Do Not Disturb: God at Work!

Almost no one wants to be in jail.   Oh, occasionally a homeless person will feel relieved that they are safe and able to get three square meals a day, but by and large people just don't want to be incarcerated.   Lots of times family members can't wait to get the person OUT!  Over the years we have found, however, that God is at work in these moments....and we need to let Him do His awesome work.  Medina County Jail is unusual because of all the Christian programming and counseling that we offer and the inmates will often tell us that.   Four Bible studies per week make a difference!   Personal time with a chaplain makes a difference! 

Having time to read a Bible makes a difference!

Take the case of Frank, a young man who had grown up in a loving Christian home.  He was the "black sheep" of the family.  He knew it and really, he knew better than to do the things he was doing.  Early on he had turned his back on God and in May, landed at our jail for a few days.

Drugs and bad friends gone...and with only time to think on his schedule,  God seemed to be pursuing Him everywhere he turned.  In the pods there were men working on correspondence courses about.......the Bible.   At night, men gathered for group prayers.   It seemed like each day there was a Bible study.   Larry was there eating lunch with the men.   Christian novels lined the shelves of each pod.  God was all around him.

Then in a surprise ruling, the judge set him free.   He had no clue that would happen and hadn't made any arrangements to get home to Akron.  The sheriff's deputy told him that there was a guy at the jail who would give him a ride home and made the arrangements.  Within fifteen minutes of his discharge, who should come to take him home, but Larry?!?

As they drove, the man poured out his heart.  He confessed to being a prodigal son.  He realized that he had ended up in our jail for a reason -- to get right with God.  He told Larry that he had even read a novel (even though he rarely read) at the jail and it had started out fine with lots of WWII action and then got into Christian "stuff" before he knew it.  Sad thing was that he liked the book so much that he wished he could have kept it for himself.   As they pulled into his driveway, Larry reached into the back of his car and pulled out a Christian novel he liked to give people when he took them home.  "The Mystery" by Ray Comfort.   He handed to Frank and watched his mouth drop open in shock....it was the same book that he had wanted to keep!    Praise the Lord,  God wasn't finished with Frank and Frank wasn't finished with God!

Then there is Jamahl.  Susan met Jamahl two years ago at the Juvenile Detention Center.  He was tall and handsome with an award winning smile and snappy brown eyes.  He was a natural born leader and he enjoyed coming out to the church services that she and her son, Daniel, held.  If Jamahl was at the Juvy Center, the singing would go well because he liked to sing all the praise songs...and if it was cool with Jamahl, then hey!  It was cool.  Susan couldn't get over how much potential this kid had!  She could close her eyes and imagine him starring in a movie instead of Billy Dee Williams or blink again and see him getting into a Lexus with his briefcase as he drove off to the courthouse to represent someone as a criminal lawyer.   What in the world was this kid doing in jail???   Again and again.

Finally, Jamahl asked to visit with Susan because he was leaving for the juvenile prison for a year.   That was before the administration had made a procedure for her to visit one-on-one with the inmates and so it took some serious time to get an OK for that.  Jamahl had no parents who could be contacted for permission, but since he had just turned 18, the leadership said OK, but...it was too late.  The morning Susan came to visit, was the morning they took him away. 

She felt like such a failure!   This young man that she had such hopes and dreams for had actually asked for a visit and she had missed the chance.  Oh regret....remorse......frustration.   She committed to pray for Jamahl, that he might somehow, someway get back in touch with her.  The year went by and she kept praying...was he OK?  Was he reading his Bible?   Had he given up?

Then one day in early June, he walked into her classroom.  "Jamahl?   Is that you?"   He nodded, alittle embarrassed by the special attention.  She ran over to him.  I've been praying for you for all this time and here you are.  What happened?   I tried to see you before you went to juv. prison."

Susan believes that God is going to do a work in this young man's life.  He didn't come back to her sphere of influence for nothing.    Please cry out to God with her that he surrenders to the Lord, before it is too late.   Already there are changes.  He is taller, leaner, and tired.  (You are not supposed to be tired at 19.)   His eyes are flat brown, without the sparkle......but you know what?   God is able to put the bounce back.  God can make Jamahl's eyes come alive again.   He is attending some of the Christian programming and he does know the Christian men back in the pod.   He is asking about going to college  and  has taken a Christian book back  from her office to read and think over.  Susan is trying to help him on all fronts.   Please, please pray with us for this talented young man---that God would take hold of his heart,  that doors of decent opportunity would open before him,  that he would be born again.   There is no middle of the road for here....he is either going to be one of the heart breakers who makes our ministry painful  or a triumph of God's redeeming love.   Please pray---God is at work here!

And then there's Jim.  He sat and sat at our jail for months.  His charges were relatively minor (drug-related of course) and he was slated not for prison, but for rehab.  What in the world was taking so long with his case?  Not only that, but he sat in a pod of 48 men 46 of whom wanted nothing to do with God.  Tough circumstances, but nothing that God couldn't handle!

Jim came out to all the Bible studies and did correspondence courses.  He visited with Larry and always made the best of his seemingly never-ending stay.  He always sat in the front row at chapel or studies and quietly absorbed the teachings.  He wasn't noisy or attention-seeking, he just faithfully came out and listened and studied.  If he didn't show up for a study, he had to be sick.    Just when we thought they might name the pod after him,  he got to go to his rehab center.

Every month Jim calls us from the center.  He is doing great!  He misses us (but not the pinto beans and pretend turkey at meal times) and can't wait to get out on June 26th to start his life over.   He will be living at a Christian transitions house for men and volunteering at a  Christian coffee house there in Akron.  We are thrilled with his plans and his enthusiasm.  God used all that time for His good and His glory.......His timetables are so much better than ours.

Please pray for Jim that he would continue to grow in the grace of our Lord.  Pray that there would be good influences at his new work place and that he could resist the temptations that are bound to come.  Pray that he might fellowship with great joy at his church in Akron and that his family would come to know the Lord as well.