Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210041A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:02 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:17 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:28 Removing pain 00:33 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:49 Mending broken people 00:54 I want to spend my life 01:00 Mending broken people 01:15 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:17 We're so very glad that you have joined us today. 01:20 And I hope you saw the wide shot 01:21 as we just came to Jill and myself here. 01:23 Yes, there were 10 people. 01:24 Did you count them all? 01:26 There are 10 people on the set today. 01:27 And there you go, very good. 01:29 Thank you Tyler Walker for showing the wide shot. 01:32 And, oh, yes, this is a one-hour program too. 01:35 And, yes, we're going to talk to everyone on here, 01:37 and yes, today is going to be a power-packed program 01:39 about what God is doing. 01:41 3ABN is going behind bars, 01:43 and today is about prison ministry 01:45 and about what God is doing. 01:46 And I know, sweetheart, 01:47 prison ministry means a lot to you too 01:49 and today's an exciting program. 01:50 It does indeed. 01:52 I love going behind bars 01:53 and ministering to the people there. 01:54 And 3ABN, as you know, 01:56 is the mending broken people network, 01:58 seeking to reach people 02:00 at their deepest needs and to fill them. 02:02 So 3ABN loves the Ministry of Christmas Behind Bars. 02:06 Amen. 02:07 Our Brother Lemuel Vega, 02:09 and we love every opportunity 02:11 that we have to partner together 02:13 in taking the gospel of hope, 02:15 of healing, and restoration behind bars. 02:19 So that's what we're talking about today. 02:21 It's how 3ABN went to prison. 02:23 So we are a... 02:25 Went to prison for the purpose of evangelism. 02:27 Making it kind of sound bad, you going to prison, 02:30 but yes, evangelism. 02:31 And that's what 3ABN is all about. 02:33 We want to say thank you for your prayers 02:34 and financial support for the ministry. 02:35 Absolutely. 02:37 We're going to introduce the family here right now. 02:38 This is our 3ABN family 02:40 and some of these people you might not always have seen 02:42 because some of them work behind the scenes, 02:44 so this is exciting. 02:45 To my right is Brother Luis Jaen, 02:47 and he is a director here at 3ABN television director. 02:50 And how long have you been here? 02:53 I've been here a year and a half. 02:55 And what do you do here at 3ABN? 02:57 Well, I've done camera, 02:59 I've done video graphics, 03:01 but lately I've been directing a lot more, yes. 03:04 And we... You do an incredible job. 03:06 And your family... Tell us. Your family's here too. 03:09 Yeah, my wife works here also in media. 03:12 And well, I have two kids, a son and a daughter. 03:15 And they're adorable. I just want to say that. 03:17 Sitting next to you is Ian Vandervalk. 03:19 And you and your wife 03:20 and your whole family are here too. 03:22 But Ian is a floor director here 03:24 and tell us how long you all have been here 03:25 and about your family? 03:27 Alright. 03:28 We got here in January 03:29 so we've been here about six months. 03:31 And like you mentioned, my wife is here. 03:32 She handles makeup as well as... 03:34 She's on camera and my daughter 03:36 who works in housekeeping. 03:38 And as you said, I'm floor director 03:39 so I just manage everything that's here 03:41 on the site as the program is going on 03:43 and prior to the program. 03:44 Do you like being on this? 03:45 It's different being on this side 03:47 versus telling us all what to do? 03:48 This is definitely different. 03:50 I think I like telling you what to do. 03:55 It's great. You do a wonderful job. 03:56 So glad you're here too. Thank you. Amen, praise God. 03:58 And sitting next to you is our Brother Lemuel Vega. 04:00 Amen. We love you and your wife. 04:02 We love your heart for ministry 04:04 and you're, of course, the founder, director, 04:06 you do everything there at Christmas Behind Bars, 04:08 but just glad you're here. 04:09 Thank you. 04:11 Good to have you here and, Lemuel, 04:12 great smile always. 04:13 Don't see you without a smile. 04:15 You must sleep with a smile on your face too. 04:18 Amen. Good to have you here. 04:19 So we're going to talk about Christmas Behind Bars 04:21 in just a moment. 04:22 But sitting next to Brother Lemuel 04:23 is Ben Lingle, 04:25 who's really head of our audio here at 3ABN. 04:28 And how long have you been here? 04:29 You kind of grew up here. 04:31 I did. 04:32 I've lived here all my life in West Frankfort. 04:34 I guess we're in West Frankfort 04:35 but anyway, yeah, head of audio 04:37 and I've been here probably around six or seven years now. 04:39 Wow, incredible. Doing audio. 04:41 It's been a... 04:42 You know, only a couple years 04:44 since I've taken the step of being head 04:45 but, yeah, I've been doing audio for about that long. 04:47 Amen. 04:48 Ben's an incredibly gifted musician as well. 04:50 I know we featured you on 3ABN doing things, 04:53 but you're incredibly gifted at that. 04:54 Sitting next to you is someone who's gifted and creative. 04:59 Amen. Incredibly creative. 05:00 Brad Walker is senior television director, 05:03 editor, many things here at 3ABN. 05:05 I think that just means I'm old 05:06 And you've been here since you were... 05:10 Right out of high school in 1990s 05:11 when I started working here. 05:13 So my wife, Valerie, she was... 05:15 She started even before me back in the late 80s. 05:18 So, yeah, we've been around for 05:20 at least since 7:30 this morning. 05:25 You do incredible work, Brad. Thank you. 05:26 And a lot of you at home, 05:28 you see a lot of the creativity aspect, 05:29 a lot of the programs and the... 05:31 What do we call it? More complicated programs. 05:33 Brad's the mind behind a lot of those, so thank you. 05:36 Amen. 05:37 It's always my pleasure to work with 3ABN. 05:39 I love being on the... 05:40 Behind the cameras for sure. 05:42 You look great though Brad, don't worry. 05:44 What I love about it is 05:46 my son is directing the show right now 05:48 and, of course, my daughter, and my niece, 05:50 and guys over there so, 05:52 yeah, it's a great place to work. 05:53 Ain't that a blessing family? 05:55 You know we love your family, so glad they're here. 05:57 And speaking of family, 05:58 we have Jewlee Meadows who would be... 06:00 Is your niece. That's right. 06:01 And your video graphics here at 3ABN. 06:03 Yes ma'am, that is true. 06:05 We started working here about two and a half years ago. 06:09 We started on Kids Network 06:11 and then we just joined production about a year ago. 06:13 So it's been a lot of fun being on both sides of, 06:15 you know, production, getting to see how things work. 06:18 It's a lot of fun. 06:19 And I was going to say your sidekick, 06:20 but maybe you're her sidekick, 06:22 so maybe you go to help us. 06:26 Sitting next to you is Tiara Walker 06:27 and you all are cousins. 06:29 We are. We're cousins. Yeah. 06:31 And you do an incredible job, I know, for Kids Camp. 06:34 You did an amazing work with that. 06:36 That was fun. That was fun. 06:37 And for other things here at 3ABN too. 06:39 So, Tiara, you're in video graphics too? 06:41 I am. Yep, I do video graphics. 06:43 Like she said, we started here about two and a half years ago 06:46 with Kids Camp, and then we went to production, 06:48 and, oh, we have so much fun in production. 