 
The Seed

By

Jonnelle Hayden and A. Christian

Smashwords Edition

http://www.smashwords.com

Copyright 2013 by Kathryn Jonnelle Hayden

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

This is a work of fiction. All names, places, events and characters are either products of the authors' imagination or are used fictitiously.
Table of Contents

Preface

Prologue

Part 1

Part 2
Preface

Can Matt Sinclair forgive his daughter's killer? What difference will it make if he does? Is there any hope for the soul of someone who has murdered a fourteen-year-old girl? Will the murderer end up on death row? This is a story of crime, prison and redemption set in South Carolina. This is a Christian novella with approximately 20,000 words.

Prologue

Robin Sinclair was excited. For the first time, she was going to help with the Going Home Rescue Ministry. As she entered the building after her mother dropped her off, Mrs. Patterson directed her to the kitchen. 'I'm really glad you could help us here today. Preparing meals takes a lot of work but if we have enough people to help, "Many hands make light work" as they say.'

"Where do you want me to start?" asked Robin.

"Do you know how to peel potatoes?"

"Yes, I often help Mom in the kitchen."

"Okay, lets get started then."

Robin spent several hours helping with various aspects of meal preparation. Afterwards, she helped to serve the meal. Each of the homeless people who came received a hot, home-style meal and then, before dessert was served, they listened to a 10 minute long Gospel presentation given by Brother Patterson. While the homeless people ate their desserts, Robin and the other volunteers handed out gospel tracts. Once the homeless were gone, Brother Patterson led the volunteers in a prayer for the salvation of those who had heard the Gospel.

Part 1

It was almost 70 degrees, warm for a day in February but not totally atypical for South Carolina. Red laid down his bicycle beside the dirt path that led into the woods from the corner of the parking lot and then crossed the parking lot to the only bank in Ridgeton. He passed a car that was parked beside the outside teller window and walked around to the front of the bank. He paused for a moment to check his reflection in the front door. The bandana covered most of his face and the hood made him even less recognizable. As he walked into the front door, he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the people in front of him. Suddenly, he saw movement at the end of the counter and then, with no time to really think, he was firing at the man who had pulled a gun on him. He fired two shots. The second shot hit the man in the leg, knocking him to the ground. Something stung his arm about the same time that the man fell to the ground but he hardly even noticed it. He ran back out the door and around the building toward his bicycle. He jerked the bike up, leaped on it and rode down the dirt path through the woods as fast as possible. It seemed to take forever to reach the other end of the path but finally he was there. His car was parked beside the road that dead-ended there and reaching it, he opened the trunk, threw the bike in, and then got in the car and drove away. He noticed that his left arm was bleeding so, when he came to a stop sign, he took a moment to tie his bandana around his arm just tight enough to stop the bleeding. In only a few minutes he was in a maze of country roads. His preplanned route soon took him to a major highway. He had failed to get any money but at least he hadn't gotten caught.

******

Robin Sinclair stood for a moment stunned. Blood blossomed on her chest. Her father was lying on the floor of the bank. She sat down beside him. Her father bent towards her but suddenly she slumped down onto the floor.

"Somebody call 911! My daughter's been shot!"

Matt Sinclair's voice rang out in the silence that followed the robbery attempt. One of the tellers came from around the counter to help them while others summoned help. The sound of a siren became audible through the glass doors. The bank was soon filled with police and medical personnel but it was too late, Robin Sinclair was gone.

******

Red still couldn't believe that he had killed a girl. He had watched the evening news the night of the robbery attempt to see if they were making any progress in identifying him. The pictures of the girl and the knowledge that she had only been 14 years old tore up his emotions. He hadn't really worried about shooting the girl's father in the leg but he had never intended to kill someone, especially not a young girl. He wished he could undo his actions but of course it was impossible. She was dead. It still didn't seem real.

He decided to go visit his sister Karen over the weekend. She lived in the Upstate, in Walhalla. It was Friday evening so he called her to be sure it would be all right to come. The next morning, he woke up at 5:30 a.m. and by 6:30 a.m. he was on the road. He arrived there late morning. His nephew Jake and niece Julie came running out as soon as he parked the car.

"Uncle Red, look at my new pocket knife. It has everything. If we go on a cookout, I can use it to cut the green stick to cook the hotdogs and s'mores and it has a can opener, a bottle opener, a screw driver and even a pair of scissors." Ten year old Jake's enthusiasm and energy seemed unbounded.

Nine year old Julie, not to be outdone by her older brother said, "Uncle Red, Momma let me help make the cookies that we're having for dessert after lunch. We're having tacos for lunch and I helped with getting ready to fix that too. Momma said that when we get everything ready ahead of time, fixing lunch is easy."

Julie and Jake's father had been half American Indian. Both of them took after his dark good looks. He had been a fireman back when they lived in Greenville. After his death in a fire, Karen had moved the family to his hometown of Walhalla. She was a nurse so she could find work pretty much anywhere and the change in location had helped her to deal with the grief of losing Kevin and also made it easier for the children to stay close to their paternal grandparents, Hank and Blue Bird Fogle.

Red walked around to the trunk and took out his bags. Just then, the door opened again and his sister Karen walked out, accompanied by Buddy, a pit-bull boxer mix. Unlike her children, Karen had bright red hair and though her eyes were brown, it was a rust colored brown rather than the dark brown that they had inherited from their father. Red also had reddish hair but his was more subdued, more of a reddish brown. His eyes were green with light brown flecks. Both he and Karen had an abundance of freckles. Karen hurried to help him with the bags. Buddy barked to show his enthusiasm but was too well trained to jump up on him. He handed Karen the hanging luggage, which consisted of a jacket, slacks and a dress shirt that he would wear to church in the morning and carried the heavier duffle bag himself. He didn't normally go to church but Karen insisted that he accompany them when he visited because she felt that it would be a bad example to the children if he stayed home.

They ate lunch and then went to Stumphouse Tunnel for the afternoon. As they got out of the car, the children were pointing their flashlights at each other. The ground near the entrance was damp and there were puddles near the walls of the tunnel. When they got into the tunnel, the children stayed close to Red and Karen. Being underground made Red feel a little claustrophobic but it wasn't too bad. When they reached the end of the tunnel it felt strangely disappointing to have to turn around and go back the way they had come. Coming back out, the bright light of the entrance was visible from a long way off, getting bigger as they drew near. As they stepped out of the tunnel, it felt good to be back in the light of day.

On the way home Jake asked, "Can we play football in the backyard while Mom makes supper?"

"Sure," said Red.

When they had parked the car, they all went into the house for a few minutes and then Red and Jake walked through the back porch to the back yard. The clothesline supported by T-shaped poles was parallel to the house about 15 yards away, past that was an open grassy area and then a line of trees about 100 yards from the house marked the beginning of woods. Red and Jake tossed the football for about thirty minutes in the grassy open area and then Karen called them to supper. After supper, everyone decided to play charades.

