Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018090A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:12 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today 01:14 program. I'm Jill Morikone, and we are so delighted 01:17 that you have taken time from your day to share it 01:20 with us. You know, I love the Today program. It's 01:22 a time when we can bring you at-home 01:25 ministries. We feature ministries that are 01:27 doing incredible things for Jesus, or people's 01:30 personal testimony of what God is doing in 01:33 their heart and in their life. In this program- 01:36 in all the programs on 3ABN-are only 01:39 possible because of your prayers and financial 01:42 support of this ministry. So, we thank you for 01:46 standing with us, some of you for 34 years- 01:49 from the very beginning of 3ABN-and some of 01:52 you, just recently, and we thank you for that. 01:54 Today, we have an incredible ministry to 01:58 feature. It's a ministry that's actually very 02:00 near and dear to my heart, as well. I have 02:03 done just a little bit to know a measure of 02:06 what these people have done; but just a little 02:08 bit of this ministry, myself. I'm speaking of 02:11 prison ministry. Jesus calls us to reach out 02:14 to those who are in bondage, those who 02:17 are shut up, away from society, those who, maybe, 02:22 have made a mistake just like you and I 02:24 have done, but maybe a different type of mistake 02:26 that landed them in prison, and God calls 02:29 us to reach out and minister. The ministry 02:32 today has just an incredible way of 02:34 doing just that, so I'm excited to introduce 02:37 them to you at this time. Right here on 02:40 my right is Carol Paden. You are the coordinator 02:43 of the-I need to get this right-LAMBS and 02:46 Knitting Hearts Together with Jesus. Carol, 02:48 we're so excited to have you here. - I'm excited 02:50 to be here. - This is your first time, right, 02:53 on the 3ABN Today program? - Yes, it is. 02:55 - Okay, but it's not your first time at 3ABN. 02:57 - No. I came and cooked at 3ABN for the spring 03:00 camp meeting this year. - And we loved to have 03:03 you here. She did a wonderful job in the 03:05 kitchen. Thank you. - It was wonderful. Good 03:08 blessing. - Yes. So, tell us just a little 03:11 bit about your family. I know your son has 03:13 a program on 3ABN, Raw Questions-Relevant 03:16 Answers, and the Lord has blessed him with 03:18 the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Because 03:21 when he shares, it touches hearts and lives. So, 03:24 you're the momma. We're just so excited to have 03:26 you here! - And I've gotten from him being 03:28 my son, to now, I'm "Mark's mom." [laughter] 03:33 We're just fine.? 03:36 I have two older boys, so I have Matthew, Luke, 03:39 and Mark. - That's precious. You needed a 03:43 John. - Well, I have a John. My oldest 03:46 son got married, and his- her cousin is 03:49 John. And when they got married, he informed me, 03:53 "Now I am officially your John." - Aww. 03:55 - So, now I have a John. - That's nice. 03:58 And you and your husband live... - We live in Dripping 04:01 Springs, just about 35 miles outside of Austin. 04:04 - Nice. Okay. - And I am a registered dietician, 04:08 but I stayed home and homeschooled my boys. 04:11 That was such an incredible blessing 04:12 to be able to do that. - Amen. Now, we want 04:15 to find out how you got involved in prison 04:17 ministry; but before we do that, sitting next 04:19 to you is Peggy Serra, and you're our teacher at 04:22 LAMB and Knitting Hearts Together for Jesus. 04:24 We're so glad you're here, Peggy! - Me too. 04:26 - So, tell us just a little bit about your 04:28 family, and your connection with Carol, too. - Carol 04:31 and I have known each other for 13 years. 04:34 We've been in church and different ministries 04:36 together. I left my employment a few years 04:40 ago and was blessed to be able to make a 04:45 decision on what I want to do that I 04:47 really enjoy- what would, as my husband put it, 04:52 what would make me really happy. That's 04:54 how I got involved with ministry, not knowing 04:57 for sure what I would do. I just made the 05:02 decision that I would ask God, and He led 05:05 me in this way. My children: I have a son 05:09 and a daughter, Madison, who's 23 now, and my 05:13 son is 20. I live in Austin, and I'm just 05:19 really happy to be able to be a part of 05:22 this and glorify God in this ministry. - Amen. 05:26 And we want to find out how you got involved 05:28 in the ministry, too, and what this ministry 05:30 actually entails. But next to you is Jay Yi, 05:34 and you are a co-coordinator for LAMB and Knitting 05:39 Hearts Together with Jesus, and we're so 05:40 glad you're here. - Yeah. Thank you for inviting 05:42 me. I am actually very blessed to be here and 05:45 to talk about our ministry. I've known Carol for 05:50 about the same time as Peggy has known her. 05:54 We grew together in the ministries that we 05:58 do at church, so it's really a blessing. I 06:01 have two children, both girls. They're both 06:09 away in college, so I'm by myself; but I 06:14 keep myself busy with the lots of things I 06:16 do for church and with this ministry, as well. 06:18 - Amen. So, tell me: what is this ministry? 06:21 We know it's about prison ministry, but 06:23 exactly what is the ministry? Then we'll 06:25 step back and find out how you got involved. 06:27 - Okay. The two ministries we did- the first one 06:30 is called the LAMB Ministry. LAMB is actually an 06:33 acronym that stands for "Love a Mother's Baby." 06:36 Then the second ministry is our Knitting Hearts 06:40 Together with Jesus program. We call it 06:43 the "Knitting Heart," but actually, we teach 06:45 them to crochet. [laughter] - Kind of a little 06:51 oxymoron. - Yeah... When we titled it, we 06:54 hadn't decided which one we were going to 06:56 do, but then we just decided that crocheting 06:58 probably worked better, and you can do a little 07:02 bit more with crocheting with stuffed animals and things, 07:05 so we just opted to go crocheting instead. 