06:50 The crew is so much fun. It's a blessing to be here. 06:52 Amen. 06:53 We love having both of you here. 06:55 Amen. 06:56 And last but not least, is Jason Bradley, 06:58 general manager of Dare to Dream Network. 07:00 I'm glad you're here, Jay. 07:02 It's great to be here. 07:03 I've been here about seven and a half years, 07:06 a little over seven and a half now. 07:07 Wow. Time flies. 07:09 Yes, time flies, so excited to be here. 07:12 Amen. 07:13 Oh, yeah, it's a blessing to have you here too. 07:15 And I'm looking forward to today's program. 07:16 There's a lot of people on the set, 07:18 we got a lot of exciting things to share. 07:20 So should we talk about Christmas Behind Bars? 07:23 Yes. 07:24 Lemuel, someone may say, 07:25 okay, I don't even know what Christmas Behind Bars is. 07:27 So give us a quick snapshot? 07:28 Christmas Behind Bars combined with 3ABN 07:31 is an opportunity to reach hurting receptive people. 07:36 So people have done things wrong, 07:37 they're incarcerated, 07:39 they're in a place in their life 07:40 where they wish they wouldn't have. 07:41 And it's just an opportunity 07:43 to go ahead and tell them, "Hey, we love you. 07:45 God loves you." 07:46 And bring them something tangible. 07:48 Might be a Bible, it might be a bag full of goodies, 07:52 it might be hygiene items. 07:53 It's just like, "Hey, we care. 07:54 We love you, no strings attached. 07:56 Here's what's helped us in our lives." 07:58 And every one of these people come into the jail, 08:00 you'll see that. 08:02 And they testify what God has done for you. 08:03 They care, they shared a skit, they share their love. 08:06 And that is... That's magnificent. 08:09 So Christmas Behind Bars is just a... 08:11 I shouldn't say "it's just a" 08:13 because God designed it, God ordained it, 08:16 it was His idea, 08:17 it's His design to be able to go into these places 08:21 and let them know that we care 08:22 and there's hope for their life through Christ. 08:24 That's what it's about. 08:26 So why did you get involved in prison ministry? 08:30 Because I myself was in jail and it's a really lonely place. 08:34 And your people forget, 08:35 your friends forget all about you. 08:37 The letters don't come no more. 08:39 There's no one to accept your phone calls. 08:40 And there you are 08:42 wishing that you could go back and change 08:44 what it was that you did wrong. 08:47 And what I realized through the whole journey 08:49 is the doctors can't help us with their medication. 08:51 Prison doesn't change us, college can't educate us. 08:54 The internal problem in our lives and it's Christ. 08:58 So the simplicity of the gospel as Jason has shared 09:01 through analogies 09:03 to let the people know simple methods 09:06 is how Jesus taught the people. 09:08 Practical wheat and the tares, 09:10 and practical things they saw every day. 09:12 And so that's what we've kind of worked with, 09:14 with the new program called... Unshackled Purpose. 09:17 Unshackled Purpose. 09:18 So I'm really excited about that. 09:19 So Christmas Behind Bars is... 09:23 We wanted the world to know 09:25 that they can reach out to these people 09:27 through 3ABN prison ministries and Christmas Behind Bars. 09:29 And, you know, Brad Walker came one day to the prison 09:32 for the first time 09:34 and he's the one that said we should make 09:36 a series out of this whole program. 09:37 And that... 09:38 So that's where Free Indeed came from. 09:40 And now through that, 09:41 that's where Unshackled Purpose is. 09:43 And so, it's just to reach these people 09:45 because it's primetime in their lives. 09:47 And I know that Christ is able, 09:49 so we want to let them know the answers. 09:51 So... 09:52 Yeah, Brad, when did you then first connect with Lemuel? 09:54 Because I know, Lemuel, 09:56 you've been coming here for a number of years. 09:57 But how did that connection start? 09:58 Yeah, it's probably 15 years ago. 10:00 Wow. We... 10:01 Dee Hilderbrand actually found Christmas Behind Bars 10:04 and did some research 10:06 and she was trying to figure out 10:08 a quick Christmas story. 10:09 And we're like, "Well, Christmas Behind Bars, 10:11 that sounds a little different. 10:12 Let's do it, do that program." 10:14 So little did we know 15 years ago 10:17 that Lemuel's just been an amazing mentor in my life 10:21 and just an inspiration of 10:23 how somebody's just sold out for the lord 10:25 and he can't hold it back. 10:28 He has to go tell somebody about the Lord, 10:31 and it's just been an amazing. 10:32 They came out to the church to film the gift packaging. 10:35 So they came out to the church to film that 10:38 and then I said, "What about the delivery?" 10:40 And so then the prison allowed cameras 10:42 and people to come in to do, 10:44 to do the filming inside the prison. 10:45 And that's phenomenal, maximum security prison. 10:47 And so then it was his idea, 10:49 so the Lord is just continuing to orchestrate this. 10:52 So the gift packages. 10:53 Tell us what are in the gift packages? 10:54 Gift packages bottom of the bag, 10:56 creation magazines, devotion materials, 10:58 book and Bible study offers. 11:00 3ABN has an offer in there to send Bibles and... 11:02 So bottom of the bag, devotion material, 11:05 and then it doesn't matter what's on the rest of the bag. 11:08 Okay, it can be snacks, chips, cookies, cashews, almonds. 11:11 It can be granola, it can be hygiene items. 11:14 So we just try to give them a gift that's 11:15 something they don't have. 11:17 Yeah, because this is not something 11:18 that they can find easily. 11:20 Yeah. This is tremendous for them. 11:21 And Christmas Behind Bars, 11:22 this doesn't just happen in December. 11:24 No, that's how it started 25, 28 years ago. 11:28 It just started in the month of December 11:29 because Christmas is the loneliest time 11:31 of someone's incarceration. 11:33 Yep. They're lonely. 11:34 They're thinking of something better, 11:36 a better day if they ever had one in their life, 11:37 they're thinking of Christmas. 11:39 And so that's the beauty of the gospel. 11:41 Mm-hmm. Yeah, amen. Thank you. 11:42 So, Brad, going into the prison, 11:44 'cause Lemuel just kind of alluded to this 11:45 as far as bringing equipment and cameras 11:46 into maximum security prisons. 11:48 I mean, you've seen 11:49 some miracles take place, right? 11:51 I mean, this isn't necessary an easy going into. 11:52 We've been into maximum prisons... 11:55 Death row. Death row. 11:57 We were able to... You went to death row? 11:58 We take drones across, inside before the... 12:01 There was laws to stop us from doing that. 12:06 The guards in the prison, you know, 12:07 they was all like out and playing with the cameras 12:09 and the equipment. 12:11 And the Lord just opened doors. 12:13 We took our production truck inside the prisons and into... 12:17 Did concerts and services in there. 12:20 So it's incredible when God opens the doors 12:24 and we're just going where the Lord open. 12:28 Yeah, this to me is a miracle 12:29 because it's not like we're sneaking this stuff in. 12:30 Oh, no. 12:32 I mean, you know, they know and they allow it inside 12:34 to get these testimonies. 12:36 So what's been the feedback? 12:38 Oh, phenomenal. 12:39 We just went to a prison in Texas, 12:41 a women's prison last week. 12:43 Lockhart, Texas and I mean, the stack of letters 12:46 of appreciation. 12:47 So I mean, the appreciation is phenomenal. 12:49 So you'll be seeing some letters 12:51 from Lockhart, Texas, from the women's prison there 12:53 to send materials so it's amazing. 