Prison Ministry Report

Dear Friends,

One of the biggest joys in my life is the opportunity to see so many amazing people humbly serving the Lord in amazing ways. Two people who constantly amaze and humble me are Ted and Pam Ludlow, a new-member couple that is serving as volunteers ministers at the local jail in the name of Main Street Baptist Church, and much more importantly in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am so thrilled by what God is doing through their ministry, and you should be as well. Just take a moment to read a letter I just received, and think about lifting them up in prayer throughout the course of your day, week, and month. You might also want to email Ted and Pam a word of encouragement.

Peace,

Ernest Jones


Dear Praying Partners,

Words fail to express changed lives. One has to see the expression on a face, hear the inflection in the voice and observe the body language to get the full impact. Therefore, the following story is hard to communicate with words. But, let me try. One of the women in our AA group is called “Ozzie” – 9 months ago she was totally indifferent to the claims of Christ and wasn’t sure about “God” in whatever package He/She came in. Through Pam’s faithful witness, the impact of a dynamic Christian inmate (Maria) and the AA class Ozzie came to a strong faith in Christ. She was not afraid to publicly express that faith in class and was a diligent student of her Bible. She has been a model inmate since she found life in Christ.

When her “day in court” came along we were all praying for favor with the judge. Ozzie was nervous and apprehensive, but seemed ready for whatever came down. Well, it didn’t come down so good. The prosecutor enhanced the charges (increased them to aggravated) and changed her to a level one inmate. When she got back to her pod and the pod officer told her – she just lost it! She threw her Bible against the wall, swore at God and said, among other things, (expletives) she was all finished with God because he did stand up for her. That outburst caused her to be “rolled” to the south side where the tougher women are located in single and 8-man cells.

Pam ministered to her there. Ozzie came to a place of profound repentance and humility for her untoward behavior. She ministered to the women in her 8-man cell and asked God to restore her to her old pod - if for no other reason than to be able to express her love and appreciation to Maria for Maria’s spiritual help before Maria left for prison. The Lord did exactly that. She was returned to her old pod, these two women had one night of talking and praying together and both of them were filled with joy at God’s goodness at that moment in their lives. Ozzie then came to the AA class filled with the goodness and love of God. I cannot begin to express the power of her testimony about how “unfaithful” she was and yet how faithful God was to her. That’s where words don’t communicate her passion, excitement, gestures and appreciation to God for all he had done in those last few days. She was even profoundly grateful for having had the experience and the lessons God taught her in the process. Pray for Ozzie, Maria and all these women so powerfully impacted by Christ while in prison. Maria is a strong believer and capable of bearing a faithful witness for Christ in the next prison she goes to.

It is only one story of dozens we see every single month. Thank you for your faithful prayers and interest.

Ted

512-635-8732 (cell)
TedLudlow@gmail.com