Free Indeed

Putnamville Correctional Facility

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Lemuel Vega (Host), Sidney Fox, Timothy Englert, Rick Hayes, Kenneth Hopkins, Joe Asher, George Whirley, J'arius Beck

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Series Code: FIN

Program Code: FIN000013


00:08 On today's program, we travel
00:10 to the Putnamville Correctional Facility in Indiana.
00:14 Program has a lot to say,
00:16 we have a message from Lemuel Vega.
00:18 Then we have an interview with the program coordinator
00:22 who sort of coordinates the inmate population
00:25 with people who come in
00:26 and try to supply services and programs to them.
00:29 His name is Rick.
00:30 Lemuel Vega gets a chance to talk with him.
00:32 We have found that many of the individuals
00:34 who are incarcerated have
00:36 really quite outstanding musical talent and ability.
00:39 Some are singers, some are singers and musicians.
00:42 Some play piano, many play guitar,
00:44 others play various kinds of instruments.
00:46 Well, there is a surprising wealth of talent
00:50 that is behind these bars and in these institutions.
00:53 We get to meet one today one such young man,
00:56 his name is J'arius. He is a singer.
01:00 He is a songwriter.
01:01 He has a very interesting message.
01:03 He's gonna sing a song called "Use me Lord"
01:05 and one of the things that he says
01:07 is that he used to sing for the wrong reasons.
01:10 Now he's singing for the right reasons.
01:12 He is singing indeed for Jesus Christ.
01:15 We meet Chaplain Joe.
01:16 We meet Kenneth and Tim.
01:20 We meet Sydney who has a lot to say,
01:23 who gave his heart to the Lord
01:24 through Christmas Behind Bars
01:26 and through contact with 3ABN.
01:29 And of course we meet George.
01:30 We've got a good program.
01:31 We've got a lot to say to you.
01:33 Listen and give ear, you'll be blessed.
01:48 I'm reminded of John, the Gospel of John in 14,
01:53 Jesus really starts talking about how,
01:56 "If you love me, you'll keep My commandments." Amen.
02:00 And He goes through that, and He talks about
02:01 His peace being in us and our joy, His joy being in us.
02:07 And somewhere and about the middle of 15
02:09 and He says that joy will be complete.
02:12 But when you take all that within its context,
02:15 it's serving like Christ did as where you get the joy
02:20 and where you get the peace.
02:21 You know we work with a lot of people
02:23 and we've all experienced trying to get joy
02:27 outside of Christ and that's what sin is.
02:30 Taking joy or peace or comfort,
02:33 and chasing after anything before Christ
02:35 and then when you really do, you know,
02:40 because of His love, love Him back and by doing,
02:43 that's where you really get joy,
02:45 and that's where you really get the peace.
02:47 And if we watch your DVDs, you see that in the people
02:50 that are putting those sacks together.
02:52 I mean it's a joy just to watch them.
02:55 When you can get 350 people together in a warehouse
02:58 and put together 15,000 packages
02:59 and fill three or four semi trucks,
03:01 that's amazing. Yeah.
03:02 But here's where the rubber meets the road
03:04 is once the packages are full
03:06 and the trucks are full, we come down
03:08 and ask you if we can come into your prison
03:11 then you have to coordinate dates,
03:12 extra staff and all kinds of things.
03:14 So we thank you in the volunteer position,
03:17 we thank you and we wish you
03:18 God's rich blessings. Thank you.
03:20 I've been struggling,
03:24 trying to do things on my own
03:33 I've been now, lots of up and down
03:40 Seen the whole world
03:42 come to the ground But this is what I did
03:46 Fellows you got to mind
03:47 Give it to the Lord Give it to You Lord
03:51 Everything, everything I'm going through
03:57 Yes I did So give it to the Lord
04:02 Give it to You Lord All the problems
04:05 that seem so small How many don't know
04:08 You can fix them all
04:11 I don't know about job But I just want Him
04:14 to have His way in this place Lord
04:16 Here in Love At this very second till now,
04:20 I'm standing in the need of a blessing right now Lord
04:25 Have Your way, have Your way,
04:28 have Your way till now In this very place,
04:33 no matter who's looking, who's watching
04:36 have your way till now And if You don't mind--
04:41 Before we guys came in, you know I've done
04:43 several live shows on a street but my heart wasn't right.
04:46 I was just up there playing the music, mike goes smoke
04:48 and we don't bite, honestly.
