What a wonderful beginning to the year. It is hard to believe that one third of 2021 has already flown by! Quite mind blowing!
Our Conference Softball team shot out of the starting gates at the Hall of Fame Classic Duel in Viera, Florida, April 8-11. The first being Thursday and Friday with the other starting immediately after the last game on Friday and wrapping up Sunday morning. It was tiresome event. The USSSA Conference is made up of Major, AA, A, and B teams. We were able to battle through and bring home a first place going 6-0. What is so amazing about this accomplishment is that we are Major AA and we were the first non-Major team to ever win one of the Duel tournaments. The “tiresome” part kicked in during the second Duel. After a 2-0 start, we finished at 2-2 and a ninth place finish.
However, as the old saying goes, there is no time for the weary. After a chance to relax on Monday, Drew and I hit the road to Tallahassee on Tuesday. Normally that means some type of athletic event at Florida St, but not this time. For over a year, we have been trying to get a meeting with Mr. Inch, the Secretary of Corrections for the state of Florida. He is an incredible Christian man, who retired as a Major General in the Army after 35 years. He spent two years as the director of the US Federal Prison system, but then accepted the current position two years ago. This meeting went much farther than I could have ever expected. Many people had been and were still in prayer for this meeting. “Oh ye of little faith” could have been the title of this meeting as I went in, but God showed up and showed out! It flowed nice and simple. Long story short, the prison ministry God has given to us has blown up.
After the meeting finished, Drew and I rolled on through the night back to Campbellsville. After a few hours of shuteye, I woke up and checked by email. I had eight Florida prisons already emailing us about coming to their facility. As of this morning, there are now 30 facilities wanting to know when we can come. Needless to say, I am feeling way overwhelmed. Our first softball trip will be this month, May 20-23, hitting 5 prisons in 4 days. As the Carpenters sang, “We’ve only just begun!”
During the softball tournament, Andrew Hammond and Brad Kirby drove the 15-passenger van, we bought for the Sports Ministry in Belize, to Miami to be shipped.
I cannot even explain what has happened during the rest of April with our Compassion Ministry. At least twice a week, we are getting emails from another group wanting to donate something. Only God!
As many of you know, I send out about 1300 devotional in text or FB messenger form. Many other people are resending them all over the world. Last week, a young man texted me who had received the text. I have no idea who he is, but he was struggling. Andrew had planted some great seeds through the FCA many years ago at WKU. He was very downtrodden. The Lord provided an opportunity for me to be straightforward and honest with him. That night, he realized he did not know Jesus. He repented of his sins and made that important decision to follow Jesus. The Angels in heaven were rejoicing and I was right there with them on the phone. You just never know when God brings someone into your pathway.
Oh and by the way, this past weekend we finished seventh in a tournament Dallas, Texas. If you can’t tell, I am so fired up about what God has in store! Please keep praying, as I know you will. Thanks for all each of you have done for us. You guys are a great blessing.
God’s Glory,
Robby Speer
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