Last Days

Well unfortunately I didn't keep up well with our blog, but our last week was good and full. It was full of games, packing, cleaning and talks. As always the last few days lots of guys seek out Chris to have big discussions. Talks about where they are at with God, about breaking up with their girlfriends, talks about addictions, and talks about baseball. We are thankful for these talks.

Chris also had debriefing where he gives each of the guys a Bible and talks to them about Being Men, Standing for Truth and living for eternity.

For the boys and I the last few weeks end up with lots of errand running and last minute details. And of course lots of time at BP and the games. They love all the extra time with the guys.

Answered Prayers

Thank you for praying. All summer we have asked you to pray for Josh Debore to become a Christian. Well praise the Lord, He has drawn Josh's heart towards Himself. During debriefing last week, Josh got up and shared that his heart had changed this summer. During Josh's sharing Chris was a bit confused since he hadn't heard that Josh had accepted Christ. So a few days later he was finally able to talk with him one on one. Josh thought that you had to be perfect and have your life all together to become a Christian. But his host family in Anchorage shared with him the Gospel and how we come to Christ as sinners. It made sense to Josh and he accepted Christ. We are so thankful. We are thankful for his host family that shared their life and love for Christ with Josh. We are thankful that Josh came on this trip even though he knew he wasn't a believer. We are thankful for the rest of the team that "Lived it Out loud" for Josh to see. We are thankful that he never felt judged. We are thankful for your prayers. But most of all we are thankful for the Cross. It is the reason for all that we do. To God be the Glory!
Danielle

Summer Reading

Do you tend to read more in the summer? We do and that is one of my favorite parts about summer. Although this year we haven't gotten to read as much as I had hoped I still love to read this time of year. The kids always participate in the Summer Reading Program here at the Fairbanks Library. At the end of completing it they let the child choose a free book. Well yesterday was the first day that the books were available, so we all had to get up early to try to see if they had a Calvin and Hobbes book (yes it isn't really great literature but it does make us laugh). Ryan and Jack were both able to receive one :) The boys have read faithfully all summer. Jackson has enjoyed books on sports heroes and Ryan has enjoyed some World War II books. Ty is working really hard on learning how to read. He gets easily flustered but is still trying. He was very excited this summer when he could read most of a Henry and Mudge book by himself which are his favorite. I also enjoy reading aloud to my kids. This summer we read a book from one of my favorite authors....Hilda Van Stockum. Her books are great. We read The Mitchells which is the first book of a three part series. It is about a family during World War II. Even Ty kept asking if I could read some more so he could find out what happened next with the family.
On a personally level I have enjoyed reading the book of Colossians in my Bible this summer. I have enjoyed being focused in on the cross and what Christ has done for me there. Also this summer I have read two amazing books which I highly recommend. It is Well by Mark Dever and Gospel Powered Parenting by William P. Farley. Although I brought more books to read and this was all I was able to get too, I am still thankful. These books are amazing. I received It is Well from the T4G conference we attended this last spring. It talks about what Christ has done for us on the Cross. It has encouraged my heart.
So what about you? What have you been reading this summer?

Gym & Putt Putt

On Saturday we got to go back to the gym that Mrs Meade works at. I am learning how to do a cart wheel. We also played on the mats and trampoline. Then last night after our day game we went to Pioneer Park to play Putt Putt with dad. That was fun although I didn't do so well. Dad won and Ryan came in second. I am looking forward to going home although I will miss the players.
Jackson

Host Family Picnic

On Sunday after the game we had our annual Host Family picnic. The families who have hosted our players truly are a blessing to the guys and us. We have had some that have hosted for almost the 10 years that we have been up here and others that joined this year. We are thankful for their desire to serve these guys in this way. Yesterday I was talking with one of them who is planning on surprising one of our previous players at his wedding this fall. We are very thankful.
Danielle

Recap of Anchorage

Sorry about the lack of blogging. Last week we were in Anchorage. The boys got the pleasure of having a sleepover with the Wuerth's. They loved it all from football, to swedish pancakes, to hanging out with their friends. Chris and I enjoyed a night off too. While we were in Anchorage we spent time: at the games, walking around Anchorage and hanging out with the Wuerths. While we were there we even went to Bouncing Bears which is a inflatable place.
We also got to meet lots of parents of our players who had come to see their sons. One of the families was a host family for us in Wichita years ago. Their son traveled with the Ohio team and now the Alaska team. It was neat to see. We also got to see our friends the Hoffmans who were a host family for us in Fairbanks our first 3 years here. And have been in the lower 48. They were up here fishing and their son Timmy (who was our first bat boy) was on assignment from Westpoint at Ft Richardson. It was great to see them. The father Scott will be working with General Petraeus this next year in Afghanistan. Please pray for him while he is there. We had a great time seeing so many people.
Thursday we drove back to Fairbanks and are here for our final week. Please keep praying for Josh Debore and Chris Turner. Chris spoke with both of these guys this last week, they haven't made a decision for Christ yet but seem close.