12:55 They say that... 12:57 They look at people and they say, 12:58 "Well, if God can change your lives, 13:00 surely He can help me." 13:01 And, you know, we're not talking about 13:03 people that's... 13:05 You don't have to be drug addicted 13:07 to go in and tell them there's hope for their life. 13:08 You don't have to have been incarcerated. 13:09 I mean, wherever spectrum that Jesus has helped you 13:12 in your life, you just roll it to them. 13:14 It flows, so. 13:16 We support Christmas Behind Bars 1000%. 13:18 We believe in the ministry and what you are doing 13:21 and you're an inspiration. 13:23 Jill and I have had the opportunity of going 13:25 behind bars with Lemuel and some of the crew. 13:28 And to just see you minister, 13:30 which we're going to go to some roll 13:31 and talk about the most recent experience 13:32 that took place when 3ABN went behind bars, 13:35 but you're an inspiration. 13:36 How you can take everyday items, let's say, 13:40 and make it applicable to us today. 13:43 And really, it comes down to Jesus loving us 13:45 and that there is actually hope 13:46 and that there's actually purpose 13:48 for my life and for someone else's life. 13:50 And I'm not just here by accident, 13:51 but God has a plan even if we've all messed up. 13:55 And so thank you for your heart and your passion. 13:57 We're talking about the smile that was on your face. 13:59 And I'm not kidding. 14:00 He is always... See, there you go. Good shot. 14:03 But, you know, and I know you get tired, 14:05 you know, we know that the devil throws darts at you 14:07 but you still just keep on going. 14:10 So we continue to pray for you. 14:11 And at the end of this program, 14:13 we'll be putting up contact information 14:14 on how you can support. 14:16 Jill will talk more about those details. 14:17 But be ready for that 14:19 because however the Holy Spirit is impressing you, 14:20 this is a fantastic ministry and you're changing lives. 14:23 And only in eternity, Lemuel, will you really, 14:26 fully realize the impact 14:27 that you and your ministry have made... 14:29 Thank you. In many people's lives. 14:31 Praise God for that. 14:32 We're going to transition in just a moment here 14:34 because this entire group went to the Boone County Jail, 14:37 and we're going to hear some of them went in jail 14:40 for the first time to minister. 14:42 We're going to hear what that experience was like, 14:44 what God did in and through that experience. 14:47 We're going to talk about to Jason about 14:49 this brand new prison ministry program 14:52 that Lemuel put together with our team here. 14:54 But before we transition for that, 14:57 I was thinking, Brother Lemuel, 15:00 what if someone is saying my family is incarcerated? 15:04 I don't know if there's hope for them. 15:05 I don't know what to do for them. 15:07 What would you tell them? 15:08 Oh, I'd say there absolutely there is. 15:10 You know, my mother never lived long enough to see... 15:13 She prayed for me and prayed there'd be change in my life. 15:15 She never lived long enough to see change in my life. 15:18 But absolutely there is. 15:19 Don't give up praying because when you pray, 15:22 you're giving God permission, not that He needs it, 15:25 but God the power of salvation 15:27 and through the Holy Spirit is a willingness. 15:29 And so we try to encourage these inmates willingness 15:32 to ask God for help. 15:34 But as the family members pray 15:35 for that one that's incarcerated, 15:37 you're giving God permission. 15:38 You're saying, "Hey, will you go?" 15:39 And it doesn't matter what the devil say, 15:41 "Will you go? 15:42 Will you continue to work with my loved one behind bars?" 15:44 So there's hope. 15:46 Amen. 15:47 Jason, you were just involved with production here 15:51 with Unshackled Purpose, 15:52 which is this brand new program. 15:54 And I think many of the people around this table, 15:57 all of you were involved in that as well. 15:58 So everybody was involved. 16:02 But talk to us about that 16:03 and why you all decided to go to Boone County? 16:07 Man, this was such a wonderful experience. 16:11 We went to Boone County to get some B-roll 16:15 and to really put on a program for the inmates 16:18 and to show them that they are cared about, 16:20 they are... 16:21 There are people that love them. 16:23 There's a God in heaven that cares about them, 16:26 wants to spend eternity with them. 16:28 And so we went in there to share the hope 16:32 that comes through Christ. 16:33 And we got to capture all of that on film 16:36 for Unshackled Purpose 16:39 and a variety of other purposes, 16:42 one in which we'll see in just a little bit too. 16:44 But we, you know, we passed out those gift bags, 16:47 we got to hear some amazing skits, 16:50 and a couple of us may or may not have been crying 16:54 when we saw this take place. 16:57 It was powerful. 16:58 You know, I went in there 17:00 and shared my testimony with them. 17:01 And at one point in my life, 17:04 I was looking down the barrel 17:05 at a potential maximum prison sentence of 15 years. 17:08 But God saw fit to spare me from that 17:11 and blessed me with a second chance. 17:13 And so just to go in there and tell the men and women 17:17 that there's a better way of life for them. 17:20 And so Unshackled Purpose is a program that... 17:25 Where it features like practical applications. 17:29 For example, Lemuel can take a toilet paper roll and say, 17:33 "Hey, you know, what is this? 17:35 This toilet paper, what does it do? 17:38 It cleans up messy external situation. 17:41 Jesus cleans up the inside." 17:43 And so he talks about that, 17:45 he talks about the living water. 17:47 Would you rather clean water, dirty water? 17:50 What would you prefer? 17:52 So like, there's so many different things 17:54 that he just picks up 17:56 and he just gives these illustrations 17:58 that have a spiritual application, 17:59 and you walk away remembering that application. 18:03 And so we went in there to do that. 18:05 Amen. 18:06 Speaking of those applications, 18:09 we're going to put you on the spot. 18:10 I remember when we went into prison with you, 18:12 you talked about you held up a $1 bill, 18:14 and you talked about that? 18:16 Can you give us that illustration? 18:17 Yeah, it wasn't my illustration. 18:19 I heard it and it just fits so well. 18:22 If you take a $50 bill or a $100 bill 18:24 and you ask the people, how many people want it, 18:27 and some of them will raise their hand. 18:28 I said, "Look, man, I'm serious. 18:30 How many of you want this? Raise your hand." 18:32 But then you wad it up 18:33 and, you know, you say, 18:34 "How many people still want that?" 18:36 And they raise their hand 18:37 and then you throw it in the trash can. 18:39 "And how many of you still want it?" 18:40 And I say, "Why?" 18:41 And they'll jump up and they'll say, 18:43 "Because it's still a $20 bill, or it's still $100 bill." 18:46 And I said, "Man, that's what God wants to do 18:47 with our lives." 18:49 Because in Genesis 1:1, 18:50 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 18:51 Most people believe that, then raise your hand, 18:53 but we were created in God's own image. 18:56 So our value even though we may be rumpled and crumbled, 18:59 and as we come to Christ, He'll begin unfolding 19:02 and He'll smooth it out. 19:03 We may still have scars, but that doesn't matter. 19:06 In eternity those will be erased away. 19:09 That's beautiful. Amen. Amen. 19:12 Yeah, I love those illustrations. 