My Heart For Kairos 37
Post date: Nov 1, 2016 7:59:46 PM
My Fellow Kingdom Servants,
Kairos was amazing last month! We showed up to listen and love. God showed up in his mighty power to change hearts, lives, and eternity. There's always something that stands out each weekend in my mind. This time it was how two hearts found peace. One man was finally able to forgive the man who killed his sister. As someone who spent most of his life carrying grudges and hatred, I know the amazing peace that comes from giving all that over to God. What a blessing the peace from that is! As he shared his story during open mic, it impacted another man on our weekend. This second man shared with us that he had killed someone and had never forgiven himself. He told us, as he tried to hold back tears, that he felt when the first man shared his story, he heard God telling him it was okay to forgive himself. Two men now get to live free of the poison Satan has filled their lives with. God is good.
Many of us in prison ministry are familiar with Jesus' words, "I was in prison and you came to visit me." I know when I go to prison, I see God. I go to help others and often get blessed myself. And it should be no surprise. I believe we are all either moving toward or away from God and His path for us. It should be no surprise that when I submit to Him and serve His Kingdom, I get closer to Him and am blessed. I encourage you to go back to Jesus' words in Matthew 25:31-46. I believe Jesus shared his heart with us. He describes giving a drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, caring for the sick... Many of us Christians may spend a lifetime serving in one of these areas and are incredibly blessed. That can be clothing and feeding the poor, working in hospice care, taking care of the sick, visiting those in prison... I also believe that as we serve in each of the other areas Jesus' mentions in Matthew 25:31-46, we can more fully learn the beauty of God's heart. So this upcoming weekend in April, I encourage you to reach out to people who will never be in prison ministry full time. Invite people already volunteering in places like addiction recovery, hospice care, children's ministry, technology, and homeless outreach. This is an opportunity for them to take a 4 day mission trip to experience God's heart in a different way than they are used to. This will be a blessing for their own walk with God. We have the blessing of having many like myself who are in prison ministry for the long haul. We don't need every volunteer to partner with Kairos for years to come. I think back to a mission trip I took in high school. I went to Mexico for 4 or 5 days to build a house. I wasn't there to ensure the long term success of the Kingdom there. I was simply there to serve for a short period of time. I believe God changed my heart forever as a result of that week. Give others the opportunity to live closer to God in a new way by inviting them to join us in April.
Except for a tiny handful of friends, I haven't reached out and called asking for volunteers to serve in April yet. I want you to search your heart through prayer. See if this is the time for you to serve. Some of you may need a break. Some of you haven't been with us in a while, and it's time to return. No matter, invite someone new to partner with us. I'm excited to see what new stories and experiences God will show us next year. I am praying for your spiritual journey as well.
Your brother in Christ,
Seth Trujillo
806-881-2916
strujillo@kairosneal.org
PS Here are the dates for Neal Kairos 37. The Kairos Weekend is April 6-9, 2017.
Kairos Team meetings:
1/14
1/28
2/11
2/25
3/25
Team meetings are all half a day on Saturdays. We will begin at 7:45am and conclude with lunch and fellowship.
The Instruction Weekend will be 2 weeks after the Kairos weekend this time because of Easter. That will be April 22nd.