And it shall come to pass that BEFORE they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I WILL HEAR. ~ Isaiah 65:24
Humanly speaking this is IMPOSSIBLE, but with God ALL things are POSSIBLE. ~ Matthew 19:26
Answer my prayers, O LORD, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful. ~ Psalm 69:16
...for you answer our prayers. All of us must come to you.~ Psalm 65:2
Hi everyone,
We watched God do amazing things yesterday and we are excited to share them with you.
We arrived at the prison in Chino around 7:30 yesterday morning (we had NO traffic!!). Kemone was not released until about 10:30. It was wonderful to see him walking towards us. I cried when I hugged him and he said, "Hey, no crying!" All he had was a ziploc bag full of letters, and a bowl that held two bears carved out of soap that had his little brother's names on them. One of Kemone's "friends" inside had made them for him. They had given him $200 "gate money", but then deducted about $30 for the pants he wore out.
We talked for a couple of minutes and asked him if he wanted to get clothes or food first. He chose clothes. We headed to Walmart where he and Mike entered and looked around. Kemone was unable to make any choices and came back to the car. Kohl's was next... same result. Marshall's... same result. "Can we get some grub?" So we headed to hometown buffet.
Even inside of hometown buffet, it was very difficult for Kemone to choose what he wanted. Too many choices, so much freedom, nobody's giving orders. He entered the system at 15, and came out at 18. For the last three years he hasn't been able to make ANY choices for himself... now his "chooser" is broken. He filled his plate three times, then headed for the ice cream sundae bar. His bowl was so full that it overflowed a bit, but watching him eat ice cream was a delight. We talked about treasuring freedom. We talked about remembering how bad it was in prison - that the farther away from it he gets, the harder it will be to remember how bad it was, but that he MUST remember in order to make choices to stay free. We talked about finding a church family. He talked about the books we sent to him and the penpal we connected him with. It was the most comfortable conversation we'd ever had with him and there was much laughter.
After Hometown Buffet, we headed to Victorville. His mom called and they chatted on the phone briefly and agreed to meet at the Parole Office. After we parked, Mike and I prayed for Kemone - again asking for kindness and compassion for Kemone, favor in the eyes of anyone who helped him, and we asked God to put believers in Kemone's path while we were there. Many of you were texting me and confirming that you were also praying, thank you so much for that!!! As soon as we got out of the car, we must have looked a little lost, because someone said, "What are you looking for?" "Parole!" "Go right around the corner, the door's open." We didn't even have to ask, people were offering help.
We entered the office and found many parolees seated around the room. Kemone was terrified. He signed the sign-in sheet, an after awhile realized he needed to push a button and announce he was there and who he needed to see. His Parole Officer came to the door and called his name - he approached her and she said, "What are you doing here today?" She told him she'd be back in about 15 minutes. After 45 minutes, she called him back. He didn't take us with him... so we waited... and prayed. After a short time, his mom arrived with his two little brothers. She let them know she was there and wanted to participate in the conversations/planning. We all waited. After an hour and a half, they called his mom back. She re-emerged within a few minutes with tears streaming down her face, saying she had to go. She took the little ones and left. We were left a little perplexed.
After a few more minutes, Miss Hanz, the parole officer called us back. Before she even had us through the door, she was apologizing for the conversation on Monday (What? Compassion and kindness already? Alrighty then!!!) We sat down in the room with Kemone and she asked him if there was anything that he did not want her to discuss with us. He said no... and the explanations began.
Kemone is a sex offender and cannot be around children, including his little brothers. He is also not allowed to be with his mother. Thus, they were not even able to say hello yesterday even though they were in the same building. He will be on parole for 5 years (not 3 years as we thought), and has to wear an ankle bracelet. After she ran through all the facts, she then said, "We have a sober living house available for him, in fact there is someone in the waiting room ready to pick him up already." She then went on to explain that the housing is $450 a month, but they had agreed to take him for the $100 he had in his pocket. "The housing is run by Christians," she said. "They will help him register with law enforcement, apply for foodstamps, get some clothes, take him to parole orientation... and by the way, this house JUST opened up, and he will be the first resident there." Important to remember that she was NOT expecting to see Kemone yesterday - he was on her list for today - Thursday. After explaining everything - with kindness and compassion - she looked at Mike and I and said, "Can I ask you something? Are you religious? Because I've never seen this situation work out like this before."
BINGO!!! :-) In a room with Kemone, Ms. Hanz and two other parole officers we were able to proclaim our faith in God, and share that over 50 people are praying for Kemone and his release. It was so glorious, I cannot even tell you. I gave her our prison ministry card that has all of our contact information, to add to Kemone's file - and one of the other parole officers asked for a card too. It was amazing.
Ms. Hanz, shared with us how impressed she was with Kemone. No prison tattoos, no gang banger attitude, he's intelligent and articulate, no violations while inside, no write-ups, she started commenting on all of the positive characteristics in Kemone that we have come to love. She saw HIM yesterday, she saw past the label. And she wanted the best for him. It was amazing to see how every specific prayer that we had asked for, God had answered yesterday. It was beyond humbling. We watched God work.
She took us out to the waiting room where she introduced us to Lettie, the housing contact. She told Lettie that we are approved to communicate with and visit Kemone. Lettie and I had a conversation and she was a kind and compassionate woman... another answered prayer. Lettie is a believer... another answered prayer. Lettie and I exchanged contact information and then I said to her, "Lettie, this boy is very special to us. He is a good boy... he is smart and capable. He is a hard worker. It is very important to us that you take very good care of him!!" She smiled and said, "No problem." I hugged her with tears in my eyes and thanked her for the services she provides and said, "God bless you for what you do."
Mike took Kemone out to the car to gather his belongings - his ziploc bag. He asked Mike to send the bears carved out of soap to his little brothers. It broke our hearts to see him drive away with someone he doesn't even know... but Mike and I were both overwhelmed with so much emotion after seeing God take such good care of Kemone and provide everything he needs right now to be safe, fed, helped and cared for as he adjusts to his new life, by people who know what they're dealing with and know how to get it done.
Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for caring about Kemone and speaking his name to God and asking God to provide. Thank you for continuing to remember him in your prayers going forward. Join us in praising the Father today for doing such a great and mighty work before our eyes yesterday. Please join us in prayer as we reach out to various contacts to find funding support to keep Kemone in the sober living house until he gets his feet on the ground, has a job and can afford to pay the rent on his own.
We see frequent trips to Victorville in our future... and will keep you posted on Kemone's progress.
We love and appreciate every one of you.
Learning to love like Jesus,
Mike and Susie
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