19:13 And, Brad, just talk to us briefly about it too 19:14 because when we... 19:16 The location that we found for this program, 19:17 Unshackled Purpose, was here locally. 19:19 Yes. 19:20 So when we started this, 19:22 it was during the COVID pandemic. 19:23 That's right. 19:24 And so even Lemuel was having a hard time. 19:27 He was still delivering packages, 19:29 but the visitations and stuff had to halt for a time. 19:33 And so what we found was a museum locally here, 19:36 a prison museum. 19:38 Yes. 19:39 And so, we asked the owners there 19:41 could we use this for illustrations 19:44 to tell people about... 19:46 Amen. 19:47 And that they been opened it up 19:49 and allowed us to come in and we did the whole season. 19:51 Right in the middle of wintertime 19:53 is I believe when we went in there. 19:54 There was no heat down in the... 19:55 In there. 19:58 But even in an abandoned jail we found the Lord down there. 20:03 So, yeah, God delivered. 20:05 I was able to stop in just a little bit 20:06 and it's powerful, just powerful. 20:07 So praise the lord. 20:09 Let's talk about in Boone County. 20:10 So God opened a miraculous door there too 20:13 because, Lemuel, you had not been able to go 20:15 into any prison or jail during COVID, right? 20:16 That's correct. 20:18 We've been delivering thousands and thousands of gift packages, 20:20 but the staff all pass... 20:22 Pass them out. 20:23 The whole crew was able to go in there with cameras 20:25 and just everything we wanted, needed. 20:27 They even put extra officers there for us. 20:29 Yes, it was phenomenal. 20:30 This was our first visitation. Amen. 20:33 So then Jewlee and Tiara, 20:35 Lemuel asked you two 20:37 to go into the jail there in Boone County. 20:39 Yeah. 20:40 So tell us a little bit about that? 20:41 Yeah, well, actually, just a little back story on us 20:44 is we used to be in a drama team 20:46 for eight years. 20:48 And so we would travel around 20:49 preaching the gospel through skits and dramas. 20:51 And so when Lemuel asked us to come 20:54 speak to these ladies, 20:55 we thought maybe we could do a skit for them. 20:58 So we really prayed about it. 20:59 And we felt like 21:00 God impressed us to do this skit. 21:02 And it's kind of just about baggage 21:05 and how we all have baggage and that it's heavy 21:08 and, you know, it weighs you down. 21:10 And sometimes you pick it up yourself, 21:11 and sometimes people put it on you. 21:13 But we have a God 21:15 that wants to take that baggage from you. 21:17 So that's kind of what we wanted to, 21:19 you know, show the women there at the prison. 21:21 Right. 21:22 And he asked us, would you speak to the women? 21:24 So we were like, "Okay, yeah, yeah." 21:25 So we practiced this skit probably hundreds of times. 21:28 We were like, we're going to perform at once, 21:30 and it's going to be awesome, 21:32 like we want to get this message across. 21:33 So we walk in the prison 21:34 thinking, "Okay, we're going to perform the skit one time, 21:36 so it's got to be great." 21:38 We walk in there and the jail commander, 21:40 Captain Turner, I believe 21:42 he said, "We actually have two rooms of women. 21:44 Would you guys mind performing the skit twice?" 21:47 And we're like, "Okay, yeah, 21:48 you know, it's a little longer skit 21:49 so we'll pray for some energy." 21:51 You know, so we went in 21:52 and we performed the skit for the first cell block. 21:55 And Captain Turner just was like, 21:58 "This message was just amazing. 22:00 I mean, the Holy Spirit was in that room." 22:01 Oh, yeah. 22:03 And he says, "I want every single inmate 22:04 to hear this skit." 22:06 He says, "Not just that, 22:07 I want my staff to hear this skit." 22:09 So he asked as personally, 22:10 "Would you guys mind going to the men's ward 22:12 and doing it for all of the men?" 22:14 And we went, "Okay, yeah. We can do that." 22:21 So we walked in thinking we'll perform it one time, 22:23 and we actually ended up performing that skit 22:25 eight times in every single room. 22:28 And it was exhausting. 22:29 I'm not going to lie, it was exhausting, 22:31 but it was an amazing experience. 22:32 So amazing. 22:34 One of the best experiences we've ever had. 22:35 Absolutely. Yeah. 22:37 So that's your first time going into jail, prison? 22:40 First time. First time ever. 22:42 What did it feel like walking in the first time to you? 22:45 It was scary. 22:47 I'm not going to lie, Greg and Jill, it was scary. 22:48 It was scary. It was scary. 22:50 When we first were asked, we were really excited. 22:51 We're like, "Yeah, yeah, 22:53 you know, this is an amazing opportunity." 22:54 And then once it started getting closer to time, 22:56 we realized we don't know what to expect. 22:58 Yeah. Sure. 23:00 You know, so it was, it was a big step out in faith, 23:02 you know, and we were really nervous. 23:04 But I mean, God showed up 23:05 and, you know, you hear that scripture verse, 23:07 "I can do all things through Christ." 23:08 And you know, you hear that a lot, 23:10 but when you actually live it you realize, 23:11 Oh, I can do all things through Christ. 23:13 God just helped me do that, you know? 23:14 Yeah. 23:15 And I feel like we had all these worries in our minds. 23:17 I remember we were practicing and Tiara just stops. 23:20 And she's like, Jewlee, 23:23 how are we even qualified to do this? 23:25 She says, "They're not going to listen to us." 23:28 Like, you know, Lemuel, 23:29 he has a testimony that they can relate to, 23:32 and Jason has this testimony they can relate to them. 23:35 But like, how can we relate to these people, you know? 23:39 We're like, we're young. 23:40 You know, we've never experienced 23:42 something like this. 23:43 So what qualifies us that they would listen to us? 23:45 You know, and there's a lot of doubt and fears. 23:48 And every single block we went to, 23:49 especially after he asked us go to everyone, 23:51 we're like, "Oh, okay." 23:53 So we prayed for the Holy Spirit and that, 23:55 you know, he would just open people's hearts. 23:57 God would just open people's hearts 23:58 to listen to us. 24:00 And all those fears, 24:01 you know, were just something to try to get us to not do it. 24:03 But, you know, we got through it with God 24:05 and it was amazing. 24:07 I'd like to... Go ahead. Well, it's crazy... Go ahead. 24:11 Let's keep going on. Go ahead. You go ahead. 24:14 I'd like to say there was total silence in the room. 24:16 There were tears in people's eyes. 24:18 There were big tough men 24:19 and there were tears in their eyes. 24:21 And it was just phenomenal. 24:22 You talking about the Holy Spirit? 24:24 Captain Turner had been praying 24:25 before he even got the phone call 24:27 for us to go to his jail, 24:29 about us even coming at all. 24:31 He'd been praying for revival. Go ahead, Jewlee. 24:33 Yeah, well, we have just been taking 24:35 some discipleship training. 24:38 And for the past few months, 24:40 you know, we've just been saying, 24:41 take every opportunity that God gives you. 24:44 Every opportunity. 24:45 And so here God gives us this opportunity 24:48 to go into prison to speak to inmates, 24:51 and we were kind of like, "God, are You sure about that?" 24:55 But you know, it's an opportunity. 24:56 And so it's kind of like God's saying, 24:58 "Okay, you can talk the talk but now that it's time, 25:00 are you really going to walk the walk?" 25:02 You know? 25:03 So I think we can both say 25:05 we're very thankful we took that opportunity 25:07 because it's blessed us 25:09 more than we would have ever imagined. 