Report

Saturday Rick, Daniel (my son-in-law), and I visited with Kenny. We reviewed his dream with him. It was a powerful experience for him, a true God encounter. Rick, using illustrations and examples, explained the gospel clearly, discovering that he grasped the explanation quite well; his need was help in application. He readily agreed to everything he heard. He has absolute belief that Jesus provides forgiveness from sin. As Rick led him in a prayer of acceptance of that forgiveness, Kenny was able to testify that when he was at the lowest of lows, thrown into the box at Wendy, the first prison, he prayed to God in Jesus name to forgive him for what he had done. We assured him that God had honored his prayer.

When it was time to leave, it was a sad departure. This week he will be moved and we don't yet know to where. Visits may be fewer. We held his hands once again. Rick broke and wept, drawing Kenny's hand near, laying his head on it and kissing his fingers. It was such a humble, sincere act of love, breaking barriers and transcending all walls. I was moved. "If anyone wants to know how to visit someone in prison, they should imitate this man. He is so wonderful," I thought to myself. The ingenuous act took Kenny by surprise. Rick cried out, "I wish I could stay in here with you." Kenny exclaimed with tears, "I wish you could, too!"

Tears were brushed aside, promises of cousins visiting the next day brought a smile and a chuckle. "That's true -- it would take lots of visits before I could see all of you!"

True to our word, Jamie and Julia, Rick and Carina trucked on over Sunday afternoon. The visit was brief but poignant. They taught him a scripture to carry in his heart:

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32.1

Julia -- "It was weird. It seemed like a movie, but it wasn't. This wasn't really going to end for him."

Rick -- "I didn't want to leave him there. I wanted to be able to walk back with him and whisper scriptures and truth in his ear every time he heard an insult or a threat. But I couldn't."

Carina -- "I still can't quite wrap my head around it. I can't begin to comprehend..."

They laughed with him, cried with him, listened to him, prayed with him. They were glad they went, and I know without a doubt that he was, too.

"Touch him. Hold his hands," we said to them as they prepared to go. "There's a space under the grid for that so take advantage of it. He needs it." He does, they did. It was good.

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. God will do great things. He is not undone, His scope of imagination has not been limited by this. The Creator creates beauty from ashes. He will do so again.