"Okay", said Karen, "it will be the girls against the guys. I've made a list of twenty children's books. Here's a copy for everybody." She quickly handed out copies to each of them. "I've put all the names in the list on slips of paper in this bowl. When it is your team's turn, one person on the team will draw from the list and try to act out the name of the book and the other will have to guess what it is. The team that guesses the fastest will win the round. The guys will go first."

Red drew Winnie the Pooh and began to act it out. Jake was a good guesser but Karen and Julie were even faster. The evening flew by quickly and soon it was time for bed.

******

Red was back in the bank. As he pointed his gun in the direction of a man holding a gun, he saw his niece Julie standing beside the man. He tried to point his gun away but his hand, moving of its own volition, pointed his gun and fired. Julie crumpled to the ground dead. "No!" He screamed. "Don't die!"

Then he was awake. At first, he didn't know where he was but then he realized he was in Julie's room in bed. She was spending the night in her brother's room. Suddenly the light flicked on and Karen walked into the room. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Just a bad dream. I'm fine. Go back to bed." He got up to get a drink of water and then returned to bed. But he wasn't fine. It wasn't a bad dream. He really had killed a young girl. It hurt just thinking about it. He deserved to die. If there was a hell, he deserved to go there. Maybe soon he would have the courage to do something about it but for now, he just kept wishing it had never happened.

Karen returned back to her room but she didn't get in bed immediately. Instead she knelt beside the bed. "Father, I don't know what's wrong but I know something is wrong with Red. For so long, he's been pushing You away. He doesn't think he needs You but Lord, show him that he does. Please use whatever is happening in his life to bring him to you. Help him to be the man that you want him to be. Please save him and let his life count for you. Amen." Finally, Karen crawled back into bed and was soon asleep.

The next day, everyone got up around 8:00 a. m. Soon they were at the kitchen table eating breakfast. As always, Julie ate bran flakes.

"How can you eat that stuff?" Jake asked Julie. "It tastes like straw."

"It's good. You just have to know how to fix it", Julie replied as she dribbled sourwood honey all over the surface of the milk soaked bran flakes.

"Well, I guess if you drown it in honey, it might be okay", relented Jake.

"It's gotta be sourwood honey though. The stuff they have in the grocery store just doesn't taste the same."

Soon breakfast was over and it was time to get ready for church. After a quick shower and a shave, Red dressed in the clothes he had brought to wear to church. They all rode together in Karen's SUV. The church that they were going to, Cornerstone Baptist Church, was a small country church a mile or two outside of Walhalla. As they walked through the small vestibule and into the sanctuary, Matt noticed that the room was only about half full. After morning announcements, the children left to go to their Sunday school classes but Red and Karen stayed in the sanctuary where the adult Sunday school class was to be held. After Sunday school there was a break with much handshaking. Many people came up to Red to greet him. Would they be so friendly if they knew what kind of a person he really was? As the preacher stepped up to the podium to begin the morning sermon, Red began to feel uncomfortable. If the preacher had known everything that Red had done, he could not have chosen a more appropriate text. When the pastor read the text, Numbers 32:23b "and be sure your sin will find you out," Red almost got up then and walked out but he didn't. He sat through the message and tried not to listen to what the preacher was saying. No doubt God would judge him soon enough and he would get what he richly deserved but he didn't want to think about it now.

Finally, the sermon was over and they returned to the house for a quick lunch of French market soup and cheese toast made with extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Red was quiet and subdued throughout the meal. Soon after lunch was over, he packed his belongings up and headed back to his apartment in Ashley. He kept the radio playing throughout the trip so he wouldn't have too much time to think.

After he left, Karen asked Julie and Jake to sit down with her at the table. "We need to pray for your Uncle Red. I don't believe he's saved. He needs to receive Christ as Lord and Savior."

"Can I pray for him now?" asked Jake.

"Yes, we'll each take a few minutes to pray for him. Nothing is too hard for God. God can save him. We just have to keep praying", she said and then they all bowed their heads and Jake began to pray.

******

"Why did I ever pull the gun out?" Matt asked himself yet again. If only he had stood quietly and done what the robber asked, Robin would probably still be alive. He was lying in a hospital bed with an IV running into his arm. His wife slept in the recliner beside his bed. The orthopedic surgeon had repaired the damage to his leg as best he could but it would be a while before he would be on his feet again. As he berated himself for getting his daughter killed, he was interrupted by a soft knock at the door.

"Matt, can I come in?" It was Jack Reed, a good friend of his. "We found a drop of blood on the carpet in the bank. We think it came from the bank robber. They're going to run a DNA test on it. If it's in the system, we may know who did this pretty soon."

Matt and Jack were both deputies with the Sherriff's Department of Cooper County. The main office for the Sherriff's department was located in the county seat, Ashley. The Sherriff's Department had jurisdiction in Ridgeton because Ridgeton had no police force of its own. Because a deputy was involved, SLED was heading up the investigation but they were keeping the Sherriff's department well informed of the progress they were making.

"Let me know as soon as you know something."

"Will do. In the mean time, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Not right now. I'll let you know if I need anything."

"Okay, then. I'll be back later." Jack stood there for a moment, wishing he could do something to help and then turned and walked out.

Rousing from sleep, his wife Molly asked him, "Matt, was that Jack? What did he want? Why didn't you wake me?"

"He just came by to let us know that they found some blood to run DNA tests on. You seemed really tired after being up all night while I was in surgery so I was going to let you sleep for a while."

"Are you feeling okay? Does your leg hurt?"

"It hurts a little but I'm okay. What really hurts is what happened to Robin. I'm just wishing that I had let the robbery happen and not tried to stop it, and also hoping that they can catch the guy who did it. I've dealt with this kind of thing a lot but it's different when it happens to you."

"I just feel so angry at the man," said Molly. "I know I need to forgive him but right now, I just don't want to."

"I feel angry too. I guess you're right that we need to forgive him but I'm not there yet. Why did God let this happen?"

******

Molly drove into the parking lot at the funeral home. The building was originally a large house but a chapel had been added to it on one end. She passed within a few feet of a tree just beginning to bud. It reminded her of Robin. Robin had been budding into a young woman when she was cut down. She pushed her emotions back down and walked into the door of the funeral home. The funeral home director welcomed her into his office, which was decorated with a patriotic motif. American flags, swords and several old-fashioned guns hung on one wall and on another wall hung a large portrait of a young man in a Citadel uniform. The funeral director was fiftyish, with a balding head. They spent some time discussing the details of the funeral and then he helped her to pick out a casket. Her emotions kept welling up just when she thought they were under control. She shouldn't have come here alone. Matt would have come with her but he was still in a wheel chair. She should have asked Susan to come with her. Susan was her pastor's wife and also a good friend. But she hadn't thought to ask her and she was here now so she would just do the best she could.

