We are so grateful to the OKC based company “Element Fusion”. They conducted an on-line free web-site give away to a non-profit in Oklahoma City and “A Life Worth Following” was chosen as the winner.
We have been working on the content for that sight and are going to have it up and running by next week.
“Thank You” Element Fusion for this generous gift. We are so excited about your generous gift to our ministry.
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1. Abraham Lincoln – Strand of his hair authenticated by a top hair expert. Matted. Bid starts at $150
2. Elvis Presley – Strand of hair on an encased trading card. Authenticated on the reverse. Bid starts at $25
3. Mickey Mantle – Piece of his 1954-55 road worn pants matted with photos. Bid starts at $200
4. Johnny Unitas 16×20 color photograph signed in gold ink. Bid starts at $200
5. Evel Knievel – 16×20 photo of him jumping over the Caesar’s Palace fountain which would land him in a coma for over a month. He crashed. Signed at his last signing before passing away. Bid starts at $100
6. 1986 Mets 16×20 photo signed by Mookie Wilson and Bill Bucknew – They botched the catch allowing the Mets to win. Bid starts at $50
7. Joe Montana 16×20 signed color photo. Bid starts at $50
8. Millvina Dean – Youngest Titanic survivor and only one still living. 11×14 photo signed by her. Comes with a photo of her signing the picture. Bid starts at $75
9. Farrah Fawcett 8×10 signed color photo. Start at $50
10. Batman – 8×10 color photo signed by Burt Ward as Robin and Adam West as Batman. Bid starts at $75
11. Rudy Ruettiger 8×10 color photo of the Rudy poster signed in black felt tip ink by the lead character in the movie. Bid starts at $30
12. Wizard of Oz – Limited edition trading card with an actual piece of the yellow brick road from the film. Signed by the Lollipop Kid, Jerry Maren (Munchkin). Bid starts at $100
13. 10×8 plaqued photo signed by Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays. Start at $250
14. Marilyn Monroe piece of her worn stockings matted with a photo of her wearing stockings and a plaque.
15. Willie Mosconi – Legendary deceased billiard player. #8 billiard ball signed in gold ink. Bid starts at $50
16. Pete Rose signed baseball. He added “I’m sorry I bet on baseball.” Bid starts at $300
17. Joe DiMaggio – single signed baseball. Bid starts at $250
18. Old OSU Football programs.
19. Neil Armstrong photos in frame – not signed
20. Iwo Jima framed pictures
21. 2 Golf packages
22. Flying L
23. Bobble heads
24. Pitching lessons with Lee Tunnell
25. 4 Redhawks tickets and you get to throw out the first pitch.
26. 4 Tickets to a OKC Blazers game with a 2008/2009 signed practice jersey
27. 4 Tickets to an OKC Blazers game with a 2008/2009 signed hockey stick.
28. Autographed Bob Stoops Football.
29. An autographed Mack Brown Football.
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This ministry is helping a lot of kids not only only on the baseball field but also helping them spiritually. If we won this, it would be a huge blessing for us and the on-line vote is a big part of it. I would appreciate you taking the time to vote for us.
Thanks and have a great day.
Chris Wall
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On Sunday night, October 26, 2008, join us for our fundraiser banquet to raise money for the 2009 Ambassadors. The cost for the banquet is $25 a ticket. You could reserve an entire table for 8 for $200. This will be a memorable evening hosted by Robin Marsh where we will not only have a silent and live auction with incredible items from Major League Baseball, but, we will also celebrate what the Lord did in the lives of the Ambassadors in 2008. In addition to this, we will invite you to pray with us as we prepare for the summer of 2009. The Lord is revealing some incredible things for us to accomplish and are looking forward to sharing this vision with you.
We hope to see you on October 26th.
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It is hard to believe that the summer is over and the first Ambassador season is in the books. On May 30th, we had our first meeting with the team and in a little over two months, we all feel like we have known each other our entire lives. This summer, there were so many amazing experiences, all of us are getting back to normal lives and are having Ambassador withdrawals. Therefore, one of the best cures for these withdrawals is blogging. So here we go.
As we finished the summer in Nicaragua, The Lord allowed us to see over 1100 people come to Christ in only two months. This is absolutely amazing, but really what is more amazing is that this all happened either on a baseball field or in a baseball environment. It was all absolutely incredible. Truthfully, it is almost unbelievable even for us, and we witnessed it all happening before our very eyes.
Though our experiences were so incredible, what is even more incredible than all of this was how the Lord used His word to prepare us for everything He was going to do. You see, from the very beginning of our journey, God kept bringing a passage of Scripture to our hearts and our minds. It was so evident that this Scripture was from the Lord, it became the passage to memorize in “A Life Worth Following”. The passage is Ephesians 3:14-21 Here is what it says:
“For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit, in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK OR IMAGINE, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS, FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN.
It is so much fun to experience the Lord using His word to make a promise to us, then keeping it. I often laugh at myself because I get so amazed at God coming through. I know in my head that God keeps ALL of His promises, ALL the time. It is just sometimes, I doubt Him. Do you ever do that, too?
Well for me, I am so thankful that the Lord is patient with me. He allowed me to grow up a lot in my faith this summer. He helped me realize that He opens doors that no person can shut. He taught me that He is faithful, regardless of the circumstances. He taught me that He has a plan, even when I can’t see all the details. He taught me to trust Him, even when I don’t completely understand Him. He taught me that there really is a mysterious purpose to all life and all death. But, most importantly, He taught me that He longs to live with me day by day. In the normal hum drum parts of my life as well as in the exciting adventurous experiences. Amazingly, God wants a personal relationship with people. He wants to communicate with us and He allows us to communicate with Him. Jesus told us about this kind of relationship when He was walking around the earth with skin, when He told us about the Kingdom of God. He came to bring it to us. On this earth, God gives us little glimpses of His Kingdom through a personal relationship with Him.
