FCA Softball Arrives arrives Safely in the Dominican Republic

Well it's straight up 11:00pm and we are calling it a day...but what a great day it was. God has been faithful in delivering all of us to the SCORE Missionary Training Center (MTC) safe and sound. We arrived to cloudy skies and a light sprinkling rain that lasted for just a short while. On our 40 minute ride from the airport to the MTC, we drove through the outskirts of Santo Domingo, the capital city. Everyone immediately acknowledged that we were certainly not in Atlanta anymore. The girls immediately noticed and comented on the impoverished and run down atmosphere. They were surprised when they were told that the areas surrounding Santo Domingo that we were riding through were actually some of the wealthiest parts of the island.

When we arrived at the MTC, we received our room assignments for the week and then were served a lunch of pasta with red sauce. We had a brief orientation by Sara, one of the on site missionaries with SCORE. We all just fellowshiped the rest of the afternoon and continued to build relationships with each other until dinner time...white rice and some very tender beef. After dinner w walk the 7 blocks to the beach, took some pictures and then returned to the property where Brittani lead a devotion with the girls and Bob shared with the adults. Off to bed for everyone now. Thank you God for a great day!

Team FCA is sent out.

Team FCA gathered one last time before leaving for the Dominican Republic. We had 72 participants of the 101 people called to this mission in attendance for todays festivities. The High school teams, Middle School teams and the Softball teams all had the opportunity to workout on the fields at First Redeemer Church and continue to build relationships with each other. We were able to distribute 700 Spanish version New Testaments to everyone to carry over to the island along with assorted baseball equipment that we will hand out to the athletes of the Dominican.

What a blessing it was to have Pastor Chris Holdorf from First Redeemer Church pray for our group and commission us. Coach Wiedemann spoke about Tim Tebow as he deliverred a message encouraging everyone to follow Gods leading, to be bold in our faith even if we are out of our comfort zone, and to FINISH STRONG.

Tweny six members of this team depart for the island early Wednesday morning and the remaining seventy five leave on Saturday. Your prayers are coveted.

Wow...Time is RACING by!

Yep...the days just continue to fly by. It seems like we just returned from the island yesterday and we are headed right back (actually it was just a few days past one year). What a blessing this adventure is. The images of last years trip are still vivid in my mind and in the minds of my wife and children.

The work that God started through this mission last year has really expanded as He has increased the participants from 35 people last year to 101 this year. In the process, He has streched me...but more importantly He has strengthened me. However as the day of our departure draws closer, I am starting to experience the beginning of spiritual attacks by the enemy. This is nothing new though...we experienced these same attacks last year from about 2 weeks prior to leaving for the island until the time that our flights landed safely back in Atlanta. This may sound crazy, but I actually welcome the attacks...I embrace them for what they truly are...confirmation that we are centered smack dab in the center of where God wants us. Confirmation that He has plans to do a mighty work in us and through us as we continue down the path of this mission.

Satan attempts to divert us through deception, distraction, fear and doubt. For me, the recent attacks have come in the form of EXTREME busy-ness throughout my day. Meaningless little things….insane amounts of emails, texts, phone calls, meetings and just plain JUNK that have nothing to do with this mission and are meant to throw me of course. The opposition looks for our greatest areas of weakness and attacks there. The Apostle Paul spoke about the reality of these spiritual battles in Ephesians 6:10-19. I love the Message translation:

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all.

To all of you who are a part of this mission...whether you are a coach, an athlete, an attending parent or a parent or spouse of one of our missionaries, I encourage you to Stay Strong! Now more than ever, stay in Gods word and remain in prayer for your fellow missionaries. God is preparing ALL of us for a mighty work.

Faith, Hope & Rejoicing in our Afflictions

So before we even get started, I want to start off by saying that although I truly hope that you are blessed by this story, I confess that I am writing this for me. It's about me praising God for all that He has done and continues to do in and through my life and the lives of those I love. About how incredibly blessed I am to be able to do what I do and by the people that He puts in my path.