Soon, the details were decided. After returning to the car, she used her cell phone to call Pastor McGregor and arrange for him to come to their home so they could discuss the funeral service.

******

The sun streamed in through the windows of Grace Bible Church and lit up the sanctuary. The organist was playing "Be Still My Soul" as the last few people entered the sanctuary before the service began. Matt sat in a wheel chair beside one of the pews on the front row.

The organ music faded and Pastor McGregor stepped up to the pulpit. 'We're here today to celebrate the life of Robin Sinclair. Robin was only fourteen years old but she was more mature in some ways than many adults. She accepted Christ when she was ten years old and for the next four years she lived for Christ to the best of her ability. We don't know why God allowed her life to end like it did but we do know that God had a purpose for her life and that he had a purpose in allowing her to die this way. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." We know that when her life on this earth ended, she didn't end. She is alive right now in heaven and those who know Christ will see her again one day, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."'

Matt clung to the words of Pastor McGregor. Robin was safe in heaven. He would see her again one day. There was real comfort in that but he still felt the pain of losing her.

The funeral lasted about thirty minutes. Megan Johnson, one of Robin's closest friends, spoke about her happy memories of Robin. Robin's Sunday school teacher talked of how Robin had helped to make newcomers to the class feel welcome. Matt would have liked to have said something but he didn't think he could speak of Robin without breaking down into tears so he had declined the Pastor's suggestion that he speak at the funeral. Soon the service was over and it was time to go to the cemetery.

******

Three weeks later, Red was driving down the road near his house when he heard a siren and saw a flashing light in his rear view mirror. He pulled over to the side of the road and stopped his car. Two policemen opened the doors of the police car and stepped out. They stood behind the doors of their car, pulled out guns and pointed the guns at Red.

"Driver, put your hands on the ceiling. Use your left hand to open the door. Stick your hands out." Red followed each instruction to the letter.

"Get out of the car NOW, facing forward!" Red immediately stepped out of the car facing the front of the car while continuing to hold his hands up.

"Walk back slowly, hands up...keep coming." Red backed up until he reached the back of his car.

"Now stop and get on your knees!" Red obeyed the officer's command. The pavement felt hard under his knees.

"Lay flat on your stomach, arms spread wide with your palms up and ankles crossed." Red did exactly as he was told.

Then the other officer spoke for the first time, "You cover him and I'll cuff him."

The first officer, the one who had been telling him what to do said, "Don't move or I'll shoot." Red wasn't about to move. He had no interest in getting in a fight with two police officers with guns.

One of the officers holstered his gun and moved toward Red. He put his knee on Red's upper back and neck and the weight felt like it was going to crush him. He cuffed his left hand first then pulled his right hand up and cuffed that wrist also. Then the officers stood him up had him lean against his car. About this time Red heard sirens and two other police cars pulled up behind the first one. Policemen got out from each car and hurried over to where they were preparing to search him.

"Do you have anything on you? Any weapons or needles or anything that's going to hurt me when I search you? Any drugs?"

"I've got a small pocketknife in my front left pocket." Red answered. The officer removed the knife from his pocket and then patted him down. There was nothing else in his pockets but his wallet.

"You're under arrest for the murder of Robin Sinclair. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say..." The officer read him his rights and then put him into the back of the police car none too gently.

******

When the police car pulled in at the station, they took him to the booking area and told him to sit down. After a while, they took his photograph and fingerprinted him using electronic fingerprinting equipment then he was called over to talk with another officer who asked him about his medications, allergies and other medical conditions. The questions seemed endless. Finally, he was sent into another room and told to strip. They told him to bend over and cough, looked in his mouth and every other possible hiding place thoroughly and then gave him an orange jump suit and told him to put it on.

Once they had processed him, they put him in a holding cell for the night. The next day he was transferred to a regular cellblock. Because he was charged with murder, only a circuit judge would be able to assign him a bond and probably, it would be too high for him to pay if they even gave him one.

******

Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" played from Matt's cell phone. He picked it up and pushed send. "Matt Sinclair."

"Hello, this is Jack. They've just arrested the man that killed Robin."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Theodore Jones but he goes by the nickname "Red." He has previous convictions for robbing two convenience stores but he's never killed anybody before. They've got him over in the county detention center."

"Are they sure he's the one?"

"His DNA was a match for the blood left at the scene. He's the one. And once he realized how much evidence they had, he actually confessed. It will be on the news tonight."

"Well, thank God they got him."

For the last three weeks, Matt had been hoping and praying that they would catch the guy. Now that they actually had him, it seemed like a let down. Nothing that they could do to him would make up for losing Robin. Also, he was feeling the pricking of conviction about forgiving the man. He knew that it was what God wanted him to do but it was just so hard, he still felt so angry.

"God," he prayed, "I know that you want me to forgive this man. But you know I can't do it. It's not in me to forgive him. But, Lord, I want to please you. Help me to forgive him. Work a miracle in my heart because that's what it's going to take."

He pulled out his smart phone and tapped on the Bible Concordance app to open it. He quickly did a search on "love your enemies" and it brought up Matthew 5:44. He clicked the passage open and started reading, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven..."

"God, you know how I feel about this man but help me to forgive him." He had read somewhere that if you were struggling to forgive someone, it might help to pray for him so he prayed, "Lord, work in his heart, help him to realize that you died for him, that you still love him and want to save him. Send someone to give him the gospel and please save him." It helped some, but he still felt angry.

******

Karen and her children were eating supper when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello? This is the South Carolina Post. May I speak with Karen Fogle?"

"This is she."

"Is Theodore Jones your brother?"

"Yes. What is this about?"

"Are you aware that he was arrested for murdering a fourteen year old girl?"

"What? No! That can't be right. I'm sorry but I can't talk to you right now."

She hung up the phone. The children were looking at her. She excused herself to go to the bathroom. There, she pulled the back of the toilet down over the seat and sat down. She felt lightheaded. Could this be true? She couldn't stay in here all day so she finally was able to pull herself together and go back to the table. Just then the phone rang again. Julie got up to answer it but she told her not to. She turned off the ringer so they wouldn't be able to hear it any more. It was Friday night so she put a DVD into the player for the children to watch and then, once they were occupied, she went into her bedroom, closed the door and used her cell phone to call her mother-in-law.

"Mom, I just got some terrible news."

"You mean about Red? It was on the news about an hour ago. Did you see it? I tried to call you after I saw it but no one answered."

"A reporter called me and told me. He wanted to interview me but I hung up and I haven't answered the phone since. I just can't understand how Red could do something so terrible. I knew something was wrong when he was here, he even woke up screaming from a nightmare, but I never dreamed it could be something like this. What should I do?"