It is this opportunity that drives The Ambassadors and A Life Worth Following. It is our calling by God to share this incredible news of Christ with the world. God has opened doors for us because He is creative and can use anything to communicate His love to the world. He can even use us and it is so much fun to experience God speaking to people through our lives and through baseball.
This summer, God opened a door and so far, it has not been shut. Therefore, we have decided to walk through the door and launch a ministry that will continue for years to come. Finally, a cure for Ambassador withdrawals: preparing for next summer and next year’s Ambassador Team.
Here are some ways you could help us in the very near future:
1. Pray for us.
2. Help us connect with potential Ambassador players around the country.
3. Partner with us financially. Help send us out to share the gospel through the platform of baseball.
4. Spread the word about our ministry.
Thank you for reading and for helping us tell others about Jesus. I am amazed at the people God continues to use to help us share our story. You can see one of those groups by copying the following link:
http://www.newsok.tv/?titleID=1690989817
Honestly, I did not expect Jenni Carlson and the Daily Oklahoman to help us so much but the stories they have published about our ministry have been a huge blessing. The Daily Oklahoman’s interest and help has been one more proof of God’s hand leading us forward for His glory. I am so thankful for all He has done.
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Our experience in Somotillo was an incredible experience for us. I have yet to mention how the opportunity to play there presented itself. My big brother, Mike, is the Missions pastor at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. Mike first came to Nicaragua 10 years ago right after hurricane Mitch. God used Henderson Hills to really help the people of Somotillo put their lives back together. During the last ten years, my brother has been able to develop a significant ministry not only in Somotillo but also in many of the small villages around that city. When it became official that the Ambassadors were on their way to Nicaragua, Mike helped set up some incredible ministry opportunities for us and we are so grateful to him for all the opportunities that came our way.
On Saturday, as the group traveled back from Somotillo, we drove directly to the baseball field for our final game in Nicaragua. As we pulled up to the field, we could not have imagined the perfect ending to our summer that the Lord had planned for us. It was not something that we could have scripted and it was better than we could have ever imagined.
As we took the field, the regular crowd began to shuffle in. One more time, around 3000 people gathered on that late Saturday afternoon for a baseball game against the Americans. It was amazing to all of us how significant our baseball games became to the people in Nicaragua. My brother explained it to us this way: “We all know where we were when the World Trade Center tragedy took place because that was an event in our country that marked time. Many people describe events by saying, “Oh, that happened two weeks after the World Trade Center tragedy or that happened one month before the World Trade Centers.” For the Nicaraguans, when the Ambassadors came to their country to play baseball, it was a similar mark in time for them. For the rest of the year, they will mark time based on the week we were there playing baseball. This reality was evident to all of us because so many people flocked to watch us play and they crowded in as close as possible to that action. Even though Jared accidentally hit a man the night before knocking him off his bike with a baseball, this did not stop the crowds from getting close to the action.
We were playing another good team from the area but in spite of that, our guys hit the ball really well and played great defense. We were handling things on the baseball field but what made this game a lot of fun was the action taking place on the sidelines. There was a drunk man who was staggering around our dugout asking to get in the game for the Ambassadors. When I declined his offer, he chose to go take a little nap right by the “On Deck” circle. Several of our guys decided to sit by him and have their picture made. We will post some of those at some point.
Before I move on to the next part of this story, allow me to take you back six years ago, because this will help you fully understand the significance of our perfect ending. It truly was an incredible gift from the Lord.
Six years prior to this summer on June 3, 2002, Justin, Josh and Elizabeth got in the car and began the short drive from their new summer job back to Yukon around 1:15. Right before Justin got on the interstate that day, he grabbed the CD “Come Together” by Third Day. Justin told Josh and Elizabeth that he wanted them to hear a really great new song on that CD, “When the rain comes.” Just before they pulled on to I-44, that song began to play.
I am very thankful that we knew that this song was playing the exact moment the tires broke from that semi-truck and struck Justin’s vehicle because the Lord used this to bring us all a lot of comfort after his death. If you are not familiar with this song, it talks about rain coming into every person’s life. However, when that rain comes, it will really be OK because no one loves you like Jesus loves you. He holds you regardless of how much rain falls in our lives and He never leaves us no matter the circumstances. The Lord did this for us. He held us in the midst of this very difficult storm in our lives.
As the game was wrapping up, we were moving into the 7th inning and Murph finally got the call to go pitch. Everyone had their cameras ready because we were all excited for Murph to get in the game. In the distance, we could see dark skies and ominous clouds getting closer and closer. We had already had to stop the game for about five minutes when some rain started but it very quickly moved off. These rain clouds looked different. They looked like they had some punch to them.
Finally, the 6th inning was over and the second we were about to go out on the field, the rain came. Huge drops of rain began to fall from the sky and all of the Nicaraguans started running for cover. The dugouts very quickly filled up along with every other rolling taco stand, hot dog stand and drink vendor’s cart coverings. However, the Ambassadors did something completely different that captivated all the Nicaraguans and brought laughter to all of their faces. Our team stayed on the field and Murph went to the mound. Since no one was batting, I grabbed a bat and faced off against Murph in the pouring rain. He almost hit me once but then thankfully I got a hit off him. (It was a lucky shot.)
