I got a great four hours sleep on a gymnasium floor when the lights came on to start Day Two.
When we arrived at the Boyd Unit at 7:00 am it was 71 degrees and raining...about 11 am the storms blew in , thunder rolled and lightning flashed and the lights went out...but we just kept on...the lights came back on in twenty minutes or so. By the end of the day the sky was the brightest of blues...it was 59 degrees with a light wind. Perfect. It was as if Satan was battling God all day with the weather and in the end God came out victorious as He always does. It made for the most comfortable day I have spent out here.
Let me share a little more.
I learned a little more about the jail life these men are in everyday. If idle hands make for the devils workshop...he has a lot of prospects. I ask alot of questions about their life here and want to show the guys I really do care. A guy typically works four hours a day five days a week. The rest of the time he can spend a few hours in the exercise yard and in his Wing. There are usually 84 men in a wing and three wings in a Building. In the Wing, he can stay in his cell and go in and out every hour on the hour until lights out for the night. When he gets out of the cell they watch TV or play dominoes typically...or just engage in jail house politics and gossip. Breakfast is at 3:30 am. Not a lot of fun going on...but isn't intended to be. There was a little "Not my fault I am here" testimony but overall they know they did the crime and they are doing the time and are good with that. They do miss their families however...many do not come and visit any longer. But my friend Chris with the eleven year old son said that he gets to visit about every two months or so and they have the best time together just holding each other. I don't know how long Chris is in for...but I hope his son holds on to his fathers love as long as it takes for him to get out.
The resident to one side of me was in for murder and the guy on the other side was in for some kind of aggravated assault charge. We really don't go into detail about these things but they sometimes just come out in conversation. Both had tattoos covering both arms like I described yesterday. One white resident had White Pride tattooed on the back of his shaved head...I noticed it while he locked arms with two black brothers sing a Praise song. Makes my son in laws look pretty good after all! ( Just kidding! )
Meanwhile Dave next to me shared that he grew up in Ft Worth like I did...born in JPSH...and lived all over town just as I had. Small world.
There was an overwhelming common thread of drinking contributing to why they had run ins with the law. Another reason not to be a stumbling block in this area. I have seen personally the destruction it causes and hurts many people.
When lunch came...OMG...you would have thought they had died and gone to Heaven. It was only Cheeseburgers and chips...but the comments like...Wow! This is real meat! and " it isn't green like the hot dogs and bologna" were common. Four cheeseburgers, four jalapenos, 2 helpings of peach cobbler each were also common.
Our goal today was to introduce Christ to the residents and try to break down some of the walls that always exist on these weekends. The Five Talks given by the Team members were awesome. There are a total of eleven Talks. What we do is to give large group Talks and testimony to the residents on subjects leading them through the Gospel by the end of the weekend. After each talk each individual table discusses what they heard and make a table summary along with a table poster. I am a Table leader so it is my job to keep everyone focused and engaged in what was going on. A challenge but fun. Later that day we get up and share our posters and summary's with the rest of the Tables. As you will see in the next paragraph something amazing happened that was entirely unplanned.
Around four pm we had a jail break and a prison riot. It started with one of the residents making a public confession of Faith to Jesus. Everyone stood up and cheered. Soon after that another resident did the same and then another and another. Four in succession. Our Leader stopped the program..we struck up the Band and they played for 45 unscheduled Spirit filled minutes as we all clapped, raised our hands in jubilation, danced, shouted and sang in joy and celebration. We all hugged our new brothers in Christ.The song "Days of Elijah" will never be the same to me again. I'll Fly Away went on forever as we all danced and flew around the community room arm in arm. I teared up singing and worshiping with the residents. It beat anything I have ever seen. Raw unadulterated powerful worship! Blacks, whites, Hispanics hugging ( no kissing!) locking arms and praising Jesus for forty five minutes! It was awesome. It was a riot and we kicked satan out of the room and Jesus and the Holy Spirit made their presence felt by all. We finally wore out the band and broke for dinner!
It was a Victorious Day for Jesus at the Boyd Unit today. As we left the prison, all of the team members were stunned by what they had experienced. But lets just wait and see what tomorrow brings. Maybe it can get even better!
Art,
I'm typing through tears of joy ... I'm so moved by this ministry and the amazing ways God worked there ... I wish I had been there with you all singing praises and experiencing the miracle of salvation whie ministering to these searching souls. God bless you for your service there.
Your friend,
Karen
Posted by: Karen McGough | April 10, 2008 at 09:23 AM