We went back to Wabash Valley Correctional Facility on Saturday to follow up with the participants and every one of the offenders showed up. We have not seen this happen at other facilities.
I can finally share some details about the incredible Kairos experience with the inmates at Wabash.
Our first meeting with the inmates went very well. You could hear the laughter and joy out in the hallway. There were a few wise guys among the participants, one who refused to wear his name tag, but put it back on later in the weekend. Another large, tough looking offender introduced himself to team members as “a bad man” and we watched him cry for two days straight.
There was never a moment that members of our team felt unsafe. Inmates and staff trated us with respect all weekend.
Saturday we really started seeing walls break down and the offenders were more and more into learning about God. One of our team members delivered the best talk I’ve ever heard about racism and we could really see the walls come down after that. For more, be sure to read the previous blog entry with closing comments.
There were some funny moments too. The smallest offender there was the one who ate the most. In fact, we had to keep an eye on him to keep him from smuggling food out od the chow hall. At the end of the day last Saturday, he had baggies of cookies stuffed in his sleeves, pockets, and down his pant legs. He got caught because the baggies of cookies started falling out of his pant legs when he walked.
At our follow up visit on Saturday, I was really blessed by one of the inmates. Another one of the “tough guys” showed a tremendous amount of heart and compassion. He approached me and asked if he could give up his pizza at lunch and give to a guy in the infirmary who is dying of cancer. After checking with authorities, I went before the entire group and asked them if they would sacrifice a little of their pizza so that we could provide some for all of the guys in the infirmary. The vote was an enthusiastic yes! These inmates wanted to share the love of Christ that they’ve experienced with a dozen ill inmates.
It looks like revival is coming to this maximum security prison. I’ll keep you updated as we go back for our monthly follow up gatherings.