Prison. If I Could Have Taken You With Me.

Imagine seeing yourself on the journey I am going to share with you. It may be hard for many. It may be easy for some who already know what it is like to be a prisoner. Yet, all of us need freedom in Christ from something. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start the journey and begin to paint the picture for your imagination as you see yourself joining me in prison.

The afternoon that began a three day journey started, for us in prayer. The day was going to be a good day. As we approached the Miami Correctional Facility my heart began to beat faster and faster as I thought about the opportunity that awaited us. Some of us chatted while others told stories of having done this before. I reflected on some of my years having visited some of the largest prisons in America and spending weekly visits in the local county jail teaching classes and getting to know those behind the heavy iron doors. Nothing could really compare with this experience; this journey is called, Kairos.

We, on the outside of prison as well as those inside mark our time with calendars and clocks. This is called "Kronos" time. On the outside of prison we can fill it with activities of fun and work, projects and recreation. On the inside it could also be wasted but time means something else. For many, it is about "doing time". Most recognize that their prison sentence behind bars is required to fulfill time because of something that was wrong, something that they may have done that required a judge to pronounce a sentence that began the clock for them. As the gavel fell the hollow echo pierced their ears and their time begins. Bitterness, anger, rage, fear, hurt, and rejection are all part of the experience as every emotion floods their soul with despair.
Our group walks in through the front doors of prison; entering through the large metal doors we experience an atmosphere that is stale and cold. Those cold steel doors and metal detectors provide our welcome and as we approach the guards we sign ourselves in to begin the process of being brought through the gate.

Prisoners are brought through a different gate and while there are some comparisons that mirror the one that we experienced, it is also very different for them. It is a stale and cold beginning. For them however, they are brought to the prison where they will exist for years to come. Every day their freedom will be lost. They enter, not of their own free but of one assigned with them along with their number. They receive very few items that are given to them, and they are assigned where they will sleep, when they will awaken, what they will do, and their new experience will eventually become a daily routine that many men and women could not deal with. I know for me, I would likely go insane because of the feelings of despair and emptiness; it fills their mind with nothing else but an empty and hollow existence.

There is another time that we call Kairos time. This journey that we take will intersect with the journey that many are already on. This time is not measured by clocks in calendars but it is gods time. It may be an appointed time and our mind cannot comprehend it. This is a time thar God determines. Through the journey of life we often avoid it and may even reject it but there is a time that God determines is the right time, when a good outcome can happen if we let Him.

For this reason, we enter the prison doors. We hope to set men free but not from the prison gates but the chains and walls that have held them as prisoners, yet many for their entire life. Many are fatherless. Many have had loss. Many have been rejected. Many have been betrayed. Many have wounds that have not healed while everyone has scars that tell stories.

We lineup as we begin with introductions. Each of us have been assigned to welcome a prisoner we call our "guest". As their name is called, the room of men irrupts in a torrent of cheers and applause. This is how we welcome our guests. We get them their favorite drink which could be coffee, orange juice, or fruit punch. We make a introduction and we hand them a name tag and we get them their favorite drink which is usually a cocktail of a blended kind. One takes their coffee with five creamers and five sugars. Another says I would like a mixture of red fruit punch with orange. Some want a blend of hot cocoa and coffee. Whatever they want we make every effort to memorize it so that the next day we are prepared with their favorite drink in-hand as their name is called.

Throughout the day and the days to come over the weekend that we meet together, we exchange questions and get better acquainted with one another. We asked questions about their favorite meal or their hobby or job. We will make it as normal of a conversation as we can. We even share bits of information about ourselves so that they feel comfortable with us. We never asked them anything about why they’re in prison and even if they share that information we tell them that here that does not matter.

There are chapel times and teaching times. But the best part is that we are feeding them both spiritually as well as physically. The man I’ve already heard that we bring in home-cooked meals, and incredible stories are told. The first day and a half a man over eat because this is the first real food that they have had in a long time. Their food does not even compare with what we feed them. Goes on the outside pray continually as they prepare delicious meals and track them over to the prison so that there are no delays in delivering hot food for the men to consume.

