After our game on Saturday, we got some food and we caught the end of the gold medal basketball game at the restaurant. The US team held on and won but most of us were quick to point out that the game would have been over much sooner if it was the 1992 Dream Team playing in the game. Most of us on our team were teenagers when the Dream Team was playing, which means we are all now approaching our mid to late 40’s. Now that several of us are in this stage of our life, we still enjoy softball but it is harder to play a full day plus travel to and from the prison. If you add playing with less than a full team to that equation, it is a lot to ask out of a bunch of guys from the 80’s and 90’s!
We had a few guys who had prior engagements this weekend so we were going to have to travel with less than a full team. We met early Saturday and prayed for the day before traveling together to Danville CC. We stopped at the Champaign Chick-fil-A for breakfast before arriving at the prison on time. We got checked in and made our way out to the field. The field attracts quite a few geese and of course, the geese used the field as a restroom. The men at the prison did a good job getting the goose “stuff” removed from the field before we got there.
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| A look at some of the notorious Danville geese hanging out in town... |
The weather was in the low 70s all day and was far and away the best August weather that we have ever played in.
Since we were short on players, we borrowed a few guys from the guys at the prison. We took the field with a few guys playing out of position. The guys playing in different spots resulted in some errors, but, fortunately, we were able to outscore the Danville team. In between games, Josh Frederick shared how he came to know the Lord and Kyle Krall shared the Gospel from John chapter 3.
After our Gospel presentation, we played one quick game of one-pitch. One-pitch is a variation of softball where everyone starts with a 3-2 count so it speeds up the game. Unfortunately we lost the one pitch game, but it was fun to play a little more softball with those guys before they had to go back to their buildings. We huddled up and handed out some awards to the umpires and the MVP of the game. We stressed the importance of the Gospel one more time with them and prayed with them before they went back.
We went inside for lunch and we got to eat in the prison gym. During our lunch, one of the inmates took some of us to see the staff weight room that he managed. He had set up several chalk boards all around the weight room with different exercises and the recommended amount of repetitions. He also had some information about proper diets and the benefits of eating clean on some other boards in the room. It was very well done and was very professional. We have been several places around the country where men are given special responsibilities around their prisons, and, more times than not, they ring the excellence bell with the job they are given.
After our lunch, we returned to the prison yard and played one long eighth inning game. We were pretty beat up from our first game and a few guys had some injuries, but we dug down deep and finished the day by winning our last game. We stopped in the middle of the game for our ministry time. I shared my testimony of how I came to know the Lord and Robert Cook shared the Gospel from John 1.
After the day was over, we circled up with them all one more time and Brent Gerber stressed how important making a decision for the Lord was.
I had a couple of decent conversations throughout the day. I was collecting response cards when I ran across a few guys who marked on their card that they were accepting Christ as their Lord that day. Anytime I see that response on a card, I try and ask some questions to make sure they understood why they marked that. I got a variety of answers but I don’t think that they totally understood the Gospel message. I walked them back through it again before we had to go. Pray that God brings more groups after us to keep preaching this message. Please pray that God works in the hearts of the guys we see. After the day was over, we spent some time talking in the parking lot. We talked about how we could have some of the best preachers around come in and share the Gospel, but, if God isn’t working in the hearts of the men, no one is going to come to a saving faith. Once again, please pray for the men that we visit and that God draws some to Himself.
Overall on the day we handed out 184 Gospels and saw 32 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.
Our next Illinois visit is August 24th at Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton, IL. This is our second shortest trip of the year so it will be nice to have a short drive. This will be our first visit to Illinois River since 2019.
I will be heading to Colorado on Wednesday. I will be sending out another email about that trip shortly. Please keep the men at Illinois River and Colorado in prayer as we prepare to share the Gospel with them!
