The Men in White

Julie & I were invited recently to speak & sing at a men’s prison in Dayton, TX.  We accepted the invitation, not knowing what to expect, but knowing that where God sends us, He prepares the way.  Several men from our church go to the prison on a regular basis to hold Bible study with the men.  When we arrived we had to go through several checkpoints and give up our ID, etc.  We couldn’t take anything into the unit with us.  We had several volunteers from our church that were there with us.  Some of the men brought their wives and it was nice to have other women in the group. 

 When we walked into the large gym, a praise band of inmates was playing and singing.  It was wonderful to hear their strong voices singing and praising God.  The gym filled quickly with close to 200 men.  There were men of all races, ages, and sizes, but the one thing that was the same about all of them is that they were all dressed in white.  Before long it was time for Julie & me to share our story with them.  We sang a song and then Julie spoke first.  As Julie spoke I watched as big strong tough men became disarmed.  Here was a little 3 ft tall blind lady with a smile bigger than herself, sharing about overcoming difficulties in life, with humor and grace.  I spoke next, sharing that we are all broken, and about the challenges in my life and how I have learned to trust God in everything.  I told them you can’t trust someone you don’t know.  I encouraged them that if they didn’t know God, it was time to be introduced to Him.  They listened intently to every word we said, and responded almost overwhelmingly with laughter, clapping and general acceptance.  When we finished our last song, they clapped for what seemed like an eternity.  After a short message from one of our pastors, several men accepted Christ into their lives that night.  Where GOD leads, he prepares the way!

In the days that followed, we started receiving reports back from the men that go minister at the prison regularly. One email I received said the following: 

“The men at Hightower were still talking and buzzing last night.  Most of the men in our Faith Based Dorm program were in attendance and many told of the hope that your testimonies gave them.  Everyone wanted to know when are you coming back? 

 

On Tuesday night volunteers from Christ Church United Methodist in the Woodlands hold a Discipleship Bible Study Class, as we were leaving last night, they stopped us and told us how much your testimonies and singing had meant to the men in their class.  Said they spent 25 minutes talking about Karen and Julie.

 

When Tony and I went in yesterday we saw the Warden, and he too, commented on the buzz going around Hightower all day tuesday.  Everywhere he went the inmates were talking about Karen and Julie.

 

The smallest person to ever speak at Hightower made the largest impression ever.  Much good  has already come from your willingness to give of yourself for God’s glory.  More will be forthcoming.”

 

Only 3 of the 5 buildings had a chance to come that night, as the gym was full.  We have been invited to return in June to speak & sing again.  I’m praying that  the ones that couldn’t come last time will be moved to come.  To think that God can take 2 “church ladies” and bring them into a room full of ”men in white” and remove all barriers so that HIS love can flow to all of us, is a miraculous thing.  When I looked out at the sea of faces of the “men in white”, I saw someone’s son, husband, father……..but most of all I saw HIS child, and God’s love for them filled my heart.  I am continuously amazed at HIS grace for all of us!

 

 

Advertisement