I had no intention of bringing up John Madden and his classic video game series two posts in a row but I don't think I can avoid it.
The Bears won 59-37 on Sunday. That score did not feel like a real life score because that is the kind of score that I get when I sit down and play Madden on the Xbox.
That is the kind of score I get when video game Jay Cutler is hitting his targets and making some big throws down field to video game Devin Hester.
(Note to self, it may be time to get an updated copy of the game!)
The older I get, the more I enjoy the fall season of the year. Not just because of football, but I enjoy the hooded sweatshirt season, the weather, and having an excuse to eat an unlimited number of the small Nestle Crunch candy bars in October!
One thing that fall brings as well is the end of the Saints season.
While I'm sad that the season is over, I am overjoyed with how the Lord worked in our ministry and with our team this summer.
The Lord provided new places for our team to minister, new faces to minister alongside, and hundreds of inmates to share the Gospel with in prison.
This last Saturday was a perfect bookend to a really good year for our team in Illinois.
We started down the road to Pittsfield. Pittsfield is about two hours away from Morton. I enjoy making this trip in the early fall as the leaves are starting to change and farmers are beginning to harvest.
We made our way to the Pittsfield McDonalds and we enjoyed a good breakfast as a team. There was a long table, and we enjoyed eating, talking, and making fun of each other.
After breakfast, we made our way to the prison. The Pittsfield Work Camp is outside of town. On the other side of the outfield wall is a horse pasture!
We got signed in and the staff checked our equipment before we walked out to the prison yard.
The Pittsfield softball field is a fun field to play on. It has a grass infield and the outfield fences are pretty close to what you would see in most park district fields.
We started the first game and we were sluggish in every aspect of the game. The Pittsfield team grabbed an early lead. In terms of softball, we just didn't look right but eventually we tied the game and traded some leads with them until we eventually pulled ahead for an easy win.
In between games, Robert Cook shared his testimony with the men and Brent Gerber shared the Gospel. Several of our guys had good conversations with the men out in the yard after we were done preaching.
We played and won a time-shortened second game.
After the game was over, we circled up with the men on the pitcher's mound and handed out some MVP award books to the best players on the day. We then spent some time encouraging them to consider the Gospel message that was preached to them today and consider where they stood with the Lord.
Overall on the day at Pittsfield, we handed out 68 Gospels and had 5 men make professions of faith.
We left Pittsfield and made the drive to Jacksonville. We stopped at the Jacksonville Casey's gas station and made a mad dash through the store to get some pizza and whatever else we could find that was hot and ready. We ate in the parking lot and then loaded back up and made our way to the prison.
We made our way through security and onto the field. Once again, we got off to a sluggish start but we quickly recovered and cruised to an easy win. In between games, I shared my testimony and Kyle Krall shared the Gospel.
After Kyle shared the Gospel I talked with a younger guy who indicated that he made a profession. I did my best to walk through the Gospel with him again to make sure that he understood where he stood with God. I think his profession was genuine but please continue to pray for him and the other men who made professions at Jacksonville.
We played a time-shortened game and won the last game of the year fairly easily.
After the game we circled up on the pitcher's mound one last time and handed out some award books to the umpires and MVPs. We then encouraged the men to not postpone repenting and believing in Jesus before we prayed with them.
Overall on the day at Jacksonville, we handed out 62 Gospels and had 6 men make professions of faith in Christ.
We made our way out of the prison and we huddled up in the parking lot and shared some praises for how the Lord worked in both of the prisons and for the way He provided for our team all year long. We prayed as a team and then left the prison for a dinner stop in Springfield which included some world famous horseshoe sandwiches. It was also fun watching the Cubs and U of I football game as a team during our dinner.
We left Springfield and made our way back home. Everyone shared some handshakes and hugs in the parking lot before everyone went home.
This was a really special year, and, once again, it was cool to see how God worked through new prisons, new teammates, and all of the different circumstances this year.
Overall on the year, we visited 9 different prisons over 7 dates. We handed out 1088 Gospels, and had 136 men indicate that they made a profession of faith.
The Saints did several bigger trips this summer and I was blessed to go on two of them- Texas in March and Southern Illinois in July.
While I am looking forward to some rest for my elbow and my knees, I am absolutely stoked about the 2027 season and being part of what the Lord is going to do to spread His Word in prisons across the country.
Thank you for supporting and praying for our team this summer!
