Hey guys,
Pretty soon they are going to start requiring that you be a certified TDCJ volunteer to enter the prisons for our trips.
The good news is it is now easier than ever! Please click on the link below to fill out the online application, then show up on August 21 at Green Acres for the training. Otherwise you have to do the training at a prison, which is somewhere different each time so the next one could be in west Texas or something.
Here is the link: https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/php/volunteer_application/
As I mentioned earlier this year, this is CRUCIAL for our team in the future. Please clear your schedule and plan to attend.
After 2 years, you will have to renew it, but you can do that online as well! I just finished mine and it didn't take long at all.
Do it now and plan on being at the training on August 21 at Green acres.
Thanks!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Next Trip Is This Sunday
Next trip is Sunday, June 12 to the Coffield trustee camp. If you are planning to go, please let Josh know by this Tuesday.
Also, we are going to do something different for the Thursday night meeting. We are going to have a practice/picnic at The ROC. Bring your family, we will have a pavilion for food if you want to eat together and we can take some BP as well.
Also, we are going to do something different for the Thursday night meeting. We are going to have a practice/picnic at The ROC. Bring your family, we will have a pavilion for food if you want to eat together and we can take some BP as well.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Powledge Trip Report
Last Sunday (5/15) was our third trip of the season and our first to the Powledge Trusty camp. Usually we play inside at Powledge but when we arrived we learned that they were shorthanded on staff and we would be playing at the camp. As always, our team is very flexible and we pride ourselves on adapting to the situation (field, rules, weather, schedule, etc.).
We showed up and I think the camp was not expecting us. But they rounded up several teams quickly and we started playing after a short warmup. The first game was close until about the 4th inning when our bats came alive and we won the game soundly. The second game was a complete blow-out in which our team scored 21 runs in one inning, 12 of the runs on 2 outs. At this point, the trustees realized that we came to play! Highlights of the game included a monster bash by Mark Whiteland that cleared the power lines and landed in the road behind left field!
Before lunch, JD Weathers shared a devotional about Job and how God is bigger than our questions. Terry shared several experiences and the importance of a ticket when entering an event like a game or concert. He handed out a ticket that says “Reserved Seating Only, Paid in Full by Jesus Christ”. The guys always enjoy something of their own that they can hold and read. We then talked about how Jesus is our ticket to eternity and without Him then we will be separated from God.
After our lunch of bean burritos, we went back out and played 3 more games. In the last game of the day, we were down by 5 runs in the last inning. They thought they had us beat, but we exploded for 10 runs. We finished the day 5-0.
To end the day, Scott Cottingham shared the Scriptures in Acts where Paul and Silas were praising God in prison. He talked about the difference that Paul and Silas had in the jailers life by their example of praise to God during awful conditions. Chad then followed up with the Good News, Bad News handout and went through a Gospel presentation. We ended the day with a Family prayer for the guys and their families.
Once again, it was a great trip and we believe God’s word never returns void. I would ask for prayer for the camp. We all felt that the inmates were not as receptive as normal. Please pray for God’s light to enter that place and for his hope to touch men there.
Josh Gentry
We showed up and I think the camp was not expecting us. But they rounded up several teams quickly and we started playing after a short warmup. The first game was close until about the 4th inning when our bats came alive and we won the game soundly. The second game was a complete blow-out in which our team scored 21 runs in one inning, 12 of the runs on 2 outs. At this point, the trustees realized that we came to play! Highlights of the game included a monster bash by Mark Whiteland that cleared the power lines and landed in the road behind left field!
Before lunch, JD Weathers shared a devotional about Job and how God is bigger than our questions. Terry shared several experiences and the importance of a ticket when entering an event like a game or concert. He handed out a ticket that says “Reserved Seating Only, Paid in Full by Jesus Christ”. The guys always enjoy something of their own that they can hold and read. We then talked about how Jesus is our ticket to eternity and without Him then we will be separated from God.
After our lunch of bean burritos, we went back out and played 3 more games. In the last game of the day, we were down by 5 runs in the last inning. They thought they had us beat, but we exploded for 10 runs. We finished the day 5-0.
To end the day, Scott Cottingham shared the Scriptures in Acts where Paul and Silas were praising God in prison. He talked about the difference that Paul and Silas had in the jailers life by their example of praise to God during awful conditions. Chad then followed up with the Good News, Bad News handout and went through a Gospel presentation. We ended the day with a Family prayer for the guys and their families.
Once again, it was a great trip and we believe God’s word never returns void. I would ask for prayer for the camp. We all felt that the inmates were not as receptive as normal. Please pray for God’s light to enter that place and for his hope to touch men there.
Josh Gentry
Monday, May 9, 2011
Next Trip is this Sunday (May 15th)
Our next trip is set for Sunday, May 15 to the Powledge unit.
As usual, we will have our prayer/planning meeting on Thursday night at 6:30pm at Brunos. Try to make it if you can so we can pray together as a team.
