11-Aug-10 2:00 PM CST

Coach Raffield and friends prepare for mission trip to Dominican Republic

Coach Raffield and friends prepare for mission trip to Dominican Republic
By Michael Sudhalter

Cy Falls High athletic coordinator/head football coach David Raffield spends most of his time planning, training and working with the Golden Eagles football team.

Next week, Raffield and his wife, Cathy, and their children -- Caitlin, Will and Jake -- will travel to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, June 8-15, as part of Athletic International Missions (AIM).

Raffield said he’s volunteered in the Greater Houston area but hasn’t done so abroad.

“It’ll be the first time taking my entire family and going to a foreign country,” Raffield said. “We’ll immerse ourselves in the culture. It’s always been a quest for my family to help others. I’m very excited about it.”

The Raffields represent five of the 96 people that will be traveling to the Dominican Republic on a charter flight; Cy Falls assistant baseball coach Brian Kratky will also be going on the trip.

AIM is a Christian non-profit missions groups started by Fred and Barbie Billings, owners of Buds & Blossoms at 14120 Cypress-North Houston; AIM is still looking for athletic equipment donations for the trip (Contact Blake Billings at 832-433-0244, or visit aimissions.net).

The Billings have five sons and a daughter between the ages 10 and 22, including Cy Falls sophomore offensive lineman Brooks Billings who went on the trip last summer.

“(It was nice) seeing how happy (the people in the Dominican Republic) are for the little things in life that we complain about all the time,” Brooks said. “They don’t complain, they’re just happy to be there. They love playing sports and for a lot of them, that’s their life.”

Last summer, the Billings family coordinated AIM’s first trip to the Dominican Republic in which they ran baseball camps, provided baseball equipment and held Bible studies.

This time, the group has significantly increased the amount of equipment that they’ll bring to the Dominican Republic, and they’ve expanded the trip to include basketball and volleyball camps.

Raffield will do administrative work in overseeing some of the baseball camps in the morning, and he’ll participate in Bible studies at night with the group.

Barbie Billings said AIM has collected (through donations from across Texas) 1,000 baseballs, 700 baseball bats, 350 baseball gloves, 400 pairs of baseball caps/pants, 300 cleats and 150 basketballs for the trip.

“An old beat-up glove sitting in somebody’s garage that’s not being used here is one of the most important things they can have,” Raffield said. “It’s amazing that the network that you build through e-mails and word of mouth. We’ve sent things out to businesses, players and families from (of past Cy Falls students). We’ve reached out in our Northwest Houston community. People have been so gracious and so excited for us.”

They’ve also received 200 Spanish-language Bibles from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and local doctors from Northwest Houston will travel there to set up a mobile medical units.

Mrs. Billings said the group will bring the equipment with them on the charter flight, and what doesn’t fit will be shipped later.

Fred Billings talked to Raffield last year about going on the trip, but the scheduling didn’t work out.

Raffield, who hopes to learn some Spanish during the trip. didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to help out this summer.

“Our main thing is teaching them baseball and The Bible,” Raffield said. “This was a chance to go out and spread Christianity and do it in an atmosphere of athletics. We’ll go to the churches, attend some of their masses and visit the other small communities that are in the area.”

Raffield said the timing works out perfectly – because it’s falls between the end of the school year and the beginning of the Golden Eagles’ summer program.

“(We have) the excitement of giving people something they really value,” Raffield said. “Hopefully, it’ll be a life-changing experience for (my family).”

Fred Billings said last summer, AIM served 3,000 hot dogs over four days and donated $50,000 worth of used equipment to about 3,000 athletes.

He was happy to hear that Raffield has decided to go on the trip this summer, but not surprised.

“One of the unique things about Cy Falls – it’s always more than football,” Fred said. “It’s always more than the sport you play. It’s life, it’s community, it’s learning how to live together. They’ve done Habitat for Humanity, Extreme Makeover-kind of things. As a parent in the community, I have a great deal of appreciation for that.”