Kairos

The outside angels with our pink shirts and brown aprons!!!
Staci, Diane, and Mama JuJu taking care of the "important" things!
Holly, Kelsey, Melonie and Joy coloring place mats to go into the prison!
Terri, DeAnna, Kelsey, Penny, Greta, and Megan decorating their aprons with bling-bling!!! There is something about rhinestones and the color pink that just helps you work harder in the kitchen!
Jim, Ronnie and Ryan after they got back Thursday night...they were happy - I promise! Jim gave his testimony to the men-in-white Saturday...all I can say is that it was anointed. I am so proud of him. Ryan said he was touched by an inmate praying over his son, Cash. We made place mats with the kids hand prints and a scripture for the meals. Ryan saw an offender placing his hand over his son's hand print. He went up to tell him that was his son and the man-in-white said, "I just got done praying for this boy!" Cool, huh?

Each morning after the men left for the prison - the ladies would sing.
This pic and the pic above are of them singing "Pharaoh, Pharaoh" All I have to say is these ladies are crazy fun!
I think this was one of my favorite parts- we would all sit around and chop veggies and visit. The fellowship was amazing!

Sisters-in-Christ loving on one another.
John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Amanda making roast and lovin' every minute of it!!!
The ladies cooking bacon - we fried, and fried, and fried bacon- I couldn't even tell you how many pounds.

A close-up picture of the prayer chain - thanks to all my friends who gave their time to pray for the men this past weekend. Also thanks to my in-laws for watching the boys for 4 days so Ronnie and I could participate! We love ya!
The prayer chain - it went all the way around the room. The men-in-white were allowed to read each and every name as the chain was drug along their lap! During closing on Sunday several of the offenders said they couldn't believe so many strangers cared enough to pray for them.
All the girls before we went to church Sunday (Amanda, Holly, Penny, Staci, Debbie, Joy, Sarah, and Rene) I visited Calvary Baptist in Brownfield and loved it!!!
Outside Angel Poster - we all used our hand prints and favorite verse as a form of agape to send in for the men-in-white. The cool part was they wrote notes back to us!!!

Brandon working on Sunday's roast...He even let us put the rhinestone apron on him. What a good sport!!!

What an awesome weekend. Our typical days went like this:

Breakfast at 6:30, the men left at 7, the women would then sing till 8ish, lunch preparation till 10, supper preparation until 3 and then we'd clean and visit until the men would return at 8 to tell us about the day. I LOVED the fellowship with the women...ages ranged from 16-late seventies all with a common goal - to win souls for God's Kingdom. Sunday afternoon's closing was surreal. The men-in-white gave account after account of how God had transformed their lives. Comments like, "I didn't know there was so much love. The outside world thinks we are throw-aways, but we saw agape love through this Kairos" and "I am taking this outside (to the other inmates)." The prison's praise team lead us in two songs...I have never seen grown men worship God so unashamedly. It is ironic, but there was more freedom to worship inside those walls than any church I've ever attended. The Spirit of God was so thick in that room...I could feel it, breath it, touch it! I knew that there were God's angels all around us. It is indescribable. I think the two parts that I enjoyed the most Sunday were watching their praise band sing a song about being happy and "dancing a mile in God's grace" and when the outside angels sang acappella to the men-in-white. I made eye contact with a young boy (no more than 20) who looked just like Drew. While we were singing to them about the gift of salvation and that "everything was done so you would come" we locked eyes. In that moment he knew the love I had for him just because he was my brother-in-Christ. Tears were rolling down his face...and I just wanted to hug him. I don't know why he is in there, and I don't care because there is no sin that my Savior's sacrifice can't wipe clean. All these men were young innocent babies once; they just made bad decision. Romans 8 says God can use all things for good. He is using their time inside to bring them to Him. Someone told me that last month they baptized ten in that unit. How amazing is our God!!!