For 35 years of my life, I could classify myself as a very marginal baseball fan.  I would watch the World Series and half-way pay attention to a really good catch or hit on Sports Center.  Occasionally I would see a Redhawks’ game or catch one of our Council Road Baptist Church kids play in a local high school game. 

Three years ago, all of that changed when God led me to write “A Life Worth Following” and then form the Ambassadors baseball team.  That was when I really discovered baseball, and today I am a 38-year-old “baseball guy” who is flat out hooked on the sport. 

The past three years, I have come a long way spending time with the Ambassadors and the coaches learning the game.  For example, today I can walk into a dugout anywhere and look like a baseball guy, spit seeds like a baseball guy, flip my hat like a baseball guy and can even get superstitious like a baseball guy.  You could say that I have had a baseball makeover, and I just love it.

I, like most of you reading this blog, am one who loves and appreciates this incredible game. So far, I have only scratched the surface learning many life lessons that are caught both on and off the field.  

One of the things I love the most is getting to wear an Ambassador uniform, and I am proud to have the # 0.  As part of the Ambassadors, one of my favorite places by far to catch these life lessons is during a game right in the middle of the dugout. 

To be honest, most of my time in the dugout is spent by filling water jugs, passing out seeds and, of course, doing a whole bunch of cheering.  My official role with the team is to teach the Bible and push our guys spiritually.  So far, I have not been called on to offer baseball advice.  To be honest, when it comes to the details of baseball, I am a rookie.  But it sure is a blast wearing the uniform and sitting in the dugout surrounded by incredible coaches and passionate players. 

I want to take a minute and pass on a nugget of wisdom that I learned this summer in the dugout from this amazing group of guys who call themselves “Ambassadors.”

It was a very hot summer day with little wind, and we found ourselves in the middle of a dogfight on a hot field in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The tournament was winding down, and our pitching was getting very thin. We were playing a tough team from Colorado and were headed into the 7^th inning.  We had a 2-run lead, but this team was tough and they had captured significant momentum in the bottom of the last inning. 

It was so hot that we wanted to get out of this inning and get to the house.  We managed to get two outs, but this two-run lead was in hanging in the balance.  We had given up some hits and they had runners on the corners while we were staring at their strongest hitter who was coming to the plate.  Everyone watching this game felt that the momentum had shifted, and all the signs pointed to the fact that we were going to let this game slip through our fingers.  Heath Herrington, one of our toughest pitchers, was on the mound and he was giving all he had on this scorching Oklahoma afternoon.

I was captivated in the dugout, sitting on a 5-gallon baseball bucket, when all of a sudden Coach Vallerand. yells at the top of his lungs, “TIME BLUE!”  He walked to the mound and gathered the infield together.  Coach Vallerand knew that Heath was about maxed out on the number of pitches he could throw and was feeling the burden of the moment in this battle at the ballpark 

Coach Vallerand. seized the moment and looked at all of our infielders and said, “Guys, you’ve got to pick Heath up.  He needs you and it is time to pick up your teammate.  Pick him up right now.” 

Heath had pitched his heart out and was exhausted, but he managed to gather some strength from the faces of his teammates.  He went back to the mound, pulled himself together and went after that hitter.  Very quickly, Heath got ahead in the count, but the reality was that they had the momentum. Even though Heath threw a great pitch, their #3 hitter got a hold of it and ripped the ball in the left-center gap.  

Immediately, Coach Vallerand loudly exclaimed, “Dad Gum It, Tie Game!”  Their runner coming from first was pretty fast, and he got a pretty good jump with the crack of this hit.  The runner on 3^rd scored easily, making it a one-run game. Levi Schlick was playing centerfield and hustled to the ball.  He hit his cut off who happened to be Josh Clark.  Josh made eye contact with the runner as he rounded 3^rd base.  When their eyes met, both ball players instantly knew he could not make it home, so the base runner stopped and sprinted back to 3^rd base.

As the runner turned, Josh knew that this runner rounded 3^rd too far.  He instantly made a“heads up” play and fired the ball to Jordan Booth, who was patiently waiting on 3^rd base to tag him out.  Josh made a perfect throw, Jordan made a perfect tag and the game was over. Ambassadors win. 