25:12 That was what I was just going to ask. 25:13 How did it impact you? 25:17 Oh, Jill, 25:19 it changed my perspective on a lot of things. 25:22 You know, usually when you hear about prisons and stuff, 25:25 you think of these big tough guys 25:26 who just don't want anything. 25:28 But when we went in there with the love of Christ, 25:30 I mean, people's faces just changed. 25:32 I mean, we were even talking about it 25:33 afterwards, you know. 25:35 We walk in there 25:36 and everybody's kind of cold at first, 25:37 especially if they don't know. 25:39 And once Jason gave his testimony 25:40 and Lemuel came up there, 25:42 and people just showed them the love of Christ. 25:43 I mean, you could see their faces change. 25:45 And that really impacted, you know, 25:48 just the love of Christ. 25:49 How that can soften somebody 25:50 and just connect you to somebody. 25:53 You know, Brad, 25:54 you all came back from that trip 25:56 and I received a text from you. 25:58 I was trying to find if you actually text me. 26:01 I was trying to, yeah. 26:02 And you mentioned something. 26:03 I believe in that text you said, 26:05 "Greg, there was revival." 26:06 There was, yeah. Oh, wow. 26:08 So tell me about that? Because you don't usually... 26:09 I mean, that's kind of unusual, right? 26:10 You've been on a work trip, 26:12 because this is work too, but also its ministering. 26:13 It is. 26:14 You said Greg, the revival took place. 26:16 There was, not just with the people that you think 26:17 you're going to go in and your minister 26:19 or for us to the camera crew that's just going to go in... 26:22 You could think that it's a job. 26:23 I mean, it is work. I mean, Lemuel gets up. 26:25 If he sleeps any... 26:27 The night before getting everything prepared 26:29 or whatever. 26:30 But when you go in, you're thinking you're... 26:32 It's going to be exhausting trying to minister, 26:35 and witness, and talk to everybody all day long. 26:37 It's not the case. 26:38 It's just when you come in and you say God loves you 26:40 and there's hope for your... 26:43 This may look like a hopeless situation 26:46 but there is... 26:47 It's just an eye-opening to you. 26:49 It's... 26:50 So anybody that's not went to prison. 26:53 I think everybody that's here most of us now 26:57 experienced that when you go in there. 26:59 God is in the darkest corners of the places 27:03 and it's just amazing that 3ABN allows us even to do that. 27:07 And I thank you guys for allowing us. 27:08 Oh, it's our privilege. 27:10 No, yeah, it's phenomenal. 27:11 And it... It's inspiring. 27:13 I have to say it's inspiring. I'm sure for you at home too. 27:15 We receive a tremendous, of course, response 27:18 anytime we do anything on prison ministry. 27:19 So praise the Lord for that. 27:21 So Brad, Jewlee, Tiara, we're going to go to a video. 27:24 So all three of you, one of you tell us about the video 27:27 we're getting ready to see here. 27:28 Yeah, so it's just a little. 27:32 Yay. 27:33 So it's just a little video. 27:35 Just a little snip bits of things Lemuel had to say 27:38 and a little bit of Jason's testimony, 27:39 and you'll see a little bit of our skit. 27:41 You know, there's some dramatic parts in there, 27:44 just heads up, but you can see 27:45 just some of the faces of people 27:47 and in that connection, 27:48 that love of God in people's faces, 27:50 you can see that, so. 27:52 Okay. It's a real exciting video. 27:53 And thank you Brad 27:54 for putting it together as well. 27:56 Yes. 27:57 All right, so let's go to that video roll right now. 27:59 I know that no matter how hard and cold the exterior may seem, 28:04 I know that inside we hurt. 28:06 And so I got out of that situation 28:08 and then I hit a known drug area. 28:11 Went and bought some weed and some ecstasy 28:14 and I hit the block. 28:15 Only on this day I was forced into early retirement 28:18 because two cops came up from around the building 28:20 and wanted to search everybody. 28:22 So I go to jail. 28:24 Stomach still open, 28:25 gauze pads still covering my wound. 28:28 And I spent the night in there that night. 28:30 But for me that was my rock bottom. 28:33 They waited a year to take me to court 28:35 and on my paperwork 28:36 I saw that they could sentenced me 28:38 to a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. 28:41 God had a different plan for my life. 28:44 We're not here today to judge you or condemn you. 28:46 We're here today to tell you that we love you 28:48 and we understand the situation that you're in. 28:52 We can even either learn to forgive those mistakes 28:57 or pick up more baggage. 29:00 You know, it gets uncomfortable, 29:04 tedious, 29:06 and our natural tendency is to want to take this baggage 29:09 and dump it on to someone else. 29:13 But it always backfires. 29:15 Stay, Jewlee, I'm sorry. 29:17 I know that I'm your best friend. 29:18 This isn't happening. 29:19 Jewlee, just calm down. Let me explain. 29:21 I can't believe that you would do this to me. 29:23 You're supposed to be my best friend. 29:25 But you know what? 29:27 I guess that means nothing to you. 29:28 Yeah, it does mean something. 29:29 Jewlee, just let me explain. Why not just leave. 29:32 Jewlee, don't do this. Let me explain. 29:34 Leave. You did this. 29:38 Just get out. 29:39 Fine, I'll leave if that's what you want. 29:41 Well, that's what I want. 29:42 Fine, I'm going, 29:44 but don't forget who's been here 29:45 for you for the last six years, Jewlee, me. 29:52 God, please. 29:55 If you're willing, 29:57 would you take this baggage from me? 30:01 Please, God, I'm miserable 30:03 and I can't live this way any longer. 30:06 Please, take it. 30:19 Do you know what? 30:22 He takes it. 30:29 That's powerful. Amen. 30:31 Thank you all so much for sharing. 30:32 We had the privilege of seeing the entire skit. 30:36 You all came in the office and played that. 30:37 You did an amazing job. 30:41 It takes a lot of faith 30:42 to step out and do that, doesn't it? 30:44 Yeah, it does. Yeah. 30:46 We experienced a lot of boldness in our faith. 30:49 From that? 30:50 It was very much 30:52 a Peter stepping out of the boat moment. 30:53 You know, God gave us this opportunity 30:55 and we were terrified. 30:57 You know, we saw the waves, we saw the storm 30:59 but we walked out anyway. 31:00 And, you know, him asking us... 31:02 Captain Turner asking us to go and talk to all the men, 31:05 that was walking on the water a little bit more, 31:07 you know, and it was a great opportunity 31:10 to build our own faith and to help those... 31:13 Rather get a faith with Jesus 31:15 or start building their own while they're behind bars. 31:17 Yeah. 31:18 And it was a beautiful experience. 31:19 Absolutely. 31:21 And, you know, I wish I could describe 31:24 the feeling that we felt in that first women's block. 31:27 Just as soon as we prayed, 31:29 you could just feel God's presence start to move 31:32 through the whole cell. 31:35 And let me tell you, Jill, whenever God starts moving, 31:39 Satan is not happy about it. Not happy. 31:41 Because we experienced that in the very next cell. 31:44 The second one? 31:45 There was a lady in that cell who... 31:48 She just seemed to not want to hear 31:50 what we had to talk about. 31:51 Not that, not even just that, 31:52 she didn't want anybody else to hear it. 31:54 She didn't want anybody to hear. 31:56 Who is it? 31:57 Yeah, she was just yelling 31:59 and singing and hitting her bars and... 32:01 Flushing the toilet, having a echo everywhere... 