I was at one prison for 15 years; at a juvenile prison for 5 years and at a juvenile jail for 5 more. The Lord Himself only knows how many souls came my way. As a child, I wanted to be a missionary. I have a clear, clear memory of telling my mother of my career plans. She asked me why I would have such a desire and I said, “They seem to be the happiest people on earth.” Years later. for whatever reason-she didn’t take my working at the “penitentiary” as she called it too well, she would tell people I was a missionary. I remember standing in a hot cellblock with inmates screaming obscenities and wondering if this were indeed a mission field (Kingdom of Heaven, p.21). Having been retired for 7 years now, I think back on the work I did. Regrettably, there don’t seem to be many success stories. And then. . . out of the blue, come contacts-“I knew you at . . .” These folks are no longer confined. While I have only vague memories (if any) of the encounters I had with them, they remember. My grandmother always told me, “What you say and what do always matter-to the Lord if no one else.” She was smarter than I thought.
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