P.I.B.S. Symptoms Explained and Taylorville CC Follow Up

 We would have won game 3 if it hadn’t been for a case of P.I.B.S.

 

P.I.B.S. affects approximately 1 out of 12 Saints teams annually and side effects may include:

• Decreased energy

• Heartburn

• Instant irritability with teammates

• Unexplained stomach pain

• The ability to turn a triple back into a single

• Uncontrollable sweating that causes blurred vision

• A decreased level of interest in playing the outfield

• Short term memory loss when remembering the number of outs

• Swinging a bat like you’re underwater

• And definitely more heartburn

The recovery time for P.I.B.S. varies from athlete to athlete but rest and Pepto Bismol are recommended.  P.I.B.S (Progressive Irritable Burrito Syndrome) is the reason we lost game 3!

 

…But to start from the beginning of the day, we met and prayed for the day.  I’m very thankful for this time.  A verse that I think of before traveling to prison is John 6:44

John 6:44-  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day. 

This verse reminds me that I shouldn’t just be praying for a nice day or even that we would be exceptional speakers, but rather we should be praying that God draws these men closer to Him.  It is also a reminder that we plant and sometimes water, but God is the one who harvests.  Please continue to pray that God breaks the men’s hearts and that they see a need to repent and follow Him!

We arrived at Taylorville CC and played two morning games in front of an audience of around 80 men.  We won both games convincingly.  In between games, Jeremy Haab shared his testimony.  Jeremy has been through a lot over the years and I appreciate how he has drawn closer to the Lord over that period of time.  Robert Cook shared the Gospel and as always did a great job of relating to the men and delivering the Gospel clearly.

We then had a chance to break for lunch and have lunch in the chow hall.  We were served a lunch of, you guessed it, beef and bean burritos.  Now before you rush to judgement on prison food, this was a really good meal and better than Taco Bell (at least my local Taco Bell!)  We were served two burritos, some rice, and a slice of chocolate cake.  I know I often throw some shade at prison food but every prison I have been to makes really good cake!

After lunch, we were all sluggish as the burritos had taken a toll on our team.  We got down early and the inmate team controlled the entire game until the last inning when we rallied to score 10 runs but still fell short 1 run.

Before the start of the 4th game, Josh Frederick shared his testimony.  Josh does a great job of interacting with the inmates.  I really appreciated his story and how God has taught him about His forgiveness and shame.  That story resonated with the crowd.  Brent Gerber shared the Gospel.  Brent shared about how God sent His Son to take the punishment that we deserved.  He told a story of a pastor who once knew a young man who was in a gang.  The young man wanted out of the gang but he knew that he would have to endure a beating from his gang in order to get out.  This pastor offered to take the beating so that the young man could leave the gang.  This obviously hits home with the crowd that we talk to and it really helps illuminate how awesome the Gospel is.  He has used this illustration several times, and I really appreciate it.

After our ministry time, we came back and won game 4.  It was a little bit of a nail-biter, but we ended up coming through with the win!  After circling up and praying with the men one last time we left for home.

We did have plans to stop for dinner but the P.I.B.S. was still affecting too many our guys!

Overall on the day we handed out 78 Gospels of John and saw 9 men make decisions to follow Him!  Please keep these men in prayer!

Thank you again for supporting our team throughout this year and throughout the years.  This past Saturday marked the 7th anniversary of my first visit with the Saints Prison Ministry and it has been awesome to see how God has been good and merciful over that time period.

Tomorrow, three of us from the Illinois team are heading to Indiana for a 6 day Crusade.  We will visit 8 different prisons and play several softball games!

I will be posting updates on my Facebook page throughout the trip.

Thanks again for your support and encouragement!

Indiana Crusade Starts Today!!

 God is so good and has blessed me and helped me grow so much over the last 7 years.  This past Saturday I was in prison but the day was also special because it marked the 7th anniversary of my first trip to prison with the Saints Prison Ministry.  When I left to go to Ohio and eventually walk through the doors of Toledo Correctional Institution, I had no idea that I would still be doing this 7 years later!

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Indianapolis, Indiana on what will be my 16th Crusade with the Saints Prison Ministry.  I will be traveling with two of my teammates from the Illinois team and we will meet up with the rest of the team who will be traveling in from Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi.

As always, I would appreciate the prayer support for myself and the 15 other men who will be on the trip.

Here are a few very specific prayer requests for our team:

Traveling Mercies–  Like I stated before, we have men traveling in from several states.  Please pray for safety and that logistics would flow smoothly.

Team Unity–  This is going to be a great group to be around this week but we will be spending over 100 straight hours together!  Please pray that fellowship will be sweet and morale will be high as we serve together.  This is perhaps the most veteran group of Saints I’ve ever been around and this will be a solid group to hang out with all week on and off the field!

Terre Haute Camp Team-  Our Illinois team played the camp team in 2013 and they beat us up pretty badly.  Please pray that we can return the favor to them this time around!

Team Performance–  Of course I’m kidding about the Terre Haute Camp Team….

The results of the games aren’t important, but it is critical that we play well and that we earn the respect of the inmates.  If we play well and earn their respect, they will be more likely to stick around and listen to us share the Gospel.  Please pray for tired arms and legs as we go further into the week.

Speakers–  Pray for the Missionary Athletes who will be sharing their testimonies of how they met Jesus and for the Missionary Athletes who will be sharing the Gospel.  I will be sharing the Gospel with the men at New Castle Correctional Facility on Saturday afternoon.  Please keep me and the others in prayer and pray that God draws these men to Him!

Families–  Each of the 16 Missionary Athletes are leaving a family at home so they can minister.  Please pray for all of the wives and moms who have to brave work and kids by themselves.  I’m very thankful for the support that I have from home on these trips!

Inmates– Most importantly, pray for the men that we will encounter as they are the purpose of this trip.  Pray that they hear the Gospel and will see a need in their lives to follow Jesus!

Please keep checking my blog (www.tomgibson.me) and my Facebook page for updates throughout the week.

Thank you in advance for the prayer support and for all of the encouragement many of you have given over the last several years!  I’m looking forward to sharing the stories from this week!

Saints visit Taylorville tomorrow!

 The dog days of August are here, and we are entering the last part of our season!  This year has been a blast!  Tomorrow we are visiting Taylorville Correctional Center.  This will be our 2nd visit ever to Taylorville.

During the morning session, Jeremy Haab will share his testimony and Robert Cook will share the Gospel.  During the afternoon session, Josh Frederick will share his testimony and Brent Gerber will share the Gospel.

Please take some time to pray for our visit tomorrow!

I am looking forward to updating everyone on the visit and previewing the Indiana Crusade next week!