Participants:
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000253A
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a man
00:02 who isn't afraid of spending time in prison. 00:04 My name is Jason Bradley, 00:05 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:31 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:32 My guest today is Lemuel Vega, and he is the founder 00:35 and volunteer of Christmas Behind Bars. 00:39 Welcome to Urban Report, Brother Lemuel. 00:40 Hey, thank you very much. 00:43 It's good to have you here, you know. 00:46 I've seen you in prison before. 00:48 You know, we've gone out, and we've volunteered, 00:51 and I've taken part in that ministry, 00:54 and I'm so excited for you to be here, 00:56 and you've been here before, but to share, 00:59 give us some updates and tell us a little bit about 01:02 the needs of the ministry. 01:04 But I want to reintroduce you to our viewers 01:08 and give us a little bit of your background 01:11 and how you got started with Christmas Behind Bars? 01:16 Well, Jason, we're all born with the problem, 01:18 and society somehow categorizes people 01:21 with drug addiction or alcoholism or anger, 01:25 and we're born with a problem and it's called sin. 01:27 And medication can't do it, incarceration doesn't do it. 01:32 In school, tying people in their seat 01:34 with a jump rope doesn't do it. 01:35 You know, in second grade, 01:37 I was tied in my seat with a jump rope, 01:38 I was probably boarded by every principal 01:40 and kicked out of quite a few schools. 01:42 And so at a young age, I felt like I didn't fit in. 01:45 I didn't fit in the school, I didn't fit in at home. 01:47 And so basically, we find a niche, 01:50 we find a place where we can fit in. 01:51 I think that's the same experiences you've had. 01:54 And so by the time you're 13 years old, 01:57 you just say, "Hey, I got this figured out," 01:59 and you think that somehow 02:01 you can fix life's problems and somehow society... 02:04 And it looks like money can buy happiness. 02:08 So as a young man, I sort out money 02:11 because my momma needed money for necessities. 02:15 And so I was on my way at 13 years old, 02:18 I thought to being a little businessman, 02:20 making money, selling drugs, 02:22 and being with people much older than myself. 02:25 But, you know, Jason, at 18 years old, 02:26 I found myself... 02:28 How many years is it between 13 and 18? 02:29 Five. 02:31 Five simple years, 02:32 I found myself sitting in a county jail, 02:35 for the first time in my life looking at 02:37 10 to 20 years in prison with a bond of $110,000. 02:40 Wow! 02:41 And so that was like really major, 02:43 all your friends vanish at that point, you know. 02:46 And so there I was in hopeless. 02:49 And there was a group of people 02:50 that came in to sing a few songs to us. 02:53 They didn't tell us about Jesus, 02:54 they didn't give us a granola bar, 02:55 they didn't give us a cookie, 02:57 they didn't tell us they'd been in a prison, 02:58 they didn't tell us Jesus was the answer, 03:00 they didn't give us a Bible. 03:01 But by them coming and giving of their time, 03:02 it impacted my life, I went on to prison, 03:06 prison doesn't change my life, it can't, 03:08 because if it could, our prison system would... 03:11 You'd only go there once, you'd be changed and come out. 03:13 And again, medication and education can't change 03:17 the internal problem we're all born with. 03:20 We're born with a handicap and it's called sin. 03:23 So on that journey to prison, I experienced a lot of pain, 03:27 a lot of hurt, a lot of loneliness. 03:29 When your name doesn't get called at mail call, 03:31 or you don't have anybody to call, 03:32 and there's no one there anymore, 03:34 mom and dad tried to bring me upright, 03:37 so I don't put any blame on them. 03:39 We're all born with the same problem. 03:41 So that's kind of where it started. 03:43 I started on the wrong side of the track, I guess. 03:47 And what brought about that that shifts back 03:50 to the right side of the track? 03:53 Oh my! 03:55 I got out of prison, and I wanted change, 04:00 I tried to change. 04:02 I left prison with one year clean, you know. 04:04 I was fixing to go home from prison, 04:05 so I had one year clean, you know. 04:07 I said, "Well, I'm going home in a year, 04:09 so I need to change something in here," 04:11 so I was changed in the outward. 04:12 And so for a year I left prison, 04:14 kept selling drugs in prison. 04:16 And so when I got out, I just, 04:17 I left prison with one year clean not using drugs. 04:21 And I tried to do what was right, got a job, 04:26 and it wasn't long. 04:27 And the money thing, you know, 04:29 'cause I seen everybody in society, 04:30 they had jet skies and had all that stuff 04:32 and cars and clothes. 04:33 And I said, "Well, I know how to get money," 04:35 and so I began taking narcotics back to the prison, 04:38 the officers would meet me outside the prison, 04:39 and they would take it into my friends, 04:41 and my friends would sell it. 04:43 So the whole thing, life was messed up. 04:45 So the officers were involved in this too, some of them? 04:48 You know what? 04:50 They're born with the same handicap 04:51 that the inmates born with, born with the sin. 04:53 It is the same problem, you know. 04:54 So whether it's gambling, 04:56 addiction, or greed, or whatever, 04:58 because an officer can make more money 05:00 in a couple of days than he can work in a month, 05:04 you know, by bringing in cell phones 05:06 or drugs or whatever, and they're not all that way. 05:09 So anyway, I was free from prison for 12 years 05:13 as a young man, but I was helpless. 05:16 I was actually more free in a maximum security prison 05:19 behind a 30-foot wall. 05:20 I was more free in there than I was out in society. 05:24 You know, because you get out, you have all these problems, 05:26 you have all the responsibilities, 05:27 and all this stuff and, you know, 05:29 you're trying to keep up, and do what's right, 05:31 and then you face that friction in our lives 05:34 that pull for right, 05:36 and then that gravitation for wrong 05:38 so you're facing that, 05:39 and so all that drama and turmoil 05:40 is going on in your life and I wanted help, Jason. 05:44 I wanted help. 05:47 I would call the emergency room at midnight, 05:49 1, 2 o'clock in the morning. 05:51 I said, "Do you just die when you quit doing these?" 05:52 I called them, I said, "Do you just die 05:54 when you quit doing these massive amounts of drugs? 05:56 You know, and you wait for the doctor 05:57 to get on the phone and then you just get paranoid, 05:59 you hang up, and you drive off into the night, you know. 06:02 So there was no one I could talk to. 06:04 I thought I was the only one that wanted internal change. 06:07 I never knew anybody that had ever been to treatment before. 06:10 I never knew anybody that want to quit using drugs before, 06:12 and I just thought like I was never heard the words 06:14 Narcotics Anonymous before. 06:16 And one day, I pulled into this place, 06:18 treatment, counseling place. 06:21 I just pulled in 2 o'clock in the afternoon 06:23 and I pulled in, I walked in, 06:24 and the lady slid the window back 06:27 and said, "Can I help you, sir?" 06:29 And I said, "Yeah, I'm really, really sick. 06:30 I need to talk to somebody." 06:33 She said, "Well, we charge $75 an hour." 06:36 I said, "I don't have $75." 06:38 And she said, "Well, we take Visa or MasterCard, 06:40 if that will help you." 06:41 I said, "Ma'am, I'm thousands of dollars in debt right now," 06:43 and I said, "I need help." 06:45 And they said, "Oh! You're one of those folks. 06:47 We'll base it off your wife's income, 06:49 fill out all this paperwork, 06:50 you know, you're the poor folk, you know." 06:52 And so I'm not good at paperwork, 06:54 I can't read and spell very good, 06:56 and so I just, I walked out. 06:58 And so, I just felt there was no hope for my life. 07:01 So that's kind of where I was at 35 years old. 07:03 Wow! 07:05 So you felt hopeless at that point in time, 07:07 and you went somewhere where you thought 07:09 that you would be able to get help, 07:11 but essentially, they kind of turned you away 07:14 or discouraged you by... 07:16 The system's broke. Yeah. 07:17 They can't just sit down and come and sit down with you 07:19 and talk with you without all the HIPAA laws 07:21 and all the insurance laws, and they've got to get paid, 07:23 and so it's not really their fault, 07:25 the system is broken to help people, 07:27 you know, the prison system. 