I got an email earlier in the week from Chaplin Mark Richardson offering me a ride up to OCC with him and Jim Dixon and that turned out to be an answer to prayer. They picked me up at around 12:45, we loaded Jim's car and took off to Forks from Tacoma.
I'm not sure what time we got to Aberdeen but it was decided that it was time to eat so Jim located a restaurant, we parked and unloaded ourselves out of his car. Mark got out and took only a few step and then went to his knees. (see above picture) At first I thought he was giving thanks to God for getting us as far as we got because of Jim's driving but it turned out he had dropped his phone.
It turned out that we got there about 45 min earlier than when we could arrive so they picked a spot and we pulled off to rest until it was time to go to the Gate. The above picture is Jim pretty much in la la land about 5 min after adjusting his car seat back.
We were surrounded by the beauty of God's creation and in those moments I can't help but think of how much more wonderful it would all be if sin hadn't entered into the world. Above is a picture of two dear that had we aloud them to, they would have come right up to the car and let us feed them.
Mark road in the back seat all the way there and back to Tacoma. His job was two fold. First, he was to preach the Gospel of Christ to the inmates at OCC. Second, his job was to open and close the cooler next to him in the back seat and hand Jim or I a coke or bottled water as we drove down the road.
After checking in at the Gate we headed to the chapel to set up the equipment for that evening. Just after turning onto the road to the chapel there was the official sign of OCC and Jim patiently stopped and waited while I snapped this picture.
Wow, taped in different places around the chapel was this poster. It's still strange to me when I sing somewhere and see posters like the one above. But it confirmed for me that we were indeed in the right place.
As I began setting up my equipment and running sound checks Jim, like the true songwriter and musician he is began playing the piano. We musicians are all alike. We see a lonely piano just sitting there and it's like it calls us to come, sit down and do what we can to produce music from its metal strings, ivory keys and wooden frame.
The Chapel is a wonderful building. The inside is fairly simple in design but it's functional. After doing my sound check and Jim was finished playing the piano the 3 of us could easily tell there was something missing,... it was too quite. We needed men to sit in the empty chairs that were waiting patiently for souls to fill them.
All of three of us knew that it didn't matter if only one inmate showed up that night. You could say it was the quality that mattered and not the quantity. But, first two came through the back door and signed in, then four and then four more until there were 19.
I've said it before and I'll always say it, just as I heard Jim and Mark say it. Most times, or really all the time for me, I get blessed from the inmates and their desire to hear the music and the Word of God than I feel my music is blessing them.
Jim and Mark gave me close to an hour to minister in music to everyone there, a few guards included and I just let the Holy Spirit take over. The evening was cut short for some reason and we weren't really able to talk to anyone afterward. The hope for me is that at least, just maybe I was able to plant a seed in the heart of at least one of the men who came there that night.