In that moment, I impressed myself with how high I jumped from that five-gallon bucket.  What a great ending to a great game.  Our team was facing dire circumstances, heard a challenge from their leader to pick up a struggling teammate and managed to rally together for a win.  

Baseball is a very interesting game, and the dugout is the best place to catch many of life’s most important lessons.  In the dugout, I have experienced really good players make really great plays skillfully executing the game just like it’s supposed to be played.  I have also watched really good players make costly errors putting their team in difficult spots.  That is just how the game of baseball goes.

Many years ago, I began a personal relationship with God.  I experienced a moment intime when Christ completely washed my sins away.  Believe me, this gift that God gave to me was not something that I deserved, and it was definitely a gift I did not earn. 

After forgiveness, there have been many times when I have put God’s word into practice and lived life exactly how God called me to live.  There have also been times when I allowed sinful habits to rule in my heart, which led to costly errors that hurt not only me, but also those around me. 

This week has been tough for the Ambassadors because one of our teammates has gone through a public struggle due to an error in this game of life.  Though this error has been challenging for all of us, it has pushed us to sound the familiar call that Ambassadors have heard many times in the dugout.  It is time to pick up one of our teammates because he needs us. 

I am not making excuses or making light of a teammate’s mistake.  It was an error, and it put our team in a difficult spot. We believe the Bible, and we believe that sin is a big deal.  In fact, a verse of Scripture that is very close to our hearts right now is Genesis 4:7 which says: 

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door.  It desires to have you and you must master it.”

Throughout the journey of life, we will make many mistakes because of our very real battle with our sinful nature.  The truth is that this is not the first time, nor will it be the last that one of our teammates makes an error and needs our team to rally. Ambassadors have no problem stepping up to the plate in situations like this because we have all been touched by God’s ultimate and amazing forgiveness.  We are thankful that God keeps His promises and chooses to “work all things for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”

We are not a perfect group of people.  In fact, we all have many flaws.  What makes us different is the amazing fact that we have been reconciled to One who is perfect. 

Three years ago, God did a work in our lives and clearly guided us to start a baseball ministry focused on helping people connect with the Savior who came to this world to rescue every human soul.    

Because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin, when we fall down and make an error, we are compelled to get back up and keep striving to become more like Jesus.  Sometimes we fail at living lives that are really worth following, but the fact is that the only person whose life is truly worth following is Jesus because it was His life, His death and His resurrection that was worthy to pay for the sins of mankind.  He gave us the amazing gift of forgiveness and eternal life. 

In spite of our mistakes, we are going to stand together and help restore a broken teammate. When Ambassadors struggle and fall down, we get back up and help each other keep our eyes on the life that was truly worth following.  The life of Jesus Christ.

“We are therefore, Christ’s Ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf:  Be reconciled to God.”  2 Corinthians 5:20

Throughout my journey, I have often stood in front of groups of people proclaiming promises that God made to His people.  I have said countless times, "God has a plan for your life."  "Even when you don't understand your circumstances, Jesus will be faithful to you." "You can trust the Holy Spirit's leading in your life."  

Through my nineteen years of ministry experience, I have also learned that life throws a lot of "curve balls" and there are many times that those truths are much easier "said" than "done".

For example, I will never forget the question that I asked the Lord just moments after finding out that Justin had died.  I had just walked into Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City and found out the news.  My mind was racing and my heart was pounding.  So many of God's promises that I had taught were flying around in my head but not one of them made sense in that moment.  

I vividly remember leaning against the wall of the hospital, putting my head in my hands and saying out loud, "Lord, what are you doing?  I thought you were going to use Justin to make a difference in Major League Baseball."  

Needless to say, I was confused, I was hurting, I was speechless and I was "flat out" struggling.  

Well this week, God has once again proven to me that He has a plan for life.  I have learned again that Jesus can be trusted even when I don't understand all the circumstances.  One more time, the Holy Spirit has taught me that I can trust His leading in my life.  

Last Sunday, I received a phone call from Rob Martin.  He is an agent for ICON Sports Management.  He represents several professional athletes throughout Major League Baseball.  He also happens to be the agent for a young man named Chad James.  