04:50 So when I heard you guys were coming to us,
04:52 so this would be the first time
04:53 I've actually get to look over my heart is right
04:55 and I'm dong this for the right reason.
04:57 So, you know, when I heard this opportunity was coming,
05:00 I just had to give all thanks to God.
05:02 You know that actually I'm doing it
05:04 for the right reason this time.
05:05 And since you guys have been doing this,
05:07 God gave me just so much favor.
05:09 I've been just over in teachings things,
05:12 I've never thought I'll ever be able to doing leadership roles
05:15 and the plus program that were made,
05:17 you know, I've been doing so many things
05:18 that I used to see other people doing,
05:20 but I was like, oh he is police
05:21 or why would you want to do that in prison.
05:23 Now God is just using me as vessels.
05:25 It's hard to explain but I'm so free right now.
05:29 It's just--it's hard to say when you guys come in
05:31 to see out of those barbed wires
05:32 but just to know that I've a out day coming
05:35 real soon and know that I could be free
05:37 and now my heart is right, thank God
05:39 that I wasn't free before this time.
05:42 Today...Lord, please use me, Lord.
05:51 Use me Lord.
06:01 God Be the Glory.
06:02 The value that you've sensed over these
06:04 many, many hours and days
06:06 that we've been in this prison,
06:08 share with me the value of this program, "Free Indeed!"
06:12 Well, what I like most about it is
06:14 the fact that when you come in
06:16 you really show that you care.
06:17 I mean you take time to meet with these men,
06:21 I mean, I see you when the cameras aren't rolling.
06:23 You interact and you listen to needs
06:25 and you make a connection on a personal level
06:29 as really a friend, as a person
06:32 who has a bond in Christ, really a brother in Christ.
06:35 And I think that the men really appreciate
06:37 that the most.
06:38 But beyond that a lot of times
06:41 it's also the gifts that they never get.
06:42 I mean it's the Bibles, it's the books
06:45 that are brought in for Christian growth
06:47 and commitment and it's the, you know,
06:49 the food, the hygiene articles
06:51 that they often really need because
06:54 they don't often have a lot. Right.
06:56 So you are saying the value of the gift packages
06:58 and the sponsorship for those packages are worthwhile?
07:01 Very much so.
07:03 I think that when a gift is brought in
07:05 and it supports the caring approach
07:08 that you have for these men.
07:09 I think that it really underlines the ministry
07:12 that you have for them and the men don't forget it.
07:16 And you deal with that and you know bring
07:18 the good news of Christ
07:19 and the blessing of forgiveness
07:21 really to everybody, you know the word,
07:23 we challenge people with the word
07:26 and with what they need.
07:27 You know the commitment to Christ but then
07:29 at the same time the message of forgiveness
07:32 and the cross is always crucial
07:34 to every single person that I talked to,
07:37 both on the outside and on the inside.
07:39 So they can be free indeed
07:40 even though they're incarcerated.
07:42 Yes. Christ makes us free.
07:44 That's the key thing. Amen.
07:51 Okay, brothers, I don't know what you come to do,
07:54 but I come to praise the Lord.
07:56 Amen. Amen.
07:57 Okay, if you came to praise the Lord,
08:00 who do I have out here that wants
08:02 to come up and praise the Lord?
08:04 Come on, big guy.
08:06 Who do I got over here that wants to praise the Lord?
08:09 Okay, come on up here.
08:13 Now we did not talk before,
08:15 he don't know me, I don't know him.
08:18 But he said he came to praise the Lord.
08:19 So we just want a message of hope to go to the world.
08:23 Because we're tired of this way of life.
08:25 And there's a suffering society out there,
08:27 suffering, pain and it's terrible
08:30 and it's getting worse.
08:32 9/11 was a symptom of a problem a long time ago.
08:35 We had the oil spills and we got all kinds
08:38 of trauma going on in our world today.
08:40 What is your name?
08:41 My name is Kenneth Hopkins.
08:43 Kenneth, is this your first time in prison?
08:45 No, it is not. It's not your first time.
08:47 How many times have you been in prison, Kenneth?
08:49 I've been in prison six times.
08:52 Six times in prison.
08:54 You know you don't want to come back to prison
08:56 after the first time or the second time.
08:59 What happened that you got side tracked
09:03 from your vision because when a person's in prison,
09:05 they desire to be with their family,
09:07 they desire to be different,
09:09 you don't want to come back to prison.
09:11 What has happened in your life
09:13 that you went back to prison second or third time?
09:16 Well, first of all, giving honor to God
09:19 who is the head of my life.