07:28 You know, you can spend 1 year or 50 years in prison. 07:32 And when you get out, man, they give you a credit card 07:35 with $50 on it, and that's it. 07:38 And you're supposed to report to your parole agent 07:39 within two or three days, 07:41 you're supposed to buy your meals, 07:42 you're supposed to find all this stuff. 07:44 And so you've been in prison 07:45 for 2, 5, 6, 10, 20, 30, 40 years, 07:46 and they give you 50 bucks. 07:48 Yeah, where you're supposed to live? 07:49 How are you supposed to get there? 07:50 What are you supposed to do, you know, when you get out? 07:53 I think, it's so important that there needs to be 07:55 more reintegration programs, 07:59 so that when inmates get out of prison, 08:02 they can become productive citizens of society 08:04 and make a smoother transition. 08:06 That's the importance. 08:07 That sets the foundation, the stage, 08:09 if you will, for prison ministries. 08:11 Because Jesus, being the center, 08:14 focal point of an individual's life, 08:17 He says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God 08:19 and His righteousness 08:22 and all these other things will be added unto you." 08:24 He careth for the sparrow, He careth for the individual 08:27 that He allowed His son Jesus to die for. 08:30 So that sets the foundation. System's broken. 08:32 When I got out of prison many years ago, 08:34 they gave me 75 bucks. 08:36 So it went down, you know, the money they gave... 08:39 Meanwhile the cost of everything is going up. 08:42 Absolutely right. 08:43 And they're giving less than what they used to give. 08:45 Absolutely. And we can't focus on that. 08:48 The power of the gospel is still relevant, 08:50 it's alive and well, God is the same 08:51 yesterday, today, and forever. 08:54 And so, to connect them with a relationship with Jesus, 08:59 that's the fundamentals of Christmas Behind Bars. 09:03 I talked to Amanda Dave which society would call 09:05 three-time loser, talked to him on the phone, 09:08 just got out of prison not too long ago, 09:09 spent six years on his third bid in prison. 09:12 He said, "Don't ever give up giving Bibles." 09:17 That's how he come to know Jesus, 09:19 put in a cell, first time going to prison, 09:21 a Bible was there, 09:22 he begin to read it out of nothing else to read, 09:24 and he begin to know who Christ was. 09:26 So the importance of that time in their life 09:28 is just unbelievable, we can't put a value on that. 09:33 You've been with us to deliver packages 09:36 in different states, in different places, 09:38 and maybe you could share 09:39 from a viewer that might be watching, 09:41 maybe you could share the value of going in 09:44 at a time like this in their lives to share hope. 09:46 What do you...? 09:48 Yeah, I mean, it's absolutely an amazing experience 09:51 because when you enter into the prison and the facility 09:55 and you start talking to these inmates 09:57 and you go and they know that you're there 09:59 because you care, you're volunteering, 10:01 you're not getting paid to be there, 10:03 you know what I mean. 10:05 So it's, we're out of there... We're there because we care. 10:08 And so we're not taking anything from them, 10:11 but we're giving things to them and pouring into them. 10:14 So those bags have all kinds of delicious snacks in there, 10:18 it's got spiritual food, and it comes with an envelope 10:22 from Christmas Behind Bars 10:24 that has a bunch of different ministry material 10:27 that they can put in that one envelope. 10:30 And I remember you saying, "So you guys can use only one, 10:33 you only have to use one stamp." 10:36 And you mail it back to Christmas Behind Bars, 10:39 and what you do at Christmas Behind Bars 10:41 is send that out to the different ministries 10:44 and then their families can have 10:45 Bible studies, correct? 10:47 Right, yeah. 10:48 So going in there, you know, you talk to these guys 10:50 that have been shunned by society, 10:52 have been shunned by their friends 10:54 and their families, 10:56 and sometimes you see tears coming down their faces 10:59 because they're hungry for the Lord. 11:01 You know, you see some of them in there 11:03 that are hungrier 11:05 than we see people that are out here in society. 11:09 So for me, I absolutely love prison ministry. 11:13 I was facing a potential sentence of 15 years that, 11:18 by God's grace, I was able to get first offenders deferred 11:21 and go a different route and, you know, 11:24 probation and all of that stuff. 11:26 So I didn't have to face that 15 years, 11:28 but the only thing that separates us from them 11:32 is a choice. 11:34 And that's what is so important for people to realize. 11:37 Now I feel like I'm the one getting interviewed, 11:40 but that's so important for people to realize 11:43 that the only thing that separates us from them 11:45 is a choice, 11:46 and they're going to get out one day, some of them. 11:49 Would you rather than have crime or Christ? 11:52 Amen. That's for sure. 11:55 You know, at this time in their life 11:57 when they get out all the responsibilities 11:59 of life inundates them, job, car, wife, 12:02 children, clothes, rent, you know, all these things, 12:05 they almost overwhelm a person, and when they get out, 12:08 you know, maybe they want more food stamps, 12:09 better car, better life, you know, money just to get by, 12:13 but at this time that they're in this place, 12:17 it's a quiet time in their life 12:18 to where you can reach them for Christ. 12:21 And there's a lot of people I have talked to, 12:23 Jason, that says, 12:24 "Well, our church has a prison ministry, 12:25 or we do prison ministry, or we got this going on," 12:28 and that's wonderful, but how many people 12:31 do you have coming out of that prison to your service? 12:35 They might say 10, they might say 20, 12:36 they might say 30, 12:38 they might have 50 inmates come out every week 12:39 to their service and that's wonderful, 12:42 but with Christmas Behind Bars, 12:44 there's something different than that. 12:48 Would you share with us what that is? 12:50 The difference between 20 to 30? 12:54 Well, we get like whole prisons, 12:57 the whole prison... 12:59 Everybody? 13:00 Everybody that can come out comes out. 13:02 Now, what about the people that aren't Christians? 13:05 A lot of them still come out. 13:06 What about the Muslim people? A lot of them still come out. 13:10 And see the thing is, it's like, you know, 13:12 some of them may be there to collect the bags. 13:15 That's okay. 13:17 They're hearing the message, 13:19 and then they're getting the bags, 13:20 and then, you know... 13:21 And you never know how God is gonna use 13:23 what is said in there 13:24 and the music that's provided as well 13:27 to reach and to touch their lives. 13:30 So they see practical Christianity, 13:33 and that's again one of the great things 13:36 about Christmas Behind Bars. 13:38 Now, Christmas Behind Bars is not a seasonal ministry. 13:41 It started probably 21, 22 years ago. 13:45 Sick and ready to die, Jason, I asked my wife 13:50 to take me to treatment. 13:51 I said, "Baby," I said, 13:53 "Would you take me to treatment? 13:54 I heard about this place, Charter Beacon Hospital." 13:56 I said, "Would you take me to treatment?" 13:57 You know, we drove around. 13:59 She drove, I rode, and I said, "Just keep driving." 14:01 I kept getting higher and higher and higher. 14:02 Finally, she made it to the place. 14:03 And finally, in the parking lot, 14:05 I threw my drugs in the parking lot, 14:07 in the trees, and I walked into treatment. 14:12 And you know, in treatment, again comes the methadone, 14:17 the Antabuse, the other drugs or whatever, 14:20 so you got college-educated doctors telling me once again, 14:24 as they told me as a child that I have to be 14:27 on this medication all my life, 14:28 because I was a dysfunctional child, 14:30 and they told my mom I'd have to be 14:32 on medication all my life. 14:34 And so I heard this again, and 35 years of failure, 14:36 and prison hadn't changed my life, 14:37 and taking Thorazine in prison didn't make you happy 14:39 being in prison, you know, you're still there, 14:41 and so I went to treatment 21, 22 years ago, 14:47 sick and ready to die, 14:48 I was either gonna go back to prison, 14:49 commit suicide, or I was gonna die. 14:52 And there I was in the valley of decision. 