3v3 Tournament in Jarabacoa

Dave Adams, (roommates of one one of my best friends Mike McKevitt at Taylor)
playing some D. Small world.

I have loved getting involved in sports here in the DR. Playing in a basketball league and a softball league have been not only a great way to get some of my competitiveness out, but also a nice way to get to know people and be a good social thing for me.

Gotta love the baseball players on the trophies! The
pro player that I guarded in the Semi's is in the background too

Me and 2 other Americans, living in 3 different cities, decided to put a team together and enter into a 3v3 tournament for semana santa. We had never played together and didn't know each other very well, but it was great to play with them and get to know them. We were the face of the tournament from the very beginning, with the announcer telling the crowd that we were the first ever "international team" to play in the tournament, that we had been practicing for weeks in the mountains and that the international police were on call for the weekend. They also built us up as a great team (which was annoying, since none of us played in college and we were just there to play) so every team was very fired up to play against us.

Getting some much needed rest during free throw's

We played well in the first game, and the crowd loved us because of how physical we played. We made it to the Semi-finals where we met a team from La Vega (probably the best "basketball" town in the country) that had 3 professional players. As soon as they showed up in the morning they stole the show, including playing 2 on 3 in their first game and still dominating. They had some big guys, the guy I guarded was probably 6'5 230 and one of the best post players in the league in La Vega. It was an extremely intense and physical game and we played about as well as we could and still lost 16-14.



It was definitely a great experience and a fun time to hang out with a bunch of other Americans in the country that I didn't know very well. I also realized how much I need to play in the next 2 months to get ready for the big tournament in Constanza in July!

Keith Bogans

I finally arrived to Constanza today after about 3 weeks away. It is good to be back and it was great to see all my friends here. There was one friend I didn't expect to see. I looked in my sink and there was a lizard there - I didnt want to deal with it so I just ignored it and assumed it would run away..out of sight out of mind.

So I go back a little later (right before the Bulls game) and hes still there, hadn't moved an inch. I felt bad for the guy and bad for myself having to dispose of a dead lizard. So I ran some water just to make sure, and sure enough he started wiggling! He then proceeded to drink and drink and drink. Now I definitely didnt have the heart to kill him, and didnt want to just leave him outside so I have decided to let him live there for a while. He is way too weak to climb out of the sink, and I have already given him a name, Keith Bogans (in honor of his 5 3's in the Bulls win tonight) so he's not going anywhere. Hopefully he will gain enough strength to run away on his own, because I still really don't want to throw him in the trash...

Email Update - 2011 in the DR!

Friends and Family,

It has been too long since I have given a good update as to what I have been up to so far this year in the DR. It has been a fantastic start to the new year filled with a very busy schedule and the chance to meet and host some great teams/people. I am blessed to love what I do in the DR and to get to work with kids every day.

When I got back to the DR after Christmas I hit the ground running hosting a group of 11 students from St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. Their team leader Randy Farris has been a huge help to Kids Alive, leading roughly 20 teams in the past few years. He has a passion for kids and sports and has been a great help for me as I figure out what I want to do in the future. This was a busy month, filled with tons of driving as we spent time at each site in our DR ministry and worked with every kid under Kids Alive care! A very cool experience that not many Kids Alive missionaries get.

After that team, I have been working back and forth between Jarabacoa and Constanza helping host teams. It has been a lot of work and a much different role after the Rowley's left in November, but it has been a great challenge for me and it is definitely keeping me busy. All the teams have been amazing and I am blessed to be able to serve with them. One team with a big connection to me was when WFMP (Wheaton Football Ministry Partnership) was able to send a group of 14 to visit me in Constanza. It is always great to have friends/family visit and this team had many players that I had played with in the past, as well as my brother and parents.

Some big news in my life right now, is that I will be ending my first term with Kids Alive on August 1, 2011. I am currently at home in Wheaton, visiting family and also visiting potential schools to get some experience in coaching baseball at the college level. I will touch more on this in a future email, but my plan is to return to the DR after 2 years of coaching in the US. Got has given me a pretty clear plan for where He wants me long term and I am very excited to start working towards this. I return to Constanza April 20th, and I hope to get out another email before then to help lay out this future vision for my supporters. This transition time will be tough. The DR really is my second home and I am already anticipating how hard it will be to leave these kids that have become my little siblings. It is tough enough to leave for a few weeks and I know it will be extremely difficult to leave for a few years.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. I know I don't update my blog/email as much as I should, it has been tough not having internet at my apartment, but know that I really appreciate all the emails and notes of encouragement I receive. Email is still the best way to get ahold of me, so feel free to shoot me a note - I would love to hear from all of you!

In Christ,

Kyle