I wanted to tell you how much your financial support and prayer means to me and share with you an on-the-field report "From the Endzone of Fathering." My hosts, Beauty for Ashes Ministry and IFI Prison Fellowship, accompanied me behind the doors of the Lansing Correctional facility in Lansing, Missouri.
On January 19th, I checked in at the prison and went through three checkpoints before escorted into the maximum-security cellblock. When IFI started their ministry they found a prison of men with little hope and a reputation for being the most notorious “criminals” in Kansas. Before men's Bible Study could begin, IFI's first job was to clean blood from the classroom floor.
As I entered through the final green door, and it locked behind me, I knew I was in prison. Since this is now the home for these men, I prepared myself not to be surprised seeing men running around in their boxers. Upon arriving at the cellblock I anticipated finding the stereotypical “Rambo-like” guard, not one who appeared like Barney Fife. One of the team members commented, “Did you see the guards? If there’s trouble, we are on our own!”
IFI’s prison directors, Don and Jerry, have accomplished some amazing ministry with these guys. Upon entering the cellblock, my nervousness lessened as I discovered some of the most grateful men. Over 150 men took a seat in chairs provided while 50 other inmates, once hearing worship begin, came from their 6 by 10 foot cell leaning over the railings above us.
Do you know what I saw I when I looked in their eyes? It wasn’t a bunch of scary looking criminals, but a group of spiritual orphans still waiting for the love and blessing their fathers never gave them. From my first words, their eyes filled with tears as the “father wound” started to be revealed. I knew that the words I spoke were some of the most important I had ever shared. Is there anything sweeter in the life of a man than to be and to do what God had intended for him? That’s what the “Father's Blessing” gave them.
What happened next is hard to capture with words. When the apostle John said, If everything was written down that Jesus did, “I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books”, that is how I felt . . . watching Jesus move around that cell block revealing the love from His Father. Over 100 men received Christ into their lives! When I asked how many of them never had a father who loved them, almost every hand throughout the three story cellblock went up! I then called them out and watched the love and blessing of the Father descend on the room.
When I came to Lansing Prison, I found boys still trapped in a prison their fathers had built for them. When I left, I saw men with the grace to be the men God called them to be.
You made this possible! I want to also thank those who bought books through our book blessing fund! Those books now reside in two prison libraries in Lansing, Kansas. Please consider supporting us financially every month, as well as buying books for those who can’t afford them. Click here to DONATE now.
You’re In His Smile,
