Going to Work on a Saturday! 7/20 FCI Pekin Follow Up

There are just some things that I don't want to hear.  

As a father and husband I really don't want to hear things like: "Hey the car is making a funny sound." or "The dental insurance won't cover braces".  

My favorite food is processed sugar and I really never want to hear: "I'm sorry, the ice cream machine is broken." or "We're all out of Dr. Pepper."  

I'm a big Chicago sports fan and I never want to hear things like, "Carlos Marmol is in to pitch with a one run lead." or "Hey look!  Cody Parkey is lining up for the kick!"  I really never want to hear that ever again.  

But even worse, and I'm sure it is at least one of my top five least favorite things to hear of all-time, is "You have to go to work on a Saturday".  I'm sure there are worse things to hear, but, man, that one is right up there!

This past Saturday, I ended up at work on a Saturday...but of course, it was for a much better reason as it tied into our visit to FCI Pekin!

Our original plans for this past Saturday included a trip to Hillsboro IL and a 4:45 AM meet time as we had planned on going to Graham CC for a half day visit.  Graham had to cancel the visit, but one of our directors sprung into action and quickly got us scheduled for an afternoon visit to FCI Pekin.  Our team was well rested and we didn't have to show up at our meet time until 10:45 AM.  I work five minutes from the prison so we met and prayed in my company's parking lot thus the trip into work.  

We gathered in the parking lot at my work, we prayed for the day, and we made the five minute trek to FCI Pekin.  We made it through security and we made our way through the prison compound and to the field.  FCI Pekin is the exact same layout as FCI Greenville which of course was our first Illinois game.  It brought back several memories for some of us who made that trip.  

The softball field at FCI Pekin is one of the best softball fields I've seen, and that includes prison and not prison!  The infield has actual diamond dirt, and the men there do a very good job of keeping the field looking nice.  

We started the first game by scoring a few runs, but the Pekin team came right back.  The game kept going back and forth for several innings, but Pekin held on and we suffered our first loss of season in game 1.  

In between games, Robert Cook shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord.  I shared the Gospel and I preached from John 4.  

I had an opportunity to talk with the shortstop of the inmate team.  He had formerly spent time at FCI Greenville and was there for all of our visits several years ago.  He remembered several details about those games.  It always takes us by surprise how many details that the inmates remember years after we visit.  

After our ministry time was over, we started our second game.  We had a couple of big innings and held on to win the game.  After the game we had a few minutes to talk with some guys in the yard.  I talked with a guy named Rob.  Rob told me he read his Bible a lot but didn't attend the prison church service.  I talked to him for a little bit.  One of the questions that I will often ask a guy in the prison yard is, "If you were to die today, and if you were to meet God at the front gates of heaven, and if He asked you "Why should I let you in?", what would you tell them?

When I asked Rob this, he said he wasn't really sure.  I walked him through the Gospel again and I let him know that the only way I could answer that is by telling God that my faith is in what His Son did on the cross and it isn't by any good works that I could do.  

I'm not sure where Rob ultimately stands with the Lord.  My time with Rob is a good example that not all of our prison conversations end in someone coming to know the Lord.  Please pray that the Lord uses the Gospel to change his heart and that someone else would follow behind us to preach to him again!

Overall on the day, we had 20 men make professions of faith and we handed out 208 Gospels to the men in the yard!

This next month is going to be really busy on several fronts.   Our Illinois team visits Danville CC on August 10th and Illinois River CC in Canton, IL on August, 24th.  

I am also part of a Saints team that is going on a crusade to Colorado on August 14th-18th.  I will be sending some more information out about that shortly.  

And finally, I have been an elder in training at my church for the past few years.  The church will be voting on installing me as an elder on August 5th.  If the vote passes, there will be an installation service on August 25th.  

God is at work in so many different parts of the ministry.  Please continue to pray for our teams across the country as we share the Gospel in prison the rest of the summer!

Praising the Lord and Tomorrow's Saints Prison Ministry Visit to FCI Pekin

One of the things that God's Word reminds us about over and over again is that we need to make praising God something that we do often.  I am currently reading through the Psalms and being reminded daily how awesome our God is and just how worthy He is of our praise.  

Psalm 113:1-3-  Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord.   Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.  From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.

Psalm 117:1-2-  Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150:1-6-  Praise the Lord!  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!  Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!  Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!  Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!  Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!  

I have two praises that have stuck out to me this week:

1.  We just celebrated our 12th anniversary of the first Saints Prison Ministry Illinois softball game on July 14th.  Our team has gone through some ups and downs but God is to be praised for the way He has allowed our team to continue to serve Him.  He has been so faithful to our team over the years.