32:03 It was so distracting. 32:05 And, you know, I felt very discouraged. 32:07 And I was like, man, we didn't reach these ladies 32:10 and no one heard a single word that we said. 32:13 No one was even paying attention. 32:15 And, you know, we started passing out the bags, 32:17 and everyone got their Bibles. 32:19 And Tiara and I went through 32:20 and we highlighted a few scriptures 32:22 for the ladies in the Bible. 32:24 And there was this one girl, Lauren. 32:26 Lauren. She's young. 32:28 She had to be close to our age. 32:29 Yeah, early 20s. Yeah. 32:31 And we were sitting in her cell 32:33 floor and we were just showing her 32:34 some of the scriptures that we had highlighted. 32:37 And I remember God telling me, 32:39 He said, "Jewlee, you need to pray for her." 32:42 And I said, "God, I can't do that. 32:45 I don't know what I'm supposed to say. 32:47 I'm not good at this kind of thing." 32:49 And He says, "Jewlee, you need to pray for her." 32:51 And I was like, 32:52 "But God, Lemuel, he's right outside here. 32:55 He could do it. 32:56 Anyone else, God, just not me." 32:58 And He said, "You need to pray for her." 33:01 And so I remember we get to this one scripture, 33:04 and it says, "I have come that you can have life 33:07 and have it more abundantly." 33:09 And I remember she pointed to that scripture 33:11 and she said, "That one. 33:14 That's what I'm going to have when I get out of here. 33:16 I'm going to have abundant life." 33:18 This is Lauren we're looking at right now? 33:20 Yeah. 33:21 And I said, "Lauren, you don't have to wait. 33:22 You can have abundant life right in here." 33:25 And she said, "I know." 33:26 And I looked at her I said, "Lauren, 33:28 can we pray with you?" 33:30 So then Tiara and I, 33:31 we grabbed hands, and we just... 33:33 We began to pray over her. 33:35 And you could just see tears 33:37 begin to just stream down her face. 33:40 And she said, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. 33:43 It's just you don't know what this means to me." 33:45 She says people don't do this. People don't do this. 33:47 She's been there for a while. 33:49 "People don't do that for us." Is what she said. 33:51 And honestly, that was the highlight 33:53 of the whole trip for me. 33:55 Just being there in that moment with Lauren 33:58 to see that transformation happen. 34:00 It was so powerful 34:01 because here we were discouraged. 34:03 And we thought no one got anything from this, 34:06 it didn't go the way we had planned. 34:09 Like God didn't show up like He did in the last one, 34:12 but little did we know... 34:14 We didn't know nothing. 34:15 God was moving in inside, you know? 34:18 You know, it's funny that we walked in there thinking, 34:20 okay, this is the way that we're going to witness. 34:21 This is, you know, what we're supposed to do. 34:23 We're supposed to do the skit. 34:24 You know, after that we're like, 34:26 well, that wasn't witnessing. 34:27 Nobody heard it. But God had a different plan. 34:29 And it's just amazing what happens 34:31 when you go in there thinking one way, 34:33 but you listen to God 34:34 and you go the other way that He has you to do. 34:36 And that experience with Lauren was absolutely beautiful. 34:39 It was beautiful. Praise God. 34:40 Wow, amen. Go ahead, Jason. 34:42 I do want to say that that young lady that was singing 34:44 and being all loud and all of that stuff, 34:47 directly after that, 34:48 Lemuel and I had a chance to pray with her, 34:50 to speak with her to all of that stuff. 34:52 So God was still moving even on her heart as well. 34:56 While they were praying with that girl 34:58 in that cell on the floor, we were there talking to her. 35:01 Amen. 35:03 That was the revival, Brad, that you texted me 35:04 about right after that trip was going on in the jail. 35:07 So Ian, Luis, I come to you guys here. 35:10 So you all went into the jail 35:12 in Boone County to run camera, right? 35:14 Your responsibilities 35:16 and take care of the work details, 35:18 but tell me about your experience in there, 35:19 because it wasn't just work? 35:21 Luis, let's start with you. 35:23 Well, we decided somehow 35:27 that I'm going to run one camera. 35:29 So I was getting all the close-up shots. 35:32 And then the first one like they were saying... 35:36 I mean, I know Jewlee and Tiara now for a little bit 35:38 and they always funny. 35:40 And, you know, I've heard some of their skits 35:43 and it's always funny. 35:44 And I'm like, well, 35:46 this is going to be one of those. 35:47 And I'm, you know, 35:48 recording the faces and they started talking 35:50 and you can feel the whole room. 35:53 Amen. It was something. 35:56 Amen. Because I started shaking. 35:58 Like, I was trying to hold the camera 36:00 and I'm like, "I'm not going to cry. 36:04 I'm not going to cry." 36:05 But I'm looking at the faces of the people. 36:09 Of the inmates. 36:10 Of the inmates and they're crying. 36:12 And I'm holding... I'm really like... 36:16 And, you know, it's a beautiful experience 36:19 because it's the first time I go into a prison 36:22 and it was incredible to see such a young people there. 36:28 And... The inmates being young. 36:30 The inmates being very young. 36:32 And, of course, Lemuel bring all this stuff for them. 36:39 But in reality, I think we took more. 36:42 They have more to give to us than what we gave them 36:47 because it was a beautiful experience. 36:50 Isn't that incredible? Amen. 36:52 You know, you go, yeah. 36:53 You're going to be a blessing, you end up being... 36:55 You're saying blessed more than you think 36:56 you blessed them. 36:58 Yeah, it's amazing. That's the Holy Spirit there. 36:59 What did you take away from it spiritually 37:01 in your own walk with God? 37:03 Well, visiting people in jail is something that God 37:08 tell us to do. 37:10 And in my case, I never did it before. 37:14 And I still think I didn't do it, 37:18 I just want to help in the recording. 37:21 But I can see why 37:23 because some of these people have no hope. 37:27 And even at the beginning of the skit, 37:29 they were laughing, 37:30 and, you know, to give 37:32 a little bit of happiness to somebody, 37:33 it fulfills you. 37:35 And then see them cry 37:36 and say thank you for everything 37:39 that we have done. 37:41 Even for the time we spend with them. 37:43 You know, God's tell you this is what you have to do. 37:47 You know, we have to give. 37:48 Amen. What about you, Ian? 37:51 So your responsibility there? 37:52 Well, yeah, I was the muscle really. 37:55 I had to carry all the bags and everything out there. 37:59 You carried the baggage. 38:03 And I kept an eye on Tiara and Jewlee 38:05 just to make sure that they were safe 38:07 because we are in a prison. 38:08 So we still have to, you know, maintain our awareness. 38:11 But you know, this was my first time 38:13 into a prison as well. 38:15 I had never done it before similar to, 38:16 you know, a lot of others here. 38:18 And I went in there just praying to God hoping 38:21 that I could be a blessing to somebody there. 38:23 Sure. 38:24 And as everybody else has said, 38:26 I in no way shape or form blessed anyone else. 38:30 I was the one who was blessed 38:32 because, you know, as they perform their skit, 38:34 you could see a lot of times that there were some prisoners 38:36 who were sitting there 38:38 and just wanted nothing to do with this. 38:39 You know, their very hard exterior. 