~ Proverbs 16:9
Good morning!
Thank you for your prayers for Mike and I as we entered the Youth Authority last night.
The young men had a difficult day yesterday. This is Peace Officer's Memorial Week and yesterday there was a lunch at the facility for the entire staff held out front of the facility on the lawn. In order for the maximum number of staff to be able to participate, the young men were "down" (locked up) in their cells most of the day. The unit that Mike and I are working with has no air conditioning. So the young men were basically locked up, with no air conditioning in a very old building all day yesterday.
The reason I'm sharing all this is because when we arrived, they were all out on the athletic field. Most were playing soccer, some were playing basketball, and others were just hanging out under some trees. Mike and I had the chance to get acquainted with one of the guards on the unit, and with one of the psychologists. The first hour we were there, we were simply hanging out, watching them "work off some steam".
Our meeting and the time of our arrival was "supposed to" be very intentional, per the directions we received on Wednesday. (This is where God starts to get busy!) They had told us they were going to select 12-15 young men to be in our group, that it would be mandatory participation. This hadn't been done. (By MEN at least!!) So it was quickly decided that last night's meeting would be voluntary, and the psychologist tried to "drum up" some attendees for us.
I have to admit that as we were standing outside, all sorts of junk started going through my mind. Maybe this isn't such a good idea afterall. Maybe we aren't really wanted here - by the staff OR by the young men. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The enemy was busy trying to sneak in and take over my thoughts. But oh no... God was with us, providing strength and courage and we were covered by many prayers and had prayed together as we entered to be surrendered to His mission.
When the boys moved inside, the guard explained who we were - but the boys remembered us from our last visit. The guard explained that whoever wanted to stay and hang out with us could. Out of 33 boys, 17 of them stayed. God's group!
We had an hour and a half inside with God's group - aged 16 - 24. I had a list of names, but they willingly shared their id numbers and some asked to be added to a pen-pal list. (If you're interested, let me know.) Mike and I shared about ourselves and gave a short message about Jesus and what we believe. We wanted them to know from the get-go that we live for and serve Jesus, but the purpose for the first three visits is to start building trust and relationship. It was a beautiful exchange.
The boys were respectful. They participated. They shared the best thing that had happened to them in the last week - which included everything from, "I graduated high school" to "My dad came to visit me." Some couldn't think of anything positive - so we talked about what they could hope to share when we come the next time. There was some fun bantering, but it was under control. A 16 year old with a 15 year sentence reached out to Mike a couple of times, calling him by name and teasing. I loved that.
The Holy Spirit was present, and I have no idea what I even said for most of our time together. All I know is that at the end, we asked all the boys to stand together in a circle so that we could close in prayer. Every boy stood, and the young man standing to my left rapidly grabbed my hand and held tight. I told them I would open in prayer, Mike would close, and that God wanted to hear from each one of them. Every boy prayed aloud. They thanked God for many things and several asked for strength. Mike was on my right and I was squeezing his hand so tight, I'm surprised he had any blood left in it by the time we were done. It was hard for me to hold back the tears as we prayed together because it was such a beautiful thing.
We know that every visit will not go smoothly. We know that every boy will not be reached or even willing. But God's group had hearts and ears open last night. They were hungry for attention, for information, and for hearing why we were there. They readily received what we offered... Next visit is July 8th.
Relationships were born last night. Identification numbers became names and faces for us. The first brick of trust was laid on top of God's truths. We came home full of peace and joy and looking forward to the next visit.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
Susie
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Lazaro is 19 years old. He has been incarcerated for 5 years and will be released in 17 days.
- Steven is 18 years old. He has a 15 year sentence and has been incarcerated since 2008.
- Kyle is 18 years old. He has had one good week, which he was very grateful for but has no confidence in continuing on a good path. He wants to be able to say he's had three good weeks when we return on July 8th.
- There is a guard on the unit - it was difficult to communicate with him last night. Our message is to the staff as well as the youth.
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