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
NICE.
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