Anchorage

Well our drive to Anchorage went well. We rolled into Matsu two days ago and played our game which we lost in the bottom of the 9th. Yesterday we got to hang out with our friends the Wuerths which was fun. The boys played wiffle ball and football and Adria cheered them on. then we took Alex with us to the game back in Matsu....which we lost. When we dropped off Alex there was a moose in his yard and then we saw another moose with two babies on the way home. Ty was a little freaked that they were going to charge after him but overall it was fun. Then today we had a 12pm game which we lost 0-1. The boys are thrilled though because they are having their annual sleepover at Alex's! More on that later :)

Leaving for Anchorage

We have had the last 2 days off. In our baseball house we have been busy watching the Home run Derby and the All Star Game. We are rooting for the National League...so we shall see how this turns out. Ty was thrilled that his favorite "Big Poppi" won the Home run Derby. Today the players had practice and discipleship.

Tomorrow we head down to Anchorage (yep it is about 6 hours). We will be there about 8 days. The kids are looking forward to hanging out with their friends down there.

Pray for these final weeks. These last three weeks are usually when lots of conversations happen.
Danielle

Morning at the Gym

Saturday morning we went to the gym with Mrs. Meade (she is one of our host families). It was fun because we got use all the equipment. There was a zip line, balancing beams, vault, tumbling mats, parallel bars. We tried the parallel bars but couldn't really hold ourselves up....I think we will have to do more push ups in boot camp. My favorite part was running down the path and jumping up the vault and falling into the blocks. I am not sure how they flip on it though. Ty really liked the trampoline and rolling around in the barrel mat. Ryan liked the zip line and the vault. Mrs. Meade showed us how to do all the activities. Her daughter used to compete at the gym. We got to play for about two hours and were pretty hot and sweaty when we were done. I think it would be hilarious to take the players there although I am not sure my dad will allow it. He says he doesn't have very good insurance. :)

Jackson

P.s. By the way Ryan wrote the blog on the helicopters but forgot to sign his name.

Kiowa, Blackhawk and Chinooks

Last week we went on Fort Wainwright to check out some helicopters that one of our host families flies. The Chinooks were bigger than what I thought. Those are the helicopters that have two propellers and are used for cargo and transport mostly. We also saw the Blackhawk helicopters. Those are used for transport and also are decked out for the special forces. Finally we saw the Kiowa which is the one that Mr Merksamer flies. This helicopter has a ball on top, which is amazing. It is a computer laser which the helicopter can zero in on a target and another helicopter or a jet can drop the missile for and it syncs with the laser. It is really cool what it can do. This helicopter also has guns on both sides....it has hellfire missiles, rockets and a machine gun can be attached. They also ride without the doors on so they wear body armor as they fly. There is a small piece that protects them but it isn't much. We got to get in the helicopter and play around for awhile. We also got to try on his armor vest and helmet. My dad barely fit in the helicopter. He also told us that all the different pilots make fun of each others...like they make fun of the Chinook guys, and the BlackHawk pilots. They call the Chinook the Magic School Bus of the Sky. Mr Merksammer (I don't remember his rank) suggested that if I wanted to join the military that I should get an education first. He came in as an enlisted and just became an officer after helicopter school. He has been in the military for 10 years. In February he is going back to Iraq for the third time. Last time he was an explosive engineer and this time he will fly his helicopter. Please pray for the Merksammers this next year. His mission is dangerous and he will be in Iraq about year. His family will be here in Alaska where they recently moved.

Angels Rejoicing!

