The Week of Pain

This week, we were able to move back into the stadium down in Itoman for morning practice. Practice was normal as usually for the first couple days. Hamada san, our trainer from mainland, was down in Okinawa for only a few days. He put together a pretty tough running menu for all the players. Like always, the pitchers and hitters each trained in separate groups. The running was pretty intense! A lot of sprints in a long period of time. Afterwards, we finished the day doing a variety of ground exercises that tested out your core strength. It's more than just physical strength. It's a struggle between mind and body! The body wants to give up first because it's so tired, but, the mind must tell the body to press on. It's the same thing in ministry. The body wants to quit because of all the hardships involved in daily ministry and all the service required to maintain stability. If your mind is weak, you will give in to the flesh and quit so easily. 1 Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:1.

Bus Advertisement?

The other day when I was on my way to practice, one of the Okinawan buses pulled out in front of me. To my amazement, there was an advertisement for Enagic water. So while driving, I tried to take the best picture that I could. Well, it didn't turn out so well, but I was pretty excited to see the team company on the back of a bus. The Lord was just reminding me to keep ministering to these guys faithfully.

Training begins

Yesterday began the official start of training. Any kind of training was cancelled early in the morning due to the rain. Instead, we had an opening meeting about the team structure for the upcoming season. Enagic will not release any players, yet, they will start the games off this year with starting players and bench players. This is because of the 6 new incoming players. Out of all 6 new players, 4 of them are pitchers. This means that only half the pitchers will be eligible to pitch during games. Only 8 guys will be on the starting roster and will be eligible to come into games in relief. Well, the only way to make the top eight would be to train hard and take it one step at a time. Either way, being here is completely of the Lord.

Today's practice went well. It was extremely cold! The winter months are fairly short here in Okinawa, since the weather is periodically cold and warm. February will be a slow training month, since our spring training games don't start until march. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you look forward to see what the Lord has in store here at robs field of dreams! God bless u!

Shinnenkai

Yesterday afternoon into the evening, Enagic company had their Shinnenkai. This is the opening celebration to bring in the new year. Many of the big wigs of the company including the owner, gave opening statements and speeches about the upcoming goal for the company this year. There are 3 departments involved in the company: The Kangen Sui(main water business department), The Sola technical school department, and the baseball department. Many of the managers from other international stores in Beijing, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Europe and from mainland Japan attended as well. I was blessed to be able to give an introduction of myself and a speech later on in the night. It was just quite interesting being there for my first time in any type of business event. I was able to share my faith and why I'm here in Okinawa. It was a wonderful start to the new baseball season and what the Lord desires to do through Enagic baseball. God bless you! 2010.

Pictured below is my coach. He is a Christian, and he is a big part in how the Lord allowed me to be part of the team. Please pray for him. His name is Hiruyama san. When talking to the guys during the baseball season, he always used a Christian perspective when speaking about game related situations. It was awesome!

Another year for the ages!

The year s officially coming to an end. It's been quite a year, with many ups and downs in the game of baseball. The beginning of this year started quite surprisingly with the chance to play professional baseball. it seemed to derail a bit upon my returning back to Okinawa after 3 months of pro ball in Wakayama. The Lord poured out his grace by allowing me to join a new company here in Okinawa after only being back for 3 months. I wasn't sure what the Lord had in store last year about this time, but it was definitely a step of faith. Our lives as Christian should always be a step of faith into the unknown. The Creator in whom we serve has everything under control and in His hands. For those of you who tune in, thank you for your love and prayers! Continue to pray with me as we seek to reach the baseball players in Okinawa and Japan for Christ. I'm looking forward to a new year and a new season in my life. May the Lord go before us in everything we endeavor for His sake! あけましておめでとうございます！

Every evening, all the players meet up at Sola Technical school to hit the weights. The gym is a very nice facility, and the school is fairly new in existence. Enagic company had joined with the school upon arriving in Okinawa last year. A few of the younger guys actually go to school here. It serves as a school of trade. Well, the baseball starts up again in mid-January, which means, a lot of running and getting in shape for the actual season which begins in March. I'm getting too anxious. May the Lord go before us this upcoming season. May He be glorified!

Some Photos

Lately I've been searching for a few photos from my days up in Wakayama. I found 2 pics from spring training and from our media day. Hope you enjoy these! I stick out like sore thumb! God bless you! 主の祝福がありますように！