{"id":653,"date":"2011-06-15T08:00:40","date_gmt":"2011-06-15T12:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=653"},"modified":"2011-06-23T16:35:22","modified_gmt":"2011-06-23T20:35:22","slug":"miami-dolphins-receiver-davone-bess-on-his-recent-trip-to-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/miami-dolphins-receiver-davone-bess-on-his-recent-trip-to-costa-rica.html","title":{"rendered":"Miami Dolphins receiver Davone Bess on his recent trip to Costa Rica, God’s purpose for his life and The Bess Route Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hit “Like” to share with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOOD WORKS WEDNESDAY: Davone Bess<\/p>\n

When Davone Bess traveled to Costa Rica last month, it was the culmination of an unusually harrowing journey. Bess was raised by a single mother in Oakland and due to some bad decisions as a teenager landed in juvenile detention where his future looked bleak.<\/p>\n

But that wake up call prodded Bess, now age 25, to make a change and now the Miami Dolphins wide receiver is looking to turn his hard luck story into a challenge for kids and teens here in the United States and as a personal motivation to impact the lives of others across the globe.<\/p>\n

In this conversation with Bess, I asked about his trip to Costa Rica with Global Volunteers<\/a>, his belief in God\u2019s purpose for his life, and the inspiration behind the Bess Route Foundation<\/a> and how it\u2019s making a significant difference in the lives of young people:<\/p>\n

Bonham: What inspired you to make this trip to Costa Rica?<\/p>\n

Bess: With our foundation being in place, we just want to go around and try to help as many people as possible. We\u2019ve always had the vision of taking the time to put others before ourselves and to just make a difference in this world. This was actually my first time out of the country. My trainer (and foundation director) Chris (Kidawski) had been telling me the amazing experiences he\u2019s had every time he\u2019s been out of the country meeting new people and learning different cultures. So we decided to make the trip with Global Volunteers. We got our flights and next thing you know we were in Costa Rica helping the people in a small town called Canitas near Monte Verde. It was an unbelievable experience.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What were some of the projects you helped with there?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Davone Bess helps dig a ditch in the Costa Rican village of Canitas (Photo courtesy of The Bess Route Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bess: We did numerous things. We started off digging drainage ditches for the community. They\u2019re trying to prepare for the rainy season as fast as possible. These ditches were about 200 yards long. It was fun. I love being hands on. I really enjoyed working and helping the community.<\/p>\n

Chris and I were on the side of the community center with machetes and chopping down trees to help make the facility look more presentable and a lot cleaner. That was a lot of fun until we got attacked by these black flies. Those things sting! When those things come after you, they come after you. We started messing with the wrong tree and they started coming after us. But it was all good. We ended up finishing the trip up with some grouting and tiling in the kitchen and the snack area.<\/p>\n

One our last day, we had an exiting party. I\u2019m sponsored by Adidas so they sent me a bunch of equipment\u201410 soccer balls, five American footballs, 50 pairs of shoes for the soccer team. The team there happens to be really good but they don\u2019t have any of the proper equipment. We also brought down a couple of rice cookers and an extra skillet for the team to cook with when they travel to other villages. We brought them a heart monitor for their health post, which is something the community didn\u2019t have at all. That was very important.<\/p>\n

We had a great experience. We completed a lot of projects and we got the full hands on experience of being able to help people in another country that were very humbled by us being there but very appreciative at the same time.<\/p>\n

Bonham: One there was one particular moment that you\u2019ll take with you for the rest of your life?<\/p>\n

Bess: Just the experience itself. You\u2019re asking me to pick one thing and it\u2019s hard to explain. You\u2019ve got to witness it and see it visually. My best memory is just playing with the kids. They were so happy. The first couple of days they were distant and standoffish because they didn\u2019t know who we were. But after a while we started eating with the families and we were welcomed into their homes. The kids started to embrace us more. They\u2019d hang around us. Come morning time when we\u2019d drive in to work, we\u2019d see kids waving at us while we were in the van. It was very special. It was very exciting to see the smiles not only on the kids\u2019 faces, but to see the parents and the leaders in the village. It was a great experience.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How challenging was it to see people living under such less-privileged circumstances?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Davone Bess assists Global Volunteers with village renovations (Photo courtesy of The Bess Route Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bess: It was a very humbling experience because you see some of the things these people have, some of the equipment they use and everything is so outdated. We\u2019re so fortunate here in the United States. We\u2019re very blessed to have a lot of the materialistic things we have. I grew up without much. I\u2019ve always had to work for everything I wanted. Even with my experience, I had a lot growing up compared to what these kids have. You see some of the toys and the soccer balls that these kids were playing with. You even see some of the homes you see these people live in. If those homes were here in the States, people would be tearing them down. They\u2019d be bulldozed because we wouldn\u2019t think anyone could live in those conditions. But the people are very thankful and very happy.<\/p>\n