"You need to spend a lot of time praying and not decide anything quickly. I know you're hurting right now but don't make any decisions based on how you feel. Pray and God will show you what to do."

"Okay. Thanks Mom."

******

As Red walked into the cell, there was a guy standing at the basin. He had just finished brushing his teeth. "Hi, I'm Sketch Parker."

"Red Jones."

"You can have that bed there", Sketch said as he pointed to one of the lower bunks.

"Okay, thanks."

Red made up his bed and put his meager belongings away. For the first few days, he talked very little with anyone. Then after about three days, Sketch started a conversation with him.

"Where are you from?"

"Ashley."

"Did you work anywhere before you got arrested?"

"Yeah. I was a machine operator at a packaging tape factory. We would get in shipments of tape on giant rolls and I ran one of the machines that slit it down to two or three inches and then rerolled it onto small rolls."

"Have you ever done time before?"

"Yeah, I did ten years for a robbery a while back."

"Do you play chess?"

"Sure."

"How about we try playing each other. I'm always looking for someone new to try my hand against. Most of the guys here aren't any good."

"I can't promise I'll be any better than they are but I'll give it a try."

Soon, Red and Sketch were sitting at a table with a homemade chessboard between them. They heard a sound at the cellblock door. An officer on the other side of the door called through the tray flap, "Mail Call!" He read out several names but "Jones" was not among them. Hopefully, Karen would write him sometime but she was probably pretty upset so it might take her a while. He hoped she wouldn't stay mad forever.

******

It was Sunday morning. Molly was busy in the kitchen preparing the food for the potluck dinner they were having at church after the service. The Scottish shortbread squares were already baked from the previous evening but she had to prepare the green bean casserole. She stirred the French green beans and cream of mushroom soup together in the rectangular glass baking dish and then sprinkled the French fried onions on top and sealed it with a plastic lid. It would bake in the oven at church during the service. She placed the food in the car and then returned to the house for last minute preparations.

While Molly was preparing food for the potluck dinner, Matt called Jack to be sure that he and his fiancée Sharon were still planning to attend church. He'd been trying to get Jack to come for some time and he'd finally agreed.

Finally, she and Matt were both ready. She checked the iron to be sure that it was unplugged then she walked through the kitchen and out the door into the garage. Matt was already getting into the car. As they waited for the garage door to open she climbed into the driver's seat and fastened her seatbelt.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the church. Before parking, she drove to the fellowship hall and carried the food in while Matt waited in the car. Some of the ladies would go down to the kitchen during the worship service to get everything ready for the meal but now the kitchen was quiet except for a few others bringing in food. Once she had put the green beans in the refrigerator and the short bread on the dessert table, she drove back to the parking lot and parked. Matt's crutches were in the back seat so Molly walked around to the passenger side and got them out for him. Once standing, Matt was able to slowly make his way into the church building. Normally, they would be going to their Sunday school class at this time but this morning they went straight into the sanctuary because a missionary was going to give a presentation about the country that God had called him to during Sunday school and then preach a message during the regular service.

******

"Too often, we think life is about the here and now, how much money we can make, what kind of job we have. A hundred years from now, those things won't matter. The only thing that we can take with us to heaven is people. If you lead someone to Christ, that person will live in heaven for eternity. We need to invest our money our time, our very lives in things that will last for eternity. And when I say we should invest our lives I mean just that. The majority of the people in this world don't live in America. They don't live in places that have first class living accommodations and the best medical care. To reach these people someone has to be willing to go where they are. Many of these people live in dangerous places and so that might mean risking your life or even giving your life. God doesn't call everyone to the foreign mission field but He might be calling you there. Are you willing to go anywhere that God sends you and do anything He tells you to do? Right now, surrender to God. Tell Him that you are willing to go anywhere He sends you."

Matt's heart was moved by the missionaries presentation. As many people left their pews and walked towards the front of the church to pray at the altar, Matt told God he would go wherever God sent him. Where might God send him?

******

Karen had prayed for a long time about what to do. She knew that she had to forgive Red. God had helped her to do so. Knowing that they would otherwise almost certainly hear the news from someone else, Karen had told the children what had happened the next morning in simple terms. The children were angry, bewildered and hurt. At first they were just in shock but then Julie started crying and soon they both were crying. That lasted for quite a while. Thankfully, it was Saturday so they didn't have school. By Monday, they were over the shock and crying spells but Karen knew that they were both deeply hurt. As she prayed for the ability to forgive Red herself, she also started praying for God to help them to forgive him. During their devotions, she read verses about forgiveness and talked with them. Finally, after a few weeks, they all were able to forgive Red. Karen called the county detention center where Red was being held. Once she knew the visitation schedule, she wrote Red and told him that she was coming to visit him. She thought that it would be better to wait for a second visit to bring the children.

The next week, she made the drive to the detention center to visit him. When she got there, she found a line of people waiting to visit loved ones who were in jail. She had to stand in line for about twenty five minutes. Finally, when she made it to the front of the line, she told the lady behind the window who she wanted to see. She was told which window to go to and then was told to wait there while they brought him. When he came to the window, they both picked up the phones that allowed them to talk through the glass.

"Red, it's good to see you."

"Thank you for coming. I don't know why you came. I don't deserve to have you for a sister anymore."

"Red, I love you. No matter what, I will always love you. Nothing can change that. It doesn't matter whether you deserve it or not."

"How are the children? I'm so sorry! I know it must have really hurt them to find out what I did."

"They were pretty upset but I've been talking to them about forgiveness. They've forgiven you and want to see you but I thought it would be better to wait for the next visit for that."

"Okay."

They talked for a while longer and then the visit was over. Red was glad that his sister had come but he felt so guilty about what he had put her and the children through.

******

Two weeks after hearing the missionary at his church speak, Matt was sitting on the couch in his living room. His crutches were propped up beside him. It was early morning and Matt had just finished reading his Bible. He set his Bible down on the end table beside him and bowed his head to pray. "God, fill me with your Holy Spirit today. If there's anything hindering you from filling me, show me and help me to get it right." As he prayed, the Holy Spirit impressed on his heart that he should go visit Red in jail. He had been praying for someone to give Red the gospel but now he realized that God wanted him to do that.

Matt called the detention center and asked about visiting Theodore Jones. Although he had worked as a deputy, he was now on medical leave. He was also a victim of Theodore Jones' crime. Because of these factors, it was decided that he could only visit him if he went through the regular visitation process. He would be able to talk to him on a phone and see him through a glass but there would be no physical contact. That was okay with Matt. The next visitation period was in two days time. He would be there.

