2020 Schedule Update

 The other day, a friend texted me and told me that they were praying for the ministry.  It wasn’t WWE wrestler Kurt Angle, if that’s what you’re thinking.  It was a different friend.

Kurt Angle and I don’t even text that much because he doesn’t have my number and we only met that one time at the Pittsburgh airport, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to use my remaining quarantine time trying to convince Kurt Angle into being my best friend.

My friend, who was not Kurt Angle, texted me this:

“We are praying that all is going well with your family and that the prison ministry is off to a great start in June.  Have a blessed day!”

That was very sweet encouragement during a time when we are unsure if our prison dates are going to happen or not.  I have appreciated all of the support and encouragement so far in 2020. 

Unfortunately, we did receive news on Friday that our June 6th and June 20th visits were cancelled. 

That is a tough pill to swallow and it is frustrating not being able to minister inside of prison.  I’m equally sad and frustrated that our team is once again prevented from seeing one another and enjoying the high fives in the dugouts, the meals on the road, and the really good conversations and smack talk on our bus. 

Before each prison visit we have an itinerary with times, places, and responsibilities for the day.  I usually have a quote and Bible verse at the top of each itinerary.  The quote that I had picked out for our June 6th itinerary was from the late Ravi Zacharias:

“There is no greater discovery than seeing God as the author of your destiny.”

The verse I had picked out for our itinerary was Psalm 115:3 (ESV):

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Despite our inconvenience, disappointment, outrage, and our ability to log onto social media and scream at people online about JB Pritzker, Donald Trump, hand washing, home improvement stores, and haircuts, God is still in control and His gospel can’t be stopped.  I appreciate the verse from Psalm 115.  He does all that He pleases.  That is reassuring to me as I sometimes panic and wonder what tomorrow will look like.  I also appreciate the quote by Zacharias.  God is the author of our destiny and The Saints Prison Ministry.  He is good even when it seems like everything around us is not working out.  Saying that God is in control is sometimes rhetorical but knowing this and hearing this has been a good reminder for me. 

Thank you again for the encouragement during this time.  I would encourage you to pray for our team and for the inmates that we will see at some point this season.

I’m looking forward to providing another update to my supporters and Kurt Angle when we get more information!

Thanks,

Gib

2020 May Update

 Dear Friends and Family,

So far, our family’s best quarantine activities have been:

• Playing out the 2020 baseball season on an old Xbox 360 baseball game.  Lou Piniella and the 2010 Cubs are currently in first place and are on a mission to rewrite baseball history.  Some of you have been following along on Facebook and some of you quit reading about it weeks ago…

• Learning how to play the guitar as a family.  So far, we have been learning how to play some songs in our church hymnal, but we have gotten really good at “5000 Candles in the Wind” from the show “Parks and Recreation”.

• Sorting through baseball cards that I have accumulated over the last 41 years of my life.  The sharp decline in value of 1990s baseball cards is way more depressing than the pandemic.

• Going out to eat as a family.  This is when we get food from an open fast food restaurant and then sit in a parking lot somewhere and eat in the car.  Our favorite spot to go is the parking lot of one of our local movie theaters and watch the flashing lights around the marquee. 

• Watching our church service/teaching time/virtual worship/whatever you want to call it on YouTube in our living room.  It has been fun eating breakfast and watching our pastor teach.  Our calico cat has clearly been convicted by the messages and we have seen a noticeable change in her life. 

Words like quarantine and social distancing were not in my vocabulary when I sent my last email.  We have all had our schedules changed and have all been inconvenienced by the last several weeks.  One uncertainty that we are all wondering is, how will this affect our Saints season?

Here is what we know at the moment:

THE SAINTS PRISON MINISTRY HAS BEEN PROACTIVE

Several weeks ago, when it became clear that this was going to be an issue for quite some time, SPM made the decision to move the start of the season for all Saints teams to the first week of June.  They also contacted each facility affected and let them know that we would be rescheduling and with the exception of just a few facilities, they were able to successfully reschedule.  Unfortunately, our planned trip to California last month was cancelled as well. 

PRISONS ARE EAGER TO STILL HAVE US IN

As SPM reached out to all of the prisons, it became clear that prison officials that we have talked to think that at some point this will pass and we will resume normal activities like prison softball games.  This isn’t a normal activity anyway, but I digress…

One thing that SPM found as they contacted chaplains and recreation directors was that we were the first or among the first to proactively reach out and seek to reschedule instead of waiting back to see what happens.  The one thing that was repeated over and over again was that they were grateful for our being proactive and that they were eager to get an outside group in. 

WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

Will the season get pushed back again?

What does J.B. Pritzker think about volunteers playing softball in prison during a pandemic?

How many inmates will we see when we do get to visit?

None of this would have happened if we didn’t buy that stupid bus, right?

Our human nature is such that we hate being inconvenienced, but prison ministry is full of inconveniences.  If you have been following the ministry for a while, you have heard me say that the key to prison ministry is flexibility.  I have no doubt that 2020 will be full of several opportunities to be flexible. 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we have plans to go to prison in 2020.  I would encourage everyone to continue to pray for our prison ministry and for our team.  I appreciate the text my pastor used a few weeks ago during an online message. 

James 4:13-17 English Standard Version (ESV)

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

I had plans to be in California last month.  I had plans to be in Pontiac today but the last couple of weeks have been a reminder that it is arrogant to make plans without considering that God may redirect those plans.  I don’t often use the phrase “Lord willing,…” as often as I should and this was a reminder that God sometimes puts a halt to our plans for His own.  I know that God is sovereign and not one molecule of this disease moves unless He wills it to do so.  I know He will guide and direct the 2020 season for us. 

If you have any questions, please let me know.  I will be passing along information as soon as I get it. 

Thank you for the continued prayer support.  I’ve also received several notes and texts from several supporters, and they have been very encouraging. 

Thank you for your continued support, and I’m looking forward to whatever God wills on June 6th!

Thanks,

Gibby