Missing in Action

God can testify how I long after all of you,
with the love and affection of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:8

It's been a bittersweet day. While I always want to be joyful in the Lord, I am very sad because on this particular day my beloved brothers in Christ are enjoying a special time of fellowship at Sullivan Correctional Facility...

Had I not been transferred back in April, right now I'd be participating in our annual Gospel Ministry retreat which is held every third Saturday in the month of June. As they do each year, some of our volunteer ministers from the outside would come as well to spend the day with us.

I always attended this event, and I covered several accounts of the retreat in previous journal entries. Upwards of 40 to 50 men would be attendance in addition to our guests. It would be a time of prayer, praise, preaching and sharing testimonies. The highlight would be a nice but simple meal prepared by the inmates, and paid for by us too. I usually helped every year with serving the food and cleaning up afterwards.

Now, however, I am sitting in a prison cell far from the place where I had spent the past twenty-eight years, thinking about what I'm missing. It's as if I'm missing in action. In reality, I'm not. I'm just fighting the war from a different location. How I long to be with my former church family.

D. B.