Reflections

Our trips in October and November brought us to Florida, Georgia and Texas.  There are so many images from the trips -- women dancing and not wanting to leave when the seminar was over; women 3 rows deep kneeling at the altar in prayer and grief over the loss of a loved one; all the tears, rejoicing, and freedom.  There was the sweet time of singing Amazing Grace with the women in the Ad Seg Unit at Carswell.  Women accepting Jesus - returning to Jesus - being healed and restored by Jesus.

There were women waiting to be deported; waiting to be released; and those sentenced to death.  So many women and so many faces - I try in my mind's eye to take a picture at the places I visit so the memories will remain.  When the words are difficult to find to express what God did, I am comforted that women will send correspondence lessons, an occasional note, or a poem.  The one below just arrived:

God's Child

 

As I walk this lonely highway

As I walk life's lonely road

People all around me wondering

Where I'm gonna go.

And as I'm on my journey

Through life's fears and woes

I will walk with Jesus by me

Everywhere I go!

I am God's child

Yes, I'm God's child!

 

People always asking questions

Who are you?  Where you from?

I'm just walking toward tomorrow

Don't you want to come?

Just put your trust in Jesus

He's everything to me

Just walking on the water

Is where I want to be.

I am God's child

Yes, I am God's child!

Summer Review

               Recap of Prison Ministry in Virginia, North and South Carolina

This summer was busy with women's prison ministry seminars in June and August, along with local prison ministry in Massachusetts.  We were blessed to return to Virginia in June, returning to Virginia Correctional Center for Women and Fluvanna Correctional.  We also visited Deerfield Work Camp, a new facility for the ministry.  Our seminars reached 287 women and we saw powerful God-moments as the Holy Spirit liberated women, despite their environment.  We shared a special time with a small group of intercessors at Fluvanna, where we taught on the prayer strategy of "loosing" and the power such prayers could have for the facility, for families, and for communities.  It was met with great acceptance and enthusiasm.

After leading two Sunday Worship Services at MCI-Framingham, Faith Seeds then headed to North and South Carolina in August.  We attended the COPE Conference in North Carolina and heard some powerful speakers.  Our prison ministry included seminars at Southern Correctional, Goodman Correctional, and Leath Correctional.  We also led a Prayer Seminar for the women at Tabitha Ministry.  Ministry through those seminars reached 73 women and included many spiritual challenges - which led up to a tremendous breakthrough at the program at Leath.  Women were desperate for Jesus, His word, and His spiritual weapons for their battles.  He delivered "execedingly abundantly."  We watched as women wept, shouted, praised and proclaimed - walking out of the gym victorious in Christ! 

We are so thankful to the team of volunteers, intercessors, and donors who support the ministry.  We are blessed to operate under the spiritual covering of the Vineyard Church of Hopkinton.  We remain excited to see what the Lord has planned for the remainder of 2012!

Setting Captives Free in the Midwest

We have had a busy and productive month of May, traveling to Illinois, Ohio and Michigan as well as conducting a Women's Retreat in Massachusetts.  Along with Prison Fellowship and Open Heart Prison Ministries, we visited 396 women inseven correctional facilities in three states.  We conducted our Prayer Seminar, along with our Praying Moms Seminar.

The weekend retreat at the women's facility in Massachusetts was on Possessing the Promised Land.  A team of six volunteers spent eight hours with 25 women as they learned about leaving the wilderness and crossing the Jordan to enter the Promised Land.  The retreat included worship, small groups for prayer, journaling, and creative arts, as well as teaching from the Book of Joshua.

In June we will travel to Virginia, where we will visit three women's facilities:

June 9th - Virginia Correctional Center for Women: Blooming in the Desert and Praying Moms Seminars

June 10th - Fluvanna Correctional Center: Intercessory Prayer Strategy and Sunday Night Church Service

June 11th - Deerfield Work Camp: Prayer Seminar

God is great and greatly to be praised!

