Last month, we were given the opportunity to help out at a
softball camp in a small village in Ukraine. World Race teams have helped to
host these in the past and, although I’ve never played before, I was super
excited about the opportunity to help out and learn for myself.
So we drove out to this quaint little village on Tuesday and
arrived at a small church. Several youth came out to greet us as we pulled up
and they took us for an hour of tea time and Q & A. This was, by far, the
most people I’d seen in one place in Ukraine who actually spoke enough English
to converse with! I was already amazed and loving the ministry.
Then we all hopped in the cars and headed out to the
field…although, I wouldn’t call it a normal softball field. It was more like a
“hasn’t been cut for over 2 years with 2 foot grass growing everywhere” kinda
field. But nonetheless, people started coming out of the wood works to see what
we were doing. We unloaded the bats, balls and gloves and went to work on the
basics…catch!
Of course, I was learning right along with everyone else. I
definitely made the mistake of trying to catch a hurling softball with my
ungloved hand…I learned real quick that that was a mistake. I also learned that
I throw “‘somewhat” like a girl, but that it’s always perfectly on target!
I had told the team weeks ago that when it came time to do
softball, I’d work the concession stand. So as they all took the field,
confident enough to know what in the world they were doing, I handed out candy
and got to know the girls from the church. We had SO much fun!
That evening, it began to rain before we were finished, so
we had to pack up early and head back to our town.
The next day, we headed back out to the field and met up
with even more people. Word had spread that we were there to teach them and
have fun, so they saw us pull in and made their way to the field.
We started with throwing/catching drills and went straight
into how to play the game.
It seems like such a simple ministry, but I can honestly say
that the 2 days we worked at the softball camps were some of the most amazing
days of ministry for the entire year. I loved hanging out with the youth from
the small town and encouraging them all on how to play. It was amazing to see
their improvement in just the 2 days that we were there with them!
On the last night, we showed the video “Facing the Giants”
to everyone who attended that day. Please be praying as the camps continue for
the rest of the summer!!
And check out our softball video, made by the amazing Michelle Cook!
