Tonight is my last night here in Houston before I head out for a work conference in California. As I sat down to think about this week, I found myself reflecting on everything we have experienced together.
The service projects. The baseball clinic with the kids. The conversations between teammates. The laughter, the competition, and a few mishaps with some clippers and uniforms that will be core memories for these boys for years to come! 🤣
It has been a full week in every sense of the word. On the field we played two games against very strong competition. Both games were decided by just one run. They were the kind of games that test a team. And what stood out most was not the final score. What stood out was the fight.
The boys battled. They stayed together. They competed until the very last out. There was no quitting and no folding under pressure. Just a group of young men refusing to give in.
After the game tonight Coach Steve said something that really stuck with me. He said he would gladly take twenty five games like this against this level of competition if it prepares this team for May 18. In other words sometimes you can lose the game and still gain exactly what you needed.
And isn’t that just like our God?
He often does His most important work in seasons that do not look like victories on the surface. Joseph spent years in prison before becoming a leader in Egypt. David spent years running and hiding before he ever became king. Even the cross looked like defeat before it became the greatest victory the world has ever known.
The most important things that happened here had very little to do with baseball. We watched these young men serve children who simply needed encouragement and attention. We watched them laugh, play, and connect with kids who looked up to them. We watched teammates open up with one another and begin to share honestly about what is happening in their lives and hearts.
Those are the moments that matter. Those are the moments that reveal what kind of men these boys are becoming. One day baseball will end for every one of them. But the character they build now will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
This week was not just about games or service projects. It was about something much deeper. It was about brotherhood. It was about learning that real strength looks like humility and service. It was about courage not just on the field but in the willingness to be honest, to encourage one another, and to stand for something bigger than themselves.
As this trip comes to a close my prayer is that what started here does not stay here. Mission trips are never meant to be the finish line. They are meant to be the beginning.
My hope is that years from now when these boys look back on this week they will not remember the scores of the games as much as they remember the moments that shaped them.
They will remember their eyebrow-less teammate who decided to go all in after an accidental slip of the clippers. They will remember an open shirt pitcher flashing his belly to hitters when his uniform malfunctioned. They will remember a very loud and silly “100 bottles of beans on the wall” song that was literally sung from beginning to end. 🤣
But they will also remember the moments when they realized that being a man of character matters more than any scoreboard. The moments when they saw that leadership looks like serving others. The moments when they saw their teammates not just as players beside them but as brothers walking the same path.
And maybe most importantly the moments when they began to see that God is shaping them into the men He created them to be. Sometimes the greatest victories are not the ones that show up in the win column.
For the parents at home I hope you know something important. The character we have seen in these young men this week did not appear out of nowhere. It was built over years of prayers, car rides, practices, encouragement, correction, and quiet moments where you poured truth into their lives.
This week simply gave us a chance to see that foundation on display. You should be incredibly proud of the young men your sons are becoming. The world needs more men who compete with integrity, serve with humility, and are not afraid to stand for Christ.
The service projects. The baseball clinic with the kids. The conversations between teammates. The laughter, the competition, and a few mishaps with some clippers and uniforms that will be core memories for these boys for years to come! 🤣
It has been a full week in every sense of the word. On the field we played two games against very strong competition. Both games were decided by just one run. They were the kind of games that test a team. And what stood out most was not the final score. What stood out was the fight.
The boys battled. They stayed together. They competed until the very last out. There was no quitting and no folding under pressure. Just a group of young men refusing to give in.
After the game tonight Coach Steve said something that really stuck with me. He said he would gladly take twenty five games like this against this level of competition if it prepares this team for May 18. In other words sometimes you can lose the game and still gain exactly what you needed.
And isn’t that just like our God?
He often does His most important work in seasons that do not look like victories on the surface. Joseph spent years in prison before becoming a leader in Egypt. David spent years running and hiding before he ever became king. Even the cross looked like defeat before it became the greatest victory the world has ever known.
The most important things that happened here had very little to do with baseball. We watched these young men serve children who simply needed encouragement and attention. We watched them laugh, play, and connect with kids who looked up to them. We watched teammates open up with one another and begin to share honestly about what is happening in their lives and hearts.
Those are the moments that matter. Those are the moments that reveal what kind of men these boys are becoming. One day baseball will end for every one of them. But the character they build now will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
This week was not just about games or service projects. It was about something much deeper. It was about brotherhood. It was about learning that real strength looks like humility and service. It was about courage not just on the field but in the willingness to be honest, to encourage one another, and to stand for something bigger than themselves.
As this trip comes to a close my prayer is that what started here does not stay here. Mission trips are never meant to be the finish line. They are meant to be the beginning.
My hope is that years from now when these boys look back on this week they will not remember the scores of the games as much as they remember the moments that shaped them.
They will remember their eyebrow-less teammate who decided to go all in after an accidental slip of the clippers. They will remember an open shirt pitcher flashing his belly to hitters when his uniform malfunctioned. They will remember a very loud and silly “100 bottles of beans on the wall” song that was literally sung from beginning to end. 🤣
But they will also remember the moments when they realized that being a man of character matters more than any scoreboard. The moments when they saw that leadership looks like serving others. The moments when they saw their teammates not just as players beside them but as brothers walking the same path.
And maybe most importantly the moments when they began to see that God is shaping them into the men He created them to be. Sometimes the greatest victories are not the ones that show up in the win column.
For the parents at home I hope you know something important. The character we have seen in these young men this week did not appear out of nowhere. It was built over years of prayers, car rides, practices, encouragement, correction, and quiet moments where you poured truth into their lives.
This week simply gave us a chance to see that foundation on display. You should be incredibly proud of the young men your sons are becoming. The world needs more men who compete with integrity, serve with humility, and are not afraid to stand for Christ.