Chad James grew up in Yukon Oklahoma and discovered at a young age that he was really good at baseball.  Chad is an outstanding pitcher and seems to have a lightning bolt in his arm.  He is so good that the Florida Marlins chose to draft him in the first round and actually went 18th over all in this year's Major League Draft.  

Rob called me on Sunday to inform me that Chad has been impacted by Justin's life and the Ambassadors.  It was his honor to let me to know Chad wanted to donate a portion of his signing bonus to the Ambassadors.  

Immediately, my mind raced back to that day leaning against the hospital wall saying out loud, "Lord, I thought you were going to use Justin to make a difference in Major League Baseball?"  Now, I find myself, over seven years later, seeing the Lord continue to use Justin's life to make a difference in the life of the 18th pick of the 2009 Major League Draft.  

I have to be honest today, I am not claiming to understand all things about our purpose in life and in death.  However, I am amazed at this fact, God is real and His purposes are not coincidental.  

Justin was a young man who simply walked with God and played baseball.  He understood that there was a greater purpose to his life and most importantly, he took God at His word.  Justin wasn't perfect but he was faithful to the Lord.  He was a young man who's walk matched his talk and he wasn't ashamed to be labeled a follower of Christ.  He applied himself in every area of his life and he worked hard to honor Christ with the way he lived his life both on and off the baseball field.  

The bottom line is this, Justin knew what it was like to be forgiven by God and it was something he never got over and didn't take for granted.  He was a young man who chose to be a witness for Christ and was truly an Ambassador.  

Today, I am grateful for so many things.  I am grateful that Chad James chose to bless our ministry with a financial gift.  I am grateful that we were able to start this baseball ministry and be an influence to so many incredible athletes.  More importantly, I am grateful for salvation and God's promises both in life and in death.  

It is amazing to see the Lord actually using Justin and his story through the Ambassadors to make a difference in Major League Baseball.  I really thought that God would use him as a player, instead He chose to use Justin in a completely different way.  

Thank you Chad for blessing our ministry and I pray that the Lord will honor this gift you have given.  We will be faithful to use every dime to make a difference in lives of others.    

After reading this article about Kevin, I could hear Coach V saying, "Guys, when you put that Ambassador uniform on, we are not just playing baseball."  

Over the summer, this comment was one of the most consistent messages poured into the lives of our Ambassadors and today, I am so thankful that the Lord is continuing to use our Ambassadors to make a difference for the Kingdom of God.    

The truth is that as Ambassador's we are called to follow the Lord not just on the baseball field, at our work, or at our churches, but all the time.  So often, I run into people who compartmentalize their lives in such a way that God is only in control of certain aspects of their lives or is only given lip service one day out of the week.  

It is important to understand that every person who has experienced God's forgiveness is called to be an Ambassadors for Christ, all of the time.  In fact, we believe that Jesus is calling us to submit everything to Him and to allow Him to be in complete control of our lives.

This summer, we were able to walk with our team and show them that following Christ is not a burden but it is the most incredible adventure you could ever experience.  Unfortunately, most people have the false opinion that following Christ is keeping a set of rules or some religious ritual.  In fact it is just the opposite.  Following Christ is an incredible interactive relationship, not a boring religion.  

Think about John 10:10 for a moment.  The Bible says:

"The thief come to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it to the full."

Jesus was very intentional about His words here.  He is reminding us all that He came to give us this incredible thing called "LIFE". The fact is that God came to earth in a miraculous way, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, gloriously rose from the grave, and since that moment in history has given us His amazing Holy Spirit.  There is no way He would have done all this just to have a part of our lives.   

The world desperately needs authentic Ambassadors.  Authentic Ambassadors understand what it is like to be forgiven and experience Jesus being the Lord of their lives.  When Jesus really becomes your Lord, you will start to get a taste of the LIFE that God is calling you to experience.  We all should keep in mind, that no one is perfect, but we can be forgiven.  Forgiveness is a gift that is available to all people and it can be experienced when a person turns their eyes to Jesus.    

