Yes, this little girl went to prison the weekend before last...again. I just can't seem to stay out of those places. I go with good company, at least, and I make so many more friends after I arrive. But it is pretty rough, dancing with prisoners until I can't breathe, getting hugged, listening to amazing speakers... And what do I have to say about it? I'll go back again and again!
I love prison ministry, and I really feel like I have a purpose being there. Even though I have not brought any new believers to Christ, I discovered that I have been used for discipleship, or encouragement in one's faith. On Friday at the Bryan Federal Prison, I met twenty-one-year-old Jackie, who had been in prison since she was eighteen. I emphasize her age, because she is my peer. I have friends that are her age. And there she was in prison. But does that mean that the rest of her life is over? Absolutely not! She has plans to do prison ministry like me, but she needed some encouragement. After I got her to talk to one of the ladies responsible for heading up Bill Glass events, she felt comfortable talking to other people who also encouraged her. All she needed was just a little push.
On Saturday, I was walking with Kaitlyn, who's also in I Am Second, searching for people who wanted us to pray over them. Two ladies walked right in our path, Melody and Deondra, and we all went to sit out in the meager sunlight, chilled to the bone from the wind that had been blowing all day. As we were discussing their families and their kids, we saw about five or six people doing Thai Chi with our Vietnamese friend, Kim (she was with Bill Glass prison ministry). Since we were so cold, we eagerly joined them, and once we were warm, we were ready to pray. My new friend Danielle (also with Bill Glass but so young she gets lumped into I Am Second) came with us, and we did a popcorn prayer for these ladies. They had already come to Christ, but it was apparent that they needed encouragement just to get through this time they had to serve and be away from their kids. It's people like them, ones with real worries, that really strike out the prisoner stereotype. So many people think prisoners are scary and that all of them are tough and bitter, but in my three trips to different prisons, I've seen that that is so untrue. They are humans with hearts just like us, and just like I've heard from so many people on these trips, the only difference between their sin and ours is that they got caught for theirs. Maybe they've acted out sins we've only thought of, but doesn't the Bible say that a sin committed within the heart or the mind is just as filthy as a sin that's acted out? When you think about it that way, the conclusion you draw is that we, prisoners and free people, are all the same.
Along that line, I feel it is appropriate to mention what the best part of this particular prison ministry trip was: dancing with the prisoners. The first two prisons I went to didn't have this experience, because there was a no-touch policy in place. This was a real treat for me. It was great to be able to grab someone's hands and dance with them or link arms for Cotton Eyed Joe. There was such jubilation, such joy, that all worldly troubles went away for a while, and we literally experienced Heaven on Earth. Danielle had said to me that she liked to worship by dancing, because it was a joyful way to connect with God. And one of the speakers on Saturday had said that when he saw us all dancing together, there was no separation, and we were one rejoicing body.
I really needed that weekend. The week leading up to it had been very emotionally taxing, so much so that I actually considered not going to prison ministry, and when I did go anyway, I rode in the car with my small group leader instead of my friends I'd been assigned to ride with. Once we were at the church in Huntsville where we were sleeping that night, I went to be by myself while everyone else was chatting away. But then God did something amazing for me. He sent Danielle up to me, whom I'd never met before, and we quickly realized we shared the same struggles. Having someone to confirm that my burden was real somehow lightened my heart and prepared me for prison ministry the next morning. Once I stepped foot onto that place and saw the warm, smiling faces of all the prisoners and even the staff, I was flooded with happiness, and the week before faded away into nothingness.
Even though God found many of His lost children that weekend, He also took some time out to comfort me. It just goes to show how big God is and how He never forgets a single one of us. He knows every strand of hair on our heads. He's memorized the codes of all of our DNA. In a broken world, He lets joy seep through. And now I feel the need to quote "Shtuff Christians Say" when I say:
"God is love. Enough said. Hashtag...BOOM."
