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Prison Ministry from BobWe are blessed beyond reason and say amen and thank you, Lord, every morning and every evening. We had to rise at 3:30am Sunday morning for a 4:30 departure to Hutchins to meet Pastor Al Gibbons and his gang. We met at the local What-a-Burger to grab a last minute coffee and grub. We then caravaned down to Groesbeck to meet the brothers in orange and white. The trip to Groesbeck was as much a blessing as the service with the prisoners. Patrick and I worshipped the Lord by observing the glory of His creation in a sunrise that ripped off the morning fog and pasted the eastern sky with yellows, oranges, blues and purples. It stretched from one end of eternity to the other. Once we arrived at Groesbeck, we met the other team members, around 12 in all. We broke up into four teams of three apiece to hand out blessing bags to the prisoners. I think there were over one thousand bags handed out. We shook the hand of each prisoner, told them "Jesus loves you, this is a gift from the Lord", and handed them their blessing bag. Around 9:30 we started the first service for the English speaking inmates. Earl (I think that was his name) started the preaching, interspersed by a few songs that we played. Earl had killed a man, spent 21 years in prison, got out in 2000, and has been in prison ministry ever since. He has an obvious love for the Lord. Earl tended to go a little long, and as he was doing so, one of the inmates struck up a side conversation with me. He told me of his mistakes, his family, his love for Jesus, and his desire to reach out to children to warn them of the dangers of drugs. We hugged and prayed together. He broke my heart and convicted me. We greeted each of the prisoners as they left, most of them giving us hugs. Patrick and I thought we were done and started packing up. Pastor Al came in and said there was now going to be a Spanish speaking service. So we unpacked and got ready to do it again. The spanish speak pastor (I don't recall his name) is a gifted speaker. I couldn't understand much of what he was saying, but I got the message loud and clear! He was wonderful to listen to. He was an ex-con as well. I think it's important the pastors have this kind of background as it gives the cred with the inmates. We played and sang some more songs and they all joined in as best they could. They were a very spirited bunch, if not just a little rhythm challenged ;-) Again, we greeted each of them as they left and they returned those greetings with smiles and hugs. It's my understanding that Groesbeck hold Federal and county prisoners both. I believe they referred to it as a transfer facility for Homeland Security. From what a few inmates told me, just about everyone was in for drugs. Another sign that our so called 'war on drugs' is one that will never be won. I believe it was Einstein that said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". I think that describes our anti-drug effort perfectly. We got back to Sachse around 5:00pm. A long [day] to be sure, but one that convinced me that this is how Sunday mornings should be spent; not spent in our comfort zones but trying to live out the Lord's commandment in Matthew 25. This ministry occurs the last Sunday of every month and Patrick and I are going to attend as much as possible. The takeaway? We are no different than the men we encountered. As I said when I witnessed to them, we are all just a few bad decisions away from being on the street, in prison, or dead. God loves us not because we are good, but because He is good. And as long as we draw breath, we have hope. And our hope is in Christ. Love you, brother. Bob |
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