I have loved the game of baseball from the time that I was a 7 year old boy. I dreamed, as many boys do, of someday playing professional baseball...maybe even for my home town team...The Chicago Cubs. Well, as I got older and realized that the "talent"?..that God gave me to play baseball didn't actually stand up so well against most of the other guys on my high school team, my dream of playing pro-ball died quicker than the vines on the outfield wall at Wrigly field in October. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think that 40 years later I would be involved with the game as I am now. That God actually instilled the love of the game in me for a purpose much higher than for my own personal enjoyment. But...that's how God does things. He places things, situations, circumstances and people in our lives that we often overlook and take for granted...not really thinking about the purpose or what effect it may have on our lives months or years down the road.

I have been abundantly blessed over the past week as God has once again used the game of baseball to bring His people together and for His glory by placing a 13 year old boy (yes, a baseball player) and his family in my path. The boys name is LS Goe..LS is short for Lee Samuel, named after his dad. LS has only been playing baseball for a short period of time, but he loves the game. Baseball just recently became a part of his life because he lost the passion that he once had for Motorcross racing, somthing that he has done since he was a little boy. Maybe the many different injuries and broken bones had somthing to do with him dropping motorcross for baseball, however the point is that it is baseball that God used to have our paths cross.

I was introduced to LS and his parents Stacey & Lee by my friend and fellow FCA Baseball ministry associate Matt Pritchett. In addition to being on staff with FCA Baseball, Matt is a professional hitting instructor and has been giving hitting instruction to LS now for a few months. In an attempt to keep a potentially very long story as short as possible, I will get right to the facts. LS woke up on Monday morning Nov 30th complaining of a toothache and was taken to the dentist by his mother Stacey. Stacey and LS were first put on alarm when they were informed by the dentist that he "didn't like some of the things he saw" and that Stacey should take LS to Scottish Rite Hospital for some evaluations. Once at Scottish Rite, the tests were done and the results came back. LS had leukemia. BAM! In the blink of an eye, everything changed.

Life changed a little bit for LS on Monday November 30th, however his journey really started back on September 13th when he experienced a much more radical change in his life. On that day, LS met Jesus at the Forsyth Family Funfest in Cumming, GA. Yep, you read that correctly....while attending this event that featured different praise and worship bands and speakers, LS responded to the Gospel presentation by Will Graham that evening by accepting Christ into his heart as his Lord and Savior. I believe that God started preparing LS for what was to come on that very day. Shortly after giving his life to Christ, LS became involved with the FCA huddle at Liberty Middle School in Cumming and has been reading his Bible.

Over the past few days, I have been able to spend some time with LS and his parents, who are also followers of Christ. And it is by watching how Lee, Stacy & LS have dealt with the circumstances that they now find themselves in that I have been so blessed. A diagnosis of leukemia in a young boy causes our lives to start spinning out of control and we feel helpless. But the upside is that it also causes us to seek God with an intensity that cannot be manufactured in any other way. It has a way of driving us to our knees. And that is why the bad things that happen to us can turn into the BEST things that happen to us. We can't control what happens to us, but we can control our response. The response from the Goe family has been one of complete trust in Him who can do more than we can ever imagine. It has been a testimony of complete faith in Christ...the kind of faith that we all long for. The kind of faith that gives us peace that surpasses all understanding.

Since LS's diagnosis, there has been a tremendous outpouring of prayer. There have been countless testimonies by people who either know LS or know of him who have been drawn closer to the Lord through this trial. Close to 1600 people have responded on his facebook page. Read some of the posts here and see how God is using LS to impact the lives of many....and LS knows it! And that gives him peace! How will this story end? Only God knows, however in my heart, I believe that God plans to use LS in a mighty way and that this is only the beginning. Romans 5:3 says "There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we are hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next" (msg).

LS was released from the hospital today after being there for 10 days. He has received chemotherapy daily for over a week now and his treatment will continue for the next couple years. His prognosis is encouraging...the doctors anticipate a complete 100% remission. All the Glory to God. I urge you to lift up LS and his family whenever you think of them.