Faith Seeds Travels to the Midwest

Our next women's prison ministry trip brings us to Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan as we team up with Prison Fellowship and Open Hearts Prison Ministries.  Our schedule includes:

May 10th - Lincoln Correctional, IL and Decatur Correctional, IL
May 11th - FPC Greenville, IL
May 12th - Dwight Correctional, IL
May 14th - ORW, OH
May 15th - Huron Valley, MI and NEPRC, OH
May 16th - Huron Valley, MI

We are praying for the Lord to loose His identity over the facilities in Illinois and to loose His mercy and liberty over the facilities in Ohio and Michigan.

Our recent trip to Utah, Idaho and Montana brought great freedom and excitement about the truth of God and His word!

Faith Seeds Travels Out West

We will be conducting Prayer Seminars in Utah, Idaho, and Montana in April.  Our visits include:

April 15th - Draper State Prison, Utah: 1-4PM

April 17th - Draper State Prison, Utah: 1-3PM

April 18th - Pocatello Correctional, ID: 7-9PM

April 19th - South Idaho Correctional, ID: 4:45 - 6:15PM and South Boise Correctional, ID: 7-8:30PM

April 21st - Montana Women's Prison, MT: 1-3PM

We will be collaborating with Child Evangelism Fellowship and Moms in Prayer on this trip.



The women behind bars in Texas have seen a great light - the Light of the World showed up to minister His love, compassion, mercy, healing, and restoration during our visits to eight women's correctional facilities.  This trip brought healing and reconciliation, equipping and confirmation to 465 women.  Our ministry team traveled from Bridgeport to Texas City and ministered in Pre-Release facilities to Death Row.  We witnessed:

Tears of sadness and tears of joy;
Women coming out of the graves of their lives and being set free;
Women singing to and praising their King Jesus;
Women crossing over the Jordan to enter their Promised Land;
A seminar turning into a prayer line;
The spiritual weapon of silence being practiced by 50 women;
28 out of 32 women coming forward for prayer for healing from sexual abuse; and,
Sharing ways to pray with women on Death Row.

Women not only broke out of bondages by the power of the Holy Spirit, but broke into freedom and victory.  It is remarkable what happens when we pray!

Our teams ran into obstacles and through prayer. doors were opened to allow us into facilities, have the time needed for the messages, and overcome challenges.  We thank the chaplains, corrections staff, TDCJ, and those who made the trip possible.  Our thanks to Discipleship Unlimited, COPE, and Oil of Joy for collaborating with us.  We thank Moms in Prayer, Child Evangelism Fellowship, and Daughters of Destiny for resource material and information to share with chaplains.  We thank our team of intercessors who prayed this into a reality.  We thank our donors, whose contributions made this trip and the follow up correspondence lessons possible. 

As we prepare for our upcoming trips in April, May, and June, would you prayerfully consider continuing to support the ministry through prayer, giving, and working on the correspondence Bible Studies?  May the Lord richly bless you.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  1 Cor. 1:19

Sue Johnson

The King is mighty

"The King is mighty, He loves justice - You have established equity."  Psalm 99:4

God's justice system, His mishpat, operates on a different level than man's system.  When he Child was born and the Son was given, the government was placed upon His shoulders.  The Lord has the final say in matters of His justice. 

With Bibles open and smiles of surprise that an unexpected visitor had arrived, three women sat with me in a small side room on Death Row.  I asked them what their most important prayer need was at the moment; their answers were: favor, prayer for a brother and a son, and for the truth and justice to come out.  We talked about ways to pray that could open up heaven for God's answers to be released.  Prayers of thanksgiving, repentance, prayers for those in authority, treading prayers, and prayers of intercession.

The women were ready to try some 21 day prayer challenges.  Our two hours felt like two minutes.  I was led out as I was led in and behind me I could hear the cell doors shut each woman back in her cell.  May the Lord be with each of these women as they wait  and may His justice prevail.

