Two weeks ago I talked to a man who was in the padded medical room receiving medical care from the jail nurses. He was wearing a protective gown (also informally referred to by the inmates as a suicide gown). This week I saw this inmate again, but now he has improved, and he is in a regular cell with other inmates. When I talked to him two weeks ago, he was not very responsive, just overtaken by sadness. This week I learned that his sadness was over losing contact with his child (due to custody issues arising from some serious parenting mistakes he made before coming to jail), and where the sadness had grown in him so much that two weeks ago he had to be brought to the padded room for his own protection. When he was in the padded room, he wanted to talk about Jesus. He wanted to pray, and ask for protection for his child that he has not seen for so long. We also talked about prayer, the Bible, and being in surrender to GOD. This week, this inmate is fully at rest, praying all the time, talking about Jesus to his cell-mates, and resounding peace to all those around him, including me. When I talked to him, I was overtaken by the level of faith I could feel coming from the inner being of this inmate. I believe the change in this inmate was due to the prayer he and I did from the padded room two weeks earlier. At that time, we prayed for this fellow to obtain peace, and to obtain elation in the presence of Jesus. This is what I saw in the inmate this week. The inmate told me that he can feel GOD vividly in his soul.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:
for I am God, and there is none else.
Isaiah 45:22

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Jeff Grupp

Lead Chaplain, Founder, Kalamazoo Jail Ministry