The rain had arrived and very quickly puddles started forming all over the field. I am not exactly sure who started it but all of a sudden, Ambassadors started running the bases and sliding head first in the mud. It is a baseball player’s dream to slide head first past second base in the pouring rain through a very slick mud puddle. There is no greater feeling than racing your teammate from third to home seeing who can slide the furthest. As the players frolicked in the mud, very soon myself along with every other coach joined right in. Even Sydni Sullivan took off and slid into second base. I think that this is the exact moment in time that one of our players, who shall remain nameless, decided that he wanted to marry her. I would never do anything to embarrass Garrett Brown so I won’t mention him.
I wish every one of you could have been there to participate with us. It was an absolute blast. The Nicaraguans were saying, “Los Americanos son locos.” And they just stood there watching us and laughing. It was an amazing experience for us. There could not have been a more memorable or more joyful ending to our summer experience.
After the mudfest, we were way too dirty to ride the vans back so we decided to walk the mile and a half in the rain back to Oscar’s house where we were all staying. As we walked by a little local restaurant, the entire crowd who had gathered to stay out of the rain, gave us a standing ovation. The entire team walked back together waving at people, laughing and enjoying each other. It was a great walk home.
It wasn’t until we all got back, cleaned up (the best we could in the dark because the electricity had gone out) and began our share time that the true meaning of this ending to the summer came into focus.
For our final share time, the entire team was seated around the front room in candlelight. Coach Tunnell talked about the beginning of the summer when we handed out the Ambassador hats. He told the guys that when they first put that hat on, the “A” on the hat did not have the meaning that it has now. He asked them to describe what it meant to each one of them to play on this team. One by one, these guys stood up and described what it meant to be an Ambassador. It was a very moving experience and it was incredible to hear how the Lord had grown each one of these guys. I was so thankful to the Lord for all that he accomplished in the lives of each individual player. This team experienced so much more than baseball. If you have the opportunity to run into one of our players, take the time to ask them what it meant to be an Ambassador. Hearing this testimony will be a blessing to you.
I sat there taking every word into my heart doing my best to try to remember every word spoken. I started thinking about our very first game. The Ambassadors walked onto the field around 1:15 to stretch out for their 2:00p.m. game on June 3, 2008. Six years to the moment of Justin’s death. God had taken one of the darkest times in our lives, and even though there is still pain and sorrow at times, there remains a deep realization that there is more to life than living and dying. Though this life is short for all of us, when this life is over, it is not the end. We have been given some promises from the One who created us and those promises are real and personal. I was amazed as I sat there and listened to these boys share about how Justin’s walk with the Lord had impacted their life. I heard them describe how the Lord had given them the boldness to genuinely follow Christ.
Then Sydni Sullivan spoke up and reminded me about the true significance of the way things ended this season. She reminded me of the song that Justin put in his CD player moments before he met Jesus face to face and how the Lord used “When the rain comes” to minister to us so lovingly.
It was an incredible gift on June 3rd, when we realized that the Lord allowed us to walk on to the field six years to the minute of Justin’s face to face encounter with the Lord. Then at the end of this first Ambassador season, finishing our last game in a wonderfully warm tropical rain storm witnessing the entire team living out a baseball player’s dream of playing in the mud on a baseball field, we received another wonderful gift from God.
I sat there in that candlelight with tears of gratitude in my eyes for all the things the Lord had done. For this experience, I am truly, truly grateful.
As soon as we were finished with this share time, it was incredibly meaningful to watch each one of these boys walk up to Juliann Sullivan, give her a hug and tell her to her face what an honor it has been to play on this team. They also shared with her how the legacy of her son will live on through their story. The entire evening was a priceless experience with the Lord and with each other.
On Sunday morning, the guys all got up and went to church at Rosa de Sharon where they lead the entire morning worship experience. Sunday was a packed house and many people who had come to our games had come to the service. At the very back of the crowd was one of the coaches who had helped with our baseball clinic. He was always at the back of the crowd. So far, he had not yet surrendered his life to Jesus.
All week long, the Lord had been faithfully tugging at his heart and at the end of that Sunday worship service, he gave his life to Jesus Christ. It was a very meaningful Sunday morning and another 15 people were saved. Dios es muy muy bueno.
After the service, they had some lunch and the guys went to the Pacific Ocean to have a little down time. They had a great time playing in the big waves. After the time in the ocean, they came back, packed up and at 3:00a.m. they started the huge trek back home.
We had a plane delay in Managua which caused us to miss our connection in Houston. However, in spite of the little wrinkle, everyone made it home and had the opportunity to sleep in their own beds. We also got a little home cooking, which was another welcomed experience.
The trip was incredible but Dorothy got it right when she said, “There is no place like home.” We were all glad to finally be home. However, it was a bittersweet time because in a few short months, God allowed us to become so close. It is hard to believe that we have only known each other for two months. Right now, our lives and hearts are so connected and there is a bond with this team that will last for a lifetime. Each one of us are now a part of the Ambassador Fraternity and for the rest of our lives, we will look back on this perfect ending to a summer that none of us will ever forget.
God has been so good to us and He has allowed us to participate with Him as He spread His word to people all over the world. The Lord has allowed us to enter the front lines of ministry and it is our deepest prayer that for the rest of our lives, we will remain on the front lines.
Thank you for your prayers and support this summer. We are thankful for the many times that each one of you took us to the Lord in prayer.
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This is a very strange moment for us. We are sitting in a third world country in the midst of poverty unlike any place in the United States and I am able to get on the internet to communicate to everyone back home. At this moment, we are essentially on the border of Honduras and Nicaragua in a town called Somotillo but instantly, I can communicate with everyone back home. It is very strange.
I want to begin with something that I left out of the last blog. I was so excited about all the things that I wrote about, I left out an entire part of our day on Thursday. So much has happened in such a short time, it is very difficult to remember all the incredible stories.
