The Sports Reach Softball team recently took a mission trip to Florida from January 4th to January 10th. This year we had a unique visitor with us — Julius Maddox from Kentucky, who currently holds the world record for bench press at 744 lbs. His story and testimony are amazing as he has been delivered from addiction and now is serving the Lord.
We started the trip on Saturday by visiting the Orlando Homeless Mission in their new facility. We were able to bless them with donations of clothes, shoes, and hats and were able to share a testimony and message of the Gospel.
Sunday, we traveled to our first prison, Charlotte Correctional, and had a jam-packed day full of softball, sharing the Gospel, and testimonies.
Monday, we went to Martin Correctional, and satan was at work as we were only able to spend about 45 minutes before lunch and 45 minutes after lunch with two different groups of guys. But, that did not keep them or us from doing God’s Will and work, we were still able to share the Gospel and give a few testimonies while playing a small amount of softball.
Tuesday was our off day, and we spent most of the day playing putt-putt, eating, and hitting the shopping outlets.
Wednesday, we headed out early as we traveled to Miami to visit Everglades Correctional. It was a glorious day as we got to share the Gospel multiple times, played ball all day, and even got to eat lunch with the guys there.
Thursday, we took a short drive over to Dade Correctional, where the devil was at work again. That day we only got an hour with the guys before and after lunch. There was a stabbing, an assault on an officer, and an inmate who had a heart attack. Aside from all that, we had a great day with the guys, and they were in high spirits.
Friday, was our last day, and we traveled to Okeechobee Correctional. We had a great day to end our trip as we got to spend the entire day with the men there. We shared the Gospel multiple times and played ball all day.
The weather was great our entire week there, which allowed us to spend all of our time outside with the guys and make the most of our visits. Throughout the week, we were able to share the Gospel with around 700 men and saw 90 men make professions of faith!
The trip was a great success, and we give all the Glory to God. We made new contacts and developed new relationships that Lord willing will see us into new facilities. Hopefully, this trip will be a sign of good things to come in 2020.
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