It has been said that the eye is the window to the soul. If that is the case, looking at the eyes and faces of those newly baptized inmates at the House of Correction (HOC) – what I saw was unequivocal grace, peace and a realization of a new life in Christ that has begun in them.

Sunday, March 29th, 2010 marked an historical day for the 104 year old Lutheran Ministry at the House of Correction in Franklin, 21 men who had been instructed by Chaplain Afam Ikanih and Chaplain Pat Batom over a 4 week period came to be baptized at their 1:30 pm Sunday Service. The baptisms were performed by Reverend Roger Heintz, Senior Pastor from Brookfield Lutheran. The service which lasted 2 and a half hours was filled with close to 100 men, including a 30 man choir and three piece band..

These inmates have come to know the true nature of Christ and what He has done for them, because of the work of these dedicated chaplains that the Lord has placed at the HOC. These chaplains love these guys and truly care for them – listening to what they have been through in their lives and the bad and unhealthy decisions that they have made. They want to see these men succeed and move in a more positive direction after they leave prison. They know that having their foundation in Christ – is where it needs to start, and even though there are many issues and problems that they will still need to work on, that relationship will help to lead, guide and direct them along the path that the Lord has for them.

As the service was winding down on Sunday afternoon to closure, a young man who had just been baptized wanted to express his testimony to those present. This young man was a Muslim when he came into the prison in Franklin several months prior. He spoke about the emptiness and frustration that he felt with the religion and the way it left him – unfulfilled and always questioning – which produced guilt and doubt. He had come down to the chapel area to see what he could learn and began to experience a newness of life, assurance and hope as he came to know Christ thru the working with the Chaplains and other volunteers that helped out. The Holy Spirit moved him to open his heart to Christ and see him as his true Lord and Savior. The emotional impact that was felt that afternoon was very powerful as these men sat and listened to his story - it was hard to find a dry eye in the house.

We ask that you continue to pray for the work that our chaplains are doing at the HOC, but more importantly for the young men and woman who are at the prison – so that their lives may be touched by the Holy Spirit and that more may come to believe and be baptized.

While doing some banking, I noticed a van in the lot with a Marine bumper sticker. I went into the somewhat crowded bank and called out to the customers to thank the Marine for his service. His wife turned and expressed her thankfulness for my gesture and told me her Marine husband (which we will call Lt John) was in the van with the kids; and that I should go and introduce myself. I went over to the van and found a large man in the passenger’s seat with his kids in the back. I thanked him for his service to our country and we talked awhile about his time in Afghanistan, where he had served. As we continued our conversation I looked down and realized that he was disabled, as both of his legs below the knees were gone. He explained the incident which involved Afghanistan children who went from playing with water balloons with the solders to throwing grenades at them and that is how he lost his legs. In our continuing conversation, it came out that I was a pastor with Gospel Lutheran Church and that we reached out specifically to veterans. Lt John appreciated the opportunity to talk and pray about his current situation, as his family was having a pretty rough time right now. John and his wife and small children know that they are welcome at Gospel as we have reached out to this family of heroes including having the opportunity of baptizing his two young children-someday in the future.

On our celebration evening in June, culminating in our first Alpha course, we heard a number of testimonies.  The one that was significant to me was a lady in our small group who had shared regarding her addiction to alcohol but during this time of testimony spoke of her delivery from Satanism and what it meant to her to be grounded in the Lord Jesus and look to him for all things.  These are some comments from our written evaluation with the question: In what ways, if any did you benefit from the Alpha course?  "It helped me to talk and trust more" (Many of our ladies shared initially in the course that they couldn't trust anyone with anything.  As the weeks passed, we saw more vulnerability, expressed concern and praying for each other.)  "I learned that prayer helps problems go away and faith is a blessing to God". "God has a good plan for my life.  I need to go to God before making major decisions."  "It helped to build my faith".  "I learned how to be more open with my prayers and started to pray aloud".  "Now I am saved and walking closer with Jesus."

Submitted by Kathryn Dechamps, member at Divine Shepherd

We have three little girls that come to the “Kids For Christ” program and also are involved with our praise dance program. The family has been through a lot this year. They have lost their home, the father was incarcerated and their mother lost a child thru miscarriage. They and their family are very involved with Bethany with their older brother helping with the monthly soup kitchen program and their father being involved with the weekly food pantry outreach, prior to incarceration. Their mother works with the home bible study program that Bethany offers. The family has grown closer to Christ because they know that we at Bethany are here for them, that we support them and love them and will be here for them. They also believe in the truth that Jesus said that, "I am the way and the truth and life. No one comes to the Father but through me." John 14:6. They know now that Jesus Christ is God's only provision for mans sin and through him alone they can know God personally and experience God's love. Even through the heartache that this family has had, they keep on praying and believing in the Lord. The girls keep coming to church, the mother keep coming to bible study, and the brother helps at the pantry and the soup kitchen and they are all still holding on to hope that all will work out in the end!