Chicago Style Prison Ministry- Centralia CC/Vandalia CC Follow Up

There are many frustrating things about living in Illinois.  There are taxes.  Copious amounts of taxes!  Most of the tax problems are because of corrupt Illinois politicians but that is for another blog post altogether.  There is also the weather that is usually at one extreme or the other.  I suppose I made the decision to live in Illinois so I really don’t have the right to gripe about our terrible weather!  I could also go on and on about road construction but let me cut to the chase.  The number one most annoying thing about living in Illinois is that the only thing people from out of town want to talk about is Chicago.  

“How far is Peoria from Chicago?” 

I will usually answer by saying that we are three hours south in the middle of nowhere.  The look of disappointment on people’s faces is crushing but I have learned to embrace it. 

“How do you deal with all of the Chicago traffic?” 

I’m from Peoria where a traffic jam is 3 cars backed up in a left turn lane.  I usually end up apologizing that I don’t have a good Dan Ryan Expressway crisis story.   

“Why do you guys from Chicago get mad about putting ketchup on a hot dog?”

This one is perplexing since I am not from Cook County.  I’m from the part of Illinois that puts ranch dressing on everything so I really don’t have a good answer for the ketchup thing.  

Nevertheless, even though we spent time ministering six hours away from the Windy City, Chicago culture still impacted our trip.  

This past Saturday, we gathered together at 3:55 am in Morton.  This is probably the earliest start time that we have for any of our visits.  Fortunately, nobody slept in and we had everyone that we expected to be with us for the day.  We gathered for prayer before departing Morton en route to Centralia.  One of the blessings from this trip was borrowing a van from Grace Baptist Church in Tremont.  Being able to travel with most of us in the same vehicle is a blessing.  We traveled through 170 miles of small town Illinois to get to Centralia.  After a quick McDonald’s breakfast, we made it into the prison on time, and mostly awake from the long drive and early start time.  The Centralia softball players had been playing 16” Chicago style softball since they resumed their post-COVID yard times.  We have played Chicago style softball a few times over the years.  It is a different game because the ball doesn’t travel as far and it is hard to score runs.  But, the toughest thing is that instead of using softball gloves, you need to use your bare hands!  

We came out and won the first game 7-1.  We had a big first inning and took advantage of some defensive miscues by their team.  In between games we shared the Gospel with the men that we saw.  Nick Sauder shared his testimony with the men on the yard.  Ray Koonce shared the Gospel.  We had a few minutes to hang out with this group before they were called back and another team from another unit came in.  We played another game and lost a tough all defensive game 3-1.  We had another opportunity to share the Gospel with this group as well.  

Overall during our time at Centralia we handed out 42 Gospels of John and had 5 men indicate that they made a decision to follow the Lord.

After we got out of Centralia, we raced back up the road to Vandalia.  We made a quick pit stop at the local Vandalia Wendy’s for lunch.  Usually a Wendy’s Baconator isn’t a wise meal before a Saints softball game but the temperature was in the upper 70s so it was a delightful day for an afternoon prison softball game!

We got processed through and were on the field for the start of our game.  Because of a shortened yard time, we played one game and broke halfway through the game for our ministry time.  During our ministry time, Chris Onken shared his testimony and I shared the Gospel.  We ended up winning the game in a lopsided win.  

Overall on the day at Vandalia, we passed out 59 Gospels of John and had 9 men make professions of faith in Jesus Christ.  

After the game we stuck with the Chicago theme and had a nice team meal at Nancy’s pizza where we enjoyed some Chicago style deep dish pizza and wings!  

The purpose of our trips is to share the Gospel with the men that we see, but, in a lot of ways, our trips are like a short term men’s retreat.  It was good to talk and laugh with my teammates over a meal and during the van ride.  I have probably brought this up a few times lately but I really appreciate those times and it has been something that has refreshed my soul.  

Our next visit is on September 10th as we will travel to Danville CC.  Thank you again to everyone who has prayed or supported the ministry this summer!  We are looking forward to our next visit!

PRAISES

• 14 men indicated that they made a decision to follow the Lord

• We had two new missionary athletes make their first visit with us

• Grace Baptist of Tremont is letting us use their van for our trips

• Our Illinois visits have gone well during the re-opening phase of COVID protocols

• We have enjoyed partnering with Brother Bob’s Outreach in Wisconsin earlier this month

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray that God brings people into the lives of the 14 people (and everyone else who heard the Gospel) to help disciple and encourage them

• Pray that God keeps the doors open on our final two Illinois visits in September

• Pray that God allows our team to stay healthy for the final two months of the season

It is Dangerous to go Alone…Take This!- Racine CI Follow Up and Centralia/Vandalia Preview

 Dear Friends and Family,

The best video game of all time is Super Mario Bros 3. If you think it is anything else, you just need to repent…

Anyhow, in most video games there is always an unsung hero: the non playable character. This could be the guy who says the princess is in another castle.  Another example are the referees in your favorite EA Sports game.  Possibly the most famous NPC (that's what the kids call them nowadays!) is the guy who gives the sword to the hero in the Legend of Zelda...I'm glad he was always hanging out in that cave at the beginning of the game! 

The non-playable characters always help with the details of the game but they don't really contribute anything to the game. 

A few of us from the Illinois Saints Prison Ministry team were asked to help fill out the roster for last weekend's Brother Bob's trip to Racine CI. It would have been tempting to treat this trip as though we were the non playable characters on the team.  We could have just focused on softball so that each team had enough players.  But since this was more than just softball, we knew that we still needed to engage with the guys we saw and to be witnesses for Christ. 