There are several that teach throughout the weekend with a time of discussion around the tables. There are times for fellowship which eventually feels like home because it is a safe place for them to tell us their story and tell of their deepest wounds. These are sacred times because they have told no one before and feeler yet as they gain further trust in our relationship.

Imagine yourself being there. See yourself as one of us. Can you smell what we smell? Can you see what we see? Can you hear what we hear? All of our senses are on alert because we don’t want to miss the miracles that are to happen in the lives of each man. Some of the miracles we saw was hardened men confess their sin and receive a freedom that only God can give through Jesus Christ.

One man told of a time when he tried to commit suicide while on the outside. He was a hunter and fisherman. He loves the outdoors. He had purchased a new rifle for hunting years prior. "It was a perfectly designed rifle," he told me. He described how this rifle never missed his target; deer, small game, and targets practice. At his lowest he took that rifle in an attempt to end his life using his rifle. After coming to a new relationship with Christ over the past few days he recounted that negative experience. He explained how low he had gotten to. He summarized his testimony by saying, "The only time that rifle ever misfired was that time when I put the barrel under his chin. Click, Click. It didn't fire." 

His testimony was more complete when he said that through Kairos, he now understands that God had another appointed time in mind for him. He shared, "The rifle didn't fire because I needed to be at Kairos to receive Christ for the very first time ever."

Nothing can prepare you for the reaction of the men when we bring out the meals. They haven’t had real milk in years. They haven’t tasted real meat in years. They haven’t had the amount of food that we serve in years. Some don’t know how to respond except to eat as much as they could consume. They eat the fresh baked cookies, they asked for seconds of every cocktail of kool-aid and coffee and hot cocoa that we could provide. They haven’t eaten like this in a long time.

Most have waited two or three years to get to this moment. They have waited a long time to arrive at this appointed time we call Kairos. These are our guest. We don’t see them as prisoners because at the foot of the cross the ground is level. We see ourselves in their eyes. We know our sin yet they were caught. We realize the transgressions in our lives but our guest are paying the price for those transgressions in their lives.

We who have planned and prayed watch with great eagerness as the shell of each man slowly begins to come to life again. We watch as they are hard and protected self slowly takes down their wall that they build with their own hands to attempt to protect themselves from any further disappointment or pain or rejection.

They built these walls with their own hands to attempt to protect themselves from any further disappointment or pain or rejection. They discover that their wall was built with stones that were familiar to them. Stones like selfishness and greed. Stones that were polished and cared for. Perhaps their favorite stone is what they lay upon is pride. They are taught new lessons about how the stones were not built by God but that God wants to tear down that wall, stone by stone so that He could reach them and He could care for them and pierce their heart of stone.

Slowly they share their story and slowly they trust us with some things that have told no one!  They eventually learn that we are a safe person to share things with. Eventually they learn to feel our sincere heart of love.

The cookies are their favorite. In this particular weekend we brought over 2,500 cookies for them to enjoy. Any leftover cookies we deliver throughout the prison to others who are incarcerated in the various cell-blocks of prison life. Everyone in the prison knows about the cookie drop and most wait six months to receive one dozen fresh baked cookies.

By the time the men begin to share their stories and testimonies of what God has done in their lives there is an overflow a genuine tears and life change. There is not a dry eye in the room because we have the opportunity to see miracles happen before us.

The men, and the women that do this are overjoyed. Hugs coming easy and laughs are plenty. We spent months praying and preparing in hopes that it will make a difference for Christ in the lives of our guest that will last a lifetime. It’s amazing to me how incredibly humbled I am to have been a witness of this incredible experience.

I hope you were able to join me in your mind’s-eye. I hope that you could begin to feel what we feel. For each of these men and our leaders we become a family. We call each other brothers in Christ. We remind the man that God has unconditionally forgiving them and challenge them to forgive  themselves and others. Perhaps the most difficult challenge for them is being able to forgive themselves. The transformation occurs once they receive Christ and begin to forgive themselves.

The Kairos experience in the prison hopes to introduce Christ to the men (and women) by helping them to receive His grace and forgiveness. It is also a way for our guests to forgive themselves and others. This message is not just for those on the inside but available to all.