La Prensa (Nicaragua)

Here's today political cartoon in the Managua newspaper... The swine flu and Biblical prophecy linked?

(Matthew 24:7-8)

Chapel Day

Two great "chapels" today... the first shows yesterday's baseball star leading the upper school in song; how do you like our sanctuary? Middle school chapel was in our small groups; mine met in my office; we talked about:
*The Bible passage for the year (Romans 15:5-6);
*Some of the highlights of each student's year;
*How to develop the habit of finishing strong.
We closed by praying for the 8th graders, who will be in the high school the next time we meet.
...we'll miss you Mikayla, Luke, Caroline, Kristen & Seth!
I'm trying to forget that the baseball team had a game... we lost 11-0 to Enka (a local public school team); we can be very good, but we also have the ability to look very mediocre at times.
We are now 12-10 on the year (9-3 in our conference.)

Tuesday, April 28th

Austin Smith (junior pitcher/outfielder) came up BIG in today's 6-2 victory over Rabun Gap, launching a 3-run homer over the left-field wall in the bottom of the fourth; for the game he had four RBIs, including the game-winner. Austin is the one baseball teammate of Tim's going to Nicaragua with us this summer.
We've done our part, winning the last 6 conference games, including rematches on the three we lost early in the season. Rabun Gap still has to lose one of its last four games for us to have a share of the conference title... it could happen!

Monday, April 27th

Long day! This photo shows our student body president, Daniel Clark, speaking at the 3-hour "leadership workshop" held after school for all who plan to run for student government or honor society offices in May. Tim had practice 6:00-8:00, and then the rising-senior & parent college workshop, which ended just after 9:00... phew!
Tomorrow, we play the top team in our conference (Rabun Gap, who beat us at their place 9-7)... We need to win that game and then hope our opponents lose one of their last four, to be able to claim a share of the conference title. Game time 4:30.

Sunday, April 26th

Bruce Frank (pictured with his wife, Lori) has now been our pastor for eight months; he has done a phenomenal job, especially considering the "shoes he had to fill" (those of James Walker & Jim Henry.) Today's sermon ("Hope in Your Workplace", the focal text for which was Colossians 3:22-25) was the third in a four-part series entitled "Paralyzed". His exhortation not to "nag, lag nor sag" was a practical restatement of the importance of "working heartily as unto the Lord" and with a ministry mindset. For me, it was a reminder of the blessing and privilege of working in a school where all staff members are my brothers and sisters-in-the-faith.

Backstage Boys

Somewhere in the middle of the "Junior-Senior", these four took the stage. (L2R) Philip Richardson, David Cate, Harrison McGinnis & Tim Kynast...

Saturday, April 25th

Here's the Class of 2010 ready to host the annual Junior-Senior Banquet; this year's theme was "Dancing Through the Decades". Below is a short clip of the live band that provided some of the entertainment. (L2R) David Cate, Hannah Bond, Philip Richardson & Harrison McGinnis... they sounded great live!

Friday, April 24th

We had a "navy & gold dress-down day" and pep-rally (grades 2-12), then the game(s)... we weren't able to escape the "tight spot" we were in at the away game that was halted for darkness, but dismantled Shannon Forest 13-1 in the full game this afternoon... not sure where that leaves us, besides in a must-win situation next Tuesday (our last regular-season conference game, at home against Rabun Gap @4:30.) We are 8-3 in the CAA conference, and 5-1 against teams in our playoff classification (2-A).


Here's a look at the beautiful dogwood memorial the Class of 2008 gave in memory of Rick Hines and Lana... in bloom!

Thursday, April 23rd

We took care of business with Christ School, avenging an early-season 2-0 loss with an 11-2 victory; Tim's new mitt performed admirably, he even turned a solo double-play at first.
I missed the last three innings to be at tonight's 6th and 9th grade orientations, but I will be there for the duration of tomorrow's home "double header" with the conference title on the line (action begins at 4:00)

Wednesday, April 22nd

Tim's first baseman's mitt has been wearing out and we've been looking for a new one since Christmas without coming across one that he got real excited about. When he told me he used a teammates outfielder's glove at practice today, I knew it was time to make this a priority... we prayed to find just the right one, and here's the result. When my arm tired of the father-son pitch & catch, he turned to the wall hoping to have it broken-in for tomorrow's game!

Tuesday, April 21st

Just a little clip of Tim on the mound closing out a 15-1 victory over Carolina Day (our big rival in soccer, but much less of one in baseball); the big games this week are Thursday 4:30 at Christ School and Friday 4:00 @ACA vs. Shannon Forest. In the latter contest, we'll be finishing a game started April 1st that was called for darkness with the score tied in the bottom of the 7th; we need to find a way to escape a one-out, runners on first and second scenario to win that game in extra-innings, and then win the "home" game to set ourselves up for the automatic bid for the state playoffs in our division.

Back to School

It's crunch time again for those taking AP courses... the first exam for which is two weeks from tomorrow; Here's one of our dedicated AP Statistics students taking advantage of some free tutoring after school from her teacher, Mr. Herzog (and #2 son, Ezekiel).

Miracle League Pics

The Grand Strand Miracle League is dedicated to enriching the lives of people with physical and mental disabilities through the game of baseball... being a part of things yesterday enriched our lives; I was constantly stopping to wipe the moisture out of my eyes as I sought to capture on film what took place out on the field and in the dug-out. My guess is we'll be more prepared to face the challenges of this week having caught this glimpse of those faced by others every day of their lives.
Clicking on each picture should give you an enlargement.
Check out www.gsml.org

Saturday night @home

Kara and her houseguests (L2R) Chris, KK, Jory & Sarah (Matt opted out) around the card table downstairs... Kara's mom may not be around here anymore, but that doesn't mean there aren't people "standing in the gaps"... she was greeted upon arrival by a home-cooked meal and stocked refrigerator courtesy of our Easter dinner hosts... like I said: "the best friends!"