As corny as it sounds, there really shouldn't be any non playable characters when it comes to serving the Lord.  Colossians 3:23-24 tells us:

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ.  

This passage isn’t just for pastors, Sunday School teachers, and your Aunt Mildred who has been singing faithfully in the church choir since Batman wore tights. This is addressed to all believers.  There is no day off for believers, and we needed to be ready as we took the field in Racine!

We had a fun morning going to Racine CI with the Brother Bob's Outreach softball team.  Since we brought in two teams, we were able to play two games at the same time.  

We won all four games and had a lot of fun interacting with the men in the prison yard. I received my fair share of heckling for being a Cubs and Bears fan. My oldest son, Ryne, traveled with us and he did an exceptional job on and off the field. 

Since we had the two teams, we could also have two different Gospel presentations on two different diamonds. 

Bruce Buri shared the Gospel and his testimony on one of the fields. 

Andy Van Riper shared his testimony on the field I was playing on. Andy shared his story about how he met Christ and how his faith in the Lord impacted him throughout several trials in his life. Tim, who is a regular with the team, gave a brief Gospel presentation and prayed with the men that we saw.  

The heat advisory was a bummer but it was good to serve the Lord with our brothers from Wisconsin. 

After the game we got to go to the local Chick-fil-A and enjoy lunch and some Bears-Packers smack talk together.

This weekend, Lord willing, we will visit Centralia CC, and Vandalia CC.  We are planning on playing two games of 16” Chicago style softball at Centralia and then two regular softball games at Vandalia.  Please pray for us as we play and share the Gospel.  Nick Sauder and Chris Onken will be sharing their testimonies.  Ray Koonce and I will be sharing the Gospel.  

Thanks,

Gibby 

BBO Team Picture

BBO Softball Coach Bruce Buri and I at the local Chick-Fil-A

We were a long ways from Chicago and Central Illinois...

Ryne and the Chick-fil-A heavyweight belt!

The Trade Deadline, Packers Fans, and Prayer Requests- Brother Bob's Racine CI Visit on 8/6/22

The Major League Baseball trade deadline just passed a couple of days ago. As Cubs fans, I am not sure we will ever emotionally recover from last year’s trade deadline exodus that saw several beloved members of the World Series team depart for greener pastures…and then even greener pastures when they all signed new contracts this past winter. One of the worst things is seeing your favorite players wearing a new uniform. That is rough but it is exciting to see your team get a good player to help out down the stretch run of the season and seeing him wearing your team’s jersey in the press conferences. However, there is also the feeling of seeing your team trade for someone you know isn’t going to help the team. Just the sight of seeing them lumber around the field wearing your team’s uniform is just the worst. Former Cub, Craig Kimbrel, if you happen to be reading this, yes, I am talking specifically about you…

This weekend some of our Illinois Saints guys are getting traded to Brother Bob’s Outreach in Wisconsin. I’m not sure what feelings trading our navy blue and gray uniforms for the royal blue jerseys will bring up but don’t worry, I’m pretty sure we are getting traded back to the Saints by the end of the weekend…

You can find out more information about Brother Bob’s here: www.brotherbobs.org

Lord willing, some of our Illinois missionary athletes will be traveling to Racine, WI to play in what is shaping up to be a 2 team, 8 game day at Racine Correctional Institution. We will also have the opportunity to share the Gospel 4 times throughout the day.

Here are some prayer requests for our team.

Traveling Mercies– Our Illinois guys are taking off Friday night and staying overnight in Racine. (just to be clear, at a hotel…not the prison…) You can pray for safe travel but you can also pray that God blesses this fellowship time. Our travel time is often like a mini men’s retreat where we enjoy each others’ company but also use the time to discuss what is going on in each of our lives and what is going on with our walk with the Lord.

Team Unity– A handful of Chicago Bears fans are going to be around a bunch of Green Bay Packers fans in a highly secure fenced-in area for about 6-8 hours…please pray that there is some sort of team unity! All kidding aside, please pray that we gel as a group and enjoy playing softball while enjoying our bond as brothers in the Lord even more. Please pray that we play well and that we earn the respect of the inmate teams.

Gospel Sharing Time– Pray that God blesses our times to talk to the inmate teams. If everything works out, we should have 4 different times to talk to the men. Pray that God draws these men to Himself! Also pray for our individual conversations that we will have with guys during the day as well.

Inmates– Most importantly, pray for the men that we will encounter as they are the purpose of this trip. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19a, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” He also says in 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”.

Please pray that God works in the inmate’s hearts and that they hear the Gospel and will see a need in their lives to follow Jesus. Softball is fun, the fellowship with the Brother Bob’s team is precious, but sharing the Gospel behind the prison walls is why we are going. Please pray that our trip is fruitful for the Glory of God!

Thank you in advance for the prayer support and for all of the encouragement many of you have been over the last several years. I am looking forward to sharing the Gospel in Wisconsin and sharing the stories from this trip!

PS- I had the privilege of going on a local podcast called the “Story for Another Time” with Joe Greenwood and John Jacob. It was fun and they asked me several questions about The Saints Prison Ministry in addition to questions about the Cubs, Garth Brooks, and local bakeries!

Here is a link to the episode: https://www.spreaker.com/user/16413224/sfat-goes-to-prison?fbclid=IwAR3hiqWKuhOwKYXIbVJe_3kJfTEuz6AitPnk4r4R3CRAmg2QqhW4IpX-j5U