I Am in Jail Too!

I (Nicole) am ministering with Mary Ellis at Laclede County Jail. We are teaching through the book Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, which takes an all-inclusive approach to the Bible and its historical context. We get to meet with the ladies for about an hour. There has been as little as three women to eight at a time. Each week is different. Most of these ladies are in jail for drug related offenses. Camdenton area is the meth (crystal meth) capital of Missouri. This drug has caused A LOT of harm to the people here, and has ensnared them in a lifestyle that is very hard to break free from. It has been really exciting to see these women engage in the Word of God and make it their own. Many of the women have a general understanding of the Bible but have a big disconnect when it comes to application of the Truth. Mary and I are trying to find ways to make more application for these ladies. Two weeks ago I shared my testimony with the ladies and this seemed to really encourage them that there is hope to break free from the chains of addictions. I am really excited to see how God continues to use Mary and I in this jail. Mary and I will alternate the teaching, and this week will be the first time I get to teach the ladies. PRAY for me, as I have never taught a lesson to more than one person at a time. I do get nervous. PRAY for the ladies as they await a court visit, to hopefully get treatment for their drug addictions, and to get out (in God’s time) and be on bench parole. Also, PRAY that Mary and I can convey Truth in a way that it impacts these ladies at their core beliefs, and causes them to change at a worldview level(a set of personal beliefs in which they interpret life in both their inward thoughts, and outward actions).