Carswell, Texas

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  1 Cor. :18

Images -- that is what I carry out from my times with the women at FMC-Carswell.  The image of women weeping, sobbing, kneeling, and wailing.  The woman yesterday who broke down with tears of JOY. 

Images of praise, worship and adoration from women with broken hearts whom Jesus had come to restore and heal with His love, His mercy.  Jesus was moved with compassion this weekend at Carswell.  I know He was.

Images of the choir singing at yesterday afternoon's service - all women we have had attend our seminars.  Their voices singing loud and proud as they offered their sacrifice of praise to their King Jesus.  I had to kneel on the gym floor as the heaviness of the glory of God came into that holy place.

Images of women being prayed over and the impact as Abba Father touched them in some way.  So many women - I don't know how many - were set free this weekend.  The picture of women coming up, one by one for prayer on Saturday - during what I thought was a seminar with teaching.  It turned into a seminar with demonstration. 

Images of women crossing the Jordan and entering the Promised Land - getting to a place they had never been before.  Prayer after prayer after prayer being prayed over women as they experienced the mighty and holy presence of the Lord. 

Images of women coming out of of the grave, having a Lazarus moment.  The looks on their faces as they felt free for the first time in a long, long time. 

Images of the women in the middle of a tug of war, with the enemy pulling on one side, and all heaven's angels pulling on the other side - pulling the women with love and encouragement to come to Jesus.

I can't recall all the images, but Lord I pray the ones I need to remember You will seal directly in my spirit.  Lord God, I love what You have done!

Prison Ministry In Texas

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned."  Mt. 4:16

This verse is our mission as we prepare for the upcoming trip to Texas for a week of women's prison ministry.  We are believing God will loose His Light upon the women's facilities that we are visiting, and we expect Jesus to reveal Himself to the women in a new and powerful way!  Please join us in this "loosing prayer" as we finalize the schedule for ministry at the following facilities:

March 10th - FMC Carswell: 12:30 to 3:30 and 5:00 to 8:00PM
March 11th - FMC Carwswell: 8AM Sunday Service and 1PM Sunday Service
March 12th - Mt. View Unit: 1:00 to 3:00PM
March 12th - Woodman State Jail: 4:30 to 6:30PM
March 13th - Murray Unit: 1:00 to 3:00PM
March 13th- Hobby Unit: 5:00 to 8:00PM
March 15th - Bridgeport PPT: evening
March 17th - Young Medical Facility: 12:00 to 2:30PM

Among the seminars our Faith Seeds team will be sharing include:

The Spiritual Weapons of Our Warfare;
Possessing the Land; and,
The Prayer Seminar .

Joining us on this trip will be the Coalition of Prison Evangelists, Discipleship Unlimited, Oil of Joy, and material support from Child Evangelism Fellowship and Prisons in Prayer.

Women's Prison Ministry in 2012

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."  Gal.5:1

2012 promises to be a year of the miraculous in women's prison ministry!  We are so encouraged to be praying into the plans and strategies that have been revealed.   We witnessed the marvelous work of the Lord in 2011 as Faith Seeds ministered to over 4300 women in prison.  Yet, greater things are awaiting us as we walk in obedience to that which He has called us. 

We believe:

God loves the women who are in prison.
God has a heart to see each woman behind bars walking in relationship with Him.
God desires to bring healing, freedom, restoration, and reconciliation to broken lives.
God wants women behind bars to be disciples of Christ.
God has a plan to equip and prepare women for maintaining freedom and walking in victory.

Join us with an expectant faith for the Lord to move in a deeper way this year.  Your prayers and encouragement prepare the way as we travel around the country to visit the prisons and jails where the door of faith has been opened.  In 2012 we will visit facilities in:

Texas
Idaho
Montana
Illinois
Virginia
North Carolina
Michigan
Massachusetts

We also will be introducting two new discipleship seminars:  The Spiritual Weapons of our Warfare; and Possessing the Land, bringing our total number of seminars to twelve.

Follow us on our travels as we share the wondrous things that happen this year

Blessings!