07:07 - Yes, yes. So, when I look at each one of 07:10 you, I wouldn't imagine that you would be 07:13 involved in prison ministry, you know? 07:15 You don't look like people who'd want to 07:16 be involved or be involved, so tell me. Like, everything always 07:19 went good in your life and you know you had 07:22 a great life and everything's good, so what put on 07:25 your heart the burden, the passion, to be 07:28 involved? - I would be happy to share that. 07:32 I want to start, though, by reading a text. - Good. 07:34 - This morning as I was thinking about 07:37 the program and praying that God would give me 07:40 the right words to say and that God would be 07:42 seen and that I would not be seen, and that 07:44 God would speak through me, I was thinking of 07:47 the text in Exodus where God tells Moses 07:51 that He will be with Moses' mouth and give 07:54 him the words to say. So, I went and looked 07:57 that up, and I read another verse and it 07:59 just really touched my heart, and I'm going to 08:02 rephrase it slightly to fit the prison. So 08:06 it is actually in Exodus 3 verses 7 to 8. It 08:11 says-and this is out of the King James Bible- 08:14 "The Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction 08:18 of My people which are in prison, and I have 08:22 heard their cry by reason of their 08:24 taskmasters for I know their sorrows, and I 08:28 am come down to deliver them out of the hand 08:31 of the Egyptians... out of the hand of 08:35 Satan, and to bring them out of that land 08:37 unto the good land, and a large- unto 08:45 a land flowing with milk and honey." - Yes... 08:48 - That verse just really hit me, because as we 08:52 go into the prison, we want to help them come 08:56 out of the bondage that they're in. That's really 08:58 our goal - to come out of the bondage of their 09:01 past lives. So, I never saw myself 09:04 getting involved in prison. That was just 09:06 NO place on my radar! None. But as I look 09:12 back at my life, I can see how God has actually 09:14 led me step by step and prepared me in a 09:18 way that I didn't realize. That actually 09:20 started shortly after I graduated from college 09:23 when one of my friends from my academy years 09:27 was incarcerated, and I went to see her. 09:33 When I was home, I would go see her, so 09:35 that kind of started it. - Was she in for just 09:38 a year or two, or did she have a long 09:39 sentence? - She was in for 10 years. - Oh, wow. 09:41 - 10 years. And so I was actually living 09:43 at Loma Linda at the time, and she was in 09:45 Tennessee, so when I would come home on 09:48 vacation, I would go visit her. So, that's 09:51 kind of when it started. Then, I got married. 09:57 We lived in Michigan, and we moved to Texas. 10:01 About 6 months after we moved- well, there 10:04 was a family there at our church that had 10:07 just become Seventh-Day Adventist. - In Texas 10:09 or Michigan? - In Texas. They had just 10:11 become Seventh-Day Adventist, and the family 10:14 stuck out in my mind because they were new 10:16 Adventists and because the son would come to 10:18 me on potluck Sabbath and say, "I made 10:21 something vegetarian. Would you please come 10:24 try it? I want to know what you think of it." 10:26 So, I would taste it and give him my input. 10:29 Well, sadly, 6 months after I got to know 10:32 them, the whole family was incarcerated. The 10:36 mother has 80 years, the son had 60, and 10:40 the daughter had a hung jury with 20 years. 10:42 - And the son? - He had 60 years. The 10:46 mom 80, son 60, and the daughter had a hung 10:49 jury, and the boyfriend got life. - I'm so 10:55 sorry. - The circumstances were just really tragic. 11:01 There were issues involved, but I think 11:05 they got way more than they deserved. It just 11:09 broke my heart. I just decided at that point 11:11 that I would reach out to them even though 11:13 I didn't know them, they were not personal friends; 11:15 I just decided to reach out to them. So, I 11:18 started visiting them. That was 20 years ago. 11:22 So, I have been working with this 11:23 family for 20 years, and I know it's been 11:26 a very tragic situation in their lives, but I 11:30 would not be doing today what I'm doing 11:32 had they not been incarcerated. So, God 11:35 has brought good out of it. So, I worked with 11:39 them, and then as I mentioned, I homeschooled 11:41 my boys. And when they were- shortly after 11:45 we moved to Austin in 2005, I had a friend 11:49 that was doing the new Discovery Bible lessons, 11:51 which is correspondence lessons, and I thought... 11:55 I was always looking for things for my sons 11:58 to do, and I thought, "Oh, that would be a 11:59 great opportunity, because they could reach 12:01 out to the incarcerated men and women, and 12:05 they could also be studying the Bible at 12:06 the same time! It's a win-win situation!" 12:10 So, we started that. Because we were out 12:13 of town for a little while, I started writing 12:15 to some of the inmates just to apologize, and 12:17 that started me writing to them. So, I 12:21 have actually been working with incarcerated 12:24 men and women through Bible correspondence 12:26 now for 13-14 years. - Oh, wow. - And I have 12:30 built just an amazing... It's been amazing to 12:35 me to work with these men and women. They have 12:37 truly become my brothers and sisters in Christ. 12:41 I mean, I could go on for hours about the 12:42 blessings that I have received working with 12:45 them. So, when I was working with them, 12:49 Texas Conference did a seminar on the prison 12:54 ministries. And so I thought, "Oh, I'd like 12:57 to go to that." So, I went up to it, and the 13:00 prison ministry director from the Florida 13:03 Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists did this part 13:06 of the program on their LAMB program, which 13:09 was very different. They basically took 13:11 formula and diapers to newborns of incarcerated 13:15 mothers. So, that started me thinking-and it just 13:19 kind of sat on the back-burner for about 13:21 4 or 5 years because I was still homeschooling 13:23 my boys. But then when they went on, then, I 13:27 thought, "You know what? I'm ready to 13:28 move forward with it!" So then, I was down 13:32 at the Lockhart Correctional Facility 13:34 and I actually talked to the warden about 13:36 the LAMB program! He was very excited about 13:40 it. He thought it would just be an amazing 13:42 ministry. So, he asked us to come down and 13:45 talk to them, so we went and talked to 13:47 them and showed them what we were doing. 