July 19 and 20,2006-Excitement and tough questions!

WAUPUN STUDY:
J. has just begun attending the class. He appears hardened. He said, “ I know about God and the Bible. I know I should change, but I don’t really want to. I like sin. How can Christ live in a person who continues to sin?” We appreciated how the others in class ministered to him. Pray God softens J.’s heart. G., one of our regulars, has been moved to medium security at Jackson Correctional at Black River Falls. He gave his life to Christ in Sept. of 2005, but laying a spiritual foundation has been slow work. (The next day we met a chaplain from Jackson who can follow him up! That was a God-connection!)


KETTLE MORAINE PASTORAL VISIT:
We spent an hour with D., a young man we told you about a year ago when he was at Dodge Correctional. D. had asked us then, “What if I don’t FEEL forgiven?” He’s struggled greatly with low self esteem, and with his release date coming on August 8,
he has many concerns. He so desires to live a “normal life”—to be accepted by his family, work with integrity at a job, find a good church, and one day to marry and have children. Pray he gets a mentor through a Salvation Army contact. D. humbled us by saying, “I really love you two. God has blessed me. He has given you this purpose in life—you can help each other give hope to the guys at Dodge.” Please pray for God to guide D. each step of the way in his transition.



TAYCHEEDAH ONE-ON-ONES:
T.’s old roommate has returned from the hospital for treatment for AIDS. Pray T. can concentrate on her Bible studies, as life in the dorms is noisy and distracting to her.

J. has health issues, it may be diabetes. She and I are reading through a book the chaplain recommended called “Captivating”, by John and Stasi Eldredge.

R. told me of her new commitment to God to read her Bible and meditate on how to apply it to her life. She’s been depressed, but did get a visit from her “adopted” Mom. Pray for a stable walk with God.

That evening we were invited for a meal and fellowship with three Campus Crusade for Christ workers who do prison ministry at some of the same facilities we do. They shared insights and useful materials to help offenders live free in Christ.

Our Thursday Taycheedah and Dodge studies were cancelled, so we attended the Prison Aftercare Network meeting in Milwaukee. Dept. of Corrections Secretary Matt Frank was the guest speaker. Pray their committees discover ways to allow those in prison ministry to more effectively follow up ex-offenders, while still maintaining good security. We also made new contacts with those who work in Milw. facilities, and with a service that transports family members to correctional institutions for visits.

COLUMBIA CORRECTIONAL CLASS:
There was good participation on the lesson on faith and forgiveness. We later spoke to the chaplain to arrange the start of a second class. With only five or six allowed in each of the two classes, there will still be five on the waiting list. Pray for God’s will in reaching all Latinos that want to study God’s Word in Spanish.

July 12 and 13, 2006-reconciliation

July 12 and 13, 2006
WAUPUN:
G. continues to be humble and understanding spiritual things more. Since he gave his life to God last Sept., he’s progressed slowly, but now realizes the battle going on inside. His prayer request: that God would help him “make right decisions and to keep faith in the Lord.”

After the class study on baptism, G. M., who is from a Catholic background, and has had his children baptized as babies, now sees that the Bible teaches baptism should follow believing and receiving Christ.

For the first time, M. volunteered to close the study in prayer.

TAYCHEEDAH ONE-ON-ONES:
Chaplain had told me R. was depressed. R. arrived, saying she’d just gotten out of “observation”. Her husband, also in prison, wants to get back together with her. R. knows that God wants her to be faithful to the marriage commitment, even though she has no feelings of love for him now.

TAYCHEEDAH GROUP STUDY:
As always, we’d prayed God would bring everyone He wanted to be there…only J. came! She shared her story of growing up with a legalistic evangelist father, who focused on outward personal preferences. Even though she made a decision for Jesus as a girl, she chose to have a 16 year lesbian relationship, but now desires to be reconciled to God.

DODGE:
R. and J. shared testimonies of what God is teaching them through His Word. The other men listened attentively as R. said he had grown up in Puerto Rico, had had a reputation as a well-known singer, but also went to prison for selling drugs. Jesus has changed all that...J. had trusted Christ in May at Racine Correctional. God is speaking to his heart now through the lessons sent to him from Tecate Mission’s Bible Correspondence Dept.
God allowed us to see V. in the hallway as we were leaving. He used to attend the study, but now his work hours don’t allow him to attend. We hope to visit him next week.

Another week!

One man said, “How can Christ live in my heart while I still like to sin?” Another said, “God’s Word is becoming like a sweet river running down to my heart!” Does prison ministry give extremes or what?

July 5 & 6 studies

Wed. am study in Waupun:
E., a Christian, was back at Bible study, after 4 mo. in the hole.

A. asked us to greet a friend named N. in the Dodge study, but later we found N. had just been transferred, so we weren’t able to pass on A’s greetings.

Carl decided to completely change the topic of the study, because of a question that G. & M. brought up regarding worship of idols. Even though G. says he has given his life to the Lord, because of their church background, it is ingrained in them to pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe. We need God’s wisdom in dealing more with this in the week to come.

Carl received a warning from the guards, not to “hug” the inmates as they left the study, only shaking hands is allowed.

Wed. pm. One-on-One Discipleship Studies:
R. did not show up for her session, the guard said she was “unavailable”. Last week she had felt lonely & beginning to be depressed. When that happens, in the past she has given in to the urge to cut. Perhaps she was put into “observation”. Please pray.

Thurs. am. study at Taycheedah:
C., our strongest Christian gal, is nearing “burn-out”. She is constantly ministering to others, & is emotionally drained because of the enemy’s attacks. Pray for courage & strength to continue following the Lord.

During class, the chaplain came in & spoke privately to Carl, informing him that M. had been disrespectful during a chapel service & wondering how she behaved in our class. Last week M. told us that she had one foot in the Bible & the other in the streets. In the end, she was allowed to stay in class, but a guard came & took S. back to the hole. Pray these gals will get serious with God & surrender all their lives to Him, for His changes.

Thurs. pm. study at Dodge:
R. sang 2 songs that he had written for the Lord. The words were very descriptive of the old way of life he had followed, then how Jesus heard his cry for forgiveness! He invited class members to a good church in S. Milw. where they would be “more than welcome” after their release. Like most, he misses his family. His wife is expecting a baby in Sept.

J., an inmate at Waupun, is now at the Dodge Infirmary, after having another cancer surgery. Pray for God’s will in Carl visiting him this week.

Thurs. evening study at Columbia:
D., new member of our class, asked us to pray for his freedom—that is, his inner freedom! He is bilingual, but is learning to read the TEE Bible study lessons in Spanish.
This group of men really appreciate the worship songs. We also feel they respect us, as there are many rules we must follow for security reasons, which they want to ignore, but instead they are encouraging one another to do what is right.

Please join us in prayer:
Tomorrow we attend an area meeting of a new after-care network, focusing on practical & spiritual helps to those incarcerated & to their families.

We have been invited to a friend’s home. Topic of discussion: spiritual warfare.

Pray for God’s guidance in our scheduling of pastoral visits, in between our regular Bible studies. Distance is a big factor, but there are Spanish-speakers waiting to hear the Gospel. We want to be faithful to followup those we promised to visit.

Ask God to connect us with others who desire to minister in prisons.

Please continue to pray for Him to send Christians to fill the chaplain openings in the Wisconsin prison system.

May we always stay in close fellowship with the Lord, so that we practice what we preach, for His glory, not ours.