This past summer, as we embraced the opportunity to invest in the lives of these young athletes, we believed that God was leading us to not just teach our team how to play baseball but more importantly to help raise up the next generation of leaders in America to follow God's plan for their lives.  

I am proud of Kevin Lamb and am thankful he wore an Ambassador uniform this past summer.  More than that, I am thankful that God is continuing to use him and all of our guys as Ambassadors for Christ in every aspect of their lives.  

I hope you take the time to read the article in the Tulsa World newspaper.  In this article, you will hear about a young man who has experienced the hope that Christ has brought to his life.  You will get to rub shoulders with an athlete who has chosen to give his gifts and talents to the Lord.  You will get to read about a young man in the United States who is not perfect but is growing in his walk with Christ and is choosing to live out his faith in every aspect of his life.  

Way to go Kevin.  You are on the journey of living a life that is worth following.  

Quarterback an inspiration to his team <http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?articleid=20090817_227_B1_Taylor470317>
Bixby senior quarterback Kevin Lamb spent much of the summer traveling to Nebraska , St. Louis , Dallas and Mexico as well as throughout Oklahoma .
This article was published on tulsaworld.com on 8/17/2009.

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Know your world. Go to www.tulsaworld.com <http://www.tulsaworld.com/>  throughout the day for updates.

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The past few months have been so full and we are all so very grateful for this past summer.  We truly were able to see the Lord move in supernatural ways.  Now that our season is over, we will take the next several months and just tell stories of our experiences.

Today, I want to share a short video with you sent in by the Herrington's from Amarillo.  It is a great snapshot of the Ambassador season from their vantage point.  

I sit here today amazed at the incredible power of our Savior.  God has taken our personal tragedy and turned it into a ministry where thousands of people have come to know Christ.  All of us have walked a summer with the Lord and have seen Him show His mighty hand.  

But really what is even more amazing is the fact that this is only the beginning.  This summer, God showed us His mighty hand to prepare us for His work in the future.  It is just a fact that He is calling us to continue to become lifetime Ambassadors.  I am so grateful that He is not finished with us.  

Today, we are going to praise Him for what He has done and as you take the time to experience this short video through the eyes of an Ambassador, be thinking about how the Lord is using all of our experiences to prepare us for His continued and powerful work in the world.  

Today, we are so grateful that God is allowing each one of us to witness the continued fulfillment of these words proclaimed by our AMAZING SAVIOR. 

We worked hard to get to Saltillo Mexico.  As we encountered the roadblocks along the way, it was obvious that there were spiritual enemies at work trying to keep us from coming to reach out to these amazing people in Mexico.  As the Ambassadors experience their last day of ministry in Saltillo, it looks like we are going to rub shoulders with more people today than we have been able to touch all week.  What a big God we serve.

As most of you know, I am not actully with the team right now.  I had to come back early to preach a wedding this evening for a young man whom I have poured into for many years.  It was just an event I could not miss.  However, I just got a call from Coach V and I had to write about what happened.  I just can't keep it to myself. 

A.D. wrote last night that yesterday we recieved an invitation to play on the professional field in Saltillo.  Some of you may not know but Mexico has a pretty big professional baseball circuit.  In fact, there are many players from the United States that will come to Mexico to play at some point in their professional career.  Coach Tunnell actually played one year for the professional team in Monterey. 

Yesterday, on our shopping day, the guys decided to go by the field to take a look.  It is a beautiful field and one of the focal points for the city of Saltillo.  When the guys showed up, the team gift shop was closed but they managed to talk their way into the store.  Once they were inside, our guys unloaded some cash on the gear so they immediately fell in love with the Ambassadors. 

Before long, they were getting a tour of the entire facility.  We already had a game set up for today so one of our players said, "I wonder if they would let us play here?"  The Coaches decided that it would not hurt to ask and in a matter of minutes, Lee, Coach V, and A.D, were up in the offices.  All the guys gathered around the pitchers mound and prayed the Lord would open the door for us.  When the coaches met up with the guys, we not only had permission to play 1 game but they are allowing us to play a double header. 