After we left the little Bible Study where my son Eric shared the story of David and Goliath, we visited a local high school. We split up into 5 groups and went to two individual classrooms to share our testimonies. This experience enabled every one of the Ambassadors to stand before a group of students and share their faith. It was truly amazing to be invited to a local school to share the gospel so boldly. As I have observed the team this summer, every one of them have become bold witnesses for Christ. I am so proud of each one of them.
Yesterday was an interesting day for us. The majority of the team stayed back in Leon and continued our work in that city. It was a great day for all of them. The began the day by going door to door in a neighborhood sharing the gospel. A group of guys walked up on a basketball game and very quickly joined in the action. The rule was that they would play for 15 minutes and if we won, the Nicaraguans had to come watch us play. For a little while, we forgot we were baseball players and started to bring it to the basketball floor. We should have played for 10 minutes because we were killing them early but since we agreed to play for 15, the Nicaraguans came a way with a victory on the hard court. Even though we lost, the guys came to the baseball game any way. It was fun.
In the afternoon, we had a great clinic in Leon and since we were in the same place for so many days, we decided to play games with them. Lee had the opportunity to spend several hours with a team working with their pitchers and Coach V worked the clinic. We shared the gospel again and more kids and adults prayed to receive Christ.
It truly is amazing here. People are simply open to the gospel. It really is different than things are at home. In a place like this, it is not hard for people to realize that they are in need. We have so much stuff in the United States, it blinds us to our real needs. We have seen a lot of poverty here. In reality, there is a lot of poverty in the United States as well, it is just spiritual poverty. I am so glad that the Lord has allowed us to utilize baseball to share Christ with people. I have discovered that on the baseball field, you can effectively communicate the love of Christ with a person who comes from wealthy background just as well as a person who has nothing in this life. Every where we go, people are coming to Christ. It is amazing.
OK, now I am going to move to a little baseball. Last night, the Nicaraguans utilized some of their recruiting skills to try to beat us on the baseball field. There is a former AAA pitcher who lives in the area and they asked him to come and start for them. Our guys were excited for the challenge and there was a lot of excitement as we took the field last night.
We were starting Tyler King and two good teams were ready to play some baseball. As we arrived to the park, we were so amazed at the crowds that were coming out to watch us play. Another 3000 people showed up and crowded around the park. Unfortunately, the inevitable happened. Jarod Freeman accidentally pulled a foul ball down the right field line and into the crowd. A ball struck a man in the eye brow cutting him pretty good. James Tunnell came up next and came close to hitting some folks down the left field line. After that, some folks decided to move out of the way. However, the majority stayed put because they wanted to watch the baseball game.
Needless to say, the game was a little more difficult for us but we were still able to pull out a win, 11-2. As of last night, we were still un-defeated in Nicaragua.
Now, I am going to move the the second group. Yesterday morning, 14 of us loaded up on a school bus and made a two hour trip to a smaller town called Somoltillo. Somotillo is a smaller village that sits close to the border of Honduras and Nicaragua. We were invited by Pastor Diomedes and a man named Walter who is the leader of the baseball federation for this part of the country. Pastor Diomedes is an incredible pastor who has started over 30 churches in the mountains in Northern Nicaragua and if you add up the membership of all of those churches, it would total over 3000 people. His is an incredible man with a huge vision for the people of Nicaragua. Walter, is a man who openly tells folks that he is not a Christian but he is so excited we were willing to come to Somotillo to play.
We left Leon yesterday around 10a.m. and started the adventure to Somotillo. It was a bumpy ride but it was also an incredible adventure for everyone who came with us. Our goal in Somotillo was to conduct a baseball clinic on Friday afternoon and then play a game on Saturday morning. It was exciting for all of us. Coach Savedra was going to head up the team and I was going to get to coach first. (I was pumped because it was my first baseball game.)
The clinic was incredible and many people prayed to receive Christ. After the clinic, the local TV station came by and interviewed Raul Corpus. He was on the 6p.m. news in this area. In addition to this, Raul, on the prompting of the Holy Spirit, took the opportunity to share Christ with Walter. Walter opened up to Raul and told him that there were many struggles going in his life. I was so proud of Raul and his bold witness for Christ.
After the clinic, it was amazing. We drove to a river which borders Nicaragua and Honduras and went swimming. Every one of our guys now have the opportunity to check on Honduras on one of the countries we have visited throughout our life time because we waded across the river and stood on Honduran soil. It was an awesome trip into the jungle of Central America.
We came back for an incredible dinner and walked through town to an ice cream place. It was an incredible journey.
This morning, we got up early because they told us we were going to play an 8 a.m. game. When we got to the field at 730, they had pushed the game back to 9 because the local radio station was going to broadcast the game to over 50,000 people who live in this part of the country.
The radio station was here and the game began. The people of Somotillo had recruited the best of the baseball players in the area to play us. It was like the local boys had the opportunity to play the Yankees. It was a good game and it was my first experience coaching and yelling at an umpire. We had the opportunity to experience a little home cooking so I had the opportunity to communicate in Spanish with an umpire that he really needed to call equally for both teams.
I let him know that I was upset but I did not kick any dirt on him or throw anything at him. (I wanted to, I just didn´t)
OK, I am really needing to get on the bus right now so I will simply say, we lost the game 8-2. We actually scored a couple of more runs, they just did not count because the Nicaraguan strike zone was not in the same place as our strike zone. However, that is OK because the real reason we were here was to share Christ. I just had to be reminded of that a few times.