13:49 After we talked to them, then they ask us if we 13:54 would be willing to come and teach their inmates 13:56 to crochet or knit and do small group Bible 13:59 studies with them. They said, "We specifically 14:01 want small group Bible studies. We have people 14:03 come in and preach, but we want small 14:05 group Bible studies." - You know what I see? 14:08 I see a heart in you that is willing and 14:12 open to follow the leading of the Holy 14:14 Spirit. When you connected with- first, your academy- 14:18 was is academy roommate? - Mhm. - But then, years 14:20 later with this family who was incarcerated 14:23 for years, then God put on your heart to visit 14:26 them and to reach out and minister. Then, 14:29 every step of the way, it's not like, all of 14:31 a sudden, LAMB ministries is born. Every step 14:34 of the way, you were obedient to visit them 14:36 then, and then years later, God opens up this 14:39 door for you to correspond and to begin ministry 14:43 that way and do Bible studies, then the LAMB 14:46 ministry grows out of that. It's like a 14:48 step-by-step process how God leads us. 14:50 - Very much. And it wasn't until I looked 14:53 back that I saw how God had led. Actually, 14:56 as I've done this, I also thought how God 14:58 had led in my early life, because I'm so 14:59 grateful to my mom who taught me to sew 15:02 and who taught me to crochet and knit, 15:05 because if she wouldn't taught me, I wouldn't 15:06 probably be doing this. So, God has just, 15:08 step by step through my life, prepared me. 15:11 It's been amazing to me to watch the way 15:14 God has led. - Amen. Well, we'll stop for 15:15 just one moment with your story before we 15:17 keep going with LAMB, and I want to hear from 15:19 Peggy how you got involved with the prison 15:21 ministry. - Well, I love what you just 15:25 said, Jill, about her being willing, because 15:28 not everyone is willing to obey what God says. 15:34 To keep this as short as possible, I just 15:37 want to say that it was an opportunity when 15:40 I was- was actually in 2014 the first time 15:44 that I felt that this is probably what I 15:48 should be doing. There was a kind pastor that 15:51 reached out to me first and said, "Why 15:55 don't you just get certified? Just go 15:56 through the criminal..." What is it? Texas 15:59 Department of Criminal Justice, and get the 16:02 certification. - To be a volunteer. - To be 16:06 a volunteer, then you can choose- there 16:08 are different things you can choose on this 16:10 list. It doesn't have to be the prison 16:12 ministry where you go in the prison. I remember 16:15 him calling me. In fact, he called me 16:18 several times and texted me about this. 16:22 Finally, I said, "Okay, I'm going to do it." 16:24 So, 2014 is the first time. I went in, got 16:27 certification, but I had no intentions of 16:30 going in the prison. Fear was- just all 16:34 these fears about all these doors that close, 16:37 and you can imagine all the 'what if.' You know? 16:41 They're pretty clear with you in the training 16:42 that you, once you're behind the doors, you 16:45 are not their responsibility. So, I remember thinking, 16:51 "I am not going in the prison. I have no desire. So 16:54 I'm just going to help someone else, like 16:56 the young ladies. When they come out, they 16:58 need someone to talk to, or maybe that 17:01 program..." Some other program. My intention 17:05 was to do that. It didn't happen. Different 17:08 things in my life happened that caused me to put 17:12 that on the back-burner. So then when I left 17:17 my employment, my husband had said to 17:21 me, "I really want you to do what would really 17:25 be a blessing and what you want to do in the 17:30 volunteer area," 'cause I was looking for different 17:32 things to do. So, I just remember feeling fearful 17:38 and thinking, "I don't want to do that," but 17:42 every time I would pray about it-and I 17:45 did pray about it even though I didn't feel 17:46 like it-I remember praying about it and 17:49 saying, "God, make me willing to be willing 17:52 to do Your will." That was my prayer. So, 17:57 again, I just reached out to this pastor 18:00 and I said, "Okay, I can't remember the 18:02 name of the program, and I'm sure my 18:04 certification has expired. I just want 18:07 to do something small, like help the young 18:09 girls that come out that need maybe 18:10 someone to talk to." He said, "Have you 18:13 talked with Carol lately? Carol Paden? 18:16 She has a program going on called the LAMB 18:18 and Knitting Hearts. I think you should get 18:20 involved with it. It's in the prison." "Oh, 18:23 no, no, no, no, no." You know? Yes! Okay, 18:27 so, fast-forward. I went back, got the 18:29 certification, and the whole time I'm 18:31 doing this, I'm feeling like, "I don't really 18:34 want to do this. I don't want to do this! 18:36 Why do I have these fears? I want to be 18:40 a blessing to someone, but this is not what 18:42 I want to do." So, finally, Carol was 18:46 encouraging me and she said, "Just go with 18:49 me and see what you think." So I went 18:51 and I decided that it wasn't as scary, at 18:56 first, as I thought. You can hear the doors; 18:58 they're very heavy; close behind you, and 19:01 it does make you think, you know? So, finally, 19:05 I just decided, "God, just take my fear and 19:11 help me to trust You and help me to be a 19:15 blessing, not think of myself, but think of 19:18 someone else." And honestly, I spent the 19:21 day just watching and just looking at it. And 19:26 when I left, what I realized was that the 19:34 reason that I was there was because it 19:38 brought a blessing to them and it was 19:42 something that if I viewed myself in their 19:44 position, I would love to have someone come 19:47 and visit me. If I was an inmate, I would 19:50 love to have someone come. So, that's how 19:52 I got involved. That's what I was doing. It 19:57 was great. - Amen. Prison ministry is 19:59 life-changing. - Totally life-changing. - We 20:03 have the privilege here at 3ABN- several people 20:06 are involved in prison ministry. Brian