The was not only a big deal for us but it is even a bigger deal for the local players we will be playing against.  At this point, there has not been a local team that has been allowed to play on this field.  The local teams that we will play this afternoon at 3:00 are fired up that they get to play on this field.  This is such an incredible door that has been opened for us. 

OK, for this next part, I am about to be a Baptist that gets a little Pentacostal because this makes me want to jump around.  This morning, all of our Ambassadors got an invitation to go to the Saltillo Little League awards presentation.  There were a lot of Little League teams present and about 500 people in the stands.  Since we had a sound system, we set it up and helped make the presentation a bigger deal for the kids. 

The president of the league, asked all of our Ambassadors to present the trophies to the winners of the league.  As the teams were called up, all of our guys made a tunnell for the teams to run through.  As the trophey presentation ended, Raul Corpus, one of our former Ambassadors who speaks Spanish fluently, got on the microphone and shared Justin's story.  After Raul shared our story, Cristobal Lopez, the Hispanic pastor at Council Road, got up and shared the gospel. 

Folks, as the gospel was presented, our guys stood there while hundreds of people prayed to recieve Christ.  It was a revival service at a Little League baseball awards presentation.  Are you kidding me?  Is God AMAZING OR WHAT?  I know that my pastor and every other pastor makes this comment but it works here:  "If this does not light your fire, then your wood is wet." 

After all these people got saved, the leader of the Little League invited everyone out to the games today.  I guarantee you, today in Saltillo Mexico, The Ambassadors are going to play some tough baseball and have another opportunity to impact an entire city. 

We went to Saltillo for one purpose this week:  to lift up the name of Jesus.  As we have faithfully lifted up His name, God has faithfully kept that promise He made to His disciples.  We lifted Him up and He has drawn men to Himself. 

In a couple of hours, our boys are going to play baseball and point people to Jesus.  Let's take this opportunity to faithfully wrestle in prayer for them.  Let's pray that the Lord will bless them on the field and open the hearts of our opponents and all the people in the stands. 

Today, a lot of people are going to come to a baseball field to watch an American team play some of the best young players in that part of Mexico.  Though they will get to watch that game, more importantly, they are going to encounter Jesus. 

The title of the article about the Ambassadors in today's paper in Saltillo read, "A Team Plays with Faith".  That article was worded extremely well and the lesson is clear for all of us. 

The truth is that God is using the Ambassadors to teach us to live by faith and not by sight.  Our baseball team is living that out right now in this very moment.  Let's learn from these faithful young men. 

All of you who are parents of the Ambassadors, I am now living in your world because I cannot be there with them in person.  But let me remind you that we can still participate with them in this ministry effort by faithfully and consistently praying for them.

I love the Ambassadors and I love what God is doing in them and through them. 

Thank you Lord for continuing to draw men to Yourself.    

To start the day today we did not have a clear picture of what God had in store for us.  We weren't sure if we had a game today (and as it turned out we didn't), and we were deciding between going to Monterray or just spending the day in Saltillo seeing the tourist attractions.  Lee and myself decided that today was going to be one of those days when God was going to do something unpredictable.  We could not have imagined what was going to happen next. 

We decided to stay in town and do a little shopping at a local market.  After spending the afternoon at the market we loaded up on a bus and headed to the professional baseball stadium in town.  Some of the guys wanted to buy some merchandise of the Saltillo Seraperos.  When we got to the stadium it was closed.  We begged a guy to let us in and open the store and they did! After everyone had bought their fill, the employees of the park invited us to tour the park and even let us onto the field.  I made a comment to Sydni that the only way we were going to be able to play a game at this staduim is if God decided to truly bless us.  With all the ambassadors standing on the field taking pictures someone made the comment, "we should ask someone if we could play here tomorrow."  So we did, and they are going to let us play a double header.  Not just one game but two, God is truly amazing.  At the start of the day we go from not having a game to playing a double header at the professional staduim the next day.  Words cannot describe but certainly pray for us as we bring closure to another amazing summer.  To God be all the glory and honor. -AD

We just came down to breakfast at the hotel and the Ambassadors made the news.  We opened up the Zocalo Saltillo and there in the sports section is an article about the Ambassadors.  