Yesterday we got a text from Chris that one of our players accepted Christ. The boys were jumping up and down. So last night when Chris got home from the game we got to hear the whole story. Matt Addias is one of our players who was meant to be on the Great Lakes Team. But when our team kept having players drop off in May we asked him to join the Alaska team. We knew that he wasn't a believer. Anyway he has been staying in the apartments with the other guys. So the other night he was talking about how he needs to clean up his act. So the guys there with him called him out on it. They asked why he doesn't clean up his act now and that he can't do it without Christ. Matt was totally convicted and asked how to change. Chad, Tyler and Kellen shared with him the Gospel again making sure he truly understood. After that Matt asked now what do I do. Tyler started to pray and then left it open for Matt to pray. Later on, Tyler said it was one of the most amazing prayers he ever heard. We are rejoicing in our house as they are in heaven. It is interesting....we knew when we got the apartments up at the dorms that God had a plan. We knew that although this was a huge expense that we hadn't planned on that God sovereignly placed each guy there for a reason. We are so thankful for that reason.
Yesterday in discipleship Matt was beaming as he shared with his team what he had done!
Please continue to pray for Matt that he will walk Worthy of his Calling. Also pray for Chris Turner and Josh Debore that they will be drawn to Christ.
Rejoicing,
Danielle

Called Up

In May before we left we met with one of our former players, Robbie Weinhart. He traveled with us for two summers and always loved holding Ty as a baby. He was playing in AAA for the Detroit Tigers up in Columbus. After his game we took him to The Thurman Cafe. Well this week we got a text from Robbie that he got called up to the Big Leagues. We are so excited for him. He ended up pitching the next day. Hopefully he will still be there in August and we will go up and see him.

Can you pray for Robbie. Pray for him to Stand for Truth and Live for Eternity. Pray that he will remain strong in the Lord in the midst of such temptation.

Danielle

Dinner at the Duke's

Last night we had dinner at the Duke's. They are dear friends who have helped with our host families since we have been here. After a yummy meal, Don once again had fireworks for the boys. They love the parachute ones that launch and a parachute comes out which they all chase down. Both of their boys were about Ryan's age when we started this 10 years ago. Now their oldest Donny who traveled with our New York team in the past is home working as a personal trainer. Their youngest Dustin completed the fire academy this year and is a fire fighter, which was very exciting to Ty. He gave us a full tour of the station and all the trucks. It was neat to see these two young men grown up and having fun with our boys. We are thankful for the Dukes and all their hard work in the past 10 years. They have a heart for these baseball players to grow in their walk with God. In Ty's words, "It was a great night"!

Danielle

Happy 4th of July

Well on the 4th we made our annual trip to Pioneer Park. They had music and we went to the Air Museum there, where the boys played on the helicopter. Later that day we had a doubleheader which we unfortunately lost both games. Afterwards we had dinner with the team and some firecrackers (Since you can't see fireworks when it is light outside we didn't see or have any of those). We hope you all had a great 4th. We are blessed to live in a country that we are free. Thanks to all of you have served our country!
Danielle

Small Group

One of our players Tyler Bersanno started a small group with the team yesterday. Tyler is from The Master's College in California and had had such a group on his baseball team last year. It was lead by a senior who encouraged the players to always be discipled by someone and to disciple someone. Anyway Tyler asked Chris a few weeks ago if he could start one. He wanted to show a fellow teammate here how he could run such a group on his campus when he got home. Well yesterday they met for the first time and half the team showed up. They will listen to a sermon online during the week and answer questions that Tyler has made up for them. Then they will get together and discuss it. They are also memorizing Philippians 2:1-18. We are excited that they are taking initiative within themselves and that they are hungry to study God's Word. Pray for these players and for Tyler as he leads this that the Lord will be Glorified!
Danielle

Resolved

Hey I just wanted to encourage you all to look at www.resolved.org . It is a conference put on by Grace Community Church for the younger generation to grow in their relationship with God. The messages are great and are available online. I pray it is an encouragement to you.
Danielle

Boot Camp

This summer my brothers and I are doing Boot camp. I am the only one that likes it. Usually we do push ups and sit ups (which we have had to learn to do). Sometimes leg throw which are hard and wall sits. We also are trying to work on foot speed by doing Dot drills and running more. My brother aren't crazy about this.
Jackson

Picture of Sams

Here is a picture of the crazy adventure to Sams the other day....we will head back again in a few days to restock the guys at the dorm. You can't see very well but Ty is behind Ryan and Jack with a cart!

Arm update

Sorry to leaving you hanging about Ty's arm. Even though the x-ray seemed fine he still isn't using it fully. Yesterday during the game he fell on it again. Chris asked the trainer to look at it. She was able to do a series of test including a tuning fork test which should hurt if it is even fractured. She said to the best of her knowledge it seems fine but he is scared that it will hurt again. So she iced it for him. So yes I think it is better but he is still walking around like it is in a cast. So I think most of it is mental although it might be a bit sensitive.
Danielle

Hurt Arm and Hot Dogs

Sunday we went to church and then off to an afternoon game. At first we were behind in the score but they we started scoring some runs! We were so excited we were cheering on our players. Ty ended up hitting his arm (the one that was broken) on a pole while he was cheering. He hurt it pretty bad and wouldn't use it the rest of the night. We ended up losing the game.

