January 13, 2025
Formation | Baseball Recaps Impactful Puerto Rico Trip
AGUADA, PR. --- During the 2024 Christmas break, a group of 38 from the Asbury baseball program traveled to Puerto Rico to serve with the LYNC8 Project, a ministry organization led by Asbury women's basketball head coach Chad Mayes and his wife, Chandy.
View student-athlete and coach reflections on the trip below!
Evan McClain | Freshman | Christian Ministries Major | Huntingburg, In. | LHP / OF
It's hard to sum up all that God did while we were serving in Puerto Rico. I could talk about the beauty of God's creation that we saw, the children we had an impact on, or the people that served us while we were there. But I'm going to talk about something even more amazing; how God made our team of brothers into Brothers in Christ.
While on this trip during our devotional times, Dr. Dan Lewis kept repeating this phrase, "Strong men, tender hearts." I didn't know understand he meant by this at first. I prayed and asked the Lord to show me what it meant to be a strong man with a tender heart, but He didn't answer right away. So, I just carried on with the trip, attending each devotional time and trying to carry out the six objectives that were given to us: serve, work hard, don't complain, encourage, persist, and be ambassadors for Christ.
I didn't notice this at first, but our team began to rally together and carry out these objectives each day. It felt like there was a spiritual mood change when we started serving. What I realized was that we all forgot about ourselves and cared more about the people we were serving. In doing that, all of us grew closer with each other and with Christ. Toward the end of our trip, God began to harvest the seeds that had been planted. It was one of the last devotional times we had together, which impacted the team the greatest. Each teammate went around sharing what they learned from our Puerto Rico trip, and the responses were incredible.
I have never seen a group of guys be so vulnerable in the way we shared with a large group. Praises, hardships, and testimonies were all laid out. In this time of vulnerability, we were singing worship songs, praying for each other, and asking tough questions about our faith. I saw a group of 30+ Christian boys turn into 30+ Men of God. I saw some brothers that I play baseball with turn into Brothers in Christ. And that's when I realized that God not only showed me, but all of us what it meant to be a Strong Man with a Tender Heart. Praise God!
CJ Hussey | Freshman | Communication Major | Schenectady, NY | RHP / IF
Our team's trip to Puerto Rico was an amazing time of individual growth in humility, kindness, and selflessness. It also included a drastic shift in my view of the world. Not only that, but it grew our team and staff closer to one other, but more importantly, closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Before the trip my roommate Evan and I were spending quiet time with God and when we finished we had the same revelation that God would reveal things to us on this trip that we had never given thought to or experienced.
- On the trip several teammates were vulnerable with trials and life stories that we had no idea took place.
- We learned things from the local Puerto Rican kids at clinics that we hosted.
- We saw the beautiful capability of God's creation and most importantly the beauty of His salvation as five AU baseball players became new creations being baptized in Christ!
As a freshman on this team, I have never experienced anything like this and the camaraderie that we have is nothing short of special because of Jesus Christ!
Colton McCoy | Sophomore | Exercise Science Major | Bremen, AL | C / IF
The Puerto Rico trip was very special for me, being able to give back to the kids that love the game of baseball was powerful. I love working with kids, whether it's giving baseball lessons or coaching the summer travel ball team. I enjoy being around the game and mentoring the next generation of athletes. After I get out of college, I want to open up a baseball performance facility in Cullman, Alabama and just give back to the community through raising the next generation of the game. Not only through baseball skills but through faith and sharing the love that Jesus Christ gives us.
I have been baptized before but my faith leading up to this trip has been a roller coaster the last few years and I was just looking for wanted a fresh start. The purpose God has brought to my life has given me a whole new way of looking at life. I've learned that a relationship with God is the most fulfilling and amazing thing I could ever do. Putting time into this and growing in it just spreads to every corner of my life and I want everyone to know what it truly is to have a relationship with Christ.
Ben Propes | Sophomore | Hixton, TN | LHP
This trip was something that was outside of my comfort zone because I had extremely limited travel experience. This was the first time I had ever been on a plane and traveled outside of the continental United States. Despite this, I was blessed in so many ways during our time in Puerto Rico.
Being able to interact with the local kids through youth clinics was particularly special. Even though the majority of them could not speak English, we were able to use baseball as our common language to communicate with each other. As much as the kids and their families expressed their gratitude to us, they were undoubtedly a life changing blessing to all of us. It was awesome to see the world through a new lens and create memories with my teammates that I will never forget.
Manny Cervantes | Asbury Baseball Head Coach | 11th Season
We are so grateful for how God blessed our recent trip to Puerto Rico during Christmas break with the Lync8 Project team. It was evident that we had many people praying for our trip because of the overall experience we witnessed from start to finish. As our group leader, I admit I was a little anxious about a group of 38 travelers, but all our travel-related details went as smooth as possible.
Our team enjoyed lifetime memories together highlighted by five of our team members making decisions to be baptized and committing their lives to Christ. I was thankful that our team was both blessed and was a blessing to others during our time on the island. One example is the way our guys loved and served the Puerto Rican kids at our baseball clinics which showed how valuable it is to share their gifts and talents with others to glorify God. It is a great opportunity for mentoring when young kids look at college-aged students like superheroes, and our guys did a wonderful job engaging and interacting with the boys and girls regardless of any language barriers.
One beautiful picture was when we had the kids run around the bases to finish up one of our clinics. Our guys lined up around the bases and enthusiastically cheered as the kids ran around the diamond with a huge celebration when the last kid rounded the bases. Everyone loved it! We had numerous parents express their appreciation for our time together with their kids.
Overall, I believe everyone who witnessed our guys would have been proud of how they represented Asbury and Jesus during our trip. It was also a great team-building trip through daily spiritual discussions, worship and challenges led by our baseball chaplain, Dr. Dan Lewis. It was a special way for us to prepare as a team for the upcoming spring season.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't recognize and thank all our supporters and staff that helped make this trip possible. I'm grateful our first trip was a success in planting seeds of faith in the Puerto Rican baseball community and that the experience glorified our Lord and Savior.
View more photos of the trip with this link.
View a video of the trip here.
Follow Asbury Baseball on social media @asbury_baseball
* For the latest information on Asbury Athletics follow us @asburyeagles on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
* Watch our all #TeamAU home games live at Asbury Sports Digital Network
* Use the links attached to the team schedules to watch live or follow live stats
