Late 1980’s and early 1990’s baseball is the greatest era of Major League Baseball. Of course, that is a completely objective statement and can most likely be debunked as an untrue statement. To me, however, these are the years when I fell in love with the game of baseball. Players like Cal Ripken, Nolan Ryan, Tony Gwynn, and the 1989 Chicago Cubs, were so much fun to enjoy on TV, video games, and baseball cards. Growing up with a certain generation of baseball means that one misses the players and teams from the previous generations. There is so much about baseball that gets passed on through stories. I am currently reading a biography of an infamous player turned notorious manager of the New York Yankees named Billy Martin. Billy loved the game of baseball and was no doubt good for the game but there were countless people who couldn’t stand Billy’s short temper and bad decision making off the field. The Yankees wanted Billy to go away because he wasn’t always a positive influence for his teammates. Billy was not always a well-liked guy.
Today, we arrived safely and on time to FCI Phoenix. This was one of the more complicated travel schedules I have encountered. Adjusting to the time zone difference was rough especially after getting up early with short rest the night before, but prison ministry isn’t easy and there is always a need to be flexible with our schedule and resources.
We lost the first two games of the day. Both games were close but they also reflected the energy level our team had after a rough day of travel. (no excuses of course, but we were a little out of sorts to begin the day).
During our ministry time, Doug Metzger shared his testimony. Doug had a history of making some poor choices growing up, and his story included a judge who showed grace on his life and how God drew him back. Doug’s story is powerful and really resonates with the inmates that we meet.
Andy Solomon, coach of the Middle Georgia Saints, shared the Gospel. He shared from Luke 19 and talked about the story of Zacchaeus. People disliked Zacchaeus and they wondered why Jesus wanted anything to do with him. Despite his bad reputation, Jesus wanted to meet with Zacchaeus and ultimately Zacchaeus repents. Andy talked about how Jesus came to save and how important it was to repent and follow Him. Despite what Zacchaeus did as an unfair tax collector, what Billy Martin did as a short-tempered manager, or what any of the men we will see in prison have done in their past, Jesus came to save sinners and He died for them.
After a short Subway break, we returned for one more game and won the game!
We handed out over 200 Gospels and we had 33 men indicate that they had made a decision to follow Jesus.
Praises
Today was “The Hot Day” with temperatures in the upper 90s. It actually didn’t feel that hot and there might be something to the whole “It’s just a dry heat” after all!
According to the forecast, the rest of the week should be in the 70’s and 80’s with no rain!
Prayer Requests
Our team woke up early and arrived without much time to get ready. We did our best today but we’re all very tired from having gone through quite a time change. It showed in the way we played softball, and I have no doubt that it affected the way we interacted with the inmates. Please pray that we are well rested for tomorrow’s visit to USP Tucson.
Missionary Athletes Rob Fogel, Jimmy Cochran, Tom Carberry, and Joey Foster will be sharing their testimonies and the Gospel during our two speaking times at USP Tucson.
USP Tucson is not necessarily a dangerous prison, but it does house some men who did some terrible things. (There is one inmate who was recently sentenced there who has been in the news for committing some terrible crimes over the last several years). I have been doing this ministry for seven years now and I really have struggled with what to say to this man if I had the opportunity to talk with him this week. I suppose my prayer request would be that we would view these men as still men who Christ died for. Please pray that we are bold and that these men would find hope and forgiveness for their crimes in Him.
