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| Traveling to Canton! |
“I don’t have a favorite musical”.
That is my standard answer and was most certainly the answer I had to give while with my wife at a function for the choir friends that she sings with. Of course the topic that came up was:
“What is your favorite musical?”
Everyone was excited to answer that question and by the time it came around to me, I had to admit that I didn’t really care for musicals. I guess I did enjoy one part of a musical where Steve Martin sings about the fun of being a dentist but I digress.
My disinterest for musicals changed this spring when my youngest son stepped outside his comfort zone to play a small part in the “Music Man”.
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| Calvin in the "Music Man" |
While I am still not a huge fan of sitting down and watching a musical, I did appreciate and enjoy all of the hard work that my son put into learning lines and learning the songs. I had the “Wells Fargo Wagon” song stuck in my head for several days but at the end of the day, I was really proud of him for stepping outside of his comfort zone!
I’m willing to bet that going to prison is a fairly big step when it comes to stepping outside your comfort zone for most people. This past Saturday we had four new Missionary Athletes step outside of their comfort zone and take the field with us.
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| Selfie at Hardee's |
We all woke up early and we met at the Bartonville Hardees for breakfast and prayer. We then made the short drive to Canton to the Illinois River Correctional Center. Once we arrived we went through security and made the walk through the compound and to the field. We were greeted by the teams who were already out there. Once we shook hands and got some throwing in, we huddled up, went through the lineup and rules, prayed, and started game 1!
We started off the game scoring quite a few runs. The next inning we scored quite a few more runs, followed by a few more runs, and we won game 1 pretty easily.
After the game was over, Nick Sauder shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord. After Nick shared his testimony, Kris Mettelmann shared the Gospel. During the ministry time, I had the opportunity to talk to a few different guys. One guy I talked to indicated on his response card that he had made a decision to follow the Lord. My son Joe and I had the opportunity to walk through the Gospel with him to make sure he understood where he stood with the Lord. I don’t remember his name but the Lord knows who he is. Please pray that he has a clear understanding of the Gospel and that the Lord draws him to place his faith in Him if He hasn’t already.
Once our ministry time was over, they brought lunch out to the softball field. We enjoyed some Texas hash (ground beef, rice, and some seasoning) for lunch. Joe and I sat with a man named Brian. Brian said that he struggled to believe in God. We talked for a little bit and I encouraged him to read the Gospel of John that we handed to him. Please pray for Brian and that God would use His Word to draw Brian to Himself.
After lunch we started our second game. Once again, thanks to some really good hitting and some really far home runs, we put away the second game early. After the game was over we huddled up and handed out some books to the umpires and a book to the MVP on the IL River softball teams. After the awards were handed out we circled up with the men and I had the opportunity to remind the men of the truth they were confronted with and the need to repent and believe in Jesus.
The teams from the first and second games left the field and went back to their buildings. Shortly after that, the teams for the third and fourth games came out to the yard. The third game was competitive for a little bit but we eventually pulled away and won again. In between games, Kurt Hand shared his testimony of how he came to know the Lord and I shared the Gospel with the men. About halfway through my message, I began to lose my voice but I was able to power through! We were slightly crunched for time for the fourth game so we played a game of one pitch (every at bat starts with a 3-2 count!). We won that game and completed the sweep on the softball field.
After the games were over we circled up with these two teams and some of the spectators on the pitcher’s mound. Saints veteran Brent Gerber closed the session out by reminding the men that there is nothing else they could put their faith in except Jesus Christ.
After getting a few team pictures, we made our way out of the prison and huddled up behind the van to share some testimonies of the day and pray together.
We made a brief stop at the Canton Dairy Queen and shared some fellowship time before heading back home.
Overall on the day, we went 4-0 on the field, handed out 189 Gospels of John, and saw 15 men make professions of faith.
Usually this is the part of the update where I tell you where we are going next but it’s a little more complex this time!
The Saints Illinois softball team will be heading to Taylorville CC on 6/7 to play a full day of softball games and two different times to share the Gospel.
Unfortunately, I will not be traveling with the team, because, I will be traveling to Dallas, TX that weekend to meet up with our newly formed Federal Team to play softball at two different prisons. Two of us from the Illinois team will be flying down for this trip. We will make the drive to FCI Texarkana on 6/7 for a full day of softball and ministry. We will then travel to Fort Worth for another day full of softball in a Texas prison yard at FMC Fort Worth on 6/8.Please pray for these two teams as we travel in different parts of the country to share the Gospel not to mention the other softball teams that will be traveling in Georgia, West Virginia, and the Northeast. God has supplied so much for the ministry over the last several years and I am so excited to be part of it!
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| Team Picture |
PRAISES
- We shared the Gospel with close to 200 men at IL River CC!
- We have a busy summer ahead of us. We still have 8 Illinois prisons over 6 Saturdays left in our schedule
- We have met our needed financial goal for our Illinois team!
- I am also part of the new Federal team and I will have the opportunity to travel an additional four weekends across the country to share the Gospel in prison.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- 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 15 men who made professions on 5/17.
- Pray for the team that is traveling to Taylorville CC on 6/7. (My son Joe is traveling with the team to Taylorville!)
- Pray for the team that is traveling to Texas to minister to two different federal prisons in Texas.
- 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.