09:22 What caused me to come back is simple, self will.
09:28 Self will is what caused me to come back,
09:30 trying to do things outside of God's will
09:33 and once that happens your flesh can lead you
09:37 into some obstacles that can be very difficult
09:41 for you to come out yourself.
09:43 Amen, without Jesus I know that those obstacles
09:47 can and will lead me
09:50 into a state of desolation and stagnation.
09:53 Without Jesus.
09:54 And then with that desolation and stagnation,
09:56 then comes the whisky bottle,
09:58 then comes the needle in the arm,
09:59 the crack pipe whatever to try to heal that brokenness
10:03 and it doesn't work, it takes us farther down, amen.
10:06 Amen. Exactly what drugs is,
10:08 it's just simply a cheap substitute.
10:12 Anytime you begin to allow drugs to rule your life,
10:16 you give up your own life
10:18 and you succumb to the things and the situations
10:20 and circumstances around you.
10:23 What would you share with the person
10:24 in the world that's still suffering today
10:27 with drug addiction or alcoholism
10:28 but really the sin problem?
10:30 Well, what I would share to you is simply two words
10:34 and these words are found in the Book of Saint John,
10:39 and that's Jesus Christ, amen,
10:42 because Jesus, the Bible says,
10:44 "Whom the son sets free, amen, is free indeed."
10:50 Somebody ought to say amen.
10:52 Amen.
10:56 Kenneth, Kenneth, let me ask you, let me,
11:00 you need to let these people know Jesus Christ,
11:04 that they don't have to get all cleaned up
11:06 before they come to Jesus Christ.
11:08 Amen. Now you can't clean yourself up.
11:11 Amen, if you could clean yourself up, amen,
11:14 it would be no need for Jesus.
11:16 But the Bible says, amen, for--the Bible says, for God
11:22 so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son
11:26 that whosoever shall believeth in Him, amen, not outside
11:30 of Him, not just believing that He exists
11:33 but you got to believe in Him, in the realm of Salvation,
11:38 in the manipulation of the power of God,
11:41 causing the blood to wash away those things
11:44 that cause you to be caught up
11:46 in situations that you can't get yourself out.
11:49 I wish I had somebody that knows what I'm talking about?
11:52 Amen. Amen.
11:53 Share with me John 3:17, John 3:17.
11:57 Share with me that one in closing.
11:59 Amen. John 3:17, it says,
12:02 "For God sent not his Son
12:03 into the world" amen,
12:05 watch this now, he said,
12:07 "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
12:10 but that the world through Him might be saved."
12:15 We have a choice, we have a choice
12:19 who we will serve and today there's nobody
12:22 in the penitentiary anywhere
12:23 in the world that's satisfied serving sin.
12:26 Brother, thank you so very, very much and God bless you.
12:29 God bless you.
12:38 Kenneth came tonight to praise the Lord
12:42 and may his daily life, a six time down,
12:45 society say we're a three-time loser,
12:48 he's a double negative by society
12:51 but yet he has this Gospel message,
12:54 he made God use him
12:56 and each and everyone of you to,
12:57 to sound this message to the whole world
13:00 wherever you go from this place.
13:02 That when Jesus comes, many, hundreds and thousands
13:05 millions of people will be ready on that day
13:08 to meet Him and hear those words,
13:10 "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
13:17 Is this your first time in prison?
13:19 No, sir.
13:20 It's not your first time in prison.
13:22 Do you know that this can be your last time in prison?
13:25 Amen.
13:26 How can this not ever reoccur in your life
13:30 that you have to come back in shackles
13:31 and chains but you may come back as a volunteer?
13:34 Well, if I keep my focus on Jesus Christ
13:37 and put him first.
13:38 Okay, put him first.
13:40 What people, group and society
13:42 would you like to share a message of hope with
13:45 to let them know not to give up?
13:46 You are in prison with nothing by society standards
13:50 but yet they're free by society standards
13:53 but yet locked up inside.
13:55 Well, to all the ones out there strung out
13:59 on dope like I was, the ones in the street,
14:03 that think there is no hope, there is hope.
14:07 I've been in a street.
14:08 I've been showing out on every dope
14:11 there is, alcohol, all of it.
14:14 I was putting needles in my arm when I got locked up,
14:17 raving people, I mean I've done it all.
14:21 I've been to prison four times
14:23 because my focus was on drugs
14:27 and street life and not on my Lord and Savior.
14:30 And now when you come here,
14:32 it gives you sometime to heal
14:35 if you seek His will for your life, amen. Amen.
