The Power of Prayer

As many of you know, I grew up in a homewhere there was constant chaos and fighting. My teen years were very turbulent. I carried heavy baggage with me on each long step of my journey. I did not have the courage or faith to embrace hope. However, during my childhood days, I had a grandmother who believed God and prayed for me daily. She spoke these words of faith into my broken heart.

One day you will grow up and you will become a missionary. You will travel to Africa and tell people about Jesus.

africa_sized

The miracle is that God brought me out of darkness into His marvelous light. He has also sent me to Africa. The sorrow of my past has become an instrument of healing for others.

We have a Redeemer. Thank you for your prayers. They are a huge support and encouragement to me!

Prayer Requests

• Alpha has asked Terry to test-pilot a new recovery program for them! He is teaching the material on Wednesday nights at Woodman State Jail.
• Woodman Outreach! Four-day outreach at Woodman, November 3-6.
• The worship team.
• Nancy Grisham as she comes to teach.
• Many volunteers who will go out into population to minister to the 800 women housed there.
• Jesus to set the captives free!

Jean's Corner - October 2011

britt

Brittany Holberg has been on death row in Mountain View prison for 13 years. I first met her while I still lived in Milwaukee. However, for the last several years I have had the opportunity to be Britt’s spiritual advisor. This summer Britt was sent to the Amarillo county jail to appear before a judge. She came back on fire for God!

Britt's Story

"I felt overwhelmed with fear at times before I left for the county jail. I prayed for strength and wisdom. From the moment I left my cell I saw answers to my desperate prayer. It has been 13 years since I'd seen the outside world and I was in awe of God's creation. The officers who drove the state car and escorted me were curious about "life on the row."

I found myself talking freely about my walk with Jesus. The more I talked about Him the less I thought about my situation. I'd heard and even confessed to letting go and letting God take over. I was put to the test!

On death row we are housed in individual cells, isolated from general population. Not so in the Amarillo jail. I was housed with other women. I recognized the brokenness in the women around me. I could relate to their lostness and the bondage of guilt and shame that is far greater then prison bars. I had a desire to share the love that I have found in Christ with them. I wanted them to see Jesus in me the way I see Jesus in Jean.

I never imagined how powerful my own testimony could be. My purpose now is to share His grace and mercy with as many people as I can."

I look forward to my twice-monthly visits with Britt. Her courage and faith spur me on!

Blessings to you,

Jean (& Terry too)

Thank You, Ministry Partners

kathy

Thank you, ministry partners, for funding the Ruth Project! Thank you, Dee Brestin, for using your gift to teach those behind the walls.Nearly 200 women at the Mt. View Unit participated in our first Ruth DVD Bible Study. With the leadership of Kathy and Rich Diaz, along with their well-trained team of volunteers, the inmates watched the teaching DVD and worked through lesson one of the study book. Our prayer and desire has been that this seven-week study would be relevant and produce disciples. As the women participated in the first discussion, guided by their volunteer leader, it was clear that God is answering our prayers.

Karla Faye Tucker is our example of a contemporary Ruth. She was also housed in the Mt. View unit. Karla was a woman with a painful past who was radically saved and walked with unwavering faith. She pressed through great hardship. In the time leading up to her execution, Karla became a witness to the world. Her powerful testimony continues to multiply as it is shared throughout the Ruth study. We will also use this study guide to follow up with those who read the book Karla Faye Tucker Set Free and ask for study material. Today, more than 250,000 copies are in print, and letters are received daily. Her story of faith and transformation lives on!

lori

Thank you, ministry partners, for your faithful prayers and support for the 120 inmates in our 18-month discipleship course at Murray and Hobby units!

Many graduates are now in the prison’s general population and are holding Bible studies for their fellow inmates. The following letter is from Lori, one of our graduates. This is just one example of how God is changing lives through the Faith Dorms:

Dallas’ legacy will live on through the women in white spreading the gospel of Jesus one to another. None of us will ever be the same. During my time in the faith dorm I have learned what family really means. I’ve learned about extending mercy to myself as well as others. I’ve learned to be accountable and to never accept defeat. You have taught me that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. My goal is to love others the way you do. The entire faith based dorm team is embedded on my heart forever.

Thank you, ministry partners, for your prayers and support for Terry and Jean. We are so grateful for the fruit that Terry and Jean are seeing as God changes lives through their ministry both inside of prison walls and out. They often do Sunday services at the various units as well as orientation for the newly incarcerated women. This has been an amazing year with a packed room every Wednesday for Celebrate Recovery at Woodman State Jail. Thank you for your prayers for them as they lead these vital ministries.

