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SC Prison Ministry

The guys rented a 15 passenger van and headed out towards South Carolina on Tuesday evening.  SNOW is the word that resonates in people’s mind on the East Coast when we think of Tuesday and Wednesday, February 9 and 10.  Well, snow characterized the Garment of Praise’s trip down to the prison ministry in SC.

They had to drive through the snow for the first few hours, until they crossed the Maryland line.  This added some time to their travels–it took a total of about 14 hours down to the church where they were headed.  They tried catching some sleep on the trip, ate some breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and arrived mid-morning.

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The church where orientation and worship took place.
The church where orientation and worship took place.

Gospel Express Ministries is in charge of this prison ministry, and does a tremendous job of planning and organizing the five days.  There are 28 prisons in SC, and this mult-prison crusade reaches 24 of them.  Each group of volunteers stays at the prison for day time interaction and meals for the entire crusade.  The singing groups and preachers minister in a different prison each night.

It was a new and interesting experience for the guys.  They met with all the other volunteers for orientation on the first morning.  There were about 500 people from all over the United States–a lot of them from Lancaster County.  They worshipped together, had workshops, and listened to one of the chaplains share about “Preparing our Vessels”.  When the orientation and supper was over, each group, as well as the volunteers headed out to the area where they would be ministering for the next 4 days. 

Thusday morning, Jason and Danny went into one of the prisons with a basketball team, to play with the inmates and interract with them.  That evening the group sang and ministered at Turbeville.  Bro. Jay Fox, Brian and Jason’s dad, preached.

The following morning, Daryl and Brian went along to another prison to watch the guys play basketball, but a stabbing within the prison caused “lock-down”.  All the volunteers had to get out immediately, and this “lock-down” cancelled the Garment of Praise’s program for Sunday morning.

That evening, snow began to fall in the south!  Most of the prisons closed because of the snow, and the volunteers could not go in.  The programs in the evenings also were cancelled.  This area in South Carolina had not seen snow since 2000, so it was disappointing to have snow hinder their ministry over this weekend! 

The cafe across the street from their motel
The cafe across the street from their motel
Their wonderful accomodations in SC
Their wonderful accomodations in SC

Friday night, because they couldn’t sing in the prisons, the groups assembled to worship together and have a program.  Several of the singing groups shared that night.  The next day, they found a gym to play in, get off some energy, and waste a little time.

It was a beautiful old building where the groups assembled for worship.
It was a beautiful old building where the groups assembled for worship.

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Saturday morning, because of not being able to get in, 2 bus-loads of volunteers headed home. A few prisons opened up for programs on Sunday morning, so Garment of Praise was allowed in to give a program where another group had left.

The Sunday morning program was finished at 9:00 am, and the men were on the road home by 10:00.  Because the roads were clear, the drive home was much quicker than the road down.

Pray for the inmates who made first-time decisions and recommitments to the Lord. Also, thank you for your prayers for safety on the roads to and from South Carolina.

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