It was a fun game in spite of our loss but very quickly, I have to tell you what happened in the end. As we shared our story and presented the gospel, we experienced a holy moment on the field. Not only did the home plate umpire give his life to Christ (He needed to get saved for a lot of reasons) but also Walter, the commissioner of baseball prayed to receive Christ. I don´t have time to go into all the details of this because we have to go back to Leon right now and everyone is waiting for me. In spite of our first loss on the baseball field in Nicaragua, we still won the spiritual battle because we stood on a field and experienced grown men going from death to life. It was an amazing experience and I am so glad that we have had the opportunity to come here and see thousands of people come to know Christ.
God has been so good to us.
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As the day progressed yesterday, the following comment was made, our experiences on this trip have been so incredible, I am not sure people back home would really believe us. Some famous person once said, ¨Truth is better than fiction¨. Well, I am sitting here today letting you know that he was exactly right. The things that have happened this week have blown away our expectations. From the very beginning, God made us a promise in Ephesians 3: ¨Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever, Amen¨.
This promise is what we have lived out this entire week. Like they say in Nicaragua, ¨Gloria a Dios, Dios es bueno¨.
Yesterday, was another amazing day. We began the day by going to the hospital in Leon to pray for people. Before we left, we took the time to look at what God´s word says about the power of prayer. We let our guys know that it was no accident they were going to pray for the sick. We reminded them of how powerful God really is and helped them see that regardless of the situation, God has the power to heal people. When they prayed for people today, it was not their responsibility to trust their words, but they had to trust the Spirit of God.
We stocked up on a bunch of candy and hand sanitizer and headed off to a third world hospital and what an experience it was. When we walked in, we climbed the stairs to go visit the children´s area. One of the first girls we met was around 4 years old. She looked really ill and was sitting between two ladies. I assumed that one of the ladies knew her name but neither one of them could tell me what this little girls name was. The saddness on this girls face will be imprinted on my mind and heart for a long time. When I asked her name, the sweetest voice came from her lips as she told me, ¨Mi nombre es Carla Pricilla.¨ It was a beautiful sight to see Eric Wall put a handful of candy in her lap and which was followed up by 12 big Ambassadors gather around her lifting her to the feet of Jesus. Believe me, this girl needed to be taken to the ¨Great Physician¨. She needed to spend some time at the feet of Jesus and it was an honor to have the opportunity to take her there.
After spending some time in the children´s ward, several doctors escorted us to the Orthepedic area. We prayed for many people. One doctor invited several of us into a room with 6 men lying on beds. At first we did not realize that one man was in the middle of a procedure of having all of his toes amputated. This was an unexpected sight that will also be unforgettable. For sure, this was the first surgery many of us have experienced. In the U.S. when someone is having a surgery, it is not usually in a croweded room. Things are just different here in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. These people need our help and it is such an honor to come here to serve the Lord and serve these people.
There were so many experiences in the hospital that would take too long to discuss. However, there is one thing that I just have to share. We were preparing to leave the hospital and started walking down the stairs. Blake Steppanovich, one of our Ambassadors, was walking beside me. As we were taking in the sights, smells and atmosphere of this third world hospital, he said to me: Ï think that the Lord is calling me to be a doctor. If I became a doctor, I think God could use me to really help people like this.¨
In that moment, I almost lost it. It reminded me that this is a baseball team that is experiencing so much more than baseball. God is enabling us to raise up ¨Giants of the Faith¨who will be sent into the world to make a difference. It was pretty incredible to look into Blake´s eyes as he made that statement. What I saw was a young man who is getting ready to allow the Lord to use him to make a difference in the world. This group of guys will be faithful to carry on the message of Jesus Christ to the next generation. They will be faithful with God´s message. They are learning how to be Ambassadors for Christ.
After the hospital, we got some lunch and then headed out to a kids Bible study that Oscar and his wife lead every Thursday. I have to take a minute and brag on our youngest Ambassador. We only had a few minutes with this group of kids and they were all children. Oscar said to our group, we need to do a quick Bible Study, which Ambassador would be willing to share it. It was quiet for a minute and Lee shared his testimony with the group of kids. As Lee was sharing, I leaned over to my eight year old son and whispered to him, ¨Hey man, these kids are your age, why don´t you share a Bible Story?¨ Eric was a little nervous but he stepped up to the plate and shared the story of David and Goliath. All I can say at this moment is that Eric hit the ball out of the park. It wasn´t quite as far as Jared Freeman´s home run but it was really close. I had to mention this because I was one proud Daddy. Way to go Eric Wall. You are the coolest bat boy ever.
As we were leaving the Bible study, we all got to experience a little comic relief. Reggie, one of our local leaders who hangs with us, went up to Justin Ebert and said, ¨Hey man, try this fruit, it is really good.¨ He handed Ebert a small pepper and told him this was a sweet fruit. You have heard the statement that ¨big things come in small packages.¨ Well, in Nicaragua, very very hot peppers are really small. When Ebert popped this pepper in his mouth, he moved to another level in his walk with the Lord. He was so moved by this experience, he could not help but share this with the entire team. One by one, theÿ started sharing this fruit with their friends. Finally guys started figuring it out but unfortunately, I did not get the memo before Cody Dyvig encouraged me to try this little fruit. Believe me, this was a spiritual experience. I have to say that Coach V got the worst of this little joke. All day long, guys were putting the juice from these peppers on his water bottles and in his food. I would not be surprised if this morning, Coach V´s lips are still burning. I want you all to know that we are having some deep spiritual moments but there is still time to mess around with each other.