******

Two days later Matt drove himself to the detention center. Yesterday was the first day he had driven the car since the robbery. It felt good to be driving again and he had also graduated from crutches to a cane. He got out of the car and started walking slowly toward the detention center. He had to wait twenty minutes before he got up to the window and gave Theodore Jones' name. They directed him to go to one of the empty visitation windows. He picked up the phone through which they would communicate and waited for Theodore Jones to appear.

Red was in his cell when they called him for visitation. They had told him earlier that the man whose daughter he had killed wanted to speak with him. Probably, he wanted to tell him how much he hated him and how much he deserved to get the death penalty. That was okay. He deserved to be yelled at. He walked into the visitation area and went to the window that he was directed to. The man standing on the other side of the glass was an inch or two taller than he was, maybe 5'10". He had light brown wavy hair and blue eyes. Red picked up the phone.

Matt watched as the man came and picked up the phone. He had reddish brown hair cut short and eyes that were somewhere between green and brown. The man's face seemed almost expressionless.

"Hello, Mr. Jones? My name is Matt Sinclair. How are you doing today?"

"I guess I'm okay. You don't have to call me mister. Most folks just call me Red."

'You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. I guess you know that the girl that you killed was my daughter. I want you to know that I forgive you for what you did to her but that's not my main reason for being here. I'm here to tell you that God loves you. God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross, to pay for what you did and for all the other sins that you've ever done. God wants to save you. The Bible says "The wages (or payment) of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." That means that because of our sin, we deserve death. We deserve to go to hell, which the Bible calls the "second death." But God loves you and doesn't want you to go to hell. If you will repent of your sin and turn to Christ and put your faith in Him, God will save you and give you eternal life.'

"I ought to go to hell. I killed a fourteen-year-old girl. Her life was just beginning and now, because of me, it's over. You're wasting your time here. It's too late for me."

'It's not too late. The Bible says that "God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." God doesn't want to send you to hell. Jesus said that He didn't come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. He loves you. He wants to save you.'

"I don't see that."

'You know, the fact that you see yourself as a sinner is not a problem; it's a good thing. Many people never get to the point of seeing themselves as a sinner. Even though the Bible says in Romans chapter 3 that "all have sinned," many people think that they are basically good people and that their goodness is enough to deserve heaven. The fact that you recognize that you are a sinner who deserves to go to hell means that you've already taken the first step to getting saved. Nobody gets saved without taking that first step.'

"I'm going to send you a New Testament and some other stuff to read. Please read it."

"I ain't got nothing else to do so I'll read whatever you send me but it ain't going to do no good."

Matt watched Red hang up the phone and then turn and walk away. Matt hung up the phone in his hand and headed back out to the parking lot. What would be the best reading material to send Red? Perhaps if he wrote him a letter himself it would be better. What would he write? As he walked back to the car and then started to drive home, ideas jumped around in his head.

When he got home, he sat down at his computer and started to compose a letter. He finished writing it before going to bed that night. The next morning he mailed it. He also called a man he knew who volunteered at the jail and asked him to give Red a New Testament.

******

One of the volunteers brought Red a New Testament. Later that afternoon, Red received a letter from Matt. He sat on the bed holding it and just looking at it unopened for several minutes. Finally, he opened it and began to read...

Dear Red,

Please read this letter through carefully. I know you think it strange that I would even want you to trust Christ but it's what my daughter Robin would have wanted and I know it's what God wants. God loves you and He wants to give you eternal life so that when you die, you can go to Heaven with Him. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son [Jesus Christ]. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5:11, 12) It's very important that you make sure that you have Jesus Christ before you come to the end of your life here. God does not want to judge you and send you to hell. "The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) God loves you and He wants you to repent and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He wants you to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18)

God has always existed. He is one God but He exists as three persons, God the Father, God the Son [Jesus Christ] and God the Holy Spirit. God is holy, righteous, pure and perfect. When God created the first two human beings, Adam and Eve, He created them righteous, they were not sinful. But God created them with the ability to choose to love and obey Him or to choose to disobey Him. God put them in a perfect environment, the Garden of Eden. He gave them everything that they needed and He spent time with them in fellowship. Because God made them and gave them life and because He loved them and blessed them with everything that they needed; they should have loved God. They should have been willing to obey God, but instead, they chose to disobey God. This was sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, they became sinners. Because they had sinned against a holy and righteous God, they deserved to be punished; they deserved to go to Hell. God is a righteous Judge who must punish sin. But God still loved them. Therefore, He planned that God the Son [Jesus Christ] would be born into the world as a human, live a perfect, sinless life on this earth, and then die on the cross to pay the penalty for Adam and Eve's sin and also for the sin of everyone of their descendants, the whole human race. Before Jesus came, people didn't know the details of God's plan but they knew that God had promised to one day send a deliverer (savior) who would pay for their sins. Those who believed God's promise and put their trust in God would be saved from Hell. "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Galatians 3:6) Today it is the same, "But as many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12) In order to be saved from Hell and to go to Heaven when you die, you must receive Jesus Christ, you must believe on His name. It doesn't matter how bad your sin is, you murdered my daughter but many people who have committed the sin of murder have received Christ. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) When Jesus was dying on the cross, two criminals were crucified with Him, one on each side. As the three were hanging beside each other on three crosses, "One of the malefactors [criminals] which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:39-43), "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5, 6), "And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:31, 32), "But God commendeth [shows] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8, 9), "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4)

But what does it mean to receive Christ, to believe on His name? The Apostle Paul broke it down into two simple steps: 1) repentance and 2) faith in Jesus Christ. "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:20, 21) Repentance means turning away from sin in your heart. Admit to God that you are a sinner, enslaved by sin and unable to stop sinning. Tell God that you are sick of your sin, that you are sorry for your sin and that you don't want to go on living in sin any more. Tell him that you know that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and then ask Jesus to come into your heart, wash away your sins, and take control of your life (be your Lord [boss]). Tell God that you want Him to change your heart and help you to live for Him so that you will be able to do right instead of continuing to do wrong. If you ask God to do all this and really mean it, not only will He deliver you from Hell but He will change you inside. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17), "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins... And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:" (Colossians 1:13, 14, 21, 22)

If you give your life to Christ, you will never regret it. Robin is in Heaven now but if she could come back, I know that she would beg you to trust Christ.

Sincerely,

Matt Sinclair

******

It was four or five days since Matt had mailed the letter to Red. He had prayed a little bit for him off and on but now, it seemed like he couldn't stop praying for Red's salvation. Every time he tried to quit praying, he felt almost guilty. He knew that it was the Holy Spirit Who was burdening him to pray and so he prayed for Red for several hours. Suddenly, the compulsion to pray for Red was gone. Why? Had Red gotten saved? Had he turned away Christ for the last time and now it was too late to pray for him? "Lord, show me what this means," he prayed.

While Matt was praying for Red, Karen and her children were also praying for him. They finished praying about the same time that Matt did.

