Kairos DCI 1 ~ Final Thoughts

I have so many thoughts about this latest Kairos experience, I'm not quite sure how to sort them.  I was thrilled that Kairos was finally approved at DCI and that I was called to serve the maiden team.  Knowing the enemy's usual approach in spiritual attack when I serve any ministry team, I armed and prepped myself as best I could in the weeks leading up to the event.  Even then it seemed as if I was getting off easy.  I should have been more on my guard to realize he was just waiting for me to let my defenses down during the weekend so he could pummel me.

And yet, for all the trials and tears, frustrations and really bad first impressions, 30 women at DCI felt the love of Christ as they never have before, leaving long coveted baggage at the foot of the cross, and walked back onto the compound renewed in spirit.  Knowing this, I would go through every second of every heartache of that weekend again.

Crazy?  Maybe not.

One of the blessings of serving behind the scenes is getting to know the Angels.  More than one of these ladies are "lifers", already having served significant time.  Many of them believe that, even within the system, theirs was a path of self-destruction.  And several of them believe that Kairos saved their lives.  That's why they come back to serve, to share the second chance they have been given through this ministry and the Kairos community on the compound.  These are the hearts that draw me into Kairos.  It's the healer in me that wants to be a part of mending their spirit, soothing the wounds of their past, and encouraging them to find wholeness in their future by seeking Him in their present.  Is not the revitalization of one dead soul into an eternal relationship with Christ worth a few days of war with the devil?

I must admit, though, that I was grateful that this was not my FIRST Kairos experience.  Had this been my first impression of what serving was like, chances are good that there would not have been a second.

The morning of our last day in the prison, I gave my Cookie Monster manual to the upcoming team leader and said, "I don't ever want to see that book again."  To which she replied, "You won't.  I think I'm gonna put you at a table next time."  I was so fried that it wasn't until later in the day that it dawned on me what she had really said.  Had I already agreed to be on the spring team?  I didn't remember having that conversation.  Another teammate said she thought the upcoming leader expects that I'll be on her team.  Oh...so I was being informed, not asked?  That's cool.  Because even if she'd asked the answer would have been an unhesitating "yes".