14:54 Do I want change or do I not want change? 14:57 Oh, I want change. Do I want to try or not try? 15:00 Oh, I want to try, but I've tried for 35 years, 15:02 but I've failed. 15:03 In prison, I tried to get my GD, I failed. 15:05 So all my life, I failed. And so there I was. 15:11 And there was a pastor, a preacher that came in. 15:15 Actually, I was really defiant because he was talking about, 15:18 he said, "Well, you're in treatment, 15:19 you have to wear a gown 15:20 and slippers for the first week or ten days 15:22 and then you got to earn those privileges or whatever." 15:24 So I already went in my room 15:25 and put on all my socks and extra T-shirts. 15:27 I said, "You're not taking my clothes." 15:28 I was in my room with my bed pushed up 15:30 against the door, 15:31 and there was a knock on my door, 15:33 and it was a pastor, 15:34 and he come in to have prayer with me. 15:35 And you know, out of respect, I just let him talk. 15:39 And he said he had never been in prison, 15:41 and he said, "I'm going to tell you 15:42 something I've never told anybody else before." 15:44 He said, "When my momma died," he said, 15:45 "I got addicted to cough syrup." 15:48 And I'm thinking, "Oh, man, you don't understand 15:49 what's going on in my life. 15:51 You're talking cough syrup. 15:52 I mean little cough syrup, I mean, how awesome is that? 15:54 I mean, that's not much, it's okay, you know." 15:56 But he shared with me that Jesus helped him 15:58 with that problem, and he left. 16:02 And so somehow in my mind, I thought, "Jesus helped him, 16:06 somehow He could maybe help me," 16:09 and it was through a magnificent sunset 16:11 that I'd seen, it was a Friday evening, 16:13 and as I looked at the sunset 16:14 in the western sky, that thought came to me 16:17 that there's no two snowflakes ever created the same, 16:19 I heard that in third grade. 16:21 I've never been in a school with a microscope, 16:22 I've never seen it for myself, but the thought came to me. 16:25 And I said, "Man, if God can paint that 16:27 to be gone in a moment of time, 16:28 maybe never sunset to ever the same," 16:30 I said, "somehow he can help me." 16:32 And I kneeled down in that hospital room 16:33 with my bed pushed up against the door 16:35 and I said, "Dear Jesus, please help me. 16:36 I want to quit, but I can't." 16:38 So that's the power of the gospel. 16:40 And if these men and women that are incarcerated 16:42 would just understand that through the love 16:44 that we go and share, would understand 16:47 and they'd be willing to try one more time. 16:50 Connect with Christ, then as they transit, 16:53 as they read and study, do the Bible studies, 16:55 read the books and transition out into society 16:58 He's the one that gets the props, 16:59 He's the healer, He's the one that repair, 17:01 He's the one that gets the honor and glory. 17:04 It's not Christmas Behind Bars, 17:06 but somehow, it had to have a beginning. 17:09 That was a Friday evening, 17:11 and they released me from the hospital, 17:13 I was only there for two or three days, 17:14 I don't remember. 17:16 And I told my wife the next morning, 17:18 I said, "I'm going to go to church." 17:20 We are going to a Sunday church. 17:21 I said, "Look, you go to your church, 17:23 I'm going to go to my church 17:25 because my parents had been Seventh-day Adventists. 17:27 And we went to that pastor's church 17:28 who'd come to have prayer with me. 17:30 And it was probably six, eight months later 17:33 that his wife had the idea 17:35 of making some little packages for folk down the county jail. 17:37 It wasn't my idea, but I remember 17:40 the experience of the county jail, 17:41 I remember the experience in prison. 17:43 And I said, "Those people would really, really appreciate it." 17:46 So that's how the ministry started. 17:47 Okay, so tell us about the bags 17:50 and how they started to grow in size. 17:53 Oh, yeah. Yeah, break that story down. 17:55 All right, first of all, I want to say 17:56 before the bags ever started, I had about three months clean, 18:00 and I prayed and asked God for a job. 18:02 I tried to go back to the factory 18:03 where I worked, 18:05 and they wouldn't allow me to come back 18:07 if I couldn't do my normal job. 18:08 Well, with the drugs, the alcohol 18:09 and all the atmosphere in the factory, I resigned. 18:12 And so I prayed and I asked God for a job. 18:14 So Lord blessed me with a job, and I was selling groceries 18:17 door to door to the Amish people. 18:19 And so I had... 18:20 I was selling potatoes, and apples, 18:21 and orange candies, snacks, chips. 18:23 So when the pastor's wife down at the church said about 18:25 making packages, I'm like, 18:27 "Man, I already got all these snacks and crackers and chips," 18:29 I said, "That would be great, you know." 18:31 And so we took a lunch size sack, 18:32 a small sack and we put apple in there, 18:34 some granola bar, some chips in there, little sack, 18:37 and we took it down the county jail. 18:38 And at the county jail, Jason, we couldn't talk like this, 18:42 there was no phone, you know, and so it was a steel door 18:46 with no glass, and they open the food slot. 18:48 A food slot is where they pass the trays in, small. 18:51 And I didn't even.... 18:53 They'd drop the food slot 18:54 and there'd be 20, 30 people behind there, 18:57 and they just throw in 20, 30 packages. 18:58 The volunteers will stand there just pass them in, 19:00 you couldn't see. 19:01 And I was on my knees at the next food slot, 19:03 and I'd tell them, "Come here, man, 19:04 I want to tell you about Jesus, I want to tell you that 19:06 when you're clean, I want to tell you 19:07 there's hope for your life, 19:09 I want to tell you we love you." 19:10 And as these people would come down, 19:12 then I'd get up off my knees and goes to the next food slot, 19:13 I'm on my knees at the food slot, 19:15 little food slot. 19:16 I'm on my knees, I thought, 19:18 "Man, if you make them packages a little bit bigger 19:20 and they don't fit through that food slot, 19:22 I'll bet they'll open the door." 19:24 So I didn't tell my wife, I didn't tell the pastor, 19:26 I didn't tell the church, I didn't tell nobody. 19:28 The next year we got the bigger bag, 19:30 filled it full, and went down the county jail, 19:33 and I would just wait and see what they were going to do. 19:35 And so they dropped the food slot, 19:37 bag wouldn't fit through there. 19:39 They said, "I guess, we'll have to open the door." 19:41 And so now, I got to see the individual behind the door, 19:44 there's bars still but I got to talk to him 19:46 and encourage him. 19:48 And then the chaplain told me, 19:49 he said, "You got to keep them small enough. 19:51 They'll fit through this place in the catwalk." 19:52 He said, "Do you hear me?" I said, "Yes sir." 19:54 I said, "I hear you." 19:56 And the next year, we come with a bigger bag, 19:58 I figured it open the steel door, 20:00 and then they open the bars, and then that started 20:02 the first 5, 10, 15 minutes 20:04 we had in the pod to sing a few songs 20:07 and tell them there was hope for their life through Christ. 20:09 So that's kind of how it started so. 20:11 Well, I know they were happy to get those bigger bags too. 20:14 I know they're happy about that. 20:16 That's such a blessing. 20:17 And you know what, we actually have a clip 20:21 of you interacting with inmates, 20:23 and packing bags, and things of that nature, 20:26 and I'd like for us to take a look at that. 20:28 Let me tell you about that clip. 20:30 The superintendent of that prison 20:32 that we're going to see just now said, 20:33 "If you ever need anything, let me know." 20:36 And so we needed some bags packed, 20:38 and I called him up, 20:40 and we took all the product to the prison, 20:42 and it's absolutely amazing how God uses people 20:44 in high positions to allow the work to go forward. 20:47 And you're actually short Bibles, 20:48 there was something there, right? 