38:41 Their faces were just showing 38:43 that they don't even want even the gifts. 38:45 Then there were some there who turned them away. 38:49 But as the skit went on, 38:51 you could just see God breaking down walls 38:53 one by one, by one, just tearing them down. 38:57 And you started to feel God's presence 39:00 just fill the room. 39:01 And, you know, that those hard exteriors that you saw, 39:05 those people who looked like they didn't care are now... 39:08 They're sitting forward and they're leaning 39:09 and they're watching the girls. 39:11 And then you start to see the tears 39:12 like everyone else is saying. 39:14 And, you know, and I was standing 39:15 next to Jason and I had my arms crossed 39:17 and I'm looking at him like, I'm not crying. 39:20 You know, but it was just amazing to see 39:25 these individuals 39:27 who just at first wanted nothing to do with it 39:29 and then all of a sudden, 39:30 you know, they want to talk to you. 39:33 They want to ask you more about God 39:34 and more about who He is. 39:37 And you try to impart some kind of wisdom on them, 39:40 but you just feel like you're, you know, you're not capable. 39:43 You're not qualified to do it. 39:45 But, you know, God doesn't call the qualified. 39:48 So He qualifies the called. 39:50 And, you know, and that's what I witnessed 39:53 also seeing with Tiara and Jewlee. 39:55 It was just incredible all the way around. 39:58 From seeing their skit 39:59 and how they were able to perform it, 40:01 how each individual cell block how they responded to it, 40:03 it was just... 40:05 It was amazing. 40:06 And my outlook on God was even strengthened 40:09 because you could see Him at work. 40:11 You can see God and the Holy Spirit 40:12 just working on every single individual there. 40:16 It was amazing. 40:17 Why do you think, 40:19 and this could be a question for anybody, 40:20 but I know you're talking right now. 40:22 Why do you think God shows up in such powerful ways 40:25 in during prison ministry? 40:27 I mean, at least from my perspective, 40:30 those prisoners 40:32 they didn't know what they needed. 40:33 You know, 40:35 they didn't know at the time 40:37 when they were first hearing this message 40:38 what they were going to get. 40:39 And I think as God impressed upon them, 40:42 and they started just to open up their hearts 40:44 just a little bit. 40:45 Just to open up that door just enough for God to get in. 40:48 That's when He just entered each one of their lives 40:51 and that's when they, you know, 40:53 you saw that light shine in them 40:54 and you saw hope in their eyes. 40:56 They didn't have it before and now they do. 40:59 And it was just God. 41:02 It was all God working. 41:03 Amen. 41:04 Now a lot of the times I think we miss a blessing 41:06 because we just don't obey what God is asking us to do. 41:11 I mean, like I said, you know, I don't want to go and, 41:16 you know, to have to give this to them or talk to them. 41:19 But then when you go, the blessing of being there... 41:24 Because it's the presence of God, 41:25 like they were saying. 41:27 I mean, you are what God wants to be with you. 41:31 And if you're there, then He's going to be with you. 41:33 And the blessing is for all of us. 41:35 Amen. 41:37 Yeah, thank you, 41:39 you know, for being willing to let God use you. 41:41 You know, you didn't go in just as a job, 41:43 you know, you allowed the Holy Spirit 41:44 to work through you. 41:46 And yeah, it's just as powerful. 41:48 Let's... Ben, you were there too. 41:50 And let's talk about your experience there too, Ben. 41:53 What you observed then also let's... 41:55 Lemuel as well. 41:56 Let's talk about the Captain Turner 41:57 'cause that's another key piece to this 41:59 whole revival aspect that was taking place. 42:00 Ben this... 42:01 Yeah, what was your experience? 42:03 Yeah, I was, you know, leaving when we left the prison 42:05 that day and it was a long day. 42:06 Yeah, we worked I think, like 15 or 16 hours, 42:09 because we started like 5:00 AM in the morning. 42:11 So it was really early. 42:12 Ben, did you have a smile 42:13 on your face at the end of the day? 42:15 You know, I did but I think it was kind of weaning off 42:17 at about 6 o'clock. 42:19 But anyway, 42:21 you know, I was so overwhelmed in a good way. 42:22 Being in the presence of the Lord 42:24 is such an amazing experience, 42:25 and going to those prisoners 42:29 and being able to witness to them 42:32 and to pray with them 42:33 was just something that strengthened my faith. 42:36 And really, there's something about... 42:38 Something that makes you bold 42:40 when you're with people who are fellow believers 42:44 and have the same drive 42:45 to share the gospel with people. 42:47 And I know I had the opportunity to play guitar 42:50 for Tiara and Jewlee at the end of their skit 42:53 and that was a lot of fun and a blessing. 42:55 But, you know, sometimes because we're in production 42:57 and it is work, it is. 42:59 And we sometimes get, 43:01 I guess you could say distracted 43:03 or caught up in the details 43:05 and the technical aspects of what we do 43:07 that we can sometimes forget 43:09 the impact that what we're doing is making. 43:12 So to see that in action was something that was... 43:15 Something that filled my spirit and I was blessed by that, so. 43:18 Was it your first time in a prison? 43:19 It was. 43:21 It was my first time ever going to a prison. 43:25 So, Lemuel, how often do guitars 43:27 and musical instruments get to make it behind bars? 43:30 Not very often. 43:31 Not very often. You did a great job. 43:33 So that was a real treat too. 43:35 Absolutely. Yeah. 43:36 So talk to us about Captain Turner, 43:38 because this is powerful. 43:39 Then Lemuel, Brad, you, you met the man. 43:41 I did. 43:42 You know, Captain Turner is probably 43:46 one of the most on-fire Christians 43:47 I've ever seen in my life. 43:49 I mean, this story, he told us 43:51 a little bit of his personal testimony 43:52 and how God pulled him out of addiction. 43:54 I think he was... 43:56 He had some past things like that 43:58 and it was just really touching. 43:59 And to see someone, a leader in that situation 44:05 who was so on fire 44:07 and so intentional of not only having the inmate 44:10 ministered to but also his staff. 44:12 That was something that was powerful to see. 44:14 And so I was just so like, just blessed by his presence. 44:19 He prayed with us. 44:20 He was so behind the mission of what we were doing 44:22 and so I mean, amazing man. 44:24 Just a blessing to be around him, so. 44:26 Amen. 44:27 He told me the sheriff asked him he said, 44:29 "What would you say if I wanted you to run my jail?" 44:32 He said, "I'd say you're crazy." 44:33 He said, "No, really, 44:34 what would you say if I asked you to run my jail?" 44:36 He said the same answer. 44:38 He said, "I'd say you're crazy." 44:39 He never had the experience of running a jail. 44:41 He'd been a correctional officer in a prison 44:43 for years and now he's there in the capacity. 44:47 He has all the other officers under him, 44:49 and it's just amazing that he said 44:53 that he'd been praying for revival 44:55 before we come to his place. 44:57 Before I even called him, he's been praying for revival. 45:00 And through what he said, I made a decision. 45:03 I had some study Bibles I had been saving 45:05 for some special circumstances. 45:07 Maybe somebody's got life in prison 45:08 or 20 years in prison or whatever. 45:10 I've been saving these study Bibles. 