Since we have received an invitation to play the very best team in this city, the paper wrote an article discussing the game today and our team.  The team we are playing is a group made up of the best players of all the teams in this part of Mexico.  Yesterday, we won 21-0 so now they want to beat us.  How cool is this.  

I know that our guys can play baseball and I know that people have been coming out to watch our games but sometimes we wonder if we are really making an impact.  Well today, the Lord has blessed us with influence because the article says that we are a team that practices religion but we are a young semi-professional team.  

I don't know all that the Lord has in store for us today but one thing is for sure, we are going to get to finish up a great three day clinic today where we have blessed a church, we are going to play some really good baseball today and we are going to have a group of people who will again hear about Jesus on the baseball field.  

We are really fired up.  God is so good.

Please pray that we continue to play well so that we can earn share Christ effectively.  Pray that God will continue to speak to the heart of each Ambassador as they see God working all around them.  Pray that people whom we speak with today will be receptive to the Spirit of God and the message of Christ.

I just love living missionally.  There is nothing more exciting in all of life.

The truth is that this is so much fun.  I can't believe that I am sitting in Mexico with this group of guys.  I wish you could see us right now.  I am sitting at a table in the middle of three coaches pouring into the lives of three great baseball players who are wrestling with God's voice in their life and of one wild Ambassador group playing Mafia.  I am trying to sit here and take in this moment.  I have the unique privilege of seeing the beginning stages of genuine fruit from a summer of true discipleship.  

This team is really special and it is so hard to believe that this summer is coming to an end.  It is even harder to believe that on May 29th, we walked into a cook out at the Express Ranch and very few of these guys knew each other.  Now we find ourselves about to go home and each one of us have built friendships that will last a lifetime.  I am so grateful to the Lord for this journey.  

Today was a great day.

We started the day with our clinic on the "in prompt to" baseball field made of rocks.  We had a great group of kids and a great clinic especially with a group of older kids who had come to our game the day before.  As always, the "Brinkoline" or "Humoungous Moon Walk" that we threw in the trailer before we left OKC was a big hit with the kids, especially the younger ones.  It was a great clinic and a great experience for each of our guys.  As we were leaving the pastor thanked all of us, invited everyone to the game and said we were going to beat this University team 21-0.  We all laughed and loaded up.  We are so grateful that God opened the door for us to have this clinic on this rock field.  

After the clinic, we scored "Big Time" with a local taco dive here in Saltillo.  The grub was a big hit with the guys.  This was a pretty small place and so when we pulled up with our bus load, it definitely made an impact.  However, more amazing than the food was the fact that after lunch, we shared our story with the entire restaurant staff and every waiter, cook and bus boy came to listen.  After we shared, several prayed to receive Christ.  It was really really amazing to share Christ with every staff member at that taco place.  As we were coming back to the hotel, one of our coaches and I were talking about what it would be like if we walked into a Hideaway Pizza or a Wendy's in the U.S. and asked if we could share our story with them after we ate. We wondered if it would be received.  On the other hand, here in Mexico, we were blessed to have their ear and walk through the doors God has opened.  It is truly amazing.  

After lunch, we came back to the Hotel and had a little downtime before we went to our game.  We were excited about playing this University team because we had heard that they could play some baseball.  As we showed up at the game and started warming up we were approached by a man who coaches an elite team from this area who is undefeated.  He had heard that we were in town and wanted to play us.  It was easy for us to adjust our plan so we have set up a game with this team for today at 4:00 p.m.  It will be held at one of the best baseball fields in Saltillo.  It is exciting that the word about the Ambassadors is starting to spread.

Even though we were excited about the new game, we had some business to take care of on the field.  We were playing against a group of guys who really were better than the team the day before.  This team actually had their own equipment so Ty did not have to share his catcher's gear.  

The game started OK.  We were the visiting team and the first inning we got 1 hit but no runs.  However in the second inning, the salsa kicked in both on our bats and Aaron Cornell's arm because we ended up winning this game 21-0.  We just could not believe at the end of the game that the pastor actually called the score at the clinic.  That was a special treat from the Lord.  

