We just concluded our camp in St. Louis, Michigan. What a great camp and wonderful group of volunteers. I really can’t express enough how rewarding and enjoyable it was to work with Kink and his Michigan team.
One piece of each ODWG camps is the Prayer Cards. We have our dads write down their prayer requests, and then they are prayed over in the Prayer Room on and off throughout the camp day. I was visiting with Mary, who works tirelessly over the food at every camp she attends. In the course of things, she mentioned her mother’s interest in our ODWG camps and how she’s been praying for our camps and needs of the inmates for years. I just had to pass this on, in essence, giving honor where honor is due (Ro. 13:7). Mary writes:
I think it was the summer of 2012 when I first started out with the ministry, my mom would pray every time we’d go off to camp. Before and during, she would get on her knees and pray. Back then, I think she was 84 at the time. After a couple of years of going to the camps, I asked if there was any way I could take a couple of the Prayer Cards home to my mom. I let the team know that she was praying all the time, and I thought maybe that would give her a little more focus to pray on someone’s needs.
So, she prayed over those for a long, long time. Some of them would be in her Bible, and she’d have a drawer with some in there. One day I sat and I asked her about the ones in the drawer and the ones in her Bible—were they different from one another? She said the ones in the Bible were ones that she needed to be praying on all the time, and God would let her know when it was time to move it to the drawer, or throw it away, because the prayer had been answered.
Now, my mom is 97; every now and again she’ll say she doesn’t know why the good Lord still has her here and not home with Him. We just say, ‘Mom, you still have purpose.’ Then she’ll open up her Bible and look at some of the Prayer Cards and say, ‘That’s true, until they’re all answered I’d better stay around.’
She loves praying for the inmates and for the ministry. It’s totally a purpose for her. I can’t thank the ministry enough for allowing me to take home prayer requests for my mom. These days, she doesn’t get on her knees anymore, but she continues to pray for the men and women.
Thank you for the opportunity to tell you a little bit about my mom. She’s an amazing woman. Hope to see Adrian next month. God bless you and safe travels home.
What a powerful testimony this is. It beautifully illustrates that no matter where we find ourselves on life’s journey, there is always a place and a way to serve to the glory of God. Whether on our knees or through simple acts of faith, each of us has a unique role to play in His plan. May God bless this incredible prayer warrior and may the ranks of those devoted to prayer continue to grow.
You are loved,
Les
Beautiful and heartwarming. The thing about prison ministry is we don’t get to hear the end of the story. So we keep on praying like Mary’s mother. Once in a while I’ll come across a card that I wrote down the name of the person and child I was with at a One Day With God camp. Thanks for sharing this story.
Your mom is amazing! We are so grateful for her prayers. We need them, we are fighting spiritual battles all the time, satan does not want us in there, but God just makes a way every time. We fight different obstacles every camp, but it is so amazing to see God at work, because of the prayers
Mary’s mother is as vital of a team member as we have. The camp doesn’t end on Saturday, and it’s because of her and others that continue to pray.