The next morning, as Matt was reading his Bible as part of his regular devotional time, he came to the New Testament reading for the day. Today he was reading Hebrews 13. When he got to verse three and read, "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them" he wondered to himself, "This verse is talking about believers in bonds. Is God speaking to me through this verse? Am I supposed to remember Red because he is now a believer?" Matt could hardly wait until the next visitation day. It seemed too good to be true and yet with God all things are possible.

******

A few days later, Matt came to visit Red again. As before, he had to wait his turn for a window. As soon as Red came to the window Matt knew that there was something different about him. It wasn't that he looked happy but he seemed more relaxed and more at peace than before.

"I got your letter. When I first read it, I thought that you were wrong, that it was already too late for me. For the next few days, I read your letter over and over and I also read the Gospel of John because the volunteer told me to. But I kept thinking that I was too wicked and too guilty, I could never get saved. Then one afternoon, the thought kept coming back to me that I needed to trust Christ right then. I fought it for hours but finally, I knew it was God speaking to my heart and I just couldn't fight Him any more so I did like you said to in the letter. I turned away from my sin and asked Christ to come into my heart and clean me up and change my heart. I gave my life to Him. I still feel terrible about what I did; I don't think I'll ever stop regretting it. But I feel a lot more peace than I did before."

"That's terrific. A few days ago, I felt like God was telling me to pray for you to get saved. I guess you could say that I had a burden to pray for you. I prayed for a long time before the burden went away. I'm glad that you got the New Testament I sent."

'Yes, since I got saved, I've been reading it some more and I've got some questions. First, I read in Matthew where it says that you're not supposed to resist evil. That means that if I go back to prison I'm not supposed to resist but if I don't resist, that will make me victim. The number one rule in prison is "don't be a victim" if I don't resist, they'll think they can do what ever they like to me. How can that be right.'

"I can't tell you what to do about that. All I can tell you is that you have to obey God. If you think that God wants you to not resist then you need to obey. God can take care of you. He may keep them from beating you up but he may allow them to beat you up. Jesus was not only beaten up but also crucified for us. Sometimes, God calls us to follow in His footsteps and face persecution."

"But why would God allow me to be beaten up? If I'm a Christian, doesn't that mean that God wants me to fight them so they'll see that a Christian is stronger than them?"

'That isn't how God works. When Paul first got saved, Jesus said to him, "I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." Later, Paul said, "when I am weak, then am I strong." I know that doesn't make a lot of sense to you but God doesn't always protect His children from suffering in this life. God can use your suffering not only to help you grow as a Christian but also to help others see Christ in you. When someone who doesn't know Christ sees you suffer and sees that you still are trusting God and living for God, it can help them to realize that God is real and that they need God. There's also the matter of reaping what you sowed. God's Word says, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." That doesn't change just because someone gets saved. The Apostle Paul had Christians thrown into prison and he persecuted Christians to the death. After he got saved, he spent years in prison and finally was beheaded. He reaped what he sowed. But, after he got saved, Christ let his suffering be for Christ's name. Jesus' death on the Cross paid for our sin so, if we're saved, we don't have to pay for our sin in hell but while we are still on this earth, the law of sowing and reaping is still in effect. God is not going to change His law of sowing and reaping but if you live for Christ, anything you suffer will not be in vain, it will be for Christ. '

"So you're saying that, no matter what I do I'm going to suffer because I have to reap for all the bad stuff I've sowed but if I live for Christ my suffering will count for something."

"Exactly."

******

The next day, Red called Karen on the phone. When she heard the good news that Red had gotten saved, she was ecstatic. Even the reality that Red was facing either the death penalty or life in prison couldn't mar her joy.

******

Red's attorney sat down at the table across from him. "I've just talked to the DA. He says that the victim's family has requested that they not go after the death penalty so the DA is willing to plea-bargain. If you will plead guilty to murder one, you can avoid the death penalty and get a sentence of life without the possibility of parole."

"Okay. I'm willing to do that. I'm guilty. If we can avoid a trial that'll be better for their family and also for my family."

******

Red got on the bus and sat down. Several other sentenced inmates also got on. After a while, they arrived at Kirkland in Columbia. He would be classified and assigned to a correctional institution there.

"Line up against the wall." The correction officer called out in a loud voice. Red and the other men from the bus lined up. "Take off all your clothes." Red complied with the request. It was chilly standing there with no clothes. "Turn around, bend over and cough." Again, Red complied. Their heads were shaved, they were then sprayed with delousing spray, and ordered to take a shower. Finally, they were given, clothes, a mattress and bedding and sent to their dorms.

The next morning and every morning thereafter, he was awakened at 5:00 a.m. for breakfast. Then, after count, he would go to the various "call outs" each day. Over the next few weeks, Red took medical and psychological tests and then met with someone in Classification. Based on his test results, the type of crime that he had committed and on the fact that he had a previous record, he was assigned to Hunter Correctional Institution, a maximum-security institution considered by most to be one of the toughest prisons in the state.

Five weeks after arriving at Kirkland, he found himself on a bus on his way to Hunter.

The prison transport van pulled up at the gates of Hunter Correctional Institution. Red was escorted through the gates into the Sally port and then searched. He was processed. He was placed in an intake cell for observation. Eventually, he was assigned a regular cell.

One of the other inmates in the cell was Kyle Matthews. Kyle was black, his complexion was a dark, ebony color. His head was shaved and he had a tall, heavy, athletic build similar to an NFL linebacker. He was the self-appointed leader of the cellblock. As soon as Red moved in to the room, he made it clear that he was in charge. Red didn't argue with him.

The other person in the cell, a tall black man with a medium complexion and a slender but well muscled build, introduced himself, "I'm Marcus King."

"Red Jones."

"Welcome to Hunter."

That night, he bowed his head and prayed that God would use him there and that He would save his cellmates. Then he read for a few minutes in his Bible.

"Are you a Christian?"

Red looked up. Marcus was looking at him suspiciously.

"Yes, I got saved in jail before I came here."

"Religion won't do you any good here", said Marcus.

"I was guilty and on my way to hell. Now, I have peace in my heart and I know I'll go to heaven when I die. If Jesus never does anything else for me, it doesn't matter. I didn't get saved to make my time here easier."

"Yeah? Well, just keep your religion to yourself."

The next day, Red woke up about 5:00 a.m. and walked over to the chow hall for breakfast. He sat down at an empty table. The food was on a tray. Instead of a fork, spoon and knife, all he had was a plastic spork which was bright orange and much larger than the disposable ones you can buy at the grocery store. Shortly afterwards, another guy sat down across from him. The other guy was also white and had blonde hair and fair skin.

"Hi, I'm Florida Blakely."

"Red Jones. Are you from Florida?"

"No, I'm from Aynor, South Carolina. That's over near Conway."

"Why do they call you Florida then?"

"That's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you some time."