As you can probably tell, I started this blog last night but needed to finish it this morning because I was having difficulty holding my eyes open.  

Today we have a full day set up.  We are going to conduct our last clinic at Parque de Brisas and then travel to play the game against the un-defeated team. It is going to be a great great day of baseball ministry.  

For all of you parents of Ambassadors who are following this blog, you should be very proud of your boys.  Each one of these guys are representing not only your family very well, but they are also representing the Lord really well.  Last night, it was awesome to hear testimonies from Gatlin York, Ryan McIntosh and Sydni Sullivan.  One of our boys came up to me last night with tears in his eyes and told me that he believes the Lord has called him to ministry.  

I am so thankful that the Lord is speaking so clearly through His Spirit.  Following Christ is truly an adventure and living by faith is a calling every believer must embrace.  I understand that all of the parents at home have also taken a step of faith by allowing your boys to become Ambassadors.  

Today, I want to encourage you that God is raising up your boys to follow Him.  He is the one who made them great baseball players and He is the one who is moving in their lives.  He is the one who has provided for us every moment in Mexico and He is the one who is Lord of all.  

Because of all that God has done, we are compelled to live for Him and give Him everything we have.  I know that I have said this before but I need to say it again.  C. S. Lewis was right on when he told us that "If Jesus really is who He said He is, Christianity cannot be mildly important."  

The truth is that all of us are called to go serve the Lord.  For those of you reading this blog, it may not be your calling to serve Him on the baseball field but God is always faithful to open doors of ministry for each of us.  Our job is simply to walk through them.  That is what we are going to do today.  We are going to walk through the door that God has opened.

So what about you?  What door of ministry will He open for you today?  Be looking for it because you definitely don't want to miss the opportunity of walking with Jesus.  That is one ride that worth taking.  

Pray for us today and thanks for following our journey.   

I have a little time this morning before our baseball clinic so I I am going to try to recap our experience over that last few days.

Monday afternoon, we discovered our buses were not going to be allowed into Mexico because of a new restriction.  There was a church group from Iowa right behind us in line who had taken their bus into Mexico 17 times and the last time was this past March who was turned away as well.  All of us were shocked and frustrated.  

After receiving the verdict, we decided that we did not come this far to give up so I made a quick phone call to a friend in Matamoros who we work with every year on the border.  I told Juan our problem and told him that we needed a Mexican bus to take us to Saltillo.  He called me back 10 minutes later and at noon on Monday, a charter bus was on the way to pick us up in Viejo Laredo. 

I wanted to have a little fun with the guys so I had them think that we are going to have to make due with a really junky bus so they were all expecting the worst.  They sure were surprised when 5 hours later a sweet charter bus showed up to hang with us for a week in Mexico.  

Monday night, we finally arrived in Saltillo and got to the hotel.  We all took a needed shower and cleaned up then around 10:30, headed to an incredible Mexican restaurant very close to the hotel.  It really is an experience when you walk into an eating establishment with 39 big athletes.  

Needless to say, the cooks started "hoppin", the chips and salsa started coming and every body started eating.  One of our bus drivers ordered some peppers and after they arrived at the table, it took about 5 minutes for the pepper eating contest to get started.  Pretty soon, the waiters were joining in by bringing out the hottest peppers they had in the store.  It was pretty funny watching several of our guys man up to throw down some "smokin" chilis, at least it was funny until my 9 year old son joined in the action.  He learned pretty fast that peppers are not his favorite.  

Monday night was just a blast but what really blew us away was what happened as we were leaving.  The guys made quite an impression on all the waiters in the restaurant so we gathered up all the "pulseras" (bracelets in Spanish) that we were wearing.  We asked the entire staff if we could share our story with them.  5 minutes later we were sharing the gospel with every staff member at this Mexican place.  It was a little crazy because there were a few other customers in the place but they all stopped to listen to the reason we came to Saltillo Mexico.  

I got to share Justin's story with them and then I turned it over to Cristobal, (Our Hispanic pastor at Council Road).  Before we left that restaurant, 11 people had prayed to receive Christ right there in that Mexican place.  One of those people who prayed was one of the bus drivers from Matamoros Mexico who is now spending the week with our group.  I am so grateful that God included us in His plan to save Victor.  Here we were frustrated that we can't get to Saltillo in our buses but God wanted us to share Christ with a bus driver who lived in Matamoros so He literally sent him to drive us.  Awesome stuff.

