First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the constant love and support you have shown me in pursing what The Lord is leading me to do. It is imperative to have the support of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This week I would like to share with you more of the background behind this ministry and its vision.

For those of you who don’t know, a 1 and 1 count in baseball is a turning point in an at bat. The next pitch will put the count in either the pitcher or the hitter’s favor. I figured this would be one of the best ways to relate the game to life. I know we’ve all had those times in our life when we’ve been in this position. Almost every single one of us faces this situation on a daily occurrence. When this count comes up during a game, the hitter has no idea what the pitcher could possibly throw because he may either throw a fastball or change it up and drop in an off speed pitch. Either way, the hitter has to be prepared and react to whatever comes his way.

I feel everyone can relate to this, as sometimes we just never know what life is going to throw our way and we start guessing “pitches”. Guessing gets us absolutely nowhere because more often than not we guess wrong and make ourselves look like fools. As a hitter you have to sit back, see the pitch out of the pitcher’s hand and trust your hands to react to whatever comes your way. The Lord tells us to basically do the same thing when we come to a decisive point in life: slow things down and don’t stress out, be prepared for all situations and ultimately pray and put our faith and trust in him.

The purpose of 1and1 is to help young men during these trying times in their life and give them a support group that is there to help lead them through any situation. Already in Nicaragua we have identified particular community leaders and pastors to minister and lead our young men. Most of these men have a past in baseball and know the game, therefore not only do they serve as mentors on the field, but also off.

An update from Nicaragua: the school has received their gloves and we are in the process of finishing up their uniforms. I have contacted a few of my friends and other contacts and we should have designs for the backstop and dugouts soon. We are looking for donations of wood bats and other supplies to finish out fitting their baseball program. If you feel lead to give, you now can! You can send a check to First Baptist Church-Paragould, AR and designate it to the Nicaragua fund. The address is 120 N 3rd St, Paragould, AR 72450.

As we go through this week, please pray for The Lord to continue to bless this ministry and build up Christian men. I want to encourage you to pray and see how The Lord will use you to be an encouragement for the people around you, because sometimes all it takes is a smile to change someone’s day. Psalm 91:14-16– “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”