The end of the year at St. Joseph’s is filled with different educational field trips and fun home trips. The Explorers group went on just such a trip last week. Along with a St. Joseph’s chaperone, boys involved in the group went to two baseball games in Kansas City – a night game and a day game.
The boys were very excited to be going on this trip and worked hard to earn the opportunity. Each year, the Explorers raise money in many different ways. Mostly, proceeds benefit the Chamberlain and Oacoma communities. In the past, they have raised money for softball fields and families struggling with difficult medical issues.
This year, they are helping fund new playground equipment at a local park.
With their annual business wrapped up, everyone piled in for the eight-hour car ride to Kansas City, Missouri. Everyone was filled with anticipation – we were going to watch a
Major.
League.
Baseball.
Game.
Live in the stadium!!
Many of the boys talked about what they would have been doing in school and how great it was that they WEREN’T in school on the way down to Kansas City. That only added to the excitement!
After arriving at the hotel, we walked across the street to the stadium. Some couldn’t contain their excitement and ran!
When we got there, all the boys received a Kansas City Royals t-shirt as part of a promotional give-away that night. Very cool!
After finding our seats and setting ground rules for the boys, they were off to explore the Hall of Fame and get closer to the field to see if they could catch a ball during batting practice. The boys asked many questions about the game of baseball, the field and everything else you can imagine! Everyone really enjoyed the night.
The next morning, we had brunch before heading back to the stadium for the day game.
When the game ended, we made the long trip back to South Dakota and St. Joseph’s Indian School. Most of the boys slept at least half the way home. We had a late arrival time (about midnight) so the boys found space on the nearest piece of furniture they could find and slept there until morning (they didn’t want to wake up the whole house!).
The boys had a very good experience and learned a lot about baseball on the trip. We had fun looking at the history of the stadium, the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame, and the evolution of the game itself.
During their year being involved with Explorers, they learned many other valuable lessons. Thank you for helping St. Joseph’s provide these opportunities!
Read more about the Explorers.
Andrew, Houseparent
Sounds like you all had a wonderful time. What a blessing for these young men. God bless you all at St Joseph’s!