We were all amazed that within an hour and a half of being in Saltillo, we see 11 people come to Christ so we were really excited about what the next day would bring.

We woke up and headed out to our first clinic.  Our clinic is located at a little community park where a lot of kids spend their time in some heated soccer games and playing around.  Our team went door to door in groups for a while rounding up kids and before we knew it, 60 + kids are hanging out with us ready to learn some baseball.  It was a blast seeing our guys doing their best trying to teach baseball without being able to speak a lick of Spanish on a gravel self-made baseball field.  Every one of them stepped up the plate and communicated in spite of the language barrier.  

After this clinic, we got some lunch and headed out for our first game.  We showed up at the baseball field and it was kind of what we expected it would be.  There was a little stadium and neat little baseball field.  The truth is that it is not quite like the fields we have in the U.S.  Don't get me wrong, it looks like a baseball field but it was really dusty, really rough and such an incredible experience.

After playing on this field, it is evident why so many Hispanic baseball players make it to the Major League.  If you can learn to field ground ball on these fields with these hops, you can play baseball.  

This team we played yesterday was actually pretty good.  We decided from the beginning that we were going to play a 9 inning game and we ended up winning 5-4.  Actually, we should have had a few more runs because Matt Helms and Trent Daniels launched two balls that would have each scored a run but the ball rolled under the huge holes in the back of the fence.  They had to settle for doubles.  I guess that is just how it rolls in Mexico.  In spite of the obstacles, the game was an awesome experience with about 200 fans coming out to the game including one lady with a drum.  It was awesome.  The only injury on the field was Eric Wall getting hit in the nose with a baseball right before the game.  It was a good character builder for our bat boy.  He didn't have to rub dirt on it because we were all covered with dirt and it was an absolute blast being there playing baseball in Mexico.

At the end of the baseball game, we met our opponents on the field and shared Christ with all of them.  As we presented the gospel on the field, 13 of them prayed to receive Christ including the umpire.  (FYI, the Umpire did a great job and really called a fair game.) We were so excited to see so many respond to Christ on the field.  There was another game waiting to be played so we asked the crowd to move over to this gym because we wanted to talk to them as well.  As we shared with them we saw another 9 come to Christ.  A group of boys and two moms prayed and gave their information to the pastor who we are working with this week.

I really wish you could have been a fly on the wall so you could see how the Lord is using these players and coaches to help people come to know Christ.  It truly is an amazing sight and one of the most exciting things I have experienced in ministry.

Last night, we ordered some pizza and cokes, cleaned up at the hotel and had a two hour share time together.  Brenden Barr and Brad Crawford shared their testimonies and it was an incredibly moving time for all of us.  These guys did an awesome job sharing what the Lord is doing in their lives.  I was so proud of them and I wish each of you could have heard them talk about God moving in their lives.  

We also had a time to process what the Lord has done so far.  The truth is that the obstacles we have faced on this trip have resulted in genuine blessing from the Lord.  Lee pointed out that in life, you will face some un-expected challenges along the way but you don't every quit on the Lord.  This week, we believed God called us to Saltillo Mexico and we did not give up until we got here.  Now we are here and people are coming to Christ. 

Serving the Lord is such an adventure and I wish you could be a fly on the wall and experience it with us.  Keep praying for us because we are about to head out for another clinic and another game against a good team from Mexico.  

Serving Jesus and playing baseball at the same time, if I am dreaming right now, don't wake me up.  

It is a mystery to me why we had so many problems on the border.  A church group behind us in line had crossed with their bus 17 times.  They were turned away as well.  What is amazing to me is that the Lord's connections helped us overcome all of the obstacles.  

I guess the saying is true, it is not just what you know but who you know.  That is most true in salvation because if you don't know Jesus, you will have some big problems.  

I am excited to get here and tell people about Jesus. 

Have a great night and don't worry about us because we are off to get some AWESOME Mexican food.