Hamilton 20:07 helps coordinate that. But I had the privilege 20:11 of going into the women's jail here in 20:13 Benton. Maybe 5 years, every Monday night, a 20:18 different woman from church would go in 20:20 in teams. So, I would do it once a month 20:22 and we would rotate through. But just to 20:25 see the brokenness and the pain... Almost every 20:32 woman in there, missing her babies-they're 20:35 all moms-and wanting to be with her kids 20:37 and missing them desperately. To see 20:41 God work and the transformation begin 20:43 to happen and lives change... I know 20:46 this is your program and we want to hear 20:48 all about what God's doing with that, but I 20:50 just want to say prison ministry's incredible, 20:52 and during this program, we want to encourage 20:55 you at home to become involved, and Carol and 20:58 the team will share with you how to do 20:59 that...but I want to hear YOUR perspective 21:01 on that. - As I've worked with the inmates, 21:04 both the men and the women inmates, their 21:07 stories have deeply touched my heart. 21:10 They have come from- so many of them have 21:13 come from such difficult, heart-wrenching 21:16 backgrounds. It's just broken my heart. As 21:20 I've listened to their stories, I realized 21:22 had I grown up in their circumstances, I would 21:26 probably be exactly where they are. So, 21:29 I cannot be critical of them. I just have 21:33 to recognize- but for the grace of God, there go 21:35 I, and God has put such an incredible 21:38 love in my heart for these people. - Amen! 21:41 That's wonderful. What about you, Jay? What's 21:43 your story? How did you get involved? - My 21:46 story is probably like what everybody else 21:48 will go through; it's very simple. I was 21:55 actually nominated to be a personal ministry 21:58 leader in my church, and I'm thinking in 22:00 my head, "What does a personal ministry 22:02 leader do?" [laughter] I was thinking, "What 22:05 am I going to do?" At that time, both my 22:08 children have gone to college, so I was left 22:12 with nothing to do. So I was thinking, "Okay, 22:16 what am I going to do?" Then, Carol comes to 22:18 me and she says, "I have an idea for our 22:22 program for our church." And I said, "Oh, good." 22:26 Now, I'm going to have to think of an idea. 22:27 So, she thought of an idea, so I thought 22:29 this was a great ministry-prison 22:31 ministry. She brought me to the Lockhart 22:35 Correctional Facility, and we had our interview 22:41 with the warden there. It started from there, 22:43 and I'm thinking, "What is a man doing in a 22:46 woman's prison?" I'm thinking, "Okay, I 22:50 think I can do this." Then they said, "We're 22:53 going to be doing knitting." And I go, 22:55 "Knitting?" [Jill laughs] "Uhh... I have never done 22:57 knitting in my life before." So, I'm proud to say 23:01 that I've learned how to knit? prison. 23:03 - Yay! - So, I did manage to knit and I 23:07 did get involved, and it's been a real 23:09 blessing to me. So, I just wanted to say 23:12 that I didn't intentionally go out to do it; it 23:16 came to me. And I'm thinking a lot of 23:18 times, God calls you when you don't even 23:23 ask God what to do with your life. So, 23:27 it's been a real good blessing for me. - Amen. 23:30 When you least expect it. You know, 23:32 the call of God comes, and each one of you 23:34 were willing to step out in obedience to 23:37 that call. Well, let's talk about LAMB. I 23:38 know it stands for "Love a Mother's 23:40 Baby," but what exactly does that entail? And 23:43 we have a lot of fun things in front of us, 23:45 too, I hope you talk about. - Yes. Love 23:48 a Mother's Baby has been an incredible 23:50 program. As Jill said, the mothers that have 23:54 children that- the incarcerated mothers 23:57 that have children have just deeply 23:59 touched my heart. I love my three sons, 24:02 and I can't imagine being incarcerated and 24:05 separated from them. So, as I was thinking 24:07 about the LAMB, reaching out of these, I thought, 24:10 "What can I do?" And the thought came to my 24:12 mind, "What about if we did a blanket and 24:18 a stuffed animal and a Bible story book and 24:21 let them read- write a letter to their child?" 24:25 So, this is actually what we came up with. 24:27 They can make a blanket. - I love it! - Isn't 24:32 that precious? - It says, "I woof you!" 24:35 Awww. I didn't know if we could get it out. 24:37 That's beautiful. - You can open it up 24:39 if you want to. - Oh, this is perfect kid-sized! 24:46 - It's perfect kid-sized, it is! - Look at that! 24:50 It's always cold on the set. I might keep 24:51 this on. - Go for it! So, because we're 24:56 making it child-sized, we had a little bit of 24:58 extra fabric and we didn't want to waste 25:00 it, so we thought, "Well, let's make a 25:02 pillow to go with it!" And actually, the 25:04 kids love the pillows. They just love the 25:09 pillows. So, you can have the pillow. Then, 25:13 we have, as you can see, the stuffed 25:15 animals. - Yep. There's a whole pile of them. 25:19 They can choose a stuffed animal, they 25:21 can choose a Bible story book, then they can 25:26 write a letter to their child, and we developed 25:29 cards. We have a whole different group of cards 25:33 that they can choose from that they can 25:35 write a letter to their child. - I love that. 25:38 "I love you." So, who makes the blankets? 25:40 - We have a group that meets every Tuesday 25:42 afternoon, so every single blanket is handmade 25:46 because we think that it touches their hearts 25:50 more if somebody has actually made something 25:52 for them. So, we meet every Tuesday afternoon. 25:56 We have a group from our church that meets 25:58 to make blankets. - And Peggy and Jay, 26:00 do you all make blankets, too, or you're not 26:02 involved in that? - No, not involved with that; 26:04 but you'd be surprised how many members of 26:06 our church, who never got involved, make 26:09 these blankets. - People that were not involved 26:12 that were just sitting, not involved, have 26:15 become very actively involved. We have one 26:18 lady that's 92, and she comes faithfully. 26:21 So, she takes some home and works on them. Yeah. 26:25 They've gotten very involved. - Amen. - Then, 26:28 we give each one of the women a Steps to Christ. 