20:50 Yes. Okay. 20:51 So we're going to talk about your needs too 20:53 after we see this clip. 20:55 All right, let's go to that. All right. 20:59 Today, we're at the 21:01 Correctional Industrial Facility 21:02 in Central Indiana. 21:03 We have a great group of guys here. 21:05 This is phenomenal, because these guys here today 21:07 are actually putting together 2,500 gift packages for inmates 21:11 in another prison in a far away place. 21:16 In the journey of a life 21:19 There are winding roads 21:25 Mountains high 21:28 Valleys low 21:33 Though the road ahead may be unknown 21:41 I'm still focus on the prize 21:44 That's worth pressing for 21:51 This is an amazing day. 21:53 Christmas Behind Bars has been putting packages together 21:55 for over 20 years 21:56 and bringing hope to the incarcerated 21:58 across the country through your help 22:00 and your sponsorship. 22:01 But today, these gentlemen 22:04 are in prison putting packages together 22:08 for inmates in another prison. 22:09 How cool is that! God is absolutely amazing. 22:13 It might be turmoil across the country in this world 22:15 in which we live, 22:16 but God is using your sponsorship 22:19 through items like this 22:21 to bring hope to prisoners across the country. 22:26 You know, the way you preach the gospel to people, 22:31 it's just so touching, you know. 22:32 That's when, after you came, I was baptized 22:36 for the first time in my life at 32 years old. 22:39 Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. 22:41 And you know, from there, you know, I did my time, 22:44 and I kept meeting you every year 22:46 and things that you do, 22:47 and it's just so powerful and so moving. 22:49 I want to continue doing this. 22:52 What kind of time did you bring to prison? 22:54 I got 121 years. 22:56 Hundred and twenty one years, that's a lot of time. 22:58 You must not been walking the right road. 23:00 I wasn't. 23:02 And I want to ask you about the Bibles. 23:03 Can you tell me the value of an inmate receiving a Bible? 23:06 Well, I mean, just receiving a Bible 23:09 give you a whole new insight and motivation in life now. 23:13 And you committed your life to Christ? 23:14 Yes, I have. Yeah. 23:15 You've been wanting to study Bible 23:17 for a long time, haven't you? Yes. 23:18 But you don't have one? No. 23:20 But today, by God's grace, I'm going to give you 23:22 a study Bible that's been given to us, 23:24 and I just pray that you'll utilize this 23:26 and read this. 23:28 Thank you. 23:29 My desire passionately 23:36 Is to be what you called me to be 23:43 And that's what I'll be 23:49 Oh, Lord, any man be in Christ 23:54 He is a new creature 23:57 Old things are passed away 23:59 All things become new 24:02 Oh, Lord, I'll say yes to Your Word 24:07 Only Your Word is true, Lord 24:13 Thank you very much. 24:16 And it really means a lot for everybody 24:20 to come together as one whole, 24:23 we'll do what we do here and do that Brother Vega 24:25 gets it done, and the sponsors, 24:28 you don't even have a clue how much we appreciate this. 24:33 So when you start to talk about Christmas Behind Bars 24:36 and giving these packages 24:39 to the prisoners in a dark place 24:42 and it reminded me of a story I've read one time, 24:45 where these scientists want to test these animals 24:48 under different difficult circumstances. 24:50 So they took these rats and put them in glass jars, 24:54 water them and put them in a room of total darkness 24:56 to see how long they had swim before they gave up, 24:58 allowed themselves to drown. 25:00 They only lasted for three minutes, 25:02 so they changed the scenario by shining a ray of light 25:07 in those glass jars to see how long they swim, 25:10 and they swam for 36 hours. 25:13 That's 700 times longer than the ones in total darkness. 25:16 And what made a difference between the two groups? 25:19 The light and dark. One was in total darkness. 25:22 Yeah. Right. Three minutes. 25:24 They shown a ray of light and they lasted... 25:26 For 36 hours. 25:27 Thirty six hours. Yes. 25:28 How would you say that Christmas Behind Bars 25:30 was able to bring light 25:31 and hope into people's lives that are incarcerated? 25:35 Well, God is light, and He shines that light, 25:39 and you brought that light into us 25:41 to help us keep swimming, not allowing us to drown, 25:44 and that's the fabulous thing about 25:46 the Christmas Behind Bars that shine that light 25:48 into our hearts to allow us know, 25:50 "Hey, it's going to be okay, 25:51 keep on swimming, you're gonna make it." 25:54 I've been receiving packages 25:55 since my time in the Lowell batch 25:57 which would been about 2003, 2004 timeframe. 25:59 So quite a few years, 26:00 you had been receiving packages. 26:02 What would you say to our sponsors literally 26:03 around the world that have helped 26:05 make this program possible 26:06 through both the materials and the tangible blessings? 26:08 Your generosity has helped to reach 26:11 thousands of incarcerated people 26:13 who may not have heard the Word, 26:14 may not know what the Word's about 26:15 and gives us hope. 26:17 And let me tell you, 26:18 I'm a person who doesn't get visits 26:19 and very little visitation with my family. 26:21 So anything that shows people care means a lot. 26:25 It means a lot. 26:26 I want to thank everybody who's donated 26:29 and helped out with this whole project. 26:31 I think it's been a blessing towards everybody. 26:33 So I just thank you 26:34 for doing everything possible that you can. 26:38 All my life I have been called unworthy 26:49 Named by the voice of my shame and regret 26:59 But when I hear You whisper 27:02 "Child lift up your head" 27:05 I remember oh God 27:08 You're not done with me yet 27:14 I am redeemed 27:19 You set me free 27:25 So I'll shake off theses heavy chains 27:29 And wipe away every stain 27:31 Now I'm not who I used to be I've been 27:38 I don't have to be that old man inside of me 27:42 'Cause his day is long dead and gone 27:47 Because I've got a new name 27:50 A new life I'm not the same 27:53 And a hope that will carry me home 28:02 I'm an inmate here at CIF. 28:04 What Christmas Behind Bars means to us, 28:07 I can't really convey or communicate 28:10 what it means to the inmates. 28:11 Ever since I've been locked up for about seven years, 28:14 every year, it makes such an impact on everybody 28:17 they anticipate to this ministry, 28:20 the food, the preaching, the message, 28:24 the spirit of friendliness, 28:26 in giving that they convey, I'm with an American Legion, 28:30 we donated $1500 last year to Mr. Vega. 28:33 We're glad that that money is able to translate 28:36 to some bags for women's prison, 28:39 we were informed so. 28:41 We're really lucky and fortunate, 28:42 we thank you guys in every possible way. 28:46 We're thankful and we're grateful every day 28:48 and every time of the year that this comes to us. 28:52 You now have been able to see the value 28:54 of how God is working 28:55 in the midst of this world in which we live. 28:57 The Lord is using those that are incarcerated 29:00 to put packages together 29:01 and bring hope to another prison 29:03 in a faraway place, and we're asking you today 29:06 to continue to sponsor this ministry, 29:08 Christmas Behind Bars free indeed 29:10 with your financial sponsorship, 29:13 your love and your prayers, we wish you God's blessings. 29:22 Thank God, redeemed 29:37 That was a very touching clip. 29:39 Now, you have a scripture that you want to share 29:42 that kind of states 29:43 why this type of work is so important. 29:46 So important. 29:48 You know, it says in Matthew 25:40, 29:52 "And the King," who is that? Jesus. 29:55 Jesus, red letters in my Bible, "And the King shall answer 29:58 and say unto them, "Verily I say unto you, 30:01 inasmuch you have done it unto one of the least 30:06 of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." 30:11 And that's... And he's talking about, 30:13 you know, this is the end of time 30:15 when Jesus comes back, Matthew 25:31, 30:17 "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, 30:19 and all the holy angels with Him, 30:21 then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: 30:24 and before Him shall be gathered all nations, 30:26 and He shall separate them one from another 30:28 as a shepherd divideth His sheep from the goats." 