He was greatly encouraged!

The brother who was troubled by a member of a cult, was greatly encouraged today. As God would have it, he was given a new roommate and this roommate was a Christian who had studied about cults. He has helped our brother with his witnessing. Praise be to God!

The body of Christ behind bars!

This week was great at our Monday class! We have lost a couple men, but have received a new one who was with us in Dodge. He is new in the Lord and was somewhat troubled by some questions that were asked of him by a member of a cult. We were overwhelmed and very pleased by the way that the rest of the group tried to encourage him. They gave him verses and all kinds of help!

Wednesday found us at another institution that we go to once every 3 months. After doing pastoral visits during the day, we had our first bilingual service. As you know, upwards to 90% of our services are in Spanish, but have never done an official bilingual. It went well and we praise the Lord for it. However, 24 of the 27 who attended were English only. We will pray in more Latinos for next time.

We saw a new gal on Thursday. It is a joy to reach out to others, however, it does increase our work load. We praise God for His increase!

A letter from a Brother behind bars!

Following is a letter from your brother in Christ behind the bars!

"Dear Brothers,
I write this to greet you and I hope this finds you well. I want to let you know that I just received the study you sent me. I am just starting it, and it seems to be a great study. I trust God will help me to do it correctly.

Also, I was wondering if you can help me in finding a Hymnal. I feel like I am lacking a lot in worshiping the Lord and this would help me. I know He is always with me, though.

I wanted to share that I finished reading and studying the Bible through in the last year. I learned many things that I did not know! My brothers, I’m very content and I give praise to the Lord for this and for the help you have given me in regards to knowing God.

Well, my bothers, I hope you can help me and I await your answer. May the Lord protect you and help you. Please know that I am praying for you, as well. I hope to see you soon!"

This man has a great, but sad testimony. We praise God for what he is doing!

Special Prayer for Gilda

Friends, we are asking prayer for one of the women who has been in our Taycheedah Correctional Spanish Bible study. Gilda has been battling cancer for some time and now it has returned. I (Kathy) have been asked to accompany the chaplain this Thurs. morning, March 27, to translate as she speaks with Gilda. We would truly appreciate your prayers.

MINISTRY POTPOURRI

THREE STEPS FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK
We frequently experience ups and downs in this ministry God has called us to. Last fall a young man we have spent time with was released from prison. He had a good job and was promised an introduction to a local church by a Christian friend who had been leading a Bible study at his institution…Last week he showed up in our Dodge class, having returned to prison!

We long to see our guys and gals have success on the outside, but when this doesn’t happen, we welcome them back to the study to continue learning about the Lord.

He asked to give a testimony, sharing that his probation agent sent him back to the same setting where his offense was committed. It wasn’t long before his ex-girlfriend and her new man came to visit, and as they say,” the rest is history”. He realizes he wasn’t ready to handle the emotional challenges he faced.

What God seems to impact our hearts with is the GREAT NEED for a faith-based half-way house or transitional living house where ex-prisoners could live in a structured environment with daily training in the Bible and practical application. Please ask God what part YOU can play in accomplishing this goal.

“WILL I BE DEPORTED?”
We are working with many prisoners who will be deported when they finish their sentences--some did not have papers to enter the United States to begin with, and others have lost theirs due to having committed a crime here. Some will have to leave their families behind when they are deported, because some family members do have U.S. citizenship or residency papers. Please pray for God’s answer to the immigration issue, and pray for those being deported who have become Christians during their incarcerations, to continue to live entirely new lives “in Christ”.

A TRIP TO REDGRANITE
For many months we have been wanting to make another trip there to follow-up with two dozen contacts. We have been blocked several times. Join us in asking God to open the way to go soon.

RACINE CORRECTIONAL
God has opened the door for us to minister more regularly to the many Latino men in Racine. They have been encouraged during our special services and there may be an opportunity to have a monthly Bible study with them. Our schedule is already full, yet perhaps God has His purpose for us there. We need God’s wisdom. We ask Him to send more workers into His prison mission field to share the load.

WHAT COULD I DO?
We’re glad you asked! There is always a need for those who will partner with us prayerfully and financially. God may be calling you to become a mentor to someone in or out of prison, be on an aftercare network team to help after release in a variety of ways, or become a prison pen pal. You may have an idea of your own! We wait to hear from you.

We're back!

Please forgive us for not posting anything for a month. We were back at the Mission and the best Internet service we could get was 28K dial-up! Not good for posting to
a blog.

Anyway, we returned to our class on Monday with great joy. But with joy sometimes comes concern. One of our men was sent to the hole for getting into an altercation with another in the class! And the other man was in the class! We don't have the full story yet, but trust God to work it out. Also, 2 of the men who have been the least interested, have decided to not return to the class. We thank God for His will!

Also, in returning to this class, we found out that the institution has decided that the men can not raise their hands in worship and they can not stand and sing a song that has touched them personally. This affects us greatly because we have had 3 men who have really grown in their relationship with the Lord and being able to sing songs has helped them in this growth. We are following our God given authority and are praying!

We will be back to our normal schedule in the other institutions through out the week. Please keep praying for this God given ministry!