Today was a very long, but extremely rewarding day. After breakfast we went back to the park for the clothing and food giveaway. We gave away all 56 bags of groceries and many more clothes. It was a cold and breezy day with no sunshine, but the rain held off until it was time for us to begin closing up anyway.
Colin, Stephen, and Dan went back to the work site this morning, where they installed a sewer line, gas stove, electrical line, and water line. They worked very hard and accomplished a lot!
The rest of us left the park and went to the local Foodland grocery store where we purchased food to make subs for the ladies at the Greenbriar Birthing Center. The manager, Mark, was gracious enough to donate all the bread - over $20 worth! We then traveled to Hillsboro where we met the rest of our team at the Birthing Center. Greenbriar is a Minimum Custody Federal Prison for ladies who enter the system while expecting. They come here in the sixth month of pregnancy, and after the birth of the baby they are allowed to stay there with their child for the first 18 months of the child's life.
There were 15 inmates and 15 babies there today. We played games, did some group building activities, crafts, and held Bible Study with the ladies. A huge thanks goes to Lynne Cullins who planned and led all of this!!! The men were very helpful in playing with the babies and interacting with the inmates. One of the inmates told me that she was thankful for all of us men coming because her child rarely gets to see a male. The children were precious! It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it ;-)
We baked cookies for the inmates and had dinner with them before leaving and sprinting over to the men's prison next door for worship services. Dan and Will left after dinner and headed back to Raleigh because of obligations they had there.
Tonight we had a wonderful worship experience with 42 inmates at Denmar Correctional Facility. It is a medium custody state prison. The men who came to the service shared some powerful testimonies and we sang hymns together. Their choir sang a number of songs, and I was privileged to share a message from the Gospel of Matthew. During the invitation, numerous inmates came forward for prayer.
After the service, I was blessed to join Pastor Jerry and the pastor from Kentucky as we had a time of sharing and prayer with one of the inmates who is trying to re-connect with his wife who has had no contact with him in over two years.
We got back to camp around 9:30 tonight and everyone is very tired. It has been a very good day! Pray for our safety as we travel back to Raleigh tomorrow.
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