When you say San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco, most people know you are talking about California. But not as many people know what you are talking about when you say Beaumont, Banning, Barstow and Blythe. But that’s California, too. It’s the back side of Los Angeles headed east towards Arizona, and that’s the part of California I went through today on the way to my annual spring training rendezvous with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Angels are an afterthought now in relationship to Major League Baseball in Los Angeles now that Shohei Ohtani is a Dodger and no longer an Angel. I’m actually not that heartbroken over this. I’m even entertaining a little hope that with Ohtani gone, the Angels might get back to being a baseball team. That’s T-E-A-M with lots of players taking part and getting recognition.

That’s T-E-A-M like our Vanguard group is a team leading the way for the Catch Ministry. It’s also T-E-A-M, as in our MemberPartners who form the bulk of our active ministry. And just like Nehemiah’s team came together to build the wall, we come together to build the Catch into a tangible expression of the kingdom of God, and an army of boots on the ground everywhere to turn grace outward to countless people through real relationships. That’s what this T-E-A-M is all about.

So Friday morning, I left home at 5:00 a.m. for Beaumont, Banning and points east. I had every intention of writing Friday’s Catch at my favorite breakfast spot in Blythe, the last town before the Arizona border, but my computer shut down seven times and I never got it going. So I abandoned that idea and went on, and two hours this side of Phoenix, it started to rain and it rained all the way to the stadium. I got out of the car to thunder, lightening and a downpour. But the shower was short-lived and I thought that maybe the show would still go on, except that as I walked up the road leading to the rear of the stadium where I usually enter, I saw what looked like a few thousand people streaming out of the front entrance spelling a most certain cancellation.

Someone said it had been seven years since a spring training game was canceled. Great. That little bit of history had come at the expense of one of my two games this year. The one consolation was that as I waited out the shower under a carport I suddenly was staring at an official Major League Baseball signed by the commissioner. Someone had hit a ball that cleared the fence of the practice fields, bounced across the road and ended up under a bush next to the carport of a business complex where I always park for the games. Small reward, but to be prized nonetheless. Here’s hoping Saturday brings better weather and a chance to use my other ticket.

So won’t you take this opportunity to join T-E-A-M Nehemiah? We’re looking for a hundred new MemberPartners to join our team. There’s so much to be done. We need your help to do it. Click here to sign up. A monthly donation of $20 or more makes you a MemberPartner. Be sure and check the box that says “Make this a monthly donation.”

🌟 Capture the Vision with Us! 🌟

Join the vibrant community of MemberPartners at the Catch Ministry as we embark on an inspiring journey of purpose and impact. Your presence is vital as we work together to bring the vision of grace turned outward to life, just as Nehemiah did in his time.