Finally, we ended the day and it was truly indescribable. As we arrived at the field for our planned double header, the tropical rain clouds began to form. Several of us, asked the Lord to hold off the rain. He did it before and we would simply wanted to ask Him to do it again. All around us there were rain clouds, thunder and lightning, but from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. no rain fell on that baseball field. I stood there and watched as the clouds simply moved around us. I know this is unbelievable but it really is true.
Before we started our first baseball game yesterday, the leaders from Nicaragua asked us to sing the National Anthem. We quickly polled some of the Jambassadors to see if they would come to the mic and show off their patriotic skills. Brandon Culp, Justin Ebert, Sydni Sullivan, Logan Brumley, Tyler Johnson, Ryan Williams and myself moved to the middle of the field and started to sing. Our starting note was a little high but we got on our tippey toes and got close to those high notes.
Needless to say, we started our first baseball game and just as we expected, the competition keeps getting better and better each night. I wish I could describe the atmosphere at this baseball game. The electricity in the air is truly amazing. It is crazy how close the people get to the action on the field. Honestly, it really is pretty dangerous for the people. As you pray for the Ambassadors, throw up a couple for the people watching our games. Last night, there were so many people watching us play, at one point in the game, we had to stop and nicely ask an entire row of bicycles to move from right field. There was one moment when Tyler King, the one guy who has made every blog so far so I thought I would continue the theme, ran into the rolling hot dog stand to catch a fly ball in the outfield. The only disappointing thing about that catch was that the lady did not give him a free hot dog.
My words really can´t describe the scenes on the baseball field, you will just have to see the pictures. It is unlike anything we have all experienced.
Even though we played a pretty good team yesterday in our first game, we won the game pretty handily. 10-0. In between our games, the Nicaraguan rock band sang a song and we gathered the crowd together to share the gospel. Raul Corpus, one of our Spanish speaking Ambassadors, shared his testimony and he did an awesome job. After Raul shared, Oscar, our Nicaraguan Ambassador, (he is new) got up and shared Justin´s story with the crowd. After he told Justin´s story, he shared the gospel. I was standing near the front of the crowd and was really moved by the things Oscar said. As Oscar began to present the gospel and asked people to bow their heads, I turned around and about fell over. Behind me were over 3000 people standing and listening to every word Oscar said. When he asked people to pray, over 1000 people responded to the call of Christ.
I know that this seems unbeleivable but it really is true. Thousands of people came to Christ yesterday. Last night, as we gathered at Oscar´s house, with tears in his eyes, he said: Ï just could not believe the number of people that came out tonight¨. Oscar made a statement that was truly incredible. He said, ¨When you experience something accomplished by human hands, it is obvious. However, when you experience something that is unexplainable, you know it has come from God.¨ Truly, what we have experienced not only this week, but also this entire summer has come from God. No human being can plan this. Only God can do these things and because of His hand, we are motivated to serve Him for the rest of our day. It is so amazing that God has called us to Nicaragua and He is using The Ambassadors to make a difference in the city of Leon. It is so unbelievable but it really is true. Oh yea, by the way, we also won our second game against our first University team in Nicaragua.
Today, we have a big day planned. 13 Ambassadors are going to a city called Samaltillo to conduct a baseball clinic and play a game. I think even Murph is going to get to pitch today. That is right, we are going to bring in the Big Gun and unleash his fury on the Nicaraguan Culture.
This last statement is really funny if you know our player coach Murph. He is actually standing over my shoulder right now and is pumped that I put him in the blog.
The rest of the team is going to stay in Leon and conduct a clinic and play a game tonight. The 13 that are heading out will be joining up with everyone tomorrow.
I will try to get to a computer some time tomorrow to blog but I wanted you to know that it will be a little later tomorrow. If you don´t see a post until later, don´t worry, we just won´t have computer access until later.
Keep praying for us and thank you all for supporting us both financially and in your prayers. If you invested in the Ambassadors this year, you can rest assured that every dime you invested in this team has made a huge impact in the Kingdom of God.
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I want to start out by thanking each one of you for all of your prayers. We continue to have significant moments together as a team and significant moments with the Lord. Since the beginning, we have prayed that the Lord would significantly impact the lives of our players through the course of the summer. We have prayed that this would be the best team each one of these guys would have ever played with on the baseball field. We have prayed that this experience would change their lives forever. Well, I believe that God has answered our prayers because the change is evident in each one of their eyes. For that we are very thankful to the Lord because when you serve Him, new things come up all the time.
When we woke up yesterday, it just seemed impossible that things could get better. However, things got better.
We began the day at a local high school. This school has 1500 students in the morning and 1500 students in the afternoon. The school officials greeted us at the gate of their complex and escorted us to their auditorium to conduct an assembly with 500 students for about an hour. We began the assembly by playing a fun eating game with the kids. We chose 8 of them to come to the front to have a candy eating contest. It doesn´t matter if you are in the United States or Nicaragua, when you see someone cramming any kind of food in their face as fast as you can, it is always pretty funny. Also, our guys had a lot of fun standing in front of all these screaming girls because here in Nicaragua, our baseball team are kind of like Rockstars. We may have to do some de-briefing when we get back to the states because these guys are getting used to all the girls whistling at them. As the guys were standing on the stage, the volume level of the room got especially loud when we told the had all the guys who did not have girlfriends to raise their hands. After this experience, we may have a hard time getting them to come back home. I promise I will do my best talking them into getting on the plane. I can be pretty persuasive so don´t worry about it.
