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DIFFERENT KIND OF “PRISON BREAK” A
Kairos weekend is a concentrated dose of the Holy Spirit at work. There
is no place else where one can see so many wounded, withdrawn, hardened
men so profoundly changed so quickly. The Kairos Weekend held on 20-23
April at Elmore Correctional Facility was even more intense than most.
The weekend was led by the Holy Spirit with help from Lay Leader, Roger
Hughs. Roger,
and his team of 30 men (including Terry Walker, Bob Coburn, Doug Logan,
Don Griffin, Ben Sublett, Robert Park, and Hal Yeager of Clearbranch)
went inside the prison for three and one half days to present the gospel
and to show God’s love to forty-one inmates of the Elmore facility.
The Kairos team also included one man and eight women (with Mary Hughs,
and Cassie Hayes of Clearbranch) who gathered in the kitchen of Wetumpka
First UMC to pray and to prepare wonderful home cooked meals for the
inmates and team members. Thursday
afternoon was a typical time of getting acquainted….a time for the
forty-one inmates to warily assess these “street people.” The
questions in their minds were visible on their faces. “Who are these
people?” “Why are they here?” “What do they want from me?”
“Whatever they want, these sure are good cookies!” On
Friday, the team began to teach about Jesus and his unconditional love.
The message was reinforced by the love shown by the male team members
and was clearly restated by the prompt arrival of home cooked meals. Saturday
morning, with the playing of the first notes of music, the Holy Spirit
took charge and remained in charge for the rest of the weekend. Tears of
remorse, tears of joy, and unashamed praise were visible everywhere. The
list of those seeking to speak with clergy grew rapidly. Prayer requests
flooded in. Around the room, results were immediate and dramatic. For
example, Larry was a Satanist. At age 28, he had never read a Bible,
never been inside a church. After hearing the teaching on Friday,
Larry’s interest was piqued. He went to his bunk Friday night with a
borrowed Bible. He started at the front and began to read, but he
didn’t understand the material and became bored. He flipped the Bible
open further back and began to read again. He “just happened” to
find John, Chapter 3. He “just happened” to read how much God loved
the world in verse 16. This time, the Holy Spirit must have explained
the meaning for now Larry understood. There, alone on his bunk with just
the Bible and the Holy Spirit, Larry accepted Jesus as his Savior. David
was a hard and bitter young man. He quickly informed us that he didn’t
want our love. He told us that, as a child, his father had beaten him
often with ropes, barbed wire, sticks, belts…anything available. And,
while he beat David, he told him he was doing so because he loved him.
If that was love, David didn’t want it! But, Saturday morning when the
Holy Spirit took charge, David was the first one touched. He broke
within seconds of the first notes of music and sobbed uncontrollably for
a long time. As soon as he was physically able, he sought a clergyman to
help him draw closer to this Jesus that loved him so. For the rest of
the weekend, David was, indeed, a new creature. He was all smiles and
tears of healing and was anxious to receive all of the love that the
team offered. These are but two examples of many changed lives. Wounds were healed. Walls were torn down. Racial barriers were demolished. The love of God abounded.
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