Good evening, Family!๐
๐ Damaris expressed gratitude for traveling mercies to and from Puerto Rico, and asked that God to keep Breanna and Bethany safe as they travel back on Monday.
๐ Damaris also thanked God for granting Brennan another year of life as he turned 21 on the 27th!
๐Carole praised God for her husband, Joelโs recovery thus far. She also asked that we CONTINUE PRAYING as he needs to see a cardiologist to make sure there is no damage to his heart. ๐ฉบ Carole is also praising God that she is going to pick up her grandson, Elijah, down in Florida this week! We all praise God for these ANSWERED PRAYERS! ๐๐ฝ
๐ Kristina is grateful that God saw Seth AND her and And through Covid, and that they were all able to recover at home. She also expressed sincere gratitude to the church family for the uplifting Week of Love Seth experienced! Their family is grateful that The Lighthouse Family always comes through for their family!
We are also praying for:
๐ Nancy is requesting prayer for the family of her cousin George, who passed away on Tuesday. May God grant them comfort and peace during their grieving process.
๐ All dealing with and recovering from Covid and its many longterm effects. May they be restored completely.
๐ Bianca is requesting prayer for a very dear family friend, named Mary. She is having heart surgery in 2 weeks, and is very frail as she is fighting rheumatoid arthritis. She is also a mom of three.
๐ Adrianna (vasthiโs friend)
๐ John Vega, through his extended radiation treatment
๐ Micharen's uncle, Ismael. His health has deteriorated and he is in need of Godโs Grace and Mercy. Pray also for his wife and family.
๐ Vasthi asked that we keep our church leadership in our prayers.
๐ Sethโs upcoming eye surgery, scheduled for August. May the same Jesus who gave sight to the blind touch Seth's eyes with healing and improved sight.
๐ Vasthi asks the church to pray for her nephew, Mikey, for Cedric and for all of our young people.
๐ Nelly's grandson, Jordan, as he faces a very difficult time in his life. May anything God allows in his life bring Jordan closer to Him!
๐ Pat asks her church family to pray that God will help her on her journey towards good health.
๐ Nelly, and for answers to her health questions. May God grant her team of doctors the wisdom they need to figure out this mystery.
๐ Bianca, Vishal and Sebastian Suri. Bianca returned to work remotely this week on a part time basis. May the Lord bless them with a smooth transition, especially for Baby Sebastian.
๐ Rosa and her daughters, their husbands and their children.
๐ Angelica, as she continues to walk through the doors God is opening for her.
๐ Doris, and her daughters, Jackie, Amanda and their children, Skylar, Heaven Lee, Dorian, Zaire and Amir. May God keep working miracles in their lives.
knowing that God has always come through.
๐ Anna Ortiz as she continues to battle cancer, and for her family as they support her.
Our Thursday Night Prison Fellowship Devotional focuses on what a special calling this ministry truly is in the lives of those who need it most. I'm earnestly praying for those among us who feel this calling on their hearts to act on that special calling and to inspire others to get involved. ๐ค
When Danny Gonzales began following Christ, he knew he wanted to serve God. But he'd never thought about prison ministry before. Prison, in general, rarely crossed his mind.
Then one Easter a friend invited him to a local juvenile detention center to participate in a drama production. Danny played the part of a Roman soldier guarding the tomb where Jesus' body lay. This depiction of the Easter storyโthe Lord's life, death, burial, and resurrectionโmade an impact on the audience. When Danny saw their reactions, it moved him as well.
Soon Danny felt God calling him to prison ministry.
A PICTURE OF HOPE
Since the 1990s, prison ministry has taken Danny from juvenile centers and group homes to adult prisons. He has volunteered as a facilitator for The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), an intensive biblical studies program facilitated by Prison Fellowship in coordination with World Impact. He has also taught classes on subjects like anger management and forgiveness.
More recently, he served behind the high-security walls of California Institution for Men (CIM) at a Prison Fellowship Hope Eventโข. Volunteers like Danny joined actor Scott William Winters, musician Nehemiah, and a local worship band to share the Gospel and invite new believers into Christian community.
There's a striking photo from that afternoon (seen above). Danny, in a black Prison Fellowshipยฎ polo, stands praying over an incarcerated man in light blue. The prisoner, front and center, looks overcome with emotionโhead slanted, brow furrowed, like he is on the cusp of a life-changing decision. And Danny will never forget the story behind that image.
He was standing in a row of volunteers when the speaker began to give the altar call. Then he went to stand in the crowd next to Jared*, the man in the photo.
During that altar call, Jared broke down in tearsโa brave thing to do in prison. But the Holy Spirit had moved him deeply.
"I've done so many things wrong in my lifeโmade so many wrong turns," Jared confessed to Danny. "But I know that God's real. I want more of Jesus, more of His presence."
FREE INDEED
Danny told Jared that God is real, and that God's love for Jared is unconditional. They prayed together that Jared would find a new beginning in Christ and experience spiritual freedom, even behind bars.
The presence of God felt evident throughout the event, and not just for the prisoners.
"The volunteers were congregated behind the stage backdrop, and they just started weeping," Danny remembers. "Scripture says that when we visit those in prison, we are visiting Christ."
Danny knows the Gospel bears fruit in prison in miraculous ways. That Hope Event at CIM could have been one seed. He prays that Prison Fellowship and many more volunteers will come back, continue watering the seed, and see it grow.