14:37 So even though we're in prison with the,
14:40 God is in the business of mending broken people,
14:43 of setting people free indeed.
14:45 But we have to continually keep
14:47 our hearts' door open because he knocketh
14:50 but we're the ones that have to answer, amen?
14:52 Amen.
14:53 We were born with a free will and we want to surrender
14:55 that unto our creator and our Lord
14:58 that he can be King of our life
15:00 and then our life will be different on this earth. Amen.
15:03 I'd like to say I was never free until I came here.
15:08 That sounds a little strange, I know,
15:09 everybody is probably like free,
15:11 but yeah, I wasn't free out there,
15:14 I was locked up, I was, like I said
15:17 I was strung out on dope.
15:18 That was--I mean I was a slave, slave to sin.
15:21 Now, I'm free, I'm free indeed.
15:24 Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior
15:25 and I'll always be free through Him.
15:28 What would you share with the--
15:34 in closing, brother,
15:36 what would you share with that person
15:38 that's perhaps putting a needle in their arm
15:41 at this very moment, that person that's seeking
15:44 that fix to get the sick off of them?
15:46 What would you share with them?
15:48 Who would--should they call out to?
15:50 Jesus Christ. You will never get
15:52 what you're looking for through that needle.
15:56 You're looking for the relationship
15:59 with Jesus Christ, He made us
16:01 to have relationship and that's what we're seeking for.
16:04 We're looking for to other things
16:06 but you're not gonna find it.
16:08 And I would like to share Philippians 4:13,
16:11 He said do all thing, we can do all things
16:14 to Him who strengthened us,
16:16 so as long as we focus on Him
16:19 and rely on Him, we can do it all.
16:22 He says it. Thank you so very much.
16:24 I love that Bible verse.
16:26 Thank you, brother, so very, very much.
16:29 Brothers, I have to confess to you something.
16:31 Philippians 4:13, six years clean,
16:37 somebody told me,
16:39 then in a prison 25 years on a life sentence.
16:43 He said, Vega, I owe you
16:45 'cause when you got out of prison,
16:46 you would run a Lincoln or a Cadillac
16:48 and you'll drive to the neighborhood
16:50 and pick mama up, which was 70 years old,
16:53 who didn't drive and bring mama down
16:56 because the bus and the transit,
16:57 the transit system didn't bring mama down
17:00 to the prison to see her son.
17:03 That dude stood up for me in prison.
17:06 He told people, "see mate you all leave Vega alone,
17:08 Vega don't bother nobody, you leave Vega alone."
17:10 And I mean they took it to the hilt
17:13 to leave Vega alone and I appreciated that.
17:17 Then I took mama down to the prison.
17:20 I met my partner after I had five years clean.
17:22 I used to take dope back to the prison,
17:24 money would come in my post office box.
17:27 I would buy schematics and convertibles
17:30 and all kinds of stuff, gold watches, many of them,
17:33 I don't even have a watch today.
17:36 Brothers, I'll tell you what,
17:38 I met my partner and he thanked me.
17:40 He said, Vega, whatever you want it's yours.
17:43 Gold, drugs running around the room,
17:46 whatever you want it's yours.
17:48 I said no man, don't you understand
17:50 I don't do that nomore.
17:52 He said, yeah, man, one day you're a preacher,
17:54 one day you're a doctor, he said, Vega,
17:55 whenever you want it, it's here.
17:58 And I begin to drive home. I didn't have a T.V.
18:02 in my home because I gave up caffeine,
18:04 nicotine, Hollywood, sexism.
18:07 I gave it up for Jesus and I had been blessed.
18:10 My cup was full to running over for Jesus
18:14 but yet on the way home, I stopped at a garage sale
18:18 because I was tired and I just went in
18:20 and I brought three or four DVDs.
18:24 My wife is in Chicago, two weeks on
18:26 two weeks off and one night I was done
18:27 with my grocery business
18:28 and I went into the room and I flipped in a DVD.
18:32 It was recorded, home recordings,
18:35 Dennis Hopper flying drugs from Miami or where Central America.
18:39 This drug, that drug, this gangster show
18:43 and I began to watch that.
18:47 I said wow, I got clean once, I could go back and get
18:51 clean again if I got high for two, three months,
18:54 nobody would know, I would hole up
18:56 somewhere and get a big pile
18:58 and nobody would know.
19:00 I could get clean again.
19:02 I made a decision that I was gonna go get what was mine.
19:07 And I'll share with you something, brothers.