2.  Tomorrow's trip to FCI Pekin wasn't anywhere on our radar until a couple of weeks ago.  Praise God for opening up a door for us to go through tomorrow!  Sometimes I'm still guilty of taking that for granted but God in His sovereignty provided this for us.  I could write another blog post talking about how hard it is to get scheduled in a federal prison but God provided this opportunity for us to go!

Tomorrow, our Saints Prison Ministry Illinois softball team heads to FCI Pekin.  This will be our first trip to FCI Pekin since August of 2014. 

Please pray for our team as we make a much shorter drive to Pekin, play softball, and share the Gospel!

Our day will only be an afternoon session so in addition to the short drive, we will also get a normal night of sleep!  

Robert Cook will be sharing his testimony and I will be sharing the Gospel during the ministry time.  

Pray that God draws the men we see tomorrow to Himself!  Please pray that the prison has no staffing issues and we are still allowed to go.  

I am really looking forward to writing about how the day goes tomorrow and how worthy God is of our praise!

PRAISES

• Our team just visited Taylorville CC  
• We won four games, handed out around 200 Gospels of John, and saw 21 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.  
• Tomorrow marks the halfway point in our season.  We still have four more dates left this summer.  
• We have met our needed financial goal for our Illinois team.  
• I just wrapped up my physical therapy for my Achilles tendon injury.  I will be playing tomorrow with no restrictions.
• The Colorado Crusade next month is coming together.  We have a really good team assembled and I am looking forward to ministering with them all!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for the 21 men who made decisions to follow the Lord at Taylorville CC.  
• Please continue to pray that we are still able to get into each facility despite staffing issues at the prisons.  
• Pray for the hearts of the inmates we will see this summer.  Pray that God draws their hearts to Himself.
• Pray for the hearts of our own missionary athletes and that we are bold in our prayer lives and bold sharing the Gospel this summer.  
• I'm in the process of becoming an elder at my church and the church is voting on this on August 4th.  Please pray for wisdom for the congregation and myself as we go through this process. 

The Trip to Taylorville and a Change to the Schedule! 6/29 Taylorville CC Follow Up

As I mentioned in my last email, I was unable to make this past trip because I was with my family celebrating my Father and Mother-in-law's 50th anniversary.  It was a blessing to spend time with them and celebrate such a fun event.  

One of our "rookies", AJ Salmon, wrote up a really good update about how the day went for him.  

This past Saturday, we made the trip down to Taylorville Correctional Center, a low-security facility that the Saints have visited regularly in the past. We were protected on our travel to and from, and although there was rain in the forecast, the ground was kept dry for us to play. Thanks, Lord. 

As we walked into the yard and took the field, we were immediately greeted by the largest group of inmates I have seen yet - somewhere between 150 and 200 prisoners. Watching their top "All star" team warm up, we realized that this would be the toughest competition we'd faced this season. We would have to be on our A game! It can be easy for me in a situation like this to forget the true reason we are there, to get lost in the mechanics and the grind of a softball game. The wind was strong in the outfield and we were dropping some fly balls (after which, every time, I could hear my Dad's voice saying "Fly balls get caught"), which added to my lack of focus. However, when we broke in the middle of the game to share the gospel and have conversations, God did not allow me to get lost in myself, but instead led me to several great interactions with our friends in the prison. 

First, I met Alex - he goes by 'MailMan.' MailMan is a very boisterous, positive character that was clearly glad to be there with us. He has been in prison for 11 years, and his case is currently undergoing a claim of actual innocence based on new evidence that has been uncovered. However, this claim was filed almost a year ago, and he is still waiting to hear back on what his next steps may be. He has four children, aged 12-22, and a girlfriend back home. MailMan didn't play us in the first game, but in our second game he did, and as we began to play he had a mischievous grin on his face. He kept pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket, looking at us with a hint of cheekiness, and then putting it back in his pocket. What was this piece of paper? Well, he eventually revealed that this mysterious note was his 'scouting report' he had compiled while watching the previous game. He had notes on every player, like "Good Hitter," "Slow Runner," and "HR Hitter." MailMan was a joy to get to know and play with. I do not know what landed him in there - and I do not know if his claim of actual innocence is valid. I simply don't. But what I do know is that Alex gave us all a picture of what joy and contentment can look like in the face of suffering, even to the point of causing others around you to have joy and cheer as well. Alex requested that we would pray for him, his trial, and his family. 