26:33 - Now, that's not for the kids or that is 26:35 for the kids? - No, this is for the mothers. 26:37 We let the mothers select the blanket, 26:40 the stuffed animal, the Bible story book, 26:43 then they wrap it up according to the one 26:46 that is there with the ribbon. And if the 26:50 family comes to visit, then the wardens keep the blanket, 26:54 and when the family comes to visit, the warden gives 26:57 the blanket to the inmate, and that woman 27:00 goes and gives it to her child. - Aww. So 27:03 they can hand-deliver, like the gift comes from 27:05 Mommy then. - The gift comes from Mommy. Sadly, 27:09 I would say 90% of the women, their 27:12 children never come to visit them, so we end 27:16 up mailing the blankets to them. But they still 27:20 are very touched and they know it comes 27:22 from Mommy, because they have the letter 27:24 that says it comes from Mommy. - I think we 27:26 have a picture of that, right? - Yes, we do. 27:28 - We have a picture, I think, of them writing 27:31 the cards; is that right? - That's the picture 27:32 of them writing the cards to their children. 27:35 Then, we have a picture of one of the mothers 27:40 giving her daughter the blanket. - Aww... 27:45 Yep, I can see there's the stuffed animal on 27:46 top and the card, then they have some sort 27:50 of Bible story, you said. - Mhm. The Bible 27:52 story book, yeah. - I love that. - So then, 27:56 we give each mother a Steps to Christ and we 28:00 send a Steps to Christ to each of the foster 28:03 parents. So, each family is getting two sets. - Yes! 28:08 - So then, after the mothers finish, then 28:12 we get all the mothers together. God has given 28:14 me an amazing object lesson that has deeply 28:19 touched the women's hearts. So, this box 28:23 represents God's heart. This is a really common 28:27 toy, and it has the different shapes in it, 28:31 so we pass it around and we let each woman 28:33 take a shape. - Okay. - And we talk about how 28:36 this box represents the heart of God and how 28:40 each one of us has a unique shape that 28:44 nobody else can fill. And in God's heart, 28:48 each one of us has a special place that nobody 28:51 else can fill. So, we pass the box around, 28:54 and I tell them, "Put it in the wrong hole. 28:57 Try to put it in the wrong hole." Then 29:00 we talk about, it doesn't fit. So, we 29:02 talk about, nobody else can take your place. 29:04 God has a place in His heart for you that 29:07 nobody else can take. Then I let them put 29:11 their shape in, but then I say, "What happens 29:14 if you say, 'Thanks, God, for everything 29:18 You've done, but I wanna live my own 29:20 life.' What happened?" There's always an 29:23 empty place in God's heart because your 29:26 shape is not in God's heart. - That's beautiful. 29:30 - So, we talk about how important each person 29:32 is to God, and nobody else can take their 29:36 place. Then, we talk to them about the 29:38 fact that when they go home... Oh, and I 29:42 give them a little card that has this so they 29:45 can take it home, they can keep it, and they 29:48 can remember it. So then we talk to them 29:51 about, what happens when you go home, or 29:54 even here, and you fall? There's a song, 29:58 "He Didn't Throw the Clay Away." Have you 30:01 ever heard this sung? - Oh, yes. - So, I 30:04 give them a card that I made that has the 30:06 lyrics to that on it, and we talk about how 30:10 when a potter is making something and it gets 30:13 messed up, he doesn't throw it away; he just 30:16 starts over and over, and he may have to 30:19 start over many times until he finally gets it, 30:23 but it becomes a beautiful vessel. We talk about, 30:26 that's what God wants to do in their lives. 30:30 - There's so much shame- you know?-and condemnation. 30:34 I remember that distinctly- that the woman feels 30:37 so much guilt and false sense of shame and 30:40 feeling like God can't forgive them. So, 30:42 each one of these tools are ways that you're 30:46 re-establishing their value in God's eyes 30:49 and that God can forgive and transform. I just 30:52 want to jump in one second for Peggy and Jay. 30:54 Are you all involved when they do the 30:56 giveaway and stuff, or is that separate 30:58 from when you go into the prison? - We're 31:00 in together, but it's a separate program, 31:04 the way it's set up in the room. - Okay. 31:06 - We do the Knitting Hearts with Jesus. We're 31:10 both the teachers, and we are grouped together. 31:15 We read the Bible and knit together. - Okay! 31:18 Wonderful. - I just want to make one other 31:20 comment. One other thing that we talk 31:22 to them about, we talked about the verse 31:24 in Proverbs that says, "The righteous man falls 31:26 7 times and rises up again, but a foolish man 31:29 falls and stays down." So, we talked about the 31:32 only difference between a righteous man and a 31:34 foolish man is that when the righteous 31:36 person falls, they ask God to forgive them 31:38 and get back up. So, we encourage them, 31:41 "You're going to fall when you go home, but 31:45 ask God to forgive you and get back up and 31:47 keep going, because God wants to make you 31:49 into a beautiful, beautiful vessel." 31:53 - Amen. That's precious, Carol. I see you have 31:56 a letter here, too, before we jump to the 31:57 Knitting Hearts program, 'cause our time is 31:59 going. It always goes too quickly, so let's 32:02 hear a letter. - Let me read this. This is 32:04 from one of the women that participated in 32:06 our LAMB program. She says, "I just got done 32:11 making two packages for my two daughters with 32:14 you, and as I write to you right now, I 32:18 have tears in my eyes. The love and kindness 32:21 that went into making those beautiful blankets 32:23 and getting those books and teddy bears so that 32:26 my connection? with my daughters 32:29 is overwhelming. I was sentenced to 6 years 32:33 in 2012 for a drunk driving car wreck that 32:36 almost killed my best friend and I. My only 32:39 child at that time was 6 weeks old. I served 32:43 2 and a half years and came home in February 32:46 of 2015. Life was difficult upon my release. I had 32:50 a very abusive man in my life, my daughter's 32:53 father, and I was so full of guilt and pain 32:56 for leaving my child for the first 2 and a half 32:59 years of her life that I was stripping to make 33:02 great money. In my mind, stripping made 33:05 it possible financially to do extraordinary 33:07 things for my baby, and I? 33:10 I became pregnant with my second baby. 33:14 I danced until I was 5 months pregnant. 