New Song Nicaragua Sports Ministry: August 2015 Update

Baseball is well under way and it is a blessing to see all the hard work that has been put in start to pay off. We now have three Saturdays of baseball exhibitions under our belt. The first Saturday was for the oldest group and we had 4 communities participate: Candelaria, Nuevo Amanacer Santa Matilde, and Fe y Esperanza. Candelaria and Nuevo Amanacer faced off in a double header at the New Song fields. Candelaria won both of the tilts easily. It was clear to see, which team has put in the most practice. Luckily, there is plenty of time before January for everyone to improve. The other games took place in the community of Fe y Esperanza. Santa Matilde took the first game away from the home team, but Fe y Esperanza got revenge in the second winning comfortably although there were reports the home team snuck in some older kids in the second game. So an asterisk and a talking to were accompanied with that win. Needless to say, it was a successful first weekend.

The photo that broke the internet

Nidia showing that she can play with the big boys!

The second weekend featured the 9 and 10 year olds. There were three communities that took part: Candelaria, Santa Matilde, and Fe y Esperanza. It started off in typical Nicaraguan fashion with the bus transporting both Santa Matilde and Fe y Esperanza to the wrong location. After the miscommunication was resolved the first game between Candelaria and Santa Matilde kicked off at the New Song fields. Candelaria came out strong taking an early 2-0 lead, but Santa Matilde responded with 2 runs of their own in the 4^th. The pitchers on both teams showed real resolve when facing situations with runners in scoring positions and their defenses had their backs as well as the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Due to starting later than expected, Santa Matilde had to get back and was not able to play against Fe y Esperanza. So Candelaria and Fe y Esperanza squared off for a game and it was a mismatch to start with. Although it was clearly communicated that the game was for the 9-10 year old age group, Fe y Esperanza decided to bring 12 year olds to the game. Being that they had made the long trip and seeing an opportunity for the Candelarian team to face an interesting challenge it was decided for the game to be played. Fe y Esperanza flexed their muscles by scoring 5 in the first. They continued in the second by adding 4 more for a 9-0 lead. Candelaria started to hold their ground and kept fighting against the steep competition and managed 2 runs in the third. Fe y Esperanza added 4 more runs in the next two innings and although Candelaria had the bases loaded in two consecutive innings they could not add any more runs and the game was called after the fifth for a 13-2 victiory for Fe y Esperanza.

Ole Wilson and that smile!

We definitely have beautiful background scenery!

It was the little ones turn to show their abilities this past weekend. Candelaria, Nuevo Amanacer, and Santa Matilde all squared off. The first game was between Candelaria and Nuevo Amancer. Nuevo Amanacer made a statement early with 2 runs in the first, but their optimism was short lived as Candelaria brought their big boy pants and absolutely exploded with 10+ runs of their own in the bottom half of the first. Candelaria exemplified surprisingly good defense with their first baseman catching any and all throws that came his way. Candelaria dominated the whole game much to the appreciation of the home crowd. Nuevo Amanacer had to quickly forget about their first game and turn their attention to Santa Matilde, and through the first three innings it looked like their game against Candelaria was just to shake off first game jitters and rust. They took a 10-6 lead heading into the fourth when they decided to trade baseball for hot potato. Santa Matilde took advantage and took a commanding lead that they did not surrender and won the game handely. So the final game featured the two winners, Candelaria and Santa Matilde. It was the game everyone wanted to see and boy it did not disappoint. The game started by Candelaria bringing in 3 runs, but the strong defense that they showed in their first game quickly disappearred as Santa Matilde answered with 2 runs. The two heavyweights went back and forth for the first three innings until Santa Matilde had a strong 4^th to take a 13-7 lead going into the fifth and final inning. Candelaria channeled their inner Rocky and Santa Matilde took a page out of the Nuevo Amanacer playbook by instilling the hot potato principles. Candelaria scratched out 7 runs to take a one run lead heading in to bottom of the fifth. Not wanting to succumb to defeat, Santa Matilde quickly found themselves with the bases loaded and no outs. They won the game on a 2 run liner to right field. It was a great way to end a great day and a great first couple of weekends.

The Candelarian "Bomb Squad"

Erwin does a great job of ministering and coaching the kids of Santa Matilde!

It has been an exciting time over the past couple of weeks, but even though the games are “exhibitions” there has been a few times where fans have gotten mad on a call an ump made or that the players have gotten away from cheering on their own team to say something to the other team. It is amazing how a little competition can change people into someone different. I am sure all of us have seen our fair share of ridiculousness at games throughout the years. It can be easy to forget that we can be getting so mad and angry at another brother or sister in Christ over a 7 year old’s game. In the new covenant there are two commands, love God and love your neighbor. In our weekly New Song staff devotionals we looked at 1 John 4. In the tenth verse of the chapter the author describes what love is, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” The word for atoning sacrifice in Greek is hilasmos, and this word is only used twice in the whole Bible with both being in 1 John. The definition of hilasmos is an offering to appease an angry, offended party (God). Jesus’s sacrifice was the sacrifice that appeased God’s wrath. It was humbling to understand what atoning sacrifice really meant and the powerfulness of it. After explaining the magnitude of God’s love the author pleads to his audience, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” We have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world and we are called to love each and every one of them. It is understood that one person can only share love with so many people but we have definitely felt you all’s love here in Nicaragua. Be it through prayers, giving, or physically coming down to be here with us, it has been amazing and we are extremely grateful for it. I ask that you keep a few things in your prayers in this next coming month: that we will receive rain daily (Nicaragua has had a severe drought this rainy season), that the right people for chaplains will begin to come to the forefront, that we will fill our last coaching void in Candelaria, and that the games will continue to go well. Thanks so much and God bless!