At in2Action, we seek to strengthen healthy relationships through special off-campus events.
On Tuesday, May 16, three vehicles left Columbia’s in2Action campus in the early afternoon. All three were bound for St. Louis and Busch Stadium. The collective hope was that we would get to watch and cheer as the St. Louis Cardinals gave the Milwaukee Brewers a sound thrashing.
Sadly, that’s not how it played out.
As we are now all too painfully aware, the Brewers handed the Cards another loss…but not by much. The final score was Milwaukee 3, St. Louis 2. However, that doesn’t reflect the excitement we all felt in the 8th and 9th innings as the Cards threatened both times to put a few more runs on the board.
There’s another reality that the final score does not highlight. The fact is that the in2Action men watched the 8th and 9th innings from some truly amazing seats right behind home plate. (And no, precious in2Action dollars were not spent acquiring those great seats.)
Truth coupled with gentleness had a real impact.
One of our supporters and regular facilitators is a really great, caring guy by the name of Tom Schlimpert. (That’s Tom in the lower-righthand corner of the photo above.) As the rest of us were waiting out the 7th Inning Stretch shenanigans, Tom couldn’t help but notice that many of the seats reserved for the families of team members were empty.
Always the eager opportunist, Tom took it upon himself to walk downstairs. He struck up a friendly conversation with the woman who was serving as the gatekeeper for this section of the stadium.
After informing her that we had with us a bunch of guys coming out of incarceration, this woman was obviously moved. She gladly gave our group the green light to exchange our seats. She also treated the men as “family members” of the St. Louis Cardinals.
At in2Action, we’re all about truthful, healing relationships.
Everyone on the in2Action campus places a high value on being honest with one another.
We’ve all made mistakes, some of them truly tragic. Despite those hard realities, our staff works to bless the men who arrive on the in2Action campus with the knowledge that they have landed in a safe place. They’ve been welcomed into a loving environment that accepts them as they are today yet simultaneously opens up a different path for their future.
The four Gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus give ample evidence that He cared deeply for the dispossessed, the marginalized, the helpless, the socially awkward, and the seriously messy. Here at in2Action, we are beyond grateful for your prayers, financial support, and willingness to extend the hand of friendship to our guys. Thank you for helping us to keep going!
As we witnessed at Busch Stadium on May 16th, being honest about who we are provides the foundation for great things to happen.
Obviously, the majority of the guys in this photo are unlikely to enjoy Busch Stadium seats such as those again anytime soon. However, those seats pale in comparison to the face-to-face interactions we look forward to when Christ returns or calls us home. The Cardinals are great, of course, but God’s family is where we all really belong.
Luke 14:21b-24 (ESV)
“Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” And the servant said, “Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.” And the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.”
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