Not only can a simple game of catch create a special bond between father and son, it can also erase social and economic barriers.Clarinda native Austin Sunderman has seen this happen firsthand through his work in Romania with Youth With a Mission.
“Growing up in America, playing catch is something sons and fathers do all the time and it is a way for conversations to take place that otherwise wouldn’t happen. In Romania, many fathers work in another country due to wage factors. So when they come home, they have a way through baseball to connect on a deeper level,” Sunderman said.
Last July Sunderman coordinated the Play Catch Ministry in Cluj, Romania. The week-long baseball camp attracted approximately 60 participants a day from a variety of backgrounds including orphans, the affluent, gypsies, homeless and adjudicated youth.
The youth of Romania have a strong desire to participate in sports. Soccer is hugely popular and basketball has quickly grown in popularity over the last three years due to camps held throughout the country.
Based on the success of the basketball camps, Sunderman said the idea of holding a baseball camp was developed as a way of attracting a wide range of children to a new sport that they did not know much about.
“There are a lot of established club teams, so kids from well off families can join soccer or basketball clubs, but with the baseball camp we were able to bring together these different groups and eliminate any class barriers that existed,” Sunderman said. “When kids feel accepted, they are very willing to be open to what you have to say. They were open to hearing what God has done in our lives and the hope that is the true meaning of this Christmas season.”
When the children arrived for the first day of the camp they did not know how to put on a glove or hold a baseball. However, by the end of the week they were picking up the basic rules of the game. The older players were also hitting the ball and pitching to one another.
However, along with their development on the field, the youth were also growing in a way that expanded well beyond the diamond.
“The focus wasn’t just baseball, but sharing the love of Christ with them. Baseball is really just a tool for sharing with people,” Sunderman said.
A 2001 graduate of Clarinda High School, Sunderman was a four sport athlete for the Cardinals. He played football, basketball and baseball as well as running track.
Following high school, he attended Northwestern College in Orange City where he played baseball for four years and football for two years.
In 2004, Sunderman and the rest of the Northwestern baseball team traveled to the Republic of Moldova and Romania to conduct baseball clinics and share the love of Christ with the youth of those post-communist nations.
After graduating from college in 2005, Sunderman went to work for the Mobile Bay Bears, a minor league baseball team in Alabama, before feeling God calling him back to a church setting in the Midwest.
So, in 2007, Sunderman went to work for a church in Kansas City and while there he met a missionary who had been working in Romania for 14 years. A year later Sunderman led two mission teams from the church to Romania.
After returning from that mission trip, Sunderman told his wife, Alison (Gutzmer), he believed God would eventually lead him and his family to return to Romania.
Little did Sunderman know that through that mission trip he had met the man who would make his call to service a reality.
Sunderman had met the director of YWAM in Cluj and in 2010, during a trip to the United States with his wife, the director informed Sunderman that he was looking for someone to develop a baseball ministry in Romania.
“As he said he wanted to start a baseball ministry, the light bulb came on and I knew God had planned this for our lives. I knew that was what we were going to do,” Sunderman said. “With my history of being over there, along with my love of sports and love of God, I knew it was a perfect fit to be involved with the ministry.”
So, in January, Sunderman and Alison, along with their 2-year-old son Elijah, moved to Romania to work with YWAM and start preparing for the baseball camp in July.
“We were really comfortable, but sometimes God doesn’t want us to be that way. He called us out of our comfort zone,” Sunderman said.
When the baseball camp started, Sunderman saw his journey of faith come full circle as five players from Northwestern College joined him to serve as instructors just as he had done seven years earlier.
During the course of the week Sunderman said he walked around the soccer field that was used to host the baseball camp and was amazed to see to see camaraderie that existed between the children of such different backgrounds.
“Seeing the kids that had been shunned by society having a good time and making friends made me realize there are certain things you are involved in during your life that are so much bigger than yourself. Just walking around that week I realized I was just a small piece in that puzzle,” Sunderman said.
However, Sunderman said there were two specific incidents that reminded him how God was impacting everyone involved in the program.
The first was when a teenage girl in an abusive relationship arrived at the camp. Her boyfriend stayed just outside the camp and had a violent outburst that left the girl in tears.
“Through our persistence and reassurance that he would be accepted, he eventually joined the camp and started playing. His demeanor changed through the week from a rough and tough kid to a kid who was smiling and having a good time,” Sunderman said.
The next Sunday the boyfriend also began to regularly attend church and after approximately a month made a profession of faith in Christ. He is now kind and considerate to his girlfriend and they are still dating. The couple was also baptized at their church.
The second was the Wednesday night of the camp when parents of the youth were invited to come and learn how to play catch with their son or daughter.
“We wanted to instill the values of encouraging one another and developing a family bond. Our goal is to send each kid home with two gloves and a ball so they can play catch with their mom or dad and continue to play the game,” Sunderman said.
Following the camp, Sunderman and his family returned to the United States in August to begin preparations for the 2012 clinic.
“After being there we realized we could be more effective preparing for next year by being in America,” Sunderman said.
Since they left Romania, the local youth have continued to meet on a regular basis to learn the game and refine their skills. There is even hope that a baseball league will be started in Cluj.
Meanwhile, Sunderman and Alison have been busy collecting new and used equipment for the program as well as recruiting players to serve as instructors and raising funds to pay for expenses like facility rentals, shipping the equipment collected to Romania and travel costs.
Sunderman said the Play Catch Baseball Ministry has received tremendous support from several businesses and individuals in Clarinda and the surrounding communities.
Easter’s True Value donated balls and gloves to the program, while the Clarinda Lied Center and various other recreational departments in the area also provided equipment for the camp.
As a result, Sunderman shipped approximately 250 pounds of baseball equipment to Romania just before Christmas.
“I would like to thank the community for getting behind the camp. No matter how little they had, people have wanted to get involved. I am very grateful for this place and the desire people have to help out,” Sunderman said.
Still, approximately 100 baseball gloves and $4,000 in fees need to be collected before the camp starts in July.
“Due to the success of our first camp, another community about four hours away would like to have a camp as well if we can collect enough money and supplies,” Sunderman said.
Anyone interested in donating to Play Catch Baseball Ministry or learning about the program may contact Sunderman at sunderman33@hotmail.com.