After breakfast, they all went back to the dorms for count. They each went into their cell and the officers came around and counted them, checking to be sure that each inmate had an ID Card that matched him. They ended up having to recount after the first time so it took almost an hour. After count, they had free time until lunch. Red joined a game of basketball for a while in the small rec area behind the dorm, and then went back to the dorm for a while before lunch. At 11:00 a.m., they had count again and then they went back to the chow hall for lunch. The afternoon was the same as the morning. Later, they had count and then supper and finally, around 10:00 p.m., they were locked down in their cells for the night. After a couple of days of this routine, Red asked for a job.

The next day, Red was assigned a job at the kitchen. The kitchen was located at the back of the chow hall. Right after morning count, Red went to the kitchen. He was first given the job of washing pots and pans up. During the 11:00 a.m. count, he and the other guys working there were quickly counted and then they ate a quick lunch while count was still being completed in the dorms. Then they went back into the kitchen and he was assigned to handle the trays as the guys put them into the tray slot after finishing eating. As each guy brought his tray to the tray slot, he had to take the trays, spray rinse them, along with the plastic sporks and cups and then put them all into the dishwasher. One of the other inmates who worked there was Tim Sanders. Tim was also a Christian. Red and Tim quickly became friends and Tim invited him to attend the next worship service with him.

A few days later, just before the service began, Red and Tim sat down. The church service was held in the same room where visitation was held and there were a number of tables and chairs in the back of the room as well as some vending machines. The floor gleamed with fresh polish. Chairs were lined up facing a podium and behind the podium was a large rectangular box, shaped something like a coffin. This was the baptistery. Normally, it had a lid on it and did double duty as a communion table but today someone was being baptized so it was filled with water. A couple of the inmates passed out hymnbooks, which were paperback and then the service started.

"Turn to page eighty", said the chaplain.

Red and Tim both found their places and joined in the singing.

"...Amazing love! How can it be That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!"

Red didn't have all that good a singing voice but he could make a joyful noise. After singing several more songs, the chaplain, who was a volunteer rather than a paid employee, preached a short message on the meaning of baptism, how it was the a testimony that one was saved, "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God."

After the baptism was over, those who would like to be baptized were invited to come forward. Red went forward to talk with the chaplain.

Later that night, as he and Marcus returned to their cell for lockup, he spoke to Marcus.

"I'm getting baptized next month at the next baptism service. I'd like for you to come."

"I've never been to a service before. I don't think I want to start going now."

"Please come. I'd really like you to be there. My friend Tim will be there too."

"I don't know about that."

A couple of days later, Red was through working for the day and was relaxing in the common area of the dorm. Florida sat down beside him.

"You still want to know about how I got my name?"

"Sure."

"Well, it happened like this...I was a senior in high school and I was flunking out so for spring break a friend and me decided to steal a car and go to Florida. After we got there, we ended up getting in trouble with the law there too. We got caught. I was tried first for the car theft in South Carolina and then for my other crimes in Florida. I did my time here first and then Florida sent a transport bus to pick me up to extradite me to Florida. The bus picked me up on its way north. There were already a couple of prisoners from Georgia when I got in. We went to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. We stayed two days at a jail in Pennsylvania and then went to West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama before making it to Florida. The whole trip took ten days and except for the two days in the jail in Pennsylvania, we had to sleep sitting up in the bus. When I got to Florida, after I was processed, I went to the Yard. The first day there, they made us stay out in the sun all day long and I was so sunburnt that I ended up in the infirmary. After that, they gave me a shade pass. A couple of years later, a hurricane passed right over the prison. I sat at the window of my cell and watched it. Stuff was flying everywhere. It tore off the roof of the library and half the roof of the chow hall. It also tore down part of the fence. Then it got completely quiet for about ten minutes. After that, it all started up again. When it was over, we didn't have no power or water for over a week. You want to talk about hot, try being cooped up in a prison with no AC during the summer time in Florida. After three or four days, all we got to eat was beans and rice. They thought they were going to have to evacuate the institution but finally they got supplies in and started getting things back to normal. When we watched it on TV later, almost the whole county was leveled. That's one thing good about buildings, in a prison, they got so much reinforcement to keep people from escaping that you don't have to worry about the building coming down, even in a hurricane."

"When I finally got out of prison there and came back to South Carolina, people started calling me Florida, I guess cause I like to talk about it a lot."

"That's a pretty interesting story."

Red wasn't sure if he believed it all or not.

Red asked Marcus to come to the service with him every week. He also continued to witness to him. Finally, just before the baptism service, Marcus agreed to go.

Marcus was surprised to find himself at the baptism service. He had always avoided religion but Red seemed to really want him there and he hadn't been able to keep saying no to him so here he was.

The preacher talked about how Jesus died for the sins of the world and how anyone, no matter how wicked he had been, could be washed clean if they trusted Christ in repentance and faith. He quoted a lot from the Bible during his sermon. None of it was familiar to Marcus. Later that night, the words seemed to come back to him. He felt uncomfortable thinking about the things the preacher had said but he couldn't seem to put them out of his mind.

"Red, could I borrow your Bible some time?"

"Sure Marcus, you know where I keep it. Anytime I'm not reading it you go ahead and use it. A good place to start reading is the Gospel of John."

"Thanks."

Over the next few weeks, Marcus read through John and then kept going into the book of Acts. He also attended the weekly service and Bible study along with Red. Two months after Red's baptism, he went forward during a service and got saved.

The next weekend, Karen and the children came to visit again. Red was really glad to see them.

A few days after this, Red was out in the rec area behind the dorm when he saw Kyle and another inmate named Lenny talking with Marcus. They weren't that close but their voices carried and he heard their conversation.

"I don't know what's gotten into you Marcus. You've never had any problem doing what I tell you before. Tyler's stealing from me. He's been warned already. If we let him get away with it, pretty soon, nobody will respect us. He has to be taught a serious lesson. I want you and Tay Tay to beat him up."

"I just can't do that, Kyle. Since I gave my heart to Jesus, I'm different inside. I don't really understand it myself. It didn't used to bother me but now I just can't do it. I'm sorry."

Kyle let loose a whole string of curse words. "You'll do what I tell you", he added.

Red walked up to them. "Leave him alone", said Red to Kyle. "He's just trying to do what's right."

"You don't want us to bother him? If you hadn't started teaching him this Christianity junk I wouldn't be havin' this problem! If I catch you talking Christianity to anybody else, I'll kill you."

Red walked over to an empty bench and sat down.

"Lord, now what? If I keep witnessing, he'll kill me. What do I do?"

Red knew that God wanted him to keep witnessing to people. He picked up his Bible and turned to Acts 1:8. He read, "ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." He flipped to the back of his Bible to the concordance to look up the word "fear" and found Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." He had been reading a lot in the book of Acts lately. People kept trying to make the apostles stop witnessing but even when they were beaten or thrown in jail, they wouldn't quit. They feared God rather than man.

