Baseball 4 Christ

Due to several conflicts we have rescheduled the celebration event to August 8th... Parents and players 6:45-7:30 and open to the public and press at 7:30. At the Warehouse located on the campus of 1st Baptist Newnan.. Refreshments will be served to players and parents from 6:45-7:30.... Save the date

Day 1

Travel went well and we arrived in Cancun around 11:30, met Seam Clayton at airport and then Mauricio our host. We traveled to a convience store stalked up on water and then tied two loudspeakers to the roof of the van and headed into the village on Bonfil where we are doing a camp and playing a game on Tuesday. The team walked thru the streets passing out info and meeting people and ended up at the field.

There our event was promoted while a game was going on. After unpacking at the mission house and sorting out the donated equipment we went to Los Lincos to attend church, but before church started we walked thru the area passing out balls and candy to the kids. The night ended with worship and we clapped and tried to sing .. It was a blast.. Wes Grubbs shared his testimony.

Tomorrow two camps and a game at the pro stadium.. Pray for us , it\'s hot. The guys are loving this and it\'s a blessing to watch them smile and love on kids.

Day 2

We had an extremely intense day in the Lord. Started at 7 with breakfast followed by our morning devotional then to our first camp.

There were only about 20 kids there but we really got to meet them one on one. After lunch we headed back to the same spot for our second camp and what a surprise, the stands were full and close to 150 kids.

The players and coaches had a blast and the kids loved it. After the camp we sat them down and shared the Gospel of Jesus with them as well as those in the stands.

After a quick snack we headed to the professional stadium and got ready for our first game... Several 18 & 19 year old kids from the camp played on the all star team we were playing and our kids embraced them and talked with them... But when it came time to play our kids stepped up... Baseball 4 Christ firsts... First Hit .. Tyler Ridgeway... First run scored- Alex Hand.. First win- Zach Farmer 4 2/3 1 hitter...

Morgan came in in the 5th and closed it out... Final Baseball 4 Christ 8. Mexico 2... Great night, the fans were actually chanting USA ..

Thanks for your prayers .. Enjoy the pictures

Day 3

We faced some hurdles today to say the least, but at the end of the day it was great. Coach Morris, Justin, Tyler , Cato & Joe woke up sick from the heat and were unable to participate in the clinic. There were about 50 kids there and Morgan did an amazing job speaking as he talked about David & Goliath and how with God on your side anything is possible.

The five who were ill felt better after lunch but Sean got sick so we had to play our second game without him and with several others very weak. Joe started but got sick and had to come out, Wes Harvey pitched

3 innings of shut out ball then Kevin Werner came in and closed them out.. Final score B4C 5 Bonfili All Stars 2.. Tyler Ridgeway and Alex Hand had key hits and Zach Farmer had a Baseball 4 Christ first...

First Home Run centerfield.

Following the game the president of the league presented all players and coaches with Certificates of Appreciation.. Some players have exchanged hats with their players.

Tonight we ALL went to watch the professional team Tigers play and we threw out B4C balls and the crowd loved it... Mr. Mike bought us all Tigers hats and we ate churros... Everyone is feeling better and God has bleesed us.. Bible studies are awesome.

Tomorrow we head to Isla Mujeres to snorkel and zip line.. Oh by the way .. The shortstop from the Mexican team is hanging with us too.

Then we spend the afternoon ministering to the children at the squatters village... Continue to pray as we bolding proclaim Christ thru baseball

Day 4

God opened His world to us in so many ways today. First of all we were in awe of His creation as we zip lined , snorkeled, and chilled out at Garrafon Park in Isla Mujeres.. Cato finally caught an iguana.. The water was amazing.

Then we got on our golf carts and traveled around the island to the squatters village where some of the poorest kids live. The team walked the dirt streets passing out candy and inviting the kids to the beach to play.. We had a huge time on the beach with close to 100 kids..

Just showing them the love of Christ. One little girl told Tyler she loved him in Spanish. Joe was a human goalie , Pica , Gubbs & Morgan played in the water with the little ones, Harvey & Clayton were a soccer macines,coaches Morris , Robertson & Lowery & Mike threw batting practice to 3 and 4 year olds... We all fell in love and were moved by their situations and will never forget that day.

The night ended back at the Mission house with God showing off.. We had a challanging devotional and when the night finally ended around 2am, Taylor Pica, Sean Clayton, Tyler Ridgeway & Josh Wallace asked Jesus to be their personal Savior.. Morgan wants to be baptized after being saved a couple months ago....

Soooo .... We start our day Thursday baptizing Sean, Tyler & Josh at the pool on the top of the mission house... Then to Merida to play ball...God is obviously a baseball fan...

Day 5

What a way to start a day.. Baptizing Tyler, Josh & Sean in the pool on the roof of the mission house...words can\'t explain the experience , for all of us. Them we loaded the bus and headed for Merida... 4 hours later we arrived at the place we are doing the camp tomorrow. We took infield before about 100 kids and close to 100 fans.

We promoted the game and camp tomorrow.. Most of the kids are children of inmates because the prision is located across the street.

After changing at the hotel we arrived at our game site and were met by a drum and buggle group. They presented us with a flag from the city and the deputy mayor threw out the first pitch wearing a Baseball

4 Christ hat. Our opponets were an all star team consisting of every age.. From a 15 year old high school star to a 45 year old hall of famer in the Mexico league. Their line up was sprinkled with former pro players from Mexican league.... Cato started , Grubbs pitched the middle and Tyler closed.. The boys played awesome.. Wallace made some great plays at 3rd, Alex threw guy out from right field and we even played our newest player Eddie who we met at our first camp and we have adopted this awesome 15 year old. Taylor and Morgan are like big brothers to him... We go to 3-0 Baseball 4 Christ 11 Merida All Stars 7... Till tomorrow

Day 6

In the morning we did a little sightseeing in Merida had lunch at Chilis then headed to a camp. At the camp we were met by close to 150 kids most of them were children of prisioners. It was so cool as Wes Grubbs shared his testimony and as a part of every camp pastor Brian shared the Gospel. We asked them to come to the game and cheer for us and the press was there as well. That day also we were in the paper.

After suiting up for our final game the team presented Eddie with a Bible and a ball and there was not a dry eye in the house.

At the game at the pro stadium we were presented with gifts from the oposing team and Mike & Brian partcipated in the first pitch.

As the US national anthem played Eddie turned and said\" I\'m American\".

What a game before at least 500 fans as we played a team made up of their best minor league players a couple even played AAA & Pro ball in the US. Our kids played their heart out as Werner pitched 5 innings of

2 hit ball and before a crowd shouting U S A. A group from 1st presberteryian Newnan was there also... We took a 1-0 lead to the bottom of the 7th but it slipped away on a questionable balk call moving the winning run to third and we lost our only game 2-1.

We could not get out of there as we were mobbed by fans wanting autographs and shirts... Our Lord was so glorified thru these boys everywhere they went... Win or loose..

We will never be the same and never forget this amazing experience our God allowed us to be part of... Till next year.