As usual, we will have our prayer/planning meeting on Thursday night at 6:30pm at Brunos. Try to make it if you can so we can pray together as a team.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Beto Unit Trip This Sunday
Guys, we will meet at Josh's office at 7:15 am, Sunday morning, for the Beto Unit trip. Same schedule as the last trip other than we are planning on leaving the unit around 3:00pm to head back for those who are involved (or want to go to) with the Sunday night worship service.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Next Trip is this Sunday!
Hey guys, Our next trip is upon us. It will be this Sunday, April 3 to the Beto unit. This unit is in Tennessee Colony (Palestine). Please let Josh know TODAY if you can make the trip. As usual, this Thursday night at 6:30pm we will meet at Bruno’s Pizza on Old Jacksonville Hwy. to discuss the details of the trip and pray together. Hope you can make it. Thanks.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Coffield Trip Summary
It is always good to go to the Coffield Trusty camp. The staff is always eager to have us and always helpful. We are especially grateful to Ms. Jones and Lt. Shock for their hard work and willingness to let us come inside. This year there were many new faces as the unit has seen significant turnover since our last trip. What a great opportunity to share the Gospel and God’s love with a new group. We also saw a few old friends and enjoyed seeing their familiar smiles.
We left Tyler around 7:30 and arrived at the unit around 8:30am. As always at a Trusty camp, the check-in process is much faster and we were out on the field playing by 9:00am for the National Anthem (as sung by an inmate). We like to get on the field as quickly as possible, so after a quick warmup, we started Game 1 against the “A” team. Despite our best efforts, we lost in Game 1 to the home team by one run. After this game, we realized that our competition at Coffield would be better than usual. This brought a new intensity to the rest of the day as we attempted to regain our dominance and the inmates attempted to capitalize on their success.
We then played another 2 games before lunch (one against the “B” team and a rematch against the “A” team) and started to really play well. We won both games by big margins behind the pitching of Johnny Smallwood and the long blasts of Justin Stafford and Mark Whiteland (the bash brothers). Our defense also started clicking and we eliminated the mistakes that hampered us in Game 1. Also between the morning games, JD Weathers spoke about God’s power and used the story of Job to give encouragement when circumstances seem unjust. JD shared God’s response to Job’s questions and how God’s ways are higher than ours and he always acts in the best interest of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
We then took a short break to eat some lunch. As usual we devoured the hamburgers and home-made French fries. Some people even had double meat burgers! After lunch we headed back out to play several more games, winning them all. Chad Gentry shared the Good News/Bad News handout and explained how we are all guilty before a righteous Judge. He asked everyone to consider the condition of their heart as compared to God’s perfect law. We had several responses to the message and enlisted Bible study enrollees. Jeff Coke led the “Family Prayer” to end the day and prayed for the families of the inmates. He prayed that God would strengthen the relationships between inmates and their families and for God to repair any broken relationships.
We really are thankful for our relationship with the Coffield unit. We hope to continue going back and ministering there. We have 4-5 more trips remaining this year and we are excited about the new season.
We left Tyler around 7:30 and arrived at the unit around 8:30am. As always at a Trusty camp, the check-in process is much faster and we were out on the field playing by 9:00am for the National Anthem (as sung by an inmate). We like to get on the field as quickly as possible, so after a quick warmup, we started Game 1 against the “A” team. Despite our best efforts, we lost in Game 1 to the home team by one run. After this game, we realized that our competition at Coffield would be better than usual. This brought a new intensity to the rest of the day as we attempted to regain our dominance and the inmates attempted to capitalize on their success.
We then played another 2 games before lunch (one against the “B” team and a rematch against the “A” team) and started to really play well. We won both games by big margins behind the pitching of Johnny Smallwood and the long blasts of Justin Stafford and Mark Whiteland (the bash brothers). Our defense also started clicking and we eliminated the mistakes that hampered us in Game 1. Also between the morning games, JD Weathers spoke about God’s power and used the story of Job to give encouragement when circumstances seem unjust. JD shared God’s response to Job’s questions and how God’s ways are higher than ours and he always acts in the best interest of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
We then took a short break to eat some lunch. As usual we devoured the hamburgers and home-made French fries. Some people even had double meat burgers! After lunch we headed back out to play several more games, winning them all. Chad Gentry shared the Good News/Bad News handout and explained how we are all guilty before a righteous Judge. He asked everyone to consider the condition of their heart as compared to God’s perfect law. We had several responses to the message and enlisted Bible study enrollees. Jeff Coke led the “Family Prayer” to end the day and prayed for the families of the inmates. He prayed that God would strengthen the relationships between inmates and their families and for God to repair any broken relationships.
We really are thankful for our relationship with the Coffield unit. We hope to continue going back and ministering there. We have 4-5 more trips remaining this year and we are excited about the new season.
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