33:17 I wanted to turn to God at that time but 33:20 was, again, full of guilt, now because I 33:23 was trying to live two different lives. I felt 33:26 I couldn't go to God until I was ready to 33:30 live right. I loved God but wasn't living the 33:33 life of a godly woman. When my second baby 33:36 was three months old, I picked up my third 33:38 DWI while also on parole for drunk driving 33:42 car wreck. I was sent back to prison. I have 33:46 missed both of my girls' first words, 33:48 first steps... I've missed it all. The 33:51 guilt that I carried with me the first time 33:54 is only intensified now. I struggle with 33:57 my one-year-old because I feel I'm 34:00 wrong for showing her love when my 4-year-old 34:03 is the one left hurting. My oldest and I are 34:07 so close, I thought I could make up for the 34:10 lost time when I came home last time. 34:12 Unfortunately, time is the only thing that 34:15 once we lose, we can't get back. It's not 34:18 possible for me to put into words how much 34:21 it means to me and my girls to be able to 34:23 send them this package. I felt connected to 34:26 them as I sat with the teddy bear and blanket 34:29 in my arms, knowing it would soon be in 34:32 theirs. Thank you so, so much. I don't know 34:36 where you and your church came up with the 34:37 idea to even help mothers in prison. I often 34:41 feel like the bad momma. I put things before 34:44 my daughters. I used to look around my 34:46 church and wonder how I got so far off track 34:49 in my life. If I would've just put God first. 34:53 Money has always been the demon in my life. 34:56 I should be released in February. So much 34:59 of my time of my daughters' lives I 35:01 would have missed. Will I try to compensate 35:04 for all my time gone again or will I let 35:07 God lead? Only time will tell. When you 35:11 prayed with me, that is the first time 35:13 anyone has taken the time to pray for me 35:15 and my children. I can see God in you and 35:18 couldn't stop staring at you. I hope one 35:21 day, I'm more like you- a beautiful, godly, 35:24 selfless woman. Thank you from the bottom 35:27 of my heart. Today reminded me of what I 35:30 have to live for: myself and my children. 35:33 You gave me that reminder and filled me 35:36 with the hope I had lost. I will hold onto 35:39 that during my dark days. God bless you and 35:42 all the women who made it possible for me to 35:44 reconnect with my girls with this gift." - Amen. 35:51 It's beautiful. It's beautiful to see how 35:53 God can use each one of you, how God can 35:57 use you at home. At the end of the program, 36:00 we'll talk about ways you can get involved to 36:02 touch people's lives for eternity. What 36:05 we want to do right now, I want to make sure 36:07 we get this video in and we don't run out 36:08 of time. So, we're going to go to a video that, 36:11 actually, Carol's son, Mark, put together. In 36:14 addition to being able to speak and share 36:16 the Word of God, he's an excellent videographer/ 36:19 cinematographer. We want to go to 36:22 an overview video of the LAMB and Knitting 36:24 program now. 36:33 There's tremendous need-often an unseen, 36:37 unknown need of incarcerated men and 36:40 women. Many of these men and women have 36:43 grown up in really, really sad situations 36:46 that have led them into a life of crime 36:49 and into a life of drugs and alcohol. 36:52 And yet, their hearts are crying out. They 36:56 desperately want something better, and 36:58 their hearts are crying out for 37:01 understanding, for help. That need has 37:05 deeply touched my heart. As I thought about 37:09 what I could do to reach out and help these 37:12 suffering men and women, my heart was really 37:15 touched by the thought of the women who 37:18 have infants, toddlers, and young children, 37:21 and they're separated from these children. 37:24 My mother's heart that loves my sons 37:28 thought, "What can I do to help these 37:30 mothers show, in a tangible way, their 37:34 children how much they love them. So, we 37:37 decided to start the program called the 37:40 LAMB program. It's an acronym for Love 37:42 a Mother's Baby. In this program, the 37:45 mothers are allowed to choose a handmade 37:48 blanket, a stuffed animal, a Bible story 37:51 book, and to write a personal note to their 37:54 child. As these children hold the stuffed animals, 37:59 as they hold the blanket, they can feel in a 38:03 tangible way that their mother really loves them, 38:06 that their mother cares for them, that their 38:08 mother is thinking about them. We've talked 38:12 with the women about the fact that the best 38:15 gift they can give their children is 38:17 themselves, and the only way that they 38:20 can give themselves to their children is if 38:23 they develop a personal relationship with Jesus. 38:26 So, we offer them the book Steps to Christ so 38:30 that they can learn to know Jesus for themselves. - We 38:35 send our kids cards all the 38:37 time that we make, and handkerchiefs, but 38:39 this is something more intimate. Like, they get 38:43 to touch and feel. Whenever they think 38:45 about us, they get to touch the softness 38:47 of the animals, the blankets... We're 38:50 not close to them, so it's something to 38:52 make them feel like we're close to them. 38:54 "Our mom is right here," and not just 38:57 the card where you, for a while, put in a photo album. 39:00 This is something that you touch, so it's 39:02 more intimate. - A lot of times, women... They're 39:06 separated from their families, they're 39:08 separated from their kids, they don't have 39:10 the bonding that they normally would have 39:12 with somebody on the outside, so this 39:14 gives them an opportunity to actually start the 39:17 bonding process again with the kids. Hopefully, 39:21 by the time they get out, they'll be able to continue 39:23 it. - Another amazing ministry that God has 39:27 given us is the Knitting Hearts Together with 39:29 Jesus program. In this program, we have 39:33 about 40-50 women that we break into small 39:36 groups that we teach to crochet. This 39:41 teaching them to crochet is teaching them a skill. 