19:10 I had a medical person, doctor, if you will,
19:16 in theology but in health and nutrition
19:19 and his wife spoke at a meeting on cocaine.
19:22 How the mind is like a--is like plastic.
19:26 How it's pliable and to me, plastic is not pliable
19:29 and I didn't understand what she was saying
19:32 and I waited in line to talk to this person
19:34 and talk to this person.
19:35 And she was busy, women were lined up to
19:38 talk to this woman.
19:39 And so I'd seen she was busy and her husband says,
19:44 "Can I help you."
19:46 I said, yeah man, I said I'm a drug addict,
19:48 I got six years clean and I'm fixing to go back
19:51 and use but I don't want to.
19:54 And he had prayer with me and I don't remember
19:56 what the prayer was but I remember
19:58 the Bible scripture, then I remember tears
20:00 streaming down my face and I remember
20:02 what the Bible scripture was and when he was done praying
20:05 I said what is that Bible scripture.
20:07 And I remember going out to my van
20:09 at night and turning the light on,
20:11 and I looked up Philippians 4:13 and it says,
20:13 "I can do all things through Christ
20:16 which strengtheneth me."
20:17 And I want you to know, brothers, its six years
20:20 into walking with Jesus.
20:21 I'd already decided to go backward.
20:24 But I prayed that night and I said,
20:26 dear Jesus, I'm sorry, help me.
20:32 It was undone what I had already done in my mind,
20:35 so He will empower you.
20:37 Remember, brothers, I, we, you, the world,
20:41 I, we, you can do all things
20:44 through Christ which strengthen us.
20:47 Talk about free indeed,
20:51 that is the Gospel message, that is the promise
20:55 for the whole world that we can be free
20:58 in these troublest times in earth's history.
21:01 Throughout my whole drug addiction cycle,
21:04 I didn't really tell too many people about it.
21:07 You know, I was always, if you looked at me
21:10 and you ask me how I was doing?
21:12 Hey, I'm doing great.
21:13 You know, I'm doing fine, I got a good job,
21:15 I'm paying my bills and I'm doing fine.
21:17 But really under the rug, I was kind of miserable.
21:22 It was only--I was almost like I'm self destructing,
21:24 but wasn't even admitting that to myself.
21:26 You know, I was like I wanted to get caught
21:28 just because I just was sick and tired off it all.
21:31 And I got caught, you know, and the first time around,
21:34 I ended up getting a three-year sentence.
21:36 And I remember it was like the third night
21:38 that I was there, it was actually day time
21:41 and I heard this tapping on,
21:42 I woke up from out of a dead sleep
21:44 and I heard this tapping on my, on the bars
21:48 and there were these three men standing out
21:50 in front of my cell and these guys were
21:53 just dressed innormal street clothes.
21:54 They weren't dressed in prison uniforms
21:56 and I'm like who are these guys,
21:58 you know, what are they doing here?
21:59 And they told me that there are from
22:00 "Christmas behind bars".
22:02 You know, and they wanted to bless us
22:05 and they stood around the cell
22:07 for like probably a good half an hour
22:09 talking about the word of God to us.
22:11 Jesus Christ will change your life, is that right?
22:14 You see, you got some legend going through now.
22:18 He will bring you through. He brought me through.
22:21 I remember being where you are, exactly where you are.
22:27 I was facing a lot of time, I got on my knees
22:29 and I prayed to God and He brought me through here.
22:32 He'll do the same with you.
22:33 He's got respect for your heart.
22:35 And you want to know something, it just--I felt
22:40 Jesus Christ, I felt Jesus Christ.
22:44 These people took their time out,
22:47 you know, to come back, you know here,
22:50 you know and give me this, not alone just me
22:53 but on the whole, already seen,
22:56 I don't know what the population of RDC
22:58 but I think it's a lot.
22:59 You know, I mean, for everybody, I mean that's,
23:03 that was a blessing I mean, I couldn't, you know,
23:06 I wrote Mr. Vega, there was this note
23:09 on the--in this thing from "Christmas Behind Bars."
23:13 And Mr. Vega had wrote us a letter
23:17 and I ended up writing back to him twice actually.
23:21 And just saying thank you and that night,
23:24 actually when I was, you know,
23:26 eating some of my stuff, I actually got on my knees
23:29 that night and I've always prayed to God
23:33 but I had so much sin in my life
23:36 that now I was afraid is God even hearing me
23:41 and I have a wife and son out there who need me
23:54 and I just want God to hear me,
23:56 you know, it was at that time,
23:59 you know, that I re-dedicated my life to Jesus Christ.
