Thursday Morning

Thursday morning.  This is perhaps my favorite morning of the week since I have moved to Nicaragua.  Thursday morning is when my team and I put on matching green shirts, join together for prayer, and head over to the Granada jail for ministry.  This is my favorite ministry that I’ve joined in so far . . . and I hope this blog will explain why.

Each Thursday morning, we are allowed to enter the jail and meet in various ways with different groups of the inmates.  Some of the men participate in small groups while others are offered worship and a message while still in their cells.  The women on our team get to meet in a “small group” with the approximately 12 women inmates each week. 

During our time together we work through discipleship material to study and discuss the scriptures.  The women are engaged and eager to understand more.  We also have a time for crafts, painting nails, and simply enjoying fellowship together.  We get to build relationships.  We get to study about God’s grace, forgiveness, and love . . . but further we get to demonstrate it.

The reasons for their incarcerations are different.  The seriousness of their charges varies.  Some are guilty.  Some are innocent.  All are LOVED.

As I spent some time with the Lord last Thursday morning, preparing my mind and heart to go to the jail, some of the lyrics of an old familiar song came to mind.  They were from “You are More” by Tenth Avenue North.

You are more than the choices that you’ve made 

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes 

You are more than the problems you create 

You’ve been remade

Cause this is not about what you’ve done 

But what’s been done for you 

This is not about where you’ve been 

But where your brokenness brings you to 

This is not about what you feel 

But what He felt to forgive you 

And what He felt to make you loved 

This is the message that I want to remember in my everyday life.  This is the posture with which I want to approach others.  This is the message that I want these ladies to receive . . . not only through my words as we meet each week, but through my actions as well.

I am more than the choices that I’ve made and so are these women.  God’s grace, forgiveness, and LOVE are equally sufficient for ALL of us.

Thank you for your continued prayers for this and our other ministries.  Thank you for your continued prayers for me and my personal journey.  Thank you for demonstrating LOVE.