Come as you are

Hello, once again! This has been one of the most exciting tours I have had. I started off ministering in the south eastern area of America and then took off to England for a few weeks and returned to minister in America again. I have learned, seen a lot, and had a ton of fun this tour.

We did a lot of ministry this tour but one of the coolest things was going to a maximum security prison in North Carolina. We went there thinking we were just doing a service, but we got to help with something called "one day with God." They go into prisons and select 25 or so men, who have been on good behavior, believe in God and have children to participate in this program. The ministry then gets in touch with the family of the inmates, and invites the children to come spend the day with their fathers. They get to hang out, interact, build things, and talk with their kids for the whole day. We didn't get to see the children the day we went, but we got to help set everything up. We got to serve the inmates breakfast and lunch, help them get gifts for their kids, and watch them learn. While we were there, I came to the realization that these men are just men who made bad decisions. You know when you think of these guys you think of some of the awful things you see in movies, but really there are just people that made bad decisions and ended up locked up for them.

Being there and seeing this made me realize that this is how God must see us sometimes. As people, we’ve made some mistakes that have "locked us up," but we are still just people. And he accepts us as we are, and who we are. He doesn't think that we are scum of the earth, no matter how much we may have sinned. He loves us and forgives us countless times, and tells us to "Come as we are." This is how we should be. We should accept people for who they are, not what they have done. We should love people and forgive them, just as God does.

We were doing a bible study earlier this tour and I came across this verse: "Without wood a fire goes out: without gossip a quarrel dies down." (Proverbs 26:20) When someone is consistently bothering us we should "stop feeding the fire" so to speak. We should not talk about every little thing that bothers us about them, if we stop complaining or gossiping about them, the fire (problem) will go away. So instead of getting mad at them and rejecting them we should love them, continually. While we were in England, we stayed with this woman who was very English and her husband who was very American. We were talking to her about how long they had been together, and how it was interesting that he didn't have an accent. She responded, "He is just as American as the day I met him." Then went on to say that she loved him for who he was and that she wouldn't change anything about him because she loves him and because it isn't our place to change people.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who helped me with my trip to England. Every prayer and donation was truly a blessing. God really revealed himself, Thank you all. As a ministry we try to take at least 2 trips a year and I know a bunch of us would love to go. So please pray and seek God, if he lays it on your heart to sponsor any of us, please do. You can do so by clicking the Pay Pal Link at the bottom of every cast member’s page. Thank you and God Bless, and remember God Loves you and so do I.

Jessica Hiner