30:31 So there's two groups of people when Jesus comes back. 30:34 How many groups of people are there now? 30:36 Two. Two. 30:38 So whether there is not the incarcerated and the free, 30:41 but you can be free even though you're incarcerated with Jesus, 30:44 and that's the platform that we have to share hope 30:47 with these people that are behind bars. 30:49 Because they want internal change, 30:51 not one of them signed up to go to prison. 30:54 Their best efforts have got them to prison. 30:57 And the beauty of a relationship with Christ 30:59 is the Christian people at this time said, 31:02 "When saw thee we sick, 31:03 or in prison, and came unto thee?" 31:06 And then Jesus answered and He lays it out, 31:08 "As you have done it unto one of the least of these, 31:10 my brethren, you have done it unto me." 31:13 And so that's the gospel message. 31:14 It's not just on Sabbath morning in church, 31:17 it's not just Wednesday night Bible study, 31:19 but it's actively in our daily lives, 31:22 how we unwrap the gospel to the taxi cab driver, 31:25 to the airline stewardess. 31:26 So everyone has a mission field, 31:28 it might not be prisonministries for everybody 31:31 but for you and I and many, many people, 31:33 we have a special heart for those people. 31:35 Amen? Absolutely, amen, amen. 31:37 Yeah, you know, there's some people 31:39 that are free that are walking around in society 31:42 that aren't free, they're held captive 31:47 but Jesus wants to set them free. 31:49 And so that video was so touching, 31:52 and while that clip was going on, 31:55 you told me about a gentleman that... 31:59 You told me about a gentleman 32:01 who had experienced forgiveness, 32:02 talk about that? 32:04 You know, there's a man, a good friend of mine, 32:06 he's in prison now for many, many years. 32:08 And he was molested as a young child, 32:12 riding the school bus, 32:13 riding the church bus to church. 32:16 So he'd been molested, and he had all this anger 32:18 and animosity build up in him. 32:19 And for some reason, I don't know the circumstances, 32:21 but he shot a Christian in the head. 32:24 And you know, Jason, in the courtroom, 32:26 the Christian said, "I forgive you." 32:30 So the Christian survived being shot in the head. 32:33 Yes. And forgave the one who shot. 32:35 In the courtroom, he said, "I forgive you." 32:38 And that started the conversion experience for him that 32:41 if this man that I had done, tried to kill, shot, 32:44 whatever, could forgive me, somehow there must be 32:48 something to the Christianity, you know, dialogue or theme, 32:53 so that's amazing for sure. Wow! 32:55 And roughly, how many prisons have you been to? 32:58 You know, we don't keep track. We don't have any idea. 33:01 I know we've been as far north this year, brand new, 33:04 new facility, North Dakota, South Dakota. 33:08 We've been as far as Minnesota prior to that, 33:10 as far as Northwest, as far we've been to Ohio, 33:14 as far as Northeast Ohio, State of Virginia, 33:17 South Carolina, North Carolina, as far as Southeast Florida. 33:20 Did you go with us to Florida? 33:21 Yes, I was with you in Florida, yes. 33:23 Tell us what it means for you 33:25 to take time off of work to travel, to come, 33:28 and drive many hours to a place. 33:31 I mean, why would you do that? 33:32 I mean, what does it mean to you 33:34 and how would you encourage other people to do that? 33:36 Well, I mean, I've seen what God has done 33:38 in my own life. 33:39 I've seen how many times God has forgiven me 33:41 for ridiculous things that I've done in my past 33:45 and, you know, how He continues to forgive me 33:48 for things and lead, guide and direct. 33:51 And so with him pouring that love into me, 33:54 I can't help but want to share that love 33:56 with everyone that I come in contact with. 33:58 And the people that are behind bars 34:00 are still human beings even though media 34:04 and all of that other stuff tries to paint 34:07 a picture of them as animals, 34:10 but they're human beings, and Christ died for them 34:13 just like He died for me, you know, John 3:16, 34:16 "For God so loved the world 34:18 that He gave His only begotten Son 34:19 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish 34:22 but have everlasting life." 34:23 So for me, it's important that I let them know 34:29 that they're not forgotten, 34:31 that they're still loved and not forgotten. 34:33 And we're not neglecting the fact 34:34 that they have done terrible things, 34:37 and perhaps killed someone's family member 34:39 or what a drunk driver. 34:40 So these are terrible things. 34:42 But without forgiveness, we ourselves are not going 34:45 to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 34:46 So there has to be forgiveness on both sides 34:48 and then growth from there. 34:50 What was your experience? 34:52 I mean, when they allow you to come into prison, 34:54 you have to do a background check, 34:55 and then show your ID, 34:56 and then they give you a visitor's badge, 34:58 then they release you back into the prison. 35:00 And I remember, one time, 35:02 we were doing a program in the chapel. 35:04 And then in order to get all the bags passed out, 35:07 I asked if you'd come with me, 35:08 so we just walked through the whole prison. 35:10 I mean, we just walked through the prison, grab bags, 35:12 and went to different places, and that's amazing. 35:14 Yeah, it is. 35:15 And it's interesting to meet and greet, 35:18 you know, meet them, and hear some of their stories, 35:21 and just see, you can see in some of their faces 35:26 how remorseful they are for what they did 35:28 and how they want to have that relationship with Christ. 35:32 I mean, it's an amazing experience, 35:34 and that words can't accurately portray 35:39 just how awesome it is. 35:40 You go in there to be a blessing, 35:43 and you come out being more and more blessed 35:46 than when you went in there. 35:47 For sure. 35:48 We've seen growth here at 3ABN in your prison ministry 35:52 that you have here, we're taking gift packages 35:54 not just going and ministering, 35:56 you have a prison ministry here, 35:57 and we really appreciate that. 35:59 I want our viewers to know that Christmas Behind Bars 36:01 didn't start as some big organization, 36:03 it started with one county jail. 36:05 And then on the way home that night, 36:09 one county jail, one year clean, 36:10 walking with Jesus, I took my wife's hand 36:13 on the way home that night, and I said, 36:14 "Baby, you couldn't give me a brand new Corvette 36:17 which is a 30, $40,000 car. 36:20 You couldn't give me a brand new Corvette 36:21 for the blessing that I received tonight." 36:25 And then on the way home, 36:26 then we had some extra packages, 36:27 we stopped by a jail, they had 100 inmates, 36:29 we only had 50 extra packages. 36:31 We said, "Look, can we drop these off here 36:33 and then each inmate could share a package?" 36:35 That was one of the little ones they said sure. 36:37 So the next year we did the one jail, the 350, 36:41 then this jail, and then we added. 36:42 Every year, we've added three jail, five jail. 36:45 So I can't begin to tell you. 36:47 And it's not about where we've been, 36:49 it's about where God wants to lead us 36:51 and continue to take us into new places. 36:54 And we need help, Jason. We really do. 36:56 We need help with devotional books. 36:58 At some point, we've just been putting a book 37:00 in every other bag. 37:02 And we want every inmate to receive a book. 37:05 Absolutely. 37:06 The Bibles, you know, they're asking for Bibles, 37:08 we can't fund the amount of requests 37:10 we get for study Bibles. 37:12 Even the cheap Bible's for $3 and 4$ a piece, 37:15 those are still nice to have. 37:16 But for those of you that, you know, 37:18 you see them 50 years in prison, 37:20 it's nice to get a study Bible, because they're in the Word, 37:23 and so it's a great need 37:26 that we have as far as for devotional material, 37:28 Bibles. 37:30 People at home, church schools, 37:32 churches could make thinking of U cards. 37:34 A card is actually, I tell people, 37:36 is worth its weight in gold. 37:38 So if a card weighs one ounce, 37:39 it's worth its weight in gold in one ounce. 37:41 And elaborate on that, why is that? 37:43 Well, because most of the people in prison, 37:45 there was a lady in prison, Indiana Women's Prison. 