Afterward Mrs. Meade (one of our host families) invited the guys from the dorms over for hot dogs and dinner. We had fun hanging out with the guys and dinner was delicious! Ty still wouldn't really use his arm though.

So yesterday when he woke up he said it still hurt. So we took him to get an x-ray. Of course without the first set of x-ray's it is hard to tell but the doctor doesn't think it is broken. The bummer is his arm still hurts. We think he might of bruised it but he is scared to use it. The doctor told us that if he isn't back to full speed in a week to come back for another x-ray.

Yesterday we also went and saw Toy Story 3 since it was an off day. It was alright....not my favorite. Parts of it scared Ty....the funny thing is is that we were there with a lot of our players. They were all 6 and 7 years old when the first Toy Story came out.....now I feel old....I was working at the Disney Stores when it came out. :)
Danielle

Recess at 20 Below!

Today we went to the library. They had a special program about winter. The author from the book Recess at 20 below read her story to us. She told us about how the children in Alaska play in the snow at 20 below 0. Yes they still have recess when it is that cold. The kids like to make forts and go sledding in the snow. She told us about three of her students who put their tongues on the slide. Of course they didn't wait for her to bring warm water to unstick their tongue...nope they ripped them right off. That had to hurt. She told us not to put our tongues on metal when it is 20 below. We got to touch fake snow. They gave us a baggie of fake snow too. If you put water in it, it rises in the cup and makes snow. It was fun!

Ty

One Man Show

Just a quick prayer request....will you pray for Chris. Our discipler who was meant to come today let us know two days ago that he was unable to come. That means that Chris has EVERY detail on him. Anything from getting the field ready, picking up guys, setting up meals, coaching the pitchers, helping our other teams, teaching discipleship and getting to know the guys. Pray that he will have strength and energy and that he will know WHO to invest into.

One praise through this is all is our coach Bobby Randall. We have had Bobby before and he just loves being with guys. He volunteered to live up at the dorms with the players. He said that since his family wasn't here that he would love to hang out with the guys. Please pray that Bobby would impact these guys hearts. We praise the Lord that Bobby has seen the potential to do more than just coach but to impact these guys for the Lord. Pray also for his family at home that they will find their strength in the Lord.

Fairbanks

Sorry about the lack of blogging.....we got to Fairbanks on Monday. We have been running around ever since. We got here on Monday evening and the 12 hour drive went as well as 12 hours in a car can go. We got half the team in host families and the other half is in the UAF dorms. Actually the dorm apartments are very nice. The guys are loving it. So after unpacking and some sleep, the boys and I spent all day Tuesday at some grocery store or another. We ended up filling up two flat beds and a cart at Sams Club to feed the guys in the dorms. It was crazy having Ty and Ryan trying to steer the two flatbeds throughout the store. Then on Wednesday we continued setting up things for Chris. We had our first home game.....a double header. Jackson and I worked the ticket booth (since he woke up the night before with the croup) and Ryan and Ty were the bat boys. We won the first game and lost the second.

Good Talks and Umpires

Yesterday Chris spoke in discipleship about 1 Corinthians 13 about love. This is in his "sex, love and dating series" that he does. Afterwards one of the players came and asked him about love not being jealous and how he personally struggles with this. Chris was able to point the topic back to where this guys heart is with the Lord. Ultimately this is the decision that this player needs to make before he can love like Christ calls us too he needs Christ in his heart. Pray for Chris Turner that he will surrender his heart to the Lord

Later on at the game we had an interesting night with the umpires. The umpire got a little heated and was yelling at our team. The struggle is this......when do you speak up and when not to. We are a Christian team and don't want to be walked all over...we want to play hard for the Lord. So do you speak up or not...when challenged.....
I am sure that tonight will be interesting....unfortunately these umpires tend to hold grudges.
Danielle

Sleeping in a Hotel

Sleeping in a hotel room with the Becks is a disaster. Our family makes a lot of noise while sleeping. The first night Ty was coughing the whole night. My dad had enough and at 3 am he went looking for a store to be open to get cough medicine. Jackson and Ty also like to grind their teeth at night which is very loud. After Ty got some cough medicine he slept like a baby, which meant my dad finally fell asleep. The unfortunate thing about that is .....well my dad sounds like a "Freight Train" when he snores. And well he snores a lot when he is exhausted and in the summer he is always exhausted. So the rest of the night I yelled at my dad to roll over to stop snoring. So...dad and Ty slept....and Jack can sleep through anything...but my mom and I are officially sleep deprived. I am counting the days till we reach Fairbanks and we get a two bedroom apartment so I at least won't have to hear my dad SNORE!

