Jail Visit - Part 3
Continuation from Parts 1 and 2
Dave started by leading us in an opening prayer. I either kept my eyes closed or was looking straight down, so I don't have much to report here. Then the keyboard guy led us in a song. He gave a short introduction to the song and then began playing. I had been told earlier that the inmates really enjoyed the music and singing. I don't know if they have access to radios, but they certainly don't get much live music. As I mentioned earlier, singing is not one of my specialties. Luckily, Dave has a loud and booming voice, so we let him lead us. I was able to sing quietly and I doubt I ruined anyone's enjoyment of the music. Halleluja! :-) I spent most of the song looking at the sheet music trying to keep up, so I did not see how engaged any of the inmates were. Although, I could hear several other voices while Dave would pause. So at least 2 or 3 of the inmates were singing loud enough for me to hear.
After the song was complete, Dave asked us to rise and greet our neighbors and say a few words to each other. I greeted the 3 or 4 inmates on my end of the room. Each of them smiled and gave me a warm handshake; a few patted me on the back. A few inmates made the effort to come from the other side of the room to welcome me and to thank me for coming. Before I came, I wondered if most of the inmates would come just for something different to do or just to get out of their cells. By now, I felt like many of the inmates were genuinely engaged in the meeting. A few were not, they were either hanging back or did not seem to interested in the meeting.
Next, Dave announced that he wanted to lead a group prayer. First he pointed out that we all faced challenges and frustrations. He encouraged the inmates to share their's so that we could include them in our prayers. One inmate talked about his frustrations with contacting his family. He badly wanted to keep in touch with them, but was not getting much contact with them. He was trying hard but was losing hope. He then continued with how his faith in the Lord was helping him carry on. Another inmate talked about how he was trying to change his life and he was trusting the Lord to guide him and help him on his path. We then prayed for them and Dave said a few words to include the challenges that all of the inmates present were facing.
Dave had brought copies of a reading from the Bible. It was in English and Spanish. It was a passage from the book of Mark on dealing with disappointment. He handed out the copies while giving a short introduction to the passage. He began reading the passage aloud to us. Occasionally, one of the inmates would ask a question about the passage, but mainly everyone seemed to be reading along with Dave. About 2/3's of the way through the passage, there was a knock on the door and it opened. The guard announced that we had another inmate who would like to participate in the meeting. The inmate introduced himself in a cheerful and energetic way. Dave finished the passage and talked about how the biblical characters dealt with life's disappointments.
To be continued ...
Dave started by leading us in an opening prayer. I either kept my eyes closed or was looking straight down, so I don't have much to report here. Then the keyboard guy led us in a song. He gave a short introduction to the song and then began playing. I had been told earlier that the inmates really enjoyed the music and singing. I don't know if they have access to radios, but they certainly don't get much live music. As I mentioned earlier, singing is not one of my specialties. Luckily, Dave has a loud and booming voice, so we let him lead us. I was able to sing quietly and I doubt I ruined anyone's enjoyment of the music. Halleluja! :-) I spent most of the song looking at the sheet music trying to keep up, so I did not see how engaged any of the inmates were. Although, I could hear several other voices while Dave would pause. So at least 2 or 3 of the inmates were singing loud enough for me to hear.
After the song was complete, Dave asked us to rise and greet our neighbors and say a few words to each other. I greeted the 3 or 4 inmates on my end of the room. Each of them smiled and gave me a warm handshake; a few patted me on the back. A few inmates made the effort to come from the other side of the room to welcome me and to thank me for coming. Before I came, I wondered if most of the inmates would come just for something different to do or just to get out of their cells. By now, I felt like many of the inmates were genuinely engaged in the meeting. A few were not, they were either hanging back or did not seem to interested in the meeting.
Next, Dave announced that he wanted to lead a group prayer. First he pointed out that we all faced challenges and frustrations. He encouraged the inmates to share their's so that we could include them in our prayers. One inmate talked about his frustrations with contacting his family. He badly wanted to keep in touch with them, but was not getting much contact with them. He was trying hard but was losing hope. He then continued with how his faith in the Lord was helping him carry on. Another inmate talked about how he was trying to change his life and he was trusting the Lord to guide him and help him on his path. We then prayed for them and Dave said a few words to include the challenges that all of the inmates present were facing.
Dave had brought copies of a reading from the Bible. It was in English and Spanish. It was a passage from the book of Mark on dealing with disappointment. He handed out the copies while giving a short introduction to the passage. He began reading the passage aloud to us. Occasionally, one of the inmates would ask a question about the passage, but mainly everyone seemed to be reading along with Dave. About 2/3's of the way through the passage, there was a knock on the door and it opened. The guard announced that we had another inmate who would like to participate in the meeting. The inmate introduced himself in a cheerful and energetic way. Dave finished the passage and talked about how the biblical characters dealt with life's disappointments.
To be continued ...
posted by Steve @ 7:12 AM
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