Children's Miracle Network

These two have 10 state championships between them in as many years (9 volleyball, 1 baseball), and here they are early Saturday morning, setting out breakfast for the team... servant leadership at its best!


Today they have us working with the Miracle Network; one of the primary reasons they chose this particular tournament, was the opportunity to invest time and resources in that vital ministry to the 170 Children's Hospitals in our country. I have been commissioned to write an article for the Black Mountain News and plan to take lots of pictures, but this will likely be my last entry for today, since we will not be returning to the hotel and I will have a house full of guests (Kara and friends!) when we get home tonight (ETA 10:00)

The Skits

This is a very short clip from the winning performance by Team Kynast in the skit competition. An impersonation of (L2R) Coaches DeVries, Ramsey, Filipek & Clark in the midst of a staff meeting:

Team George placed second in this event, holding onto first overall; Team Justice will have the privilege of serving the team by taking care of its equipment for the remainder of the season...

Planet Hollywood & The Skins Game

Team Justice recorded its first victory in dramatic fashion with a 12-skin hole-in-one by Captain Matt on the final hole of the tournament; Trey Combest contributed 10 skins to lift Team Hines to second place in that event and overall... the results of tonight's skits will determine which team gets the steak dinner at Coach Filipek's house (and which will be carrying the equipment the rest of the season)!

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 5 (2nd entry)

Coach Filipek used his "connections" to schedule practice at Coastal Carolina University this morning... my first opportunity to watch our coaching staff run a full practice; there is no doubt in my mind, our young men are receiving some of the best instruction out there for players their age.

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 5

We were "up on the roof" again early this morning for Coach Filipek's Bible study based on Hebrews 12:1-11. Among other things, Coach asked the groups to come up with definitions for "discipline"; a sampling of their responses:
1. Maturity, discernment to do what is right in a given situation;
2. Setting boundaries (that you've determined not to cross);
3. An authority figure teaching and correcting out of love;
4. Effectively correcting one's behavior by means of physical punishment or verbal rebuking;
5. Having self-control to do what you are told or expected to do.
Not bad for a bunch of teenagers before breakfast!
Coach emphasized the relationship between being "disciples" and the ways we are disciplined by our Heavenly Father... great stuff!!

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 4 (2nd entry)

Coach Clark led our roof-top devotional this evening... none of us collaborated in our choice of passages & themes, but there is definitely a common thread. We are all looking forward to Coach Filipek's turn tomorrow morning at 8:15!
(L2R) Trey, Brad, Sam, Eric, Lawson, Coach & Mrs. Clark, Becca.
We had dinner at the River City Cafe; my Mahi-Mahi sandwich was excellent!
Team Hines won this evening's competition ("Stand-up Triple"), which included this event called "The Roommate Game".

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 4

Nothing looked amiss during warm-ups in the batting cages, but we didn't get our first hit out on the field until the fourth inning, and the team from Newark, NY (yes York, not Jersey) has eliminated us from the tournament (6-2)... time to re-group and get ready for next week's conference opponents (Carolina Day, Christ School and Shannon Forest), three games that will go a long way in determining our chances to make the play-offs this year...

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 3 (5th entry)

The game was actually a lot better than the 16-6 final score would indicate. After falling behind 6-2, we rallied to tie the game at 6 in the third and held through the fifth, when we ran out of healthy, experienced "arms" (pitchers)...
The fourth "Grandstrand Game" (ACA Baseball Jeopardy) was loads of fun, as you can see from these pictures...
The results of these contests is becoming all-too-predictable; after taking second place in Beach Volleyball, these four (Team George) have reeled off three straight victories and hold a ten-point-lead over Teams Hines and Kynast!
We just found out we play a team from Newark, NY in an elimination game (win-or-go-home) tomorrow morning at 10:00... which means we have to leave the hotel by 8:30, yikes!

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 3 (4th entry)

Here are some snap-shots of the hotly-contested scavenger hunt won by Team George (Thomas, Brad, Eric & Andrew), the foursome now in sole possession of first place in the "Grandstrand Games"...
Just three points separated first and last place in this event!

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 3 (3rd entry)

We've seen lots of curve balls on this trip already, but this morning's was something new... Coach Filipek caught his toddler son (Parker) with his head through the railing on our 4th floor balcony (one of a couple places where the rails are wide enough), so he's negotiating a room change for our group, we're packed and in stand-by mode... obviously, the players have no trouble entertaining each other!

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 3 (2nd entry)

Morning devotions went well, especially considering the boys ate dinner (pizza) after 1:00 AM... here they are at and walking back from the pancake house later in the morning... activity #3 (the scavenger hunt) starts in 15 minutes.

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 3

This video requires a little explanation: Rain delayed our game in the bottom of the 2nd inning (up 2-0); the boys are shown playing tic-tac-toe on a baseball with their opponents... I'm not sure who won that contest, but Elkins (WVa) rallied in the bottom of the 7th to beat us 11-10 at midnight last night... yes, it was painful, but there are lessons to be learned from the experience that I am hoping to apply in this morning's devotional, the text for which is Joshua 24:1-27. The photo is from our pre-game meal @Angelo's; (L2R) Trey, Lawson, Eric, Brad, Sam & Michael.

Mingo Bay Classic - Day 2 (3rd entry)

Here are the four teams posing (in order of finish) with their "Legacy Castle" creations (you should get an enlargement by clicking on each picture)












First and second swapped places in the beach volleyball competition, leaving Teams George and Kynast tied at the top of the leader-board... Here's a look at the competition in the championship match... maybe they'd better stick to baseball!