ASHLAND, Ky. – There were more than 250 home runs that sailed out of the two Wiffleball fields on the corner of 29th Street and Blackburn Avenue on Saturday. Some of them were majestic home runs, drawing oohs and aahs from the dozens who came to watch from their lawn chairs.
At a conservative average of 90 feet per home run – our fences for the Amy For Africa Wiffleball Tournament are about 80 feet – that is 22,500 feet of home runs. That’s 7,500 yards, or 750 football fields of distance.
Truth be told, though, the distance was far greater.
It was 6,000 miles away where the distance will be felt the most, a half a world away in Uganda where the real superstars – Chris and Amy Compston – are guiding the Amy For Africa ministry. The money raised from playing Wiffleball for eight hours goes directly to AFA.
The money raised on Saturday could go to any number of needs including providing tuition for at least five children to attend the AFA Christian Academy for a year. They will receive two meals a day – a luxury that most children in Uganda never see – and be taught about Jesus along with basic educational skills. They learn the importance of following Jesus and keeping Him front and center in their lives. They are the future and that’s what we want future Ugandans to look like.
The school is a lifeline for these children who may never hear the name of Jesus in a positive light in this Muslim-dominated area. But they learn The Truth from the teachers at AFA’s school that was built literally with the Lord’s hand during the time COVID was wrecking the world. It was astounding and breathtakingly beautiful.
Amy For Africa started in 2013 as a one-time fundraiser for several schools in Uganda and has since blossomed into its own organization. Chris and Amy were not able to be at our Wiffleball fundraisier because they were those 6,000 miles talking to people about the saving grace of Jesus. An evangelism team spent the day sharing the good news with the fruit being nearly 50 souls accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
AFA was and continues to be built on prayer. Chris and Amy and son Jarek face daily obstacles in Uganda but with God directing their path no obstacle has been too big to overcome. They can tell you stories that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
Our annual Wiffleball tournament is a lot of fun and blasting a home run well beyond the fence can throw you back in time when backyard games of Wiffleball was all we did. Unity Baptist Church graciously gives us a place to play and transform their side yard into a Wiffleball paradise. Dozens of volunteers made it happen on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, understanding the cause is worth their time that could be spent on a hundred other things.
More than 120 players, young and old, participated in the tournament and had the best time ever. But don’t forget those Ugandan children who will benefit from the fundraiser. They were the real winners.
Our prayer is that the AFA Christian Academy is raising up a generation of Christian men and women that will have an eternal impact for the sake of the gospel. And if playing a little Wiffleball can further that prayer, then praise God!
MARK MY WORDS 2 
When is your new book on stories due! Always nice to have them for a sit down leisure read!
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