24:04 You know and I told him, you know,
24:06 I'm sorry, you know, it's not
24:08 about me anymore, it's about You.
24:10 And I just--I thank the Lord for changing my life.
24:16 I thank the Lord for giving me His Holy Spirit within my life
24:19 because, you know, there was one time in my life
24:22 where I was down in Miami, Florida
24:24 and I remember bullets flying over my head.
24:27 You know, and I don't want that life anymore.
24:30 You know, I have, yeah, family out there
24:34 who needs me, you know, and I have
24:37 a bunch of people in this world--
24:44 so many people need Jesus Christ
24:45 and I just want to be alive
24:47 and whatever I can do, and whatever I can say,
24:49 however I can be led by Him to touch people.
24:53 You know, I don't know how He's gonna do it
24:55 but I know He's gonna do it somehow.
24:59 Our next speaker is Mr. George Whirley.
25:01 George, you were once an inmate in this prison?
25:04 Absolutely, yes.
25:06 And now you're a Chaplain. I am.
25:08 Johns of Galadriel.
25:09 What qualified you to be a Chaplain
25:11 when you were once an inmate?
25:13 Nothing qualified me.
25:15 I was unqualified.
25:17 At some point in your life, some point in your life,
25:21 you heard about the Gospel
25:22 and some point in this facility,
25:24 you made a decision.
25:25 Would you share with us about that?
25:27 Yeah, you know, I had an encounter in a 8x8
25:30 at the Regional Diagnostic Center.
25:34 And the encounter that I had was a glowing Bible
25:36 sitting by a toilet, you know,
25:40 and I didn't believe the glowing Bible.
25:42 I didn't believe the voices that I was hearing.
25:45 I thought that I was being attacked maybe by the devil
25:50 or some monster that was interfering with my life.
25:54 But I got up and began to read the Bible.
25:57 And it seemed to not agree with me
25:59 so I put it back where I found it.
26:03 And obviously at that time I decided, you know,
26:05 that lifestyle wasn't for me.
26:09 Well, brother, I'm gonna, I'm gonna just say
26:11 thank you for being willing to pick it up and continue on.
26:13 Did that happen in this prison?
26:15 My encounter with Christ happened in this prison.
26:18 I accepted Jesus Christ at that order.
26:21 I was baptized in that drawer.
26:24 So for the world, it is possible
26:27 for these people to change 'cause a lot of time
26:29 they write them off and they come to prison, amen?
26:31 Absolutely.
26:32 Brother, what keeps you going in prison ministries out there
26:36 on the street, volunteerism?
26:38 Because I'm able to share with my brothers and sisters
26:43 that is incarcerated, a glimpse of hope
26:47 that they may see the light at the end of the tunnel,
26:50 that God-- Amen.
26:52 Can lift them up in their time of need.
26:55 When the world is trying to crush them down
26:57 and put him in a place,
27:00 where there seem to be of no more value,
27:03 in society whatsoever, God lifts you up.
27:06 Amen.
27:07 And brings the claws of Christ to reality.
27:12 Absolutely, brother, thank you very much for being willing
27:14 to come and share the Gospel.
27:18 When I got to RDC, it was such a hard time for me.
27:21 I mean I didn't have any money and I thought my life
27:24 was just in shambles.
27:25 I was there for three days and I was so hungry.
27:28 I woke up in the middle of the afternoon one time
27:30 in July and I heard, you know, banging on my door.
27:33 And there were these three gentlemen standing outside
27:35 of the door and they handed me this bag and a Bible.
27:39 And inside of the bag, from "Christmas behind bars,"
27:41 it was just full of food and full of hygiene
27:45 and they actually gave me a study Bible as well.
27:47 And let me just tell you, I didn't have
27:49 any literature whatsoever.
27:50 And that was the best gift I could possibly
27:53 have ever given at that time.
27:54 I mean I didn't have anybody, no family, nobody writing
27:58 to me, nobody, you know, looking out for me
28:00 and it just--it touched my heart.
28:01 I was able to study the word of God.
28:03 I mean at night time you get so hungry
28:05 at RDC because you just don't have that much food.
28:08 And I tell you what just the gifts
28:10 that were given to me, it touched my heart.
28:12 I felt Jesus Christ in a lonely, lonely place
28:16 and I tell you, I just, my heart goes out
28:18 to "Christmas behind bars."
28:20 And I'm just so grateful for what they've done for me.


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Revised 2014-12-17