39:44 It's also doing a lot to build their sense 39:47 of self-esteem and self-worth because 39:49 they're mastering a skill. When they have 39:52 learned to crochet, then they have the 39:55 opportunity to make a baby blanket, a 39:57 stuffed animal, scarves, or various other objects. 40:01 These objects, we have been using to give back 40:04 to the community to help children and other 40:07 people. So, this gives the inmates a sense 40:10 that they're really contributing to the 40:13 wellness and health of somebody else. As we're 40:16 crocheting with them, we also have the 40:19 opportunity to study the Bible with them. 40:22 We've been going through the book Steps to Christ 40:25 as well as the Bible, encouraging the people 40:28 to develop a personal relationship with Jesus 40:32 and to learn how to walk with Him day 40:34 by day. - The Knitting Hearts has been amazing 40:38 for the women-women that sometimes think they 40:41 can't do anything. They've never been told, "Good 40:45 job," you know? "Look at what you made!" They 40:50 take that and they find out that they 40:53 can be creative. - It gives you a sense of 40:55 pride. It makes you feel like you're actually 40:57 doing something good. It makes me feel like, 41:00 because I've manipulated people so much in 41:03 the past and I've used people, it makes me 41:07 feel like I can actually change and do something 41:10 better for folks instead of, "me, me, me." 41:15 - Well, initially, when I started this program 41:18 about 7 months ago, I thought, you know, 41:21 it was just something to do, but the Bible 41:25 study that we did, the Steps to Christ, has 41:28 helped me come to my salvation. Being able to 41:31 give back to the community... I'd always- before 41:35 my incarceration, I was always in the 41:38 taking and never giving back; but since I 41:42 received Christ through this program, it's 41:45 just opened up a whole new world to 41:47 me. Without this program, I don't 41:52 know... I'd still be lost. - Amen. What 41:57 an incredible roll. It makes me want 41:59 to get involved. We hope it makes you 42:01 want to get involved at home, as well. Now, 42:03 we talked about the LAMB program, but we 42:05 haven't talked about the knitting program. 42:07 So, Jay, you want to talk to us about that? 42:10 'Cause this was your first time even getting 42:11 involved with knitting. Or, crocheting, actually. 42:14 - Yeah! Knitting and crocheting. I said 42:16 in the beginning I didn't want to do it, 42:20 'cause I never really learned how to knit 42:22 or crochet before. And as a man, I'm like, 42:25 "Okay." Then the first day I got there, I 42:28 see everybody knitting, and I'm thinking, "I 42:32 can't just sit here and do nothing." So, 42:34 I got involved and I said, "Okay." Then, we 42:36 tried. It was very easy. I think as a man 42:40 coming into a woman's prison, it has a little 42:44 bit of impact a little bit, because a lot 42:48 of time, these women don't have very good 42:52 role models of men. That's probably one of 42:55 the reasons why they're there. So, I think it's 42:59 giving a good impression on them to- as a man can 43:03 get involved in these kinds of programs, as 43:05 well. - Yes. Now, you go in- is it once a 43:07 week that you do the knitting program with 43:09 them, or...? - We do twice a month, two 43:11 Sundays, and we are there for about 3-4 43:16 hours. We work with them and we knit with them, 43:22 we crochet with them, and then we have Bible studies. 43:24 - You mentor them, too. - Yes! Mentoring 43:28 is important. - Mentoring is huge. They need 43:31 that time to be able to talk and share 43:33 about how they feel and to have somebody 43:36 listen. - Amen. We have some pictures 43:38 of the knitting program, I think, Jay. Let's see 43:41 if we can look at those knitting pictures. 43:43 Crocheting pictures! It's wonderful. So, what 43:47 sort of things do they make? We can just 43:49 roll through the pictures. What sort of things 43:50 do they make? - They make blankets, sometimes 43:54 they make smaller blankets, and you can 43:58 see some of the examples over here. - Nice. And 44:02 they put it together into a big blanket. We 44:03 saw that in the last picture. - Yes. - I 44:05 love that. - Sometimes they make little stuffed 44:08 animals. There are some examples of stuffed 44:10 animals, and some purses like that. - Aww, 44:15 how cute! I love it. Aw, that's precious. 44:21 So while they're crocheting, you're 44:23 doing Bible studies with them, right, Piggy? 44:24 - Yes. We all- Jay and I, and there are 6-8 other 44:29 volunteers in total that are also helping 44:33 and teaching. So, I just wanted to say 44:37 what a blessing it is that I did not know 44:41 how to crochet when I first came in to the 44:44 prison. I was taught by one of the ladies 44:48 there, but I'm coached constantly by the 44:53 inmates. Some of them know how to crochet 44:55 immediate- I mean, they have known since 44:57 they were little, and they just pick it up 44:59 again. So, it's really been amazing for me 45:02 to learn from them, and they love to teach. 45:04 But the Bible study is a huge blessing for me 45:09 and for them. Particularly one lady that I work 45:14 with, she is so, so on fire to know the answers 45:20 to things that some may think are just, 45:23 "Oh, why would you ask that." Sometimes, 45:26 she even feels, "Oh, I shouldn't ask that. 45:28 It just is such a dumb question," but I tell 45:31 her, "Ask anything and we'll go to the Bible 45:33 and we will find the answer," and we do. 45:36 That's one of the things that makes me really 45:40 excited to sit down with them: to listen to 45:43 them and to study with them. It could 45:46 be something as simple as, "Why do we pray?" 45:49 I was just asked that. Why DO we pray if 45:51 God knows everything already? - It's a good 45:54 question. - I just said to her, "Let's 45:58 look in the Bible and let's just talk about 45:59 why we pray-what God says about prayer and 46:03 how it's such a beautiful way of communicating 46:06 with Him. So, we do study with them through 46:10 the Bible and Steps to Christ and we point them 46:13 always to the Bible to find the answers 46:16 to any question that they may have. - It's 46:19 just like your Bible study groups at church. 