Here is a letter from Tiffany, a former inmate at Woodman, who was one of their participants:

I attended Celebrate Recovery with you. I appreciate how you relate to us and understand about the importance of our children. Now that I am home I am reunited with my son. We both faithfully attend CR twice a week. Thank you!

Through your giving, DU provides books and ministry materials that are so desperately needed by those behind the walls—and God is changing lives. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel. It is Jesus’ good, glad, merry news that makes us sing for joy!

Terry's Corner - July 2011

TerryS_Red

Celebrate Recovery, Temple Bible Church Tuesday Night, 6-8:30 p.m.

I am amazed each week at the work God is doing in the lives of his people! I have an integrated worship team of very diverse people and we have so much fun. Worship starts with receptive hearts and hearts are healed as we worship together.

At a recent CR meeting, one of our women from the Lane Murray Unit told of her journey to recovery. Her life had been painful and her future looked hopeless. While in prison she was separated from her children. Fast forward to today. She is home and serving the Lord by working at a homeless shelter in a small town near Temple. She has been restored to her children and is now a leader in CR on the outside.

A team from DU served dinner at CR last Tuesday. The VETS loved it. They did all the set up and clean up. It was a dinner Jesus style. Leftovers were sent home with single parent moms. What an honor to serve people both physically and spiritually.

Woodman State Jail

Jean and I are at Woodman State Jail on Wednesday nights teaching CR. These women are being set free from so much stuff. Many of them have children at home that they pray for daily. There is laughter and tears. Our hope is that one day they will join CR on the outside!

Prayer Request

This Sunday we have services at the six Gatesville Units plus two closed custody areas. Jean and I will conduct three services while Terry and Annette Cagle do the other three. Mom and Jake will go into closed custody and Jake will play guitar. The Closed custody ladies are locked up most of the time.

Thank you for all your kind words on Facebook and the DU blog. I am truly blessed to have you guys {U all} in my life!

You Minister As You Go

It was an early morning after a late night. I was getting ready to go into prison to minister. We had stayed up most of the night ministering to a new team member and I looked the part—eyes puffy and body weary. I heard myself whisper, “I am going to prison to minister?” The Lord spoke to me deep within, “You don’t go to minister; you minister as you go.” Team ministry is ministry as we go. It takes longer to establish, but you go further and have a longer-lasting ministry. Jesus sent his followers out “two by two”. It has been said He did that because He knew they would not go out one by one.

[flickr album=72157626695664257 num=7 size=Square]

But I believe it was much more than that. As we minister as a team, we are transformed. Team members see our strengths and our weaknesses. We pray for and support each other through difficulties. We learn to tap into the giftedness of our fellow team members. We become a community of believers on the move … the church without walls.

DU is an exercise machine for the body of Christ. We have nearly 200 active volunteers from various churches in Central Texas. There is a Friday night men’s group that goes to the Hughes Unit. Afterward, on most Friday nights you will find a table of six to nine men at Prima Pasta in Gatesville, breaking bread together and talking about the wonders God is doing through their Experiencing God small group studies in this tough, sweltering-hot prison.

Behind these walls of prison we are seeing scars turned into stars … both inmates and volunteers! Building community both inside and out … only GOD!!! I had a phone call from one of our faithful team members who has been leading Breaking Free in the prison. I loved her words …

God took me to prison as a volunteer teacher and leader to deliver me from bondage I have been walking with all my life.

WOW! No wonder we are commanded to go. Often inmates comment on the love they see between our team members. Jesus said that the world would know us by our love …

Your support enables this work to be multiplied over and over again. We thank you for your partnership with us. You are a vital part of this movement.

Terry's Corner - May 2011

TerryS_Red

Resurrection Sunday was a day of celebration for our family, as we traveled to the Woodman State Jail. Permission had been granted to hold open air services, so any inmate who wanted to worship could attend. Women in white quietly lined up waiting for freedom to move into our area. Razor wire framed the perimeter. Seven chairs were put in place by the young women who assist the Chaplain. The chairs were for us.

There were no pews or chairs for the inmates. Instead, they sat on the ground on concrete slabs for several hours. They were not allowed to stand. Not even for worship. But that did not hinder their passion and praise.

As I lead, “Lord I lift your name on high!” I felt the presence of the Lord. Everyone in that large jail could surely hear our worship. Correctional officers joined in singing Amazing Grace! It was a day for joy!