37:47 She'd been in prison, I think for 12 or 16 years, 37:50 I forget the number, and she never got a visit. 37:53 A lot of people when they go to jail or prison, 37:55 they burned all their bridges, they stole from their family, 37:57 their family don't want anything else to do with them. 37:59 And so there they are alone and that's how we feel 38:04 it's important to direct them 38:05 to Christ at that time in their life. 38:08 So they don't get their name called to mail call, 38:10 they don't have anyone to call, they don't get visits, 38:12 and so there they are alone, 38:14 and they get a homemade thinking of U card 38:15 with a Bible scripture on it, "Keep your chin up, 38:17 there's hope for you life," is just absolutely amazing. 38:21 We delivered last year, 38:24 3,300 gift packages to one prison. 38:28 That's almost a whole semi trailer full of packages 38:30 for the big prisons. 38:31 So we unloaded and the inmates helped us unloading, 38:33 we backed the trailer up, they helped us unload, 38:35 and we're gonna do the program there in a couple of days. 38:38 But I asked the inmates, I said, 38:39 "Is there anybody here that would like to share anything? 38:41 It was count time, we couldn't go anywhere. 38:43 Is there anybody who'd like to share anything about 38:45 what this ministry has meant to you?" 38:47 Because we take bags and then we leave and we don't, 38:51 you know, we don't get to kick it with them. 38:52 You know, we don't see them unwrap their packages. 38:55 And an inmates told me, he said that his job 38:58 in the prison is to watch when someone commits suicide 39:01 or tries to commit suicide. 39:02 They put them in a cell, solitary cell by themselves 39:05 so they don't hurt themselves. 39:07 An inmate is assigned to that cell, 24 hours a day, 39:10 they take shifts like eight hour shifts. 39:12 So he said my job is to sit outside the people 39:14 who try to commit suicide, their cells 39:17 and talk to them if they want to talk. 39:19 He said that, since we heard that Christmas Behind Bars 39:22 was coming, he said there is not been 39:25 one suicide watch initiated, or not... 39:28 Or only one in that span of time. 39:31 Wow! And why was that? 39:33 Because everyone in that whole prison 39:35 had hope looking forward 39:37 to Christmas Behind Bars was coming, 39:39 so their mind was taken off 39:41 of the cares and burdens or depression. 39:43 And so that's how we should be as Christians looking forward, 39:47 we have that hope that Jesus is coming soon, 39:50 and so we should have that hope, 39:52 and we shouldn't be discouraged, 39:53 and we shouldn't be down and out. 39:54 We shouldn't be living out of medication pills, 39:57 bottles to make it through the day. 39:59 So it should be that vibrant hope in Jesus. 40:01 And so that's what we want to share with the inmates. 40:03 At the same time, we want to encourage 40:05 those people to be involved 40:07 if they want to help with Bibles or financially. 40:10 That would be a wonderful blessing. 40:11 We need a warehouse. 40:13 We're hoping to build a 12,000 square foot warehouse here 40:16 within the next year or lease some warehouse space. 40:19 So as the ministry expands, it's no longer a van, 40:23 it's no longer a van pulling a trailer, 40:25 it's no longer a box truck, 40:26 but we're talking semis moving down the road, 40:29 and trailers and stuff like that as we expand. 40:33 Folsom Prison in California, can you share 40:35 a little bit about that opportunity 40:37 that looks like we might have? 40:39 Well, I mean, it looks... 40:40 You could probably share more about it than I could, 40:43 but I know that there's an invitation 40:46 they want to start something there. 40:48 I got an email just the other day 40:50 from someone I don't know, 40:51 somehow they heard of Christmas Behind Bars, 40:53 and they have an active prison ministry there, 40:56 and they were wondering if they could bring 40:57 this program there. 40:58 And I'm like, absolutely, let's move forward, 41:01 so you have to send a sample bag 41:03 and then talk to the warden and get approvals, but... 41:05 And is it like that every prison is different. 41:08 Correct? Okay. Yes, sir. 41:09 So what are some of the other ways 41:12 that you've made it into 41:13 some other prisons with this program? 41:16 Well, I'll tell you what. 41:17 I had an idea, a lot of times the chaplains all had... 41:21 They're really busy, overwork, 41:23 they got death notices and all kinds... 41:25 So the prison and the chaplains are overworked, 41:27 a lot of requests. 41:28 And so I had the idea that somehow if we could 41:30 connect with the wardens, that if the warden says yes, 41:34 then I'll tell you what, 41:36 everybody else says yes, you know. 41:37 So it's like they roll out the red carpet. 41:39 So we put an ad in the ACA, 41:41 American Correctional Association magazine, 41:43 we put an ad in there. 41:45 And we thought, "Well, if the warden would read 41:48 that that you got free gift packages for inmates." 41:50 And so we've gotten calls from Virginia, South Carolina, 41:52 "Would you come to our prison?" 41:54 First federal prison in Baltimore Maryland, 41:57 a warden or superintendent saw it, called. 41:59 And when the warden says yes, 42:01 the doors are open all the way through. 42:02 So that's amazing. 42:04 And we work together at the ACA convention in... 42:07 Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. 42:10 We were there, Jason, a little booth, 42:12 we're just trying to meet wardens 42:13 and show a little gift package of what we do and why we do it, 42:16 and they're scratching their head, "This is free?" 42:18 And it's like, "Well, sponsors... 42:19 By faith, we believe we're gonna make this possible. 42:22 And there was a warden that come up to our booth 42:24 and he said, "Why haven't you been to my prison?" 42:27 I said, "Well, sir, I haven't got an invitation." 42:29 He pulled out his business card, 42:30 and the doors were open. 42:33 Alabama, there's prison, it's been open through 42:36 meeting wardens and stuff like that. 42:38 So God is moving in a great way in this time, 42:42 degraded time that we seem like we're living with the CNN news 42:46 and all the problems. 42:47 The Lord is moving in great ways, 42:49 touching the hearts of those 42:50 who are in charge of these prisons, 42:51 allowing volunteers to come in and bring hope. 42:54 Yes, amen. 42:55 And there's so much work still to be done. 42:58 And you need more people to help. 43:01 Volunteers. Yeah, exactly. 43:02 So if a church would like to sponsor, 43:04 got an email from the prison in Illinois, 43:07 not too far from here, and they wanted to talk 43:10 about prison ministries. 43:12 And actually, you're going to be going 43:14 and speaking at that church. 43:15 I invited you to come and speak. 43:17 Yeah, I got invited to preach at that church. 43:18 I'm excited about that too, 43:20 this is going to be my second sermon. 43:22 Amen. 43:23 I've got one in the weekend before that. 43:25 So I'm looking forward 43:27 to this prison ministry Sabbath. 43:28 And so that's gonna be exciting 43:30 and Celestine is going to be singing. 43:31 Oh, good deal. 43:33 She's come on the road with us a lot, 43:34 she is from 3ABN. 43:37 What would you share with the parents, Jason, 43:40 that had people in prison, that have maybe, 43:44 almost watered them up in almost some way? 43:46 What would you share with the mother 43:47 that's never seen a change in her son's life, 43:49 what would you share with the family? 43:51 Prayer changes things. 43:53 You have to be consistent with praying and uplifting 43:57 that family member, and you don't shun them, 44:00 you embrace them, 44:01 you may not like what they've done. 44:03 You may not condone their behavior 44:05 but Christ doesn't like sin, but He loves the sinner. 44:12 And I think it's important that you embrace 44:15 and support that individual, 44:17 because there's a desperate cry for help, 44:19 there's something that's missing there, 44:21 and you have to figure out what that is. 44:24 I want to hear more testimonies from inmates 44:28 that you may have met inside some of these facilities. 