46:22 It's just that you're around in a circle, 46:25 and they're all very, very good people. I 46:29 feel like these are just like church friends and 46:32 church brothers and sisters who are with 46:35 us, studying together, and it's been a really 46:37 amazing journey that we have gone through. 46:41 - Amen. What powerful testimonies. We have 46:43 one more video we want to go to right now. 46:46 - As I've worked with these inmates, God has 46:48 put such an incredible love in my heart for 46:51 them. They have truly become my brothers and 46:54 sisters. It's true that they've made mistakes 46:57 in life, but they are God's precious children, 47:02 and God is calling us to reach out to prison 47:06 inmates. I love the passage in Matthew 47:08 where Jesus says, "As you've done it unto 47:11 the least of these, my brethren, you've 47:13 done unto Me. As you've gone into the prison 47:16 to visit these people, you've been doing it 47:19 to Me." - Visiting people in prison gives 47:23 them a sense of value. If you can take the 47:28 time to commit yourself, once a month, once a week, or once 47:34 every two months and share the love of God 47:37 through this program, it will impact more than 47:43 you know. It will give years of value, years 47:47 of encouragement to someone who might not've 47:51 had that experience in their lives. - If you are 47:57 considering doing this in your area, do it. 48:01 Every prison facility that I know of, it's 48:05 always looking for volunteer work, anything that 48:08 can help the offenders do better, think more 48:12 positively, give them more pro-social skills, this 48:16 actually helps them do that. - When the 48:17 people first started here, I noticed that 48:21 some of them were kind of apprehensive, 48:23 especially some of the older ladies. Now, it's 48:28 just like it's their family, and they see 48:31 how it helps the offenders so much that they 48:35 have truly received a benefit from it. I think 48:38 that they can't wait to come and to be a 48:43 part of it! They enjoy it and they talk about 48:45 how much of a blessing it's been to them. 48:47 So, if you have the capability, it's going 48:50 to be wonderful for everybody. Anybody 48:52 that is capable of doing it should. - Amen. Praise 49:01 God for what He is doing through LAMB 49:04 and Knitting Hearts Ministry there in 49:06 that prison. Carol, I know the Bible studies- 49:09 before we went to the roll, we talked about 49:11 the Bible studies that you all use. You're 49:13 using a special Bible study series through 49:15 Young Disciple. - Yes. We're using a program 49:17 called Light for Learners. It is 49:19 part of the Young Disciple Ministry 49:21 Bible lessons which they are redoing specifically 49:24 for the prison. - Nice! - These lessons have 49:27 been well received; not only the Steps to Christ, 49:30 but I use these lessons that I mail into inmates 49:33 across the country, and inmates have told 49:36 me that they love them. They teach practical 49:39 Christianity. "How do I live a Christian 49:42 life?" Through Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, 49:47 Christ Object Lessons, how do I live a practical 49:50 life? We've been told by the inmates that, 49:53 in their opinion, they're one of the 49:56 top Bible lessons that come into the prison. 49:59 They love them, so I would encourage our 50:01 viewers to get in contact with Young Disciple 50:04 Ministry and to use these Bible lessons 50:07 in the prisons. My goal would be to get these 50:11 Bible lessons in every prison across the United 50:13 States because they are having such a 50:15 phenomenal impact on incarcerated men 50:19 and women. - Amen. I know we have their 50:21 address up on the screen now, but if, per chance, 50:23 you didn't get to write that down, you can 50:26 always contact us here at 3ABN and we'd love 50:28 to put you in touch with the Young Disciple. 50:29 That is a blessing. - Such an incredible 50:32 blessing, such an incredible blessing. 50:35 - Amen. - So, I would just encourage our 50:38 viewers to get involved. This has been just an 50:41 amazing journey. God has put such a love 50:44 in my heart and Peggy's and Jay's and the other 50:47 teachers for these people beyond what I 50:50 ever dreamed. I would encourage people to 50:52 get involved, to reach out to prison inmates, to 50:55 see the great need. There's a slide that 50:59 shows the tremendous increase of numbers of 51:02 people that are incarcerated today. 51:05 Since 1980, it has jumped almost 2 million 51:09 people. - Oh, that's tremendous. - That is 51:12 just... So, in my opinion, it is one 51:15 of the greatest mission fields in the 51:17 world. We don't have to go to Africa, to 51:19 China. We have a mission field in our 51:21 backyard that can have a profound impact in 51:25 changing people's lives. - Amen. Well 51:29 right now, what we want to do is put up 51:30 the contact information for this incredible 51:32 ministry. Just as Carol said, you don't 51:36 have to go overseas. You have a mission field 51:38 at your next door with those who are 51:41 incarcerated. So, if you would like to 51:43 support this ministry with your prayers or 51:45 financial support, if you would like to get 51:48 involved and want advice on how to 51:50 start a similar program in your church community, 51:55 in a local prison near your church, here 51:57 is how you can contact them for yourself. 52:00 - If you've been touched by their testimony, 52:05 we invite you to prayerfully consider 52:06 supporting the LAMB & Knitting Hearts Together 52:09 with Jesus Programs and their special ministry 52:12 to offenders and their children. We also invite 52:16 you to consider starting up your own prison 52:18 ministry in your church. To find out more, 52:21 please visit their website, AustinSouthSDA.com. 52:26 That's AustinSouthSDA.com, or call (512) 442-7888. 52:34 You may also write to them at LAMB & Knitting 52:37 Hearts Together with Jesus 132 Eberhart 52:41 Lane, Austin, Texas 78745. |
Revised 2018-12-11