45:12 And I asked he said, "Will you bring them some study Bibles?" 45:14 So we took 150 of those study Bibles. 45:16 We gave every inmate one of those study Bibles. 45:19 They're very, very expensive. 45:21 And he just called, he sent me an email, 45:24 "I wanted to know if you could 45:26 get some Spanish study Bibles." 45:27 I felt so bad 45:28 because I said," Man, we're going to give somebody 45:30 a cheap $5 paperback study Bible 45:32 because it's Spanish." 45:34 "And here on the shelf 45:35 I found some of the same mission study Bibles 45:37 that we had that were in Spanish. 45:39 So I'm going to deliver those on my way home. 45:41 So God is good. Praise God. 45:44 Amen. 45:45 Jason, you met Captain Turner too 45:47 and interacted with him. 45:48 What was your feedback from that? 45:50 He's the type of individual 45:53 that gives you hope for humanity. 45:55 After meeting him, 45:57 I was just blown away that somebody 45:59 that's in the position that he's in 46:01 cared so much about the people that he's overseeing. 46:05 You can tell that he genuinely cares about them. 46:08 He cares about their well-being 46:10 and he wants to see them do better. 46:12 I remember we were sitting there 46:14 and he was sharing his testimony. 46:15 He even began to... 46:17 I don't want to put him on the spot, 46:18 but he may or may not have teared up a little bit. 46:22 And, you know, he's so incredible. 46:26 I'm searching for this. 46:27 Here it is. 46:28 There's a challenge coin that he gave to each one of us. 46:31 It says on the back integrity, leadership, loyalty, 46:36 professionalism, and commitment. 46:38 And then it has Bible verse reference on there. 46:41 John 15:13, and it says, "In God, we trust." 46:45 And so, it's just really, you know, powerful. 46:49 I don't know if this can get me out of a speeding ticket. 46:52 I don't know, but we might try that. 46:57 But he was just an incredible individual. 47:00 I looked in the mail the other day, 47:02 what I saw on my desk, actually, 47:04 that I had a card from him. 47:07 Unfortunately, someone had passed away 47:09 and he sent his condolences. 47:11 That's a... 47:12 He's a busy, busy, busy man and sent his condolences. 47:17 That's the type of guy that he is. 47:19 Just the real deal. The real deal. 47:21 You know, he believes in Jesus and it just shines through him. 47:27 It shines through him. 47:28 He was... He's a big guy. 47:30 Nice uniform, you know, serious face. 47:36 But when he opens his mouth, he was a blessing. 47:39 He was a blessing. 47:41 Amen. He's quick too. 47:43 I saw him pull those cuffs out. 47:47 I was like, wow. 47:51 So, yeah, amazing guy. 47:54 Brad, this is for you kind of putting you on the spot here. 47:57 Thank you. She warned you. 48:01 So I know working with Christmas Behind Bars, 48:04 of course, is work too. 48:06 But tell me 48:07 why are you so passionate about the ministry 48:09 of Christmas Behind Bars, 48:11 and why do you go above and beyond 48:12 and work with this ministry? 48:14 Well, I don't want to say it's selfish reasons. 48:17 But when you're... 48:19 When you get to minister to people 48:21 that just there's no light involved in their thinking, 48:27 they think there's no hope 48:28 and you give them that little spark 48:30 and you see something growing out of that. 48:34 Almost addictive, I guess. 48:36 When you can see the work 48:38 and just see the people that Lemuel's and his team 48:41 and the work that they're doing going into places... 48:45 You know, prison's not a place 48:47 that Christians even like to go to. 48:50 So a lot of the times, 48:51 you know, the work isn't being done. 48:54 And when Lemuel comes there you can you can hear 48:58 so many people knowing Lemuel 49:00 through the bars or through the windows, 49:02 they'll see him walking down. 49:03 It's because, I think, he gives them hope 49:05 when a lot of Christians aren't doing the job 49:08 of spreading the Word. 49:10 And, yeah, it's... 49:11 I think there's addiction of seeing the spread of God 49:16 in places where 49:18 it's the darkest corners of the world, 49:20 it seems like, and you bring in light 49:23 into a darker world. 49:24 It's a life changing experience for sure. 49:27 We can't wait for the next one. 49:28 Yeah. We're ready to go. They're ready to go. 49:30 They're ready to go and do this again. 49:32 We're all in with this. 49:34 So, Lemuel, our time has gone by so quickly. 49:36 So... 49:37 But tell us some goals, 49:38 some needs maybe for Christmas Behind Bars 49:40 and Jill will give the contact information that... 49:42 Well, we could use diesel fuel money. 49:44 I mean, to go to Texas it was like over $1,000 49:46 to take the packages down to Lockhart, Texas. 49:49 We'd like to get a truck of our own right now. 49:51 We have a truck that someone's just letting us use 49:54 and so, yeah, Bibles. 49:56 We need Bibles, you know, so people can send 49:58 new or used Bibles. 49:59 Send them to us. 50:01 Send them to 3ABN 50:02 and I know you'll get them to us soon. 50:04 Anyway, this is called energized evangelism. 50:06 So thank you, Mr. Walker. 50:08 Everybody here, thank you. 50:10 Yeah, you know, for as Christmas Behind Bars, 50:12 you know, you're talking about those packages 50:14 and things that are going there. 50:15 And I love that you have in there the literature aspect, 50:17 but also a way for people to contact. 50:19 Correct. Right? Yep. 50:20 So that's a... 50:22 3ABN has a part in that too and it's a blessing. 50:23 We believe in, of course, our prison ministry. 50:26 So ways that they can contact Christmas Behind Bars. 50:28 Absolutely. 50:30 I can't believe this program has gone by in such a hurry 50:32 with so many stories, so many testimonies. 50:35 You know, what I love... 50:36 One of the things I love the most about 3ABN 50:39 is that the people who work here, 50:41 this is our family, our family right here. 50:43 They are passionate about sharing Jesus. 50:47 I mean, that's why we come to work every day. 50:49 That's why we do what we do, because we want to see Jesus, 50:53 as Brad said. 50:55 I love that, Brad. Come to the darkest places. 50:58 And, you know, Isaiah 60 says, 50:59 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, 51:01 and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." 51:04 There's darkness in this world 51:06 and no place is darker than in prison 51:08 where there's no hope. 51:10 So what we want to do right now 51:12 is if you want to help support 51:14 the ministry of Christmas Behind Bars. 51:17 If you want to financially support them 51:19 with that diesel fleet fuel 51:20 so that Lemuel can keep trucking 51:22 and keep delivering packages. 51:24 If you would like to buy a truck 51:26 or support or give some money to help purchase a truck 51:31 for Christmas Behind Bars. 51:32 If you would like to support the Bible initiatives 51:35 so that they can bring Bibles into prisons. 51:39 At 3ABN, here we stand with the ministry 51:42 of Christmas Behind Bars 51:44 and we want to encourage you to do so as well. 51:46 We're going to give you their contact information 51:48 right now. 51:51 If you would like to financially support 51:53 Christmas Behind Bars 51:54 and help bring Bibles to those in need, 51:57 you can mail in your donations 51:59 to PO Box 474, Bluffton, Indiana 46714. 52:05 You can also contact them by phone 52:07 at (260) 824-3182. 52:13 That's (260) 824-3182. 52:17 You can also email them 52:19 at contact@christmasbehindbars.com 52:24 That's contact@christmasbehindbars.com |
Revised 2021-08-13