19 Sep Baseball Country, Alabama – 2023 Mission Trip Recap | Jarrod Poorman
The 2023 trip to Baseball Country was a trip in which God showed up through our
team’s work at Baseball Country and through the community that was formed among
our missions team during the trip. There were many unknowns going into Alabama but
the flexibility and the unity of spirit of our team made it possible to do the works that God
has prepared for us.
This trip also happened to be the first family style missions trip that Idlewild had
sponsored. All of the families on this trip, from the youngest children to the older adults,
were able to serve side by side to accomplish all of our tasks. There was lots to do!
For the indoor work, there was cleaning and reorganizing offices, locker rooms,
kitchens, bathrooms, and storage rooms, not to mention cooking breakfast, lunch and
dinner for 50 people at Baseball Country! The outdoor work included clearing brush
and downed tree limbs, chopping wood, and pressure washing kitchen equipment. All
of this was done to take the burden of weekly chores off the shoulders of the missionary
and to let him and his family focus on building relationships with all those who attended
his baseball camps.
Our team was also able to visit a local neighboring town during the week. There, we
also did a lot of cleaning and organizing at the local community center and finished up
the day playing basketball and connecting with the local children in the community. It
was so encouraging to watch the kids on our team go out of their way to get to know the
kids from the community and even make use of the gospel tracts to share who Jesus is
and what He did for us.
But I think the most memorable part of this trip was the time each night where the team
was able to sit together to worship, share devotions, and get to know each other. All of
us were exhausted from the day’s work but stayed up late into the night because we
enjoyed so much the community that was formed by serving together.