If you follow this blog or if you are one of my many Facebook friends you know that I'm leaving Thursday for a 4 day retreat inside the Rayburn Correctional Center. This is a retreat sponsored by the Kairos Ministry which have been doing prison ministry for a long time. One of the many things that has attracted me to this event is the use of so many volunteers that never make it inside the prison walls. Even though all these many people may not go to prison, and may not even want to, the use of volunteers in prayer ministry, children's posters, financial donations and baking cookies helps others fulfill Jesus' command to visit Him in prison.
One of the things I learned when I joined the Kairos team was that I would be responsible for brining homemade baked cookies to the retreat. I figured it would a couple of dozen and then I found out, it would be 50 dozen. 50 dozen; that's like 600 cookies! And the idea behind this number is genius. Most of us alone would not be able to bake 600 cookies. But asking for assistance can make this happen. And then you add in the request of all the bakers to prepare the cookies in a spirit of prayer, prayer for the retreat, the inmates and the team, then it's just special.
I went to a few ladies groups at my church, talked about the cookies to a few friends and family and began to hold my breath. My wife Wendy got me off to a great start by baking 12 dozen cookies. I estimated that I may make it close perhaps 40 dozen. Not bad for my first Kairos retreat. Man was I wrong.
As of this afternoon, I have hit the 68 dozen mark; this is over 800 cookies. And I'm expecting to pick up a few more dozen between now and my departure on Thursday. Unfortunately, I'll never know the number of individual bakers who made this number happen. But I do know that their effort to provide a nice treat for the men in prison, coupled with their prayers will go along way to making this Kairos weekend a great one. And for me, it is an overwhelming affirmation that people care but we still must help each other along the way to do God's work. How many of these good folks, much like myself prior to becoming a prison minister, would have never thought about praying for prisoners or prison ministry. It's just not something we promote or teach.
I'm so thankful for the efforts of so many people to help with this prison ministry by the baking of cookies and the prayers that accompanied them.
Cookies; bringing the presence of Jesus into the lives who need to hear the message: He truly loves you!
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