One thing that caught my eye was the longevity of life out there. So many people out there, especially in the Monte Verde region, you\u2019d see a lot of elders just walking around. The streets aren\u2019t even paved. They have dirt roads with gravel and rocks and potholes all over. We\u2019d see these 80-year old women walking down the street. Everyone is walking everywhere you go, rain or shine. You see kids and moms. One of the coolest things I saw was a lady on a dirt bike. And this is normal. The lady was on a dirt bike with her son on the front and her daughter on the back. She was dropping her daughter off at school. It was just their lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How does this experience reinforce your belief that God has a purpose for your life?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Davone Bess with a group of Costa Rican kids in Canitas (Photo courtesy of The Bess Route Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bess: I just feel like God works in mysterious ways. I don\u2019t like to rub people the wrong way and say that I\u2019m this big spiritual guy. I believe in God. I believe in a higher power. And I do believe that God works in mysterious ways. In my story and in my situations and in all the hurdles I had to overcome, I just feel like me being able to go down there and help those people and try to impact their lives in a positive way is God blessing me with the ability to go down there. In one way or another, me and you and anyone who is reading this can say that if it wasn\u2019t for some person or some group, you wouldn\u2019t be where you\u2019re at today. I\u2019m a true believer of keeping that train and that cycle going of always giving back because we\u2019ve all needed help in some way. So this is just my way of giving back and then taking something out of the experience. I\u2019ve learned that life is very precious and we can\u2019t take things for granted.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How has your difficult past taught you appreciate what you have now and the opportunities you have to help others?<\/p>\n

Bess: There\u2019s not a day that doesn\u2019t go by when I don\u2019t thank God for where I\u2019m at today. Eight years ago, my life was almost over. Just me having the faith and believing and just having hope, I prevailed. I\u2019ve always had a plan B and a plan C if plan A didn\u2019t work. Me having this option made me want to have a foundation so I could not just make a difference in the local community but in the world. That\u2019s our mission\u2014to slowly but surely make a difference. I know it sounds clich\u00e9 but Chris and I talk about it all the time. That\u2019s the best satisfaction we can get when you go home at the end of the night knowing you helped somebody else become more productive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a humbling experience when you know you\u2019ve almost had everything taken away from you. So I try to advise kids that they don\u2019t have to go the same route I went. I try to get them while their young because the kids are our future. If we can change them, we can change the world.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What is the Bess Route Foundation<\/a> doing on a daily basis to get that message out?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Bess: We do a lot of charity work whether its in my hometown of Oakland or Hawaii which is where I played college ball or South Florida where I\u2019m currently residing. I got to a bunch of middle schools and high schools and I talk to kids about my story about what I\u2019ve been through and about hopes and dreams and helping them understand that if you put yourself around people that want to be productive, that want to make the most of what they have, then the sky\u2019s the limit. But if you want to deviate and go the other route, there are consequences that come with it. I\u2019m a living example of those consequences. I just feel like I connect with the kids so much. They hear me out and they understand it because I\u2019ve witnessed it.<\/p>\n

In the fall, we\u2019re going to start a program in South Florida that will take 20 kids from local high schools. We\u2019re going to take those kids to the local middle schools and elementary schools and we\u2019re going to give them a packet. We\u2019re going to talk to them about the importance of not having an ego and the importance of having self-confidence. We\u2019re going to mentor the high school kids and the high school kids are going to mentor the elementary and middle school kids. It\u2019s our way of trying to make a difference. If we can get kids to mentor kids, we\u2019ll be moving in the right direction because that\u2019s where a lot of our problems come from.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How has your faith become more defined over the past few years as you\u2019ve grown spiritually?<\/p>\n

Bess: I grew up going to church. I\u2019ve been baptized. I am a Christian. I believe in God. I believe in Christ. But when I say I don\u2019t want to rub people the wrong way, that just means I don\u2019t go around telling people what they should or shouldn\u2019t believe like, \u201cOh, you shouldn\u2019t be a Baptist\u201d or \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be a Catholic.\u201d Everybody is entitled to their own religion and their own opinion. I\u2019m not saying I\u2019m perfect and that I don\u2019t make mistakes. But I do believe in a higher power and I do believe that everything happens for a reason. We\u2019re not on Earth by accident. Things don\u2019t happen in your life for no reason.<\/p>\n

Bonham: In a strange way, has not having football during the lockout been somewhat of a blessing in disguise?<\/p>\n

Bess: That\u2019s exactly why I say I believe in a higher power and how everything happens for a reason, even to the extent of Chris moving out here. He just moved out here and we put our heads together and one idea led to another and the foundation is taking off in unbelievable ways. If Chris hadn\u2019t come out here to train me in the beginning, we may not have went on this trip. I didn\u2019t know anything about it until he told me about the organization. Everything happens for a reason and the lockout gives us more time and opportunity to help other people. But hopefully we can get something done soon because I\u2019m missing football a lot.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Why is so important for athletes to embrace the concept of serving others?<\/p>\n

Bess: It\u2019s highly important that we as professional athletes or celebrities or whatnot get involved in the community and try to help make a difference. Believe it or not, and I hate to put it this way, but we have a lot more influence over some of these kids than their parents have because they see us on TV and look up to us. So we can make a huge impact. We can be that difference maker just because of our status and because of what we do. I would advise all professional athletes to get involved and to try to help make a difference. If we don\u2019t, who else will?<\/p>\n

Join us tomorrow for a special Inspiring Athletes featuring a conversation with iconic NASCAR legend Richard Petty.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hit “Like” to share with your friends! GOOD WORKS WEDNESDAY: Davone Bess When Davone Bess traveled to Costa Rica last month, it was the culmination of an unusually harrowing journey. 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GOOD WORKS WEDNESDAY: Davone Bess When Davone Bess traveled to Costa Rica last month, it was the culmination of an unusually harrowing journey. 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Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. 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