We Can’t Make Cookies for Kairos, But We Can Pray

I keep thinking about how this past weekend, October 14-17, would have been ‘Kairos Inside’ at Northeast Correctional Complex. Kairos Inside is a weekend event for inmates by the Kairos Prison Ministry where the gospel of Jesus Christ is brought inside the prison through a series of talks from lay leaders, discussions about the talks with the leaders and other inmates, and chapel meditations, with the goal of introducing Christ and the salvation only He offers, as well as creating a Christian community. The weekend was cancelled by the complex due to safety and security reasons.

For a number of years now, GFC has lent a helping hand by providing cookies for these weekends through our Cookies for Kairos initiative. Homemade cookies are prepared and prayed over in homes of GFCers, then brought inside the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, where inmates will receive them by the dozen. You may think cookies aren’t such a big deal, but these sweet treats are often the only agape love some of the inmates have ever received.

All of this made me think of my friend John Villanueva. I met John and his wife Karen through the United Emmaus Community, a local ecumenical community that helps prepare Christians for service in their own churches and communities. As long as I’ve known John, he has been on fire for Christ, practically shouting praises from the rooftops! Last November, John was taken from his wife Karen, his family, and friends due to Covid related complications. To honor John, I wanted to share a blog he wrote for GFC a few years ago about his experience with Kairos Inside. Click here to read John’s blog.

Although we couldn’t make Cookies for Kairos for last weekend like we normally would have, we can do something. WE CAN PRAY.

Let’s join together and pray for the Kairos Prison Ministry and for a rescheduled date for Kairos Inside at Northeast Correctional Complex. Let’s also pray for the inmates and that they will feel the presence of Christ even before the weekend and that they will see God work in their lives in other ways.