After our ice breaker time, we shifted gears with the students and Chase Roten, Lee Tunnell and Sydni Sullivan shared testimonies about their walk with the Lord through a translator. It was amazing that these school officials allowed us to stand and share the message of Christ so clearly and so boldly. Everyone of those giving testimonies did a phenominal job communicating with the kids. After our team shared, we were very blessed because Oscar (The missionary working with us) wrapped everything up by sharing Justin´s story and the gospel with every one of the kids. There were over 300 kids who raised their hands indicating that they prayed to receive Christ. The principal of the school came up to the microphone after the assembly and told us that we were always welcome in their school any time. Oscar concluded his time by calling Juliann Sullivan to the front of the crowd for an introduction and she recieved a very loud standing ovation from all of the students. This was all very amazing.
OK, what I am going to tell you next is going to require more de-briefing when we get home. As soon as the assembly was dismissed, the kids rushed to the stage and had their pens out. They were wanting our autograph. Even my 8 year old son was handing out his autograph. Tyler King and a few others were signing girls shirts along with their notebooks. It was so much fun.
After leaving the school, we had a very significant private moment with the leaders who are with us in Nicaragua. We had the opportunity to go see the facility of The Rose of Sharon church. This is the church where we will be leading worship on Sunday. The pastor of the church is an incredible man with an incredible story. I have a goal to share his story with you later in the week. He is a true giant of the faith and understands how to live a life worth following. I am glad that our boys have been able to rub shoulders with him.
As we gathered at his church, we stood in his sanctuary and the Lord led him to bless us through His words. Oscar, the 31 year old leader of their sports ministry, was also with us and we took the opportunity to bless him. I shared with him how much he blessed us by so eloquently sharing Justin´s story. This provided the perfect moment to present him with my red Ambassador jersey. I told Oscar how much it meant to us that he would share Justin´s story and the gospel so clearly with every one that day. When this jersey was presented to him, Oscar broke down into tears and told us all how impacting this story had been in his life. Monday was the first time he had heard it and because of his love for baseball and his love for the Lord, his walk with God has been strengthened by Justin´s life and the lives of the Ambassadors. It really was a significant moment for us.
When we finally got back to the house, we had time for lunch and then we were off to the day´s baseball clinic. The clinic was going well and lots of kids were being blessed by the Ambassadors. All of a sudden, the English teacher from the High School came up on his bike. I was trying to help Logan Brumley, Cody Dyvig, and Robert Kizer translate infield skills into Spanish when Harry rode up.
I told Logan, ÖK, you have to handle this because I need to speak to this guy. Logan and the guys took care of things while I spoke with Harry. Harry told me how he had seen us at the school earlier today. He wanted to talk to a pastor because he needed to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. Religion just wasn´t cutting it for him and he needed to know how to have a real relationship. I had the opportunity to pray for Harry and he accepted Christ into his heart. Earlier that day at the school, Robert Kizer felt impressed to give him a bracelet and presented one to him along with a tract called ¨Steps to Peace with God¨. After Harry prayed to recieve Christ, Harry told me that he wanted to hear some stories of our players. He has a daughter and he wants to be a good father, is there a story that he can hear that would encourage him. Right then, I looked up and there was Lee and James Tunnell. Lee began to share with him from a fathers heart about raising HIs son and God tremendously used Lee and James to speak into Harry´s life. This was another amazing experience.
After the clinic, we cleaned up and headed back to the field for our second game. Yesterday we won pretty handily. It was obvious as this game got started, we were in for a little dogfight. Their first batter stepped up and hit a triple but then we settled in and allowed him to stay on third for the rest of the inning. We had some good hits in the first inning but they also made some pretty good plays in the field. We finished the first inning and we were scoreless. During the first inning, we were joined by a youth group from Waco Texas who had unknowingly promoted our clinic for us. It was really good starting a greaty baseball game with Americans in the crowd supporting us. However, in the second inning, rain drops the size of quarters (that may be a little exageration) began to fall. We were rained out.
We rescheduled last nights game for today at 5 p.m. so tonight we will play a double header. We are going to get some good baseball games in today.
We came back to our base camp for a little grub and some more testimony time, then we settled in for some Mafia, Scum and other card games. It was a great night.
We had a slower morning this morning which was good for everyone. We needed a little rest. Today, we are going to visit a hospital which will be a moving experience for all of us, then tonight we will play some great baseball.
There is an old song that says Ëvery day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before¨. My grandma used to sing that a lot. This week, I began to understand that a little bit more.
Keep praying for the Ambassadors.
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Yesterday is almost indescribable. I am going to try to write about it but truthfully, you have to see the video to really believe it. Cody Dyvig, one of our new players who came to Nicaragua with us at the last minute looked at me yesterday and said ¨This is a life changing experience¨. He nailed it with that statement. James Tunnell said to me, Ät first I thought this was the coolest things that I have ever experienced and then when I saw that sound system, I knew this was the coolest thing I have ever experienced.¨
The day began with most of us feeling pretty rested. We gathered at Oscar´s house which is the place where most of us are staying. We had a quick team meeting and then we headed for downtown Leon for the meeting with the Mayor of the city. All of the guys were wearing their yellow jerseys and decked out in their full uniforms. When we rolled out of the vans, it was definitely an attention getter in the town square.
We were all invited into the mayors main conference room. The coaches were seated at the table in the front of the room and the entire team was seated in the chairs. Shortly after we arrived, members of the press and other city officials began to arrive. The mayor came in and greeted us formally. He began to share through an interpretor how grateful he was that we came to his city. He mentioned how safe his city was and how he wanted us to feel at home during our stay in Leon. The then shared his vision for bringing youth sports to the country of Nicaragua. He began to explain that he is not only the mayor of Leon, he is also the commissioner of baseball for the entire country. He has a 15 year old son who plays baseball and just returned from Guatemala with the national Nicaraguan baseball team. They traveled through Central America representing Nicaragua on the baseball field. While in Nicaragua, his son had the opportunity to pitch at a night game. Though his son has played baseball for years, the game he played in Guatemala was the first time in his life he played at night. This reality ignited a passion for this mayor and this summer, they put lights up at Campo de Victoria in Leon. The field that we played on last night is the only baseball field in the country with lights and he was formally inviting us to play their teams on this field.