44:32 I don't want to minimize prayer for the family 44:34 but they could pick up a pen 44:36 and write him a letter today and say, 44:37 Son I still love you, or daughter I still love you. 44:39 So Mom or Dad, they... 44:41 My mother never lived long enough 44:42 to see a change in my life, 44:44 even though if I'd come home late at night, 44:46 she'd be kneeling by her bed claiming God's promises, 44:48 you know. 44:50 You know, there was an inmate in Kentucky, 44:53 it was one of the last groups of the day, and the chaplain... 44:57 The program had already started, 44:58 they'd already open with prayer, 45:00 we ask inmates if they come up open with prayer. 45:02 And then we share how God's worked in our lives 45:04 and share Bible scriptures 45:05 whether it's a story of Jonah or Noah, 45:08 or however that there is faithful, 45:09 God wants to use people. 45:10 Even though you're not born a misfit, 45:13 you're born with a sin problem, 45:14 and God wants to use you wherever you are. 45:17 And this chaplain come up to me, Jason, 45:19 and he says, "You have the main Muslim leader 45:22 and this whole prison is in this service, 45:24 because 99.9% of the whole prisoners, 45:27 all come out to the services. 45:28 Like you said, some come just for the bag, 45:30 but they can hear, there's hope for their life, 45:32 when you look in their eyes 45:33 and shake their hand and hand in the packet. 45:35 Say, "Bro, we love you, you know." 45:38 And the chaplain says, "Hey, the main Muslim leader 45:40 in this whole prison is in this service, 45:41 and I'm scratching my head. 45:43 I mean, we already started the program, 45:44 and I said, "Why are you telling me that?" 45:46 But as I closed the service, I was impressed to share that, 45:50 before I got out of prison, 45:52 I had some people come up to me, 45:53 and they threatened me, and they told me 45:55 I had to do such and so, such and so, such and so. 45:58 And I got beat up really bad, but the Lord sent 46:02 some gang people who are of another persuasion or faith, 46:07 I don't know if they were Muslim or what, 46:08 but they were not Christians. 46:10 And they stood up for me, 46:11 and they told all these other people, 46:13 "You all better leave Vega alone." 46:14 So the Lord sent these people. 46:16 In the last six months of my time in prison, 46:18 it was nip and tuck, but the Lord sent these people, 46:21 and I shared that. 46:23 And at the end of that service, the whole chapel was dismissed. 46:26 It starts at the back and it's dismissed 46:28 all the way to the front, and there were two people 46:31 sitting over here on the left hand side, 46:32 big dudes, they come walking up, 46:35 and the one man said, "I'd like to know 46:37 if you'd have prayer with me." 46:39 He said, "My mom is really, really sick." 46:41 I said, "Absolutely," we went in the back room there 46:44 around the corner, kneel down, 46:45 I had prayer, the other guy left, 46:47 and the man went, got his bag at the end, 46:49 and he left the chapel and that prison. 46:51 And the chaplain come running up to me 46:53 and he said, "What did that guy want? 46:54 What did that guy want?" 46:55 I said, "Well, his momma really sick 46:57 and got cancer and want to have prayer." 46:59 And he said, "That's the guy." 47:01 He said, "That's the Muslim guy I've been telling. 47:02 That's the guy, the main..." 47:04 And I'm like, "Why you tell... he's gone. 47:06 I don't know his name, I don't know his number." 47:08 And you know what brother, 47:11 the next year, we went back there. 47:13 And the end of the service... 47:14 I was thinking about the man 47:16 as we're riding up to the prison that morning 47:17 to go in and check in, 47:18 it was the last day at the prison, 47:20 and I'm thinking about this man. 47:21 And this man came up to me at the last service, 47:23 and he said you probably... 47:25 put his hand on and said, "You probably 47:26 don't remember me but..." 47:27 I said, "How's momma doing?" 47:29 He said "Momma doing so much better." 47:31 Oh, praise the Lord. 47:32 And then he stood there for what seemed to be 47:34 five minutes is probably thirty seconds. 47:37 He said, "I'd like to know if you'd have prayer with me." 47:39 He said, "I'm thinking about being a Christian." 47:42 And we went back there in that same room and kneeled down, 47:45 and I prayed, I asked him to pray, 47:46 and I got his name, and we sent him a study Bible. 47:49 And I saw him, Jason, at the prison 47:51 that we visited in Kentucky. 47:53 You were there. Yes. 47:54 And I saw him there and he said, 47:56 "I still have my Bible." 47:57 He said, "I'm not where I want to be," 48:00 but he said, "I'm so much better than what I was." 48:03 And so one study Bible put in someone's hands 48:05 and God answering prayers and moving specifically 48:08 in each one of their lives, it's not a cookie cutter. 48:10 God works in many different ways 48:12 in these people's lives, and so it's just 48:14 so worth it is all I can say. 48:15 Absolutely, I remember when we were in Kentucky, 48:19 we were in the prison there. 48:20 And you were giving away some study Bibles. 48:23 You gave, I think, two away that day, 48:25 because I think they volunteered 48:27 or answered the question right. 48:28 Come up and open with prayer, 48:29 I usually try to give a study Bible. 48:31 Yes. 48:32 And so actually you gave more away, 48:33 because we went to another unit too, 48:35 like a whole another deal for people 48:37 that were going to get out soon, 48:39 and there we got to interact with them. 48:41 Oh, yeah, minimum. Yes, yes. 48:44 So at this particular facility, you gave these Bibles away 48:48 and the guy just started crying. 48:51 He just, tears just started flowing down his face. 48:55 And I mean, to see somebody so excited to have 48:58 the Word of God in their hands is absolutely amazing, 49:02 it's a powerful thing, it's very powerful. 49:06 I'm looking forward to going back into a prison. 49:09 When I spent one night in jail, 49:12 I got out as like I'm never going back, 49:14 and I never want to have doors closed 49:17 behind me unlock and all that stuff. 49:20 But now partaking in prison ministry, 49:23 like I've got the bug, like I want to go into prisons, 49:27 I want to meet these guys, to talk to these guys, 49:30 and tell them that there's hope. 49:31 Amen. It's exciting. 49:34 I want our viewers to get involved 49:37 with Christmas Behind Bars. 49:38 I want them to catch the vision, 49:41 and support what you're doing because it's very important, 49:44 and God has blessed you to be able to go in 49:47 and share with these people. 49:49 So when people want to get involved, 49:52 how do they reach out to you? 49:54 They can get us at christmasbehindbars.org 49:57 is the website and then at that point, 49:59 they can get our contact email information, 50:02 our email's actually, 50:03 contact @christmasbehindbars.org. 50:05 Okay. 50:07 The email's christmasbehindbars. 50:08 You know, it blows me away, Jason, 50:10 that from getting out of prison 50:11 and taken in little packages of dope 50:13 for self gain personal interest, 50:16 now to be able to take in 2,000, 3,000 packages 50:20 for each and every one to share the gospel. 50:21 So we need help with Bibles, 50:23 we need help with devotional books, 50:24 we'd like to encourage a church 50:26 or prison ministry already to encourage them 50:29 to reach out to their whole network 50:30 of people in that prison. 50:32 So however we can help, that's what we're here for, 50:34 and we thank you for your sponsorship 50:36 and for your love and for your prayers. 50:37 Oh, praise the Lord. 50:39 And also even with places to stay like 50:41 in terms of hotels and things, 50:44 because, you know, traveling 50:45 and going to these different cities, 50:47 hotels aren't cheap. 50:49 And so, you know, you're staying there 50:51 because you're in the prison like, 50:53 maybe 14 hours or however many hours, 50:56 and you see a lot of guys. 50:57 So even with hotel costs and stuff like that, 51:01 if people would donate towards that effect as well, 51:04 I'm sure that would be helpful too. 51:06 With Christmas Behind Bars, 51:07 the beauty of Christmas Behind Bars 51:08 is everything is volunteer. 51:11 We don't get paid, we don't get pay, 51:13 we don't take a salary from Christmas Behind Bars, 51:15 it's all volunteer. 