written by: Jacqui Pate
Jesus says in Luke 4:18
"He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of site for the blind,
to release the oppressed.”
Disclaimer…this is lengthy but well worth the read!!
What an incredible weekend! We saw God move in a powerful way in the lives of 16 juvenile offenders and the hearts of the detention center workers and Epiphany team members. I really do not have the words to adequately describe what happened this weekend, but I’m giving it a try…just know…captives were set FREE!
The theme of day 1: You are loved!!
On Day one the boys came in and really didn’t know what to think about us or the program. Our team made a lined walkway and cheered as each boy’s name was called. They walked through the line with hard faces and lifeless eyes. I thought to myself…”this could be a long few days…” little did I know, the days would go by all too quickly…
Our whole job was to love, love, love and listen, listen to these boys. Through activities and talks they were told about how much Jesus loved them and that we loved them as well. By the end of Friday they seemed a little more comfortable and were enjoying at least being able to eat some good food and have a change of routine. We were starting to learn a little more about each of the boys.
I smiled as I watched the boys interact with Wade at one table and my mom at the other. Mom’s so great with kids and these boys just ate up all the attention she gave them. The boys’ respect for Wade was evident and they were very impacted as he told them what he saw in them and how he knew they could make a change.
We discovered that they are an extremely talented and creative bunch – artists, writers, leaders, helpers…
The theme of day 2: Forgiveness
As the boys came in the second morning, there was way more enthusiasm…high fives, smiles, a few shy, side hugs…
We continued loving but also began talking about forgiveness—forgiveness available for them and people they needed to forgive. Early that day they were given a small square piece of paper to write names of people they needed to forgive as the Holy Spirit prompted them throughout the day.
Different members of the team had different “talks" and skits they had prepared in advance. As each person shared about their topic, they also incorporated their life stories…I was totally amazed at how God used their vulnerability to open the hearts of the boys and to show them that other people have been through extremely difficult times as well, but God was with them through it all. We had some amazing team members to work with and many of them had been involved with Epiphany for many years…working diligently.
One of the major parts of day two is a birthday party celebration. Each boy is given a small birthday cake with their name on it and bag of gifts. When the boys walked into the party they could not believe their eyes. They were totally overwhelmed by the moment. Many of them started crying their eyes out. Several of them had NEVER had a birthday cake or celebration EVER! And the rest hadn’t had a birthday party since they were very little. My heart broke to see these boys who really did think that nobody cared about them and it didn’t even matter that they were alive. They just couldn’t believe these total strangers would care enough to do this…maybe they were valuable after all?
After the birthday party, the boys were even more alive and really starting to believe that they could be loved and I would watch them writing names on their little squares throughout the day…
We gave each boy a Bible and then had times to show them how to find scriptures and talked about the different parts of the Bible.
My Star, Esgar, asked me questions like:
--Why is there an Old Testament and New Testament?
--What is a prophet?
--How could God become a man?
--How is Jesus also God?
--Is John 3:16 a page number?
It was such a blessing to be able to share with this young man how to use his Bible, to tell him more of how perfectly the Bible fits together and its purpose.
Saturday ended with a SHABANG!
