports outreach?  Why invest time and resources in overseas missions?  Francisco’s letter says it all.   

Thank you to all who participated in the GO Basketball camp in 2001, 2002 and 2003.  God used you to plant seeds that fell upon fertile soil and Francisco “Duncan” Martinez is producing fruit in his community 15 years later.  I hope the participants of those camps read this blog and consider coming back to the DR to put on a camp in Barahona!  Let’s fulfill Francisco’s dream!

Below are pictures of the ribbons he won at camp many years ago.  They obviously mean a lot to him. 

The Heart of GO Sports

Many people ask the question, how does sports ministry work?  And even after attempts to explain it well, the concept of using sports as a vehicle to present the Gospel can remain foreign to many.  Over the past two weeks, we have seen a clear picture of the impact sports ministry can have…when done with the most important ingredient, “but the greatest of these is LOVE”.  Here at GO Sports we have 11 coaches that have committed their lives to sports ministry.  Some decided to join the team because they were influenced by Jose Luis and Pedro, the two men that founded GO Baseball and GO Baloncesto.  Some are with us because they have a passion for their sport and they want to teach kids.  Some are coaches because they have recognized the need for mentors in the lives of the youth that surrounds them in their communities and beyond.  Others are here because they simply love Jesus and see the opportunity to share the Gospel with hundreds of kids on a daily basis.  Whatever the reason may be, however much knowledge of the game they have, one things is true, our coaches downright know how to love these kids that they work with.  In Matthew 9:35-38, Jesus speaks about how plentiful the harvest is, but what few workers are in the fields.  In this story, it says that that Jesus was walking through towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news, healing diseases and sicknesses.  While He was doing these things, he saw the crowds of people and had compassion on them, “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”  In a recent Bible study by one of our baseball coaches, he said, a good leader sees a need and responds with compassion and action.  This is what Jesus did, as He had compassion on the people, he said to his disciples, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  In GO Sports, there are numerous kids that are like sheep without a shepherd and the Lord has sent our coaches into the field to love them and shepherd them. 

Donatello Rodriguez, a beloved kid from our GO Baseball Academy, tragically passed away on January 26^th.  Donatello came from a loving home, with two parents that adored him.  They came to his games, they walked him to school, they volunteered at his activities and they cleared their schedule to spend time with him.  Not only is this very rare in the Dominican Republic, but the whole world could learn from this kind of love.  As the entire GO Baseball Academy grieves this loss along with his family, school and community, God has revealed to me the heart of GO Sports and encouraged us to keep on going and growing.  We held a memorial service at the baseball field last Saturday and our hearts were overwhelmed as the great ingredient of love was evident in every word, tear, hug and expression.  Our coaches, one by one, stood up and told stories of their time with Donatello.  Their words communicated to the world that they are not just coaches, they truly are shepherds and they deeply love their sheep.

When our coaches finished, Donatello’s mom and dad stood up to share.  The words of a loving father have never been more powerful and affirming as he looked at our coaches and the kids in the baseball academy and expressed his overwhelming gratitude for their investment in his son’s life.  He repeated again and again, “Ustedes eran su vida” (you guys were his life).  He shared Donatello’s passion to always be at the field and in discipleship class with our coaches.  He couldn’t keep him away from the academy and he told me it was a privilege to share his son with men that love the Lord like our coaches do.  He said they taught him to love Jesus.  After he was finished and the service was over, he pulled me aside, grabbed me by the shoulders and said, “please don’t ever lose your focus.  These kids need what GO Sports is doing”.  There are sheep without a shepherd and the harvest is plentiful.    

During the celebration of Donatello’s life, there has been no mention of his talent on the field, how our coaches developed his skills or how many games he won.  There has only been story after story of the mutual transformation that took place between a little boy filled with the joy of

the Lord and 6 baseball coaches that desperately loved him enough to call him their son.  This is sports ministry….this is the heart of GO Sports and we will continue on so that more kids, more families, more coaches and more missionaries will experience love the way Jesus intended for us to.