Terry's Corner - March 2011

TerryS_Red

My son Jake is in his second year at Temple College and will be 19 years old in May. What a man! When he was three I wrote a song entitled Jacob’s Song (that seems like such a short time ago).  As I thought about my hopes for Jake, I had written, “I pray the blessings given to me will rain down upon his shoulders and he’ll serve you.” God has answered that prayer. Recently, Jake ministered with our team in Woodman State Jail, Mountain View, Hilltop, and Death Row. This dad’s heart overflowed! Walking back into the chapel from Death Row he commented, “This is the happiest, sad place I have ever been.”  Jake’s words nailed the joy and challenge of ministering in prison.

Jake_Guitar

Jake and a gifted team of volunteers joined us for several outreaches that were off the chart! Bev DeSalvo shared her story of healing from abuse, bringing great comfort to the women.

Charla Pereau spoke six times to overflow crowds. Charla founded “Foundation for His Ministry” in Mexico’s Baja 44 years ago to provide a place of love and care for orphans. The ministry now includes an orphanage, medical center, church, feeding station for the poor and a fire department in the Baja location—and three other major works. To echo Jake’s words of this miracle ministry, “This is rad. Charla doesn’t just have an orphanage; she has a whole city.”

Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered twelve-step program, continues strong in Woodman. Last week my precious wife Jean shared her story. Many women were in tears, as God used Jean’s past to help the women with their future. This week I will teach and wrap-up the current twelve-week session. It’s a privilege to see God working in all of our lives as we draw close to Him.

A Year of Outreach

2011 has been a year of outreaches for Discipleship Unlimited. Speakers, dancers and wonderful Bible teachers have traveled from many states for these events. 3,000 women in white, from Texas City to Woodman State Jail to Gatesville Prisons, were given an opportunity to hear the “good, glad, merry news!” Prayer paves the way, as volunteers go cell to cell. Divine appointments are the order of the day.  Evenings are filled with worship and teaching. Volunteers travel from many states to join God in what He is doing here.

These men and women are all sizes, shapes, ages and backgrounds but they all want to bring God’s love. Those behind the fences are eager for a ray of hope. Jesus is our hope and prayer unlocks hearts. Edrena Smith did a fantastic job of coordinating this very diverse group of more than 150 people.

Clara_web

Recently, I received a letter from Clara, who has been in the Mountainview unit for eight years. She writes with such deep gratitude for our outreach event that she calls it a “Crusade of Love.” I want to share with you His work through Clara’s eyes:

I cannot express in words my admiration for this labor of love. For four days we have had awesome Bible teaching, poetry, music, dance, and time to interact in small groups. God hand picks each of the team members to cover our spiritual needs and there is something for everyone.

Roy Yamamoto, an ex-offender, is a full-time Pastor of New Hope Church. He shared his powerful story of redemption. He is a precious man of God. We are all ready to follow him to Hawaii to help with his Agape camp for children of the incarcerated.

Jill Briscoe returned to us with her lovely British accent and her stories of those in third world countries who suffer for serving Christ. Her messages give us a desire to go deeper and be stronger in our walk. She writes poetry and one of the team members, who is a lovely ballerina, danced as the poem was recited. It left a lasting impression of what it is like to be in Heaven or Hell—to be alone in a pit or in heaven with Jesus.

Many of the team members who serve with Discipleship Unlimited bring their children or grandchildren. Terry Strom has been a regular at our prison for years. He makes us feel comfortable because he is kind and makes us laugh. We love him. Jake Strom is 18 and tall and handsome. He plays the electric guitar with his father. Sue Mayer from Wisconsin brought her daughter to sing and share her story with us.

I can't believe people do this. Instead of going to a resort or for a four day week-end vacation they come to Gatesville and spend time with prisoners, [who feel like] the lowest of the low in the whole wide world.... They inspire us with hope and their messages are received with joy in our hearts. They encourage, comfort and urge us to live lives worthy of God. So many pleasant memories are left in our hearts. We long to see them again and again!

Thank you for soothing our afflicted hearts. Thank you for inspiring us to live a life worthy of love.

Clara

It is wonderful to receive such an affirming letter. However, for all of us who minister behind the walls, the joy is ours. We love the men and women who welcome us into their world and open their hearts to Him. For it is His call—to go to captives and watch Jesus set them free—to go and make disciples.

Through your prayers and gifts you make this ministry possible. Let’s continue to partner with Him in setting captives free!