51:16 So every dollar that comes in actually goes right 51:19 to where the rubber meets the road. 51:20 So a sponsor can feel good, with some ministries, 51:23 you know, there's been, 51:24 lot goes for overhead and goes here and... 51:26 It goes right into where the rubber meets the road 51:28 so that's the beauty of Christmas behind bars. 51:30 And it's all year long, it's the gospel. 51:33 It's not Santa Claus, it's not jingle bells, 51:35 it's the gift of God's Son Jesus Christ, 51:38 His crucifixion, His resurrection, 51:41 and His soon return. 51:43 So what do you see next for Christmas Behind Bars? 51:47 Well, California is a long way off. 51:50 Okay. 51:51 There's other countries, Australia has talked about 51:53 possibly doing some prison ministry work. 51:55 I mean, the ideas went over there 51:57 and Canada as well. 51:58 And I'm only one person, but I'll try to help 52:02 however we can to share that vision. 52:03 You know, if we need to fly to Canada, 52:05 I'll fly to Canada how to get there, 52:06 I don't know, how much airline ticket costs, 52:08 I don't know. 52:09 Most of our stuff is done in driving 52:11 but Lord can figure out all that. 52:12 Absolutely, sure, He can. 52:14 What are some of the things that you share with the inmates 52:17 when you're talking to them, 52:19 when you're sharing the word with them? 52:22 What are some of the things that you tell them? 52:24 Will back up to your other question, 52:26 and your other question's, what do we see 52:27 for Christmas Behind Bars. 52:29 We want to see growth that churches can reach out 52:32 to their own county jail, then maybe one or two. 52:34 So we want to see growth across the country 52:37 to share a gospel message with hurting people. 52:40 As far as the... 52:42 What we share with the inmates... 52:46 It might be a sex offender prison, 52:48 it might be a group that's been really got 52:52 a lot of problems in that way. 52:53 We might share the story of how the woman got caught 52:56 in the very act of adultery. 52:57 And how Jesus had that 52:58 divine interaction with that woman 53:00 and said, "Neither do I condemn thee, 53:03 but go and sin no more." 53:05 You know, the story of Jonah, 53:06 you know, how they run from God, 53:07 you know, and how many of you tried 53:09 to do it your own way, 53:11 many people raise their hand to, 53:12 I say, "How's that working out for you?" 53:14 "Well, it's not working out very good." 53:16 So see, brother, all their life they've tried to change, 53:19 but without Christ being the focal point, 53:21 the center of that hub in the wheel, 53:23 without Him being the center all these other things 53:26 are not gonna work, it's not gonna work. 53:30 But with Christ being the center, then yes, 53:33 there's room for counseling, 53:35 and there's room for these things, 53:36 and there's room for all these things, 53:37 and there's room... 53:39 But he's got to be the focal point. 53:40 So if we can just direct them to Him, 53:44 promising them that He'll work out magnificent, 53:47 marvelous things in their life that they never expected. 53:50 He gives peace that passes understanding. 53:53 He's the bread of life, He's the living water. 53:55 And they'll continue to eat and drink 53:57 with Christ continually being filled. 54:01 And that's what a lot of them are looking for, is that peace, 54:04 because there's been an absence of that 54:06 throughout most of their lives, you know. 54:09 Genuine peace only comes from the Lord so... 54:12 And they can have peace in the gang, 54:13 there's gang and there's violence, 54:15 and there's robbery, 54:16 and there's all kinds of stuff in prison, 54:17 but they still can find that peace, 54:19 and that's what Christmas Behind Bars 54:21 wants to share with them. 54:22 Now it's interesting too, because I remember 54:24 being in several of the facilities, 54:26 and you'll hold up over a roll of toilet paper. 54:29 Now go ahead, yeah, you got to tell us about it, 54:32 you got to tell us what you say, 54:34 when you're holding up the roll of toilet paper. 54:36 Well, it's just something as simple 54:38 as a roll of toilet paper, 54:39 because you've got to use the things that are in there. 54:40 If you go in the segregation, that's all they got, 54:42 is a roll of toilet paper or maybe a garbage can 54:43 or whatever it is. 54:44 So a roll of toilet paper as I just like to unravel it 54:46 and asked them, I said, "Hey, what is this?" 54:48 And they said, "What? Toilet paper." 54:50 Okay, toilet paper. 54:51 I said, "How many of you choose to use this?" 54:55 You know, and I said, 54:56 "I believe 99.9% of you choose to use it." 54:58 I said, "Well, why do you use it, 55:00 you just tear off a piece," and they say, 55:01 "Well, 'cause it cleans up messy situations." 55:03 I said, 55:07 "Christ allowed into the heart 55:11 begins to clean up messy situations. 55:14 And as the heart and the mind begins to change, 55:17 the external problems that brought us to prison 55:20 will come into conformity 55:22 with the change positiveness peer 55:24 that begins to change in our lives. 55:26 So something as simple as toilet paper 55:28 begins its analogy, you know, 55:31 we're not there to preach to them, 55:32 we're not there to talk down to them, 55:34 we're there to promise them 55:35 that there is hope for their life. 55:37 Do we have time to share one more? 55:38 Yeah. We got time. 55:39 You know, if you take a $20 bill, 55:41 which you are not allowed to take much money in prison, 55:43 but if you take a $20 bill, $50 bill, $5 bill, 55:46 whatever you need, 55:47 how many of you would like this? 55:49 If I could give this to you today, 55:50 now green money is worth a whole lot more in prison 55:52 than is on the street, because they can trade 55:53 and do all kinds of things. 55:55 How many of you would like this amount of money? 55:58 And you know, someone will raise their hands, 55:59 few of them maybe raise their hands. 56:00 I said, "Man, you all must be on too much thoughts. 56:02 And if you don't want this..." 56:03 You know, they raise their hand, they want it. 56:05 But if you take that $20, $50 bill, 56:07 you wadded it up and crumpled it up, you say, 56:09 "How many of you still want it?" 56:11 They all do. 56:12 You throw it on the ground, you spin on it, 56:14 whatever you step on it and say, 56:15 "How many of you still throw in the garbage can? 56:17 How many of you still want it?" 56:19 They all do. And I say, "Why?" 56:22 Because it's still the same, still the value is the same. 56:27 Then you flip them back to Genesis 1:1, 56:31 "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." 56:34 Genesis 1:26-27 says, "And God said, 56:37 'Let us make humanity, humanity man in our image.'" 56:43 So your design, your DNA has been mapped out 56:46 from the beginning of time 56:50 that there is hope for your life through Christ. 56:54 And so if we can just connect Him with that, 56:56 that your value is still the same, 56:57 even though you feel rumpled 56:59 and crumpled you begin to unfold that, 57:01 even though you may feel rumpled and crumpled, 57:03 your value is... The same. 57:05 And they all say, "Still the same." 57:07 So we just want to encourage them 57:08 to try one more time, Jason. 57:10 Yeah, just one more time. One more time. 57:13 That is such a... That's powerful. 57:15 It's powerful and it's something that 57:17 needs to be said, needs to be heard. 57:19 And from what I've seen in those institutions, 57:24 it's been well received, you know. 57:26 By the inmates. Amen! Yes, by the inmates. 57:27 And as a result of being there, 57:30 the guards' lives are touched as well 57:32 because some of them aren't Christians 57:34 or some of them might not know about the Lord, 57:36 and they're listening to what's going on, 57:38 and they see the difference in the men as well. 57:40 There was a baptism at the Pendleton Correctional Facility 57:43 and an officer walked in the back 57:45 to watch the baptisms. 57:47 And he said that, that inmate encouraged him, 57:49 his wife has left him, 57:50 he's thinking about giving up on life 57:52 and an inmate had encouraged him for Christ. 57:53 Well, thank you so much for being here, and thank you. 57:58 Well, we've reached the end of another program. 58:00 Thanks for tuning in. 58:02 Join us next time and remember, 58:03 it just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2024-08-09