An End to an AMAZING WEEKEND!

This weekend, I got to watch months of preparation, prayer and work come together in an amazing way at the Vacca Youth Detention Center in Birmingham for a weekend known as an Epiphany. I, along with about 40 dedicated folks spent the weekend at this facility with 25 incarcerated young men ("stars" as we call them) just to show them how much God loves them and that they are His special creations. For three awesome days, we fed them well, sang lots of great songs, shared some very personal stories with them, gave them a birthday party and did a few other really neat things all with the hopes that they would get a glimpse of just how much God loves them...all unconditionally...no strings attached! It was amazing to witness the smiles on their faces and to see a change occur in some of them over the 3 days. We had an awesome team of folks who rallied around the stars and one another with kindness, prayer and genuine Christian Love to make a difference for these 25 young men. I know God's Spirit was present and there is no doubt in my mind that seeds of hope and love were planted. When and just how they will grow is yet to be seen, but God has a plan for each of them and I hope they are now a little closer to understanding what that truly means. We will be returning every other Thursday for the next several months to "follow-up" with the guys and encourage each of them to continue to seek God in their lives and we will do so until the next Epiphany weekend occurs in the fall. This weekend wouldn't have happened without the hundreds of people who stood in and prayed around the clock for a 72 hour prayer vigil that took place during the weekend. Wow...prayer is a powerful thing and it's what makes a ministry like Epiphany possible! I am pretty tired and looking forward to a good night's sleep...but I will have a smile on my face and a joy in my heart for days to come as I reflect on some of the amazing displays of Love and Kindness I witnessed this weekend. God is so good...I am once again reminded. And boy have I been Blessed!