Secondly, I met a delightful inmate named Roberto. I had a great discussion with him wherein he was explaining to me the impact that the Saints ministry had on the rather miserable day-to-day life in prison. He said he was "not religious or spiritual" but that he appreciated the energy that we brought into the walls with us. Roberto had just heard the gospel clearly presented, and had heard it in years past, so I know he didn't need me to regurgitate it to him - but I did ask him to reconsider where the power of that so-called 'energy' really came from. We had more good conversation and I could tell he knew he was a sinner, but he was not ready to accept Christ. Please pray that he realizes that 'good energy', while a truly good thing for a time, will fade away and will not satisfy to the uttermost. I pray the preaching of the gospel planted a seed in his heart to help him realize his greatest need, a seed that only God can plant and water.

Lastly, two quick interactions with believers in the prison: one, called "Sparky," an older veteran who wanted to encourage us with the recitation of a scripture that God had written on his heart from 2 Corinthians. As he recited it, he was beaming with joy that I perceived to be joy from being in the presence of other believers. He encouraged me in my marriage and fatherhood to put God first and to teach the truths of God's word to our son from a young age. This was really sweet encouragement to me. Secondly, an inmate approached me as we were about to pack up and leave and asked if he could have another copy of the gospel (we give everyone a copy of the gospel of John to keep.) He wanted to give it to his roommate who was not able to be in the yard that day. This was encouraging because he sought me out, he knew the power that was contained in God's word, and wanted to make sure that his cellmate had the opportunity to get a copy. Sometimes I can overlook the simple power of God's word, but in reality it is much more powerful than anything I ever could say or do, more live-giving than anything you or I could offer. It is breathed out by God. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 ESV. It's very possible that the most important thing I did that day was hand that extra copy of God's word to my new friend. Please pray that God would use it. 

The Saints' visit to Taylorville led to impactful encounters with inmates like MailMan, Roberto, and Sparky, showcasing the power of faith, joy, and God's word in a challenging environment. We came away with no losses, yet again extending our undefeated streak. 

That's all for now. Thank you for your continued support and prayer, truly. It is such a joy for me to meet and converse with these men, to show them the love of Christ, pray for them, and be encouraged by them. Our next visit is on 7/20. 

In Christ,

AJ Salmon

#27

Thank you for praying for our team this year!  Our next visit was supposed to be on 7/20 to Graham CC.  Unfortunately, Graham had to cancel the event...however...FCI Pekin is taking the date and we will be heading there on 7/20!  Pekin will essentially be a home game!....almost....

Please pray for the men who made decisions in Taylorville and pray for the men that we will see in Pekin on 7/20!

Inside the Mind of Gibby- If You can Survive Youth Ministry...

George Patton was once quoted as saying “Give me an Army of West Point graduates and I’ll win a battle!”  In the world of volunteer ministry, we could probably say something similar - “Give me an army of church youth ministry workers and we’ll survive whatever activity is planned!” There is something special about youth ministry workers and that is what we are looking for in our next generation of missionary athletes here at the Saints Prison Ministry!  

Nursery Workers

I tend to have several not-well-thought-out hot takes, but nursery duty is basically the same thing as prison ministry.  There is a sign-in process to get in the nursery; the people who are dropped off really don’t want to be there; there is a good chance a fight may break out;  they get terrible food; and they just want to see their families return.  When considering whether or not to join an SPM team, if you have survived a tour of duty in your church’s nursery, you will do just fine on a trip with our team.  

VBS Workers

These might be the toughest people in this list. Vacation Bible School volunteers are able to operate for a week straight in the most extreme temperatures. They are also able to run for days on diluted Kool Aid and Oreo cookies.  They are able to teach a flannelgraph on the story of Samson, oversee an hour of craft time with nothing but popsicle sticks and a bottle of Elmer’s glue, and at the same time treat a poison ivy issue with a camper.  In all honesty, prison ministry might not be challenging enough for these brave souls…

Youth Group Leaders

This one is a lot like serving in nursery but several times more dramatic. There are so many parallels for ministering to whiny teenagers and ministering with whiny missionary athletes.  Nobody is going to agree on pizza toppings. There will be arguments over who gets to sit where in the van. There will also be several people who show up tired and cranky and who will argue with you on the rules to whatever game you may be playing.  They also both smell funny after a long event but if you have served with the Saints or your church’s youth group ministry, you are probably numb to this already…

Bus Ministry Leaders

REDACTED BY EDITOR - Author has been warned several times not to write jokes about transportation and buses until recruitment numbers improve!

College Ministry Leaders

These folks are essentially gold if you can find them.  They most likely have spent a tour of duty with the other mentioned groups in this article…and lived to tell about it!  They also know how to get people in their early 20’s to do really hard things such as:  operating a printer to fill out paperwork, correctly using a watch to show up to places on time, and using the ancient practice of responding to an e-mail to let your team know that you can attend an event!

Alright folks, you know who these people are in your churches!  Let’s get them signed up for the ministry.  You can tell them we have a jersey for them and a long bus ride so they can finally get a nap in!