Ryan

ALASKA

Sorry it has taken so long, but being on the road is a little crazy. Our flight up here to the Great North went well. We dropped our players off with host families and then checked into our hotel. The boys were thrilled that the hotel had a pool and we swam everyday. Then on Sunday we had a day game against the Pilots which we won. Monday we hung out with our friends the Wuerths and drove out to the Matsu Miner game. The windy was blowing dust everywhere and it was freezing cold! We didn't stay till the end and we ended up losing that game. Then on Tuesday we had a day off....Well I am not sure there is ever really a day off in the summer. Chris was busy catching up on email, phone calls and trying to find host families in Fairbanks. That evening we had a delightful evening over at the Wuerths home for dinner with homemade german Spatzle (noodles). Wednesday the guys had discipleship and Chris started his "Love, Sex and Dating Series" with them. They then had a game with the Bucs. The following day we drove here in Kenai....which is where we are now. It is about 48 degrees outside and rainy.....great Alaska Baseball weather. :) On Monday we head back up to Fairbanks and will settle in a bit. The boys are doing well. Ryan wanted to teach me how to play chess so we got a set today but after I beat him twice I think he was done teaching me.
Oh the highlight of yesterday was on the drive down we saw 4 Bald Eagles! Pretty amazing.

We have a great group of guys. They are all very flexible and mellow. They are all listening in discipleship and we pray that they will grow in their walks with the Lord. I think out of recent years they details just aren't falling into place...that ranges from finding host families, to cars to all sort of things. Pray that we will be flexible and that we won't lose sight of what truly matters...which is their hearts not the details.
Danielle

Fun with the Cousins

One of the blessings this year is getting to be in California with our cousins while they are on furlough from Cambodia. We have been having a great time. From playing at the park to going to the games we have had a blast.

Host family party

This last Saturday the players went to the prison to play baseball with the inmates. After they were done they came to the Host Family Party at the Warnocks house. This is a highlight for Ryan, Jackson and Ty. As you can see by the chicken fights they had a great time. Of course Chris got tossed into the pool which thrilled Ryan. Our host families have a huge impact on our teams. We are thankful for all that they do. At the end of the party Uncle Warnock lit firecrackers with the boys and the cousins. It was hard to tell who was having the most fun....the kids or Uncle Warnock. :)

Player News

Our players have been here a week and a half and some are still arriving. We have been having a great time with them. We have won our last 4 games and on Saturday we head up to Alaska.

One of our players, Blake Trienen, was drafted in the 23rd round by the Marlins. He signed yesterday and is leaving our team to play minor league baseball. We are sad to see him leave but excited for his opportunity.

Another one of our players, Marc Schoch, asked to meet with Daren (Chris's brother and our current discipler on the team) to talk. Well he ended up wanting to give his life to Christ. We praise the Lord for this.

Please pray for Blake and Marc that they will grow in their faith in Christ.

They are Here

Thanks for praying that we would get more players for our team. We did and they arrived yesterday here in California. Today they are meeting in discipleship and having practice and then on Thursday they will have their first game in Yuba City. They seem like a great group. Our boys were excited to meet them last night too. And Ty keeps hoping that they will like him.

We personally have settled into California. We are having a great time visiting our friends the Wells and the cousins from Cambodia. Yesterday we went to the West Hills Community Church picnic and saw lots of friends.

I have a prayer request though.....the stomach flu is running through the church like wildfire....will you please pray for our family and our team that we will not get it. :)

We will keep you posted as we get to know our guys!
Danielle

Needing more Players

Every year players drop off and come on to our team. They usually drop off because of an injury. This year our Alaska team as well as our New York team has had a few pitchers drop off. Yet the Lord has faithfully every year placed on our teams exactly who he wants to be there. Please pray with us for these players who will be placed on our team. Pray that the Lord will bring who needs to hear about Him.
We are in the final days of packing up. The boys are hanging out with their Oma today. Tomorrow we will have church and their first ever piano recital.

Getting Ready

Two weeks and counting until we head out to California and Alaska for another summer of baseball. This week we went in to help Chris and the guys pack up all the gear and equipment for the players. It was crazy but fun. Only God knew that 19 moves in our marriage would prepare me for such packing. Anyway we are looking forward to leaving soon and are busy wrapping up stuff here at home. Pray that all the final details will workout according to the Lords plan.