After his speech, we had the opportunity to present him a Justin Sullivan (15) Ambassadors Jersey. As this jersey was presented, we had the opportunity to share the entire story of the Ambassadors which led directly into the gospel presentation to the mayor and his city officials. He was so moved by our story. He told us that we would be playing his son´s team on Thursday and when we walked on the field, his boy would be wearing our jersey out of respect for our story.
As we were leaving the mayors office, we told our team that we all needed to embrace this moment. God has blessed us so much by giving us immediate favor with the people of influence in the country of Nicaragua. The only way to explain this is the hand of God. I continue to be amazed at how the Lord uses the game of baseball as a platform to communicate the love of Christ. This was an absolutely amazing experience but just wait, it gets better.
After lunch, we took the time to reflect on this time with the mayor as a team. We had a great meeting together before lunch. After lunch we had a little down time before the clinic. It was needed.
Whe we pulled up to our baseball clinic, we had about 250 kids and adults waiting for us to arrive. We survived the language barrier and got everyone divided up and at their stations. We were about 10 minutes into the clinic and a Nicaraguan man came up to me. I addressed him in Spanish and he replied to me in perfect English. Pedro said to me, ¨Who are you guys?¨ I began to tell them the story of our baseball team and while I was talking, I was surrounded by 9 guys from Waco Texas. A few days ago, this youth group from Waco decided to start promoting a baseball clinic at the same field for the same number of days that we were going to be there. They too put thier clinic on the radio but they had no idea that we were coming. The only problem with this group was that none of the kids in the group ever played baseball and had no idea what to teach. They were really nervous about leading a baseball clinic but they were going to trust that the Lord would help them. All I can say is that God answered their prayers by sending the Ambassadors. The words that I am writing at this moment really do not communicate the ¨God moment¨ this was for both of us. The relief on this groups face was obvious and the nine of these guys said, ¨We could not have handled this many kids.¨ I was sure to thank them for their help in promoting our week long baseball clinic.
As we wrapped up the clinic, it was incredible and afterwards, Murph, Brandon Culp and Trent Daniels shared the gospel and we couldn´t count the number of people, ¨Kids and adults¨who prayed to receive Christ. It was more than 50. But wait, it just keeps getting better. I told you that you have to see the video to believe it. ¨
After the clinic, we had about 45 minutes to get our stuff for the baseball game. We came back to Oscars house and gathered our things. While we were waiting on the vans, we were able to take some time to discuss the game and reflect on the experiences at the clinics. I don´t think we recorded those conversations but all I can say is ¨Wow¨. I wish you all could have been there. But wait, it still gets better.
We loaded up on the vans and headed back towards the baseball field. We passed the field and drove about a half of a mile into the city. When we got out of the vans, we experienced something that was jaw dropping. Standing in the street was a 150 piece band waiting for us. We were told to go to the back of the band by the 40 piece drum line and walk behind them. As we got into position, the band escorted us through the streets of the city while they played a very long song. All the traffic was stopped and the Ambassadors were given a NYC style (minus the ticker tape) parade. It was un-like anything we had ever seen or experienced. Truly, it was like the NY Yankees had just come to Leon.
As we were walking to the field, I said to several players, ¨Man, we better play good tonight.¨ As we came to the field, already there were over 1000 people there. The band helped to draw another 1500 or so.
I wish I could describe this experience to you but there are just no words to describe it. You just have to see the video. Try to imagine this scene of the team walking behind this band with people lining the streets. Try to get that picture in your mind. All I can say about this is that what ever picture came to your mind, it was better than that. I hope you can take a look at that video.
After the ¨pomp and circumstance¨(not sure about the spelling of pomp and circumstance¨) we began the baseball game. The scene of this baseball game was incredible. People were just everywhere. So many people were trying to get where they could see, that there were actually specatators sitting in the outfield, inside the playing area. The atmosphere of this baseball game was unforgettable and the experience was priceless. You have to see the video.
As the game got underway, Tyler King started pitching and even though during warm up, he hit Juliann Sullivan in the leg with is 90mph slider, (She is OK by the way). He gained his control and greatly impressed the city of Leon by throwing a no hitter for 5 innings.
After the 4th inning, we paused the game and pulled everyone together. One thing that I forgot to mention was Band number 2. Not only did we have a marching band escorting us to the field, but at the field, there was a Nicaraguan Christian Rock band set up right next to our dug out. You have to see the video of their sound system. These guys came to rock the house. Once they worked out the power issues, they started playing. Now, in the U.S. music is played during the intermissions of baseball games. In Nicaragua, they bust out the tunes during the entire game. You just have to see the video. By the way, you also have to hear the video. It was the Jambassadors on steroids.
As we pulled everyone together during the break, I had the chance to share our story with the crowd. After I shared, Garrett Brown shared his testimony and Cole Cleavland presented the gospel. After Cole prayed, hundreds of people responded. We concluded the service time with the pastor of the church we are working with wrapping up the service time. You have to see this video.
We finished the baseball game and the Ambassadors won 15-2. We played with magic baseballs because every time we hit a foul or a home run, the balls disappeared. We donated over 2 dozen baseballs to the crowd but we were happy to do it.
Yesterday was amazing and I now I have to stop talking because it is time to go. These words that I have written today, really don´t do justice to it. You have to see the video to believe it.
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