"Lord, I'm afraid but help me to fear you and obey you and not fear what Kyle can do to me. And Lord, please save Kyle."

A week later, he was talking to a guy named Cal about Jesus when Kyle walked around the corner. Kyle didn't say anything to him, he just gave him a dirty look and walked away. He knew Kyle had overheard him. What would happen now?

Two days later, a fight broke out on the Rock. Pat and Lenny were fighting and all the men in the room packed around them. Kyle slipped a shank out and stabbed Red, then released the shank, and moved away from him in a casual manner. The correction officers came into the room and ordered everyone back to their cells. As the officers focused on the two men fighting, Red collapsed onto the cold concrete floor.

Red saw the officers coming towards him but knew that it was already too late for them to help him. Then, he saw young men in shining garments standing beside him. He heard music. He tried to stand up but one of them told him to wait a moment so he lay back down. Suddenly, they were all standing before the Lord Jesus in heaven. Robin Sinclair was there also with a welcoming smile.

Kyle watched from his cell as the officers reached Red and he tried to sit up. He smiled, his eyes lit with joy. Then he lay back down. The life seemed to flow out of him. His face and body went slack and the color drained from him. He was dead.

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) sent investigators to the prison immediately. The shank was sent to the crime lab where they were able to get a fingerprint that had been left on the metal piece under the cloth wrapping. The fingerprint turned out to be Kyle's.

A few weeks after he died, Red's funeral was held at his sister's church in Walhalla. Before the funeral began, Red lay in his casket at the front of the church. Matt and Molly walked up to the front of the church for one last look. It seemed strange to Matt and yet Red's death hurt. He felt real grief for the man who had killed his daughter. They took their seats as the organ began to play softly. A few minutes later, the pastor walked up to the podium and started with a prayer. Karen walked up to the pulpit right after the prayer. As she went up to the podium to sing, she was a little nervous. The pastor introduced her and then she spoke.

"I want to sing We Shall Live. It was one of Red's favorite songs after he got saved. I used to sing it for him over the phone."

The pianist began playing and she sang.

When a girl, the Lord I found, in the morning of my days,

Then I walked on solid ground, and the Lord I learned to praise.

As I followed Him through life, rougher grew the paths I trod,

Old age, now, one final strife, and I go to meet my God.

Once a boy on trouble bent, I began my wayward path.

'Til my soul by grief was spent, and I feared the Savior's wrath.

I repented of my sin, put my trust in Christ alone.

I have lived for Him since then, now my life is all but gone.

I, a pris'ner on Death Row, without peace or hope did dwell,

I would reap as I did sow, I would die and go to hell.

I could not deserve His grace, yet Christ saved me from my sin,

And though death I still must face, Paradise I'll enter in.

We shall live, we shall live, because Christ died upon that tree,

Bought us back, made us God's children for eternity.

We shall live, because Christ rose, because He lives and reigns on High.

We shall live with Christ forever, never more to die.

When our life on earth is new, ev'ry day is fresh and clear.

As our childhood we go through, time, we've not yet learned to fear.

But then faster go the days, and we find that youth flies by.

Soon we're old, set in our ways, and our death is growing nigh.

Like awaking from a dream, to the bright sunshine of morn,

Fleeting days, this life will seem, when our ties to earth are torn.

We will rise to meet Him there, in that place that knows no night;

In that heav'nly land so fair, where our Savior is the light.

We shall live, we shall live, because Christ died upon that tree,

Bought us back, made us God's children for eternity.

We shall live, because Christ rose, because He lives and reigns on High.

We shall live with Christ forever, never more to die.

We... shall... live...

When she had finished singing, Karen stepped down and Matt walked up to the podium.

"My name is Matt Sinclair. As most of you may already know, Red Jones killed my daughter Robin during a bank robbery. What you may not know is that after he went to jail, Red trusted Christ. Some people make professions in jail so that they can get a lighter sentence but Red's faith was real. Even when threatened with death, he continued to witness for Christ. I know that he is in heaven today with Robin. I just wanted to tell y'all this."

Matt walked down the steps and back to his seat. Then the pastor approached the podium. He spoke for a few minutes about Red's early life. He talked about how his sister Karen had prayed so faithfully for his salvation and how Red had come to Christ and started witnessing for Christ in prison. Then he spoke of his death.

"Red made some terrible choices in his life. He ended up killing someone. But then he learned to fear God. He did an about face. He trusted Christ and started living for Him. They killed his body but his soul is alive today in heaven. Red chose to witness for Christ even knowing that it could result in his death. Why did God allow him to be killed? We may never know that in this lifetime but God had a purpose for allowing Red's death. Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."'

"It is my prayer that Red's death will not be in vain but will bear fruit, both the fruit of sinners saved and the fruit of Christians who will sellout and give their lives to serve Christ."

The pastor continued to speak for a few more minutes and then invited anyone who wished to trust Christ to come and speak with him after the service. Soon he was closing in prayer.

Part 2

Marcus agreed to testify against Kyle. Not only did Marcus witness the discussions that took place before the stabbing but he had also been standing close to Kyle when the stabbing happened and had actually seen it take place. His name was legally changed and he was sent to a medium security prison with a warning that if he ever tried to escape, he would be sent back to Hunter Correctional Institution.

******

Immediately after he killed Red, Kyle was sent to the super-max facility in Columbia to await trial. The cell he was placed in had two doors, a normal outer door with a food hatch and an inner door of bars. There was a concrete bed and shelf, a TV in the wall that was not working, a sink, a toilet and a shower. He was allowed to have a mattress, basic clothing, and hygiene items. The only book or reading material he was given was a Bible. There was also no radio. Because there was nothing to do and no one to talk to, he decided to read the Bible just to relieve the boredom. Over the next year and a half, he read it all the way through but didn't understand much of it. To Kyle, it seemed like a book of fairy tales.

After a year and a half, Kyle went to trial and was found guilty. Because he was already in prison for a previous murder, he was sentenced to death. Once the sentence was given, he was transported immediately to South Carolina's Death Row at Lieber Correctional Institution. When he arrived there, he was walked through the outside gate and then after a minute or two they came to another gate that led into the area where death row was located.

"Strip," said the officer.

Kyle took all his clothes off.

"Sit here." The officer pointed to a chair like device that had a metal detector designed to check for weapons in bodily cavities. Once that was done, Kyle was given a "suicide blanket" (a blanket made of tough material which could not be ripped and formed into a rope.) Wearing nothing but the "suicide blanket," he was placed in an observation cell where he would be observed for several days to insure that he was not suicidal. There was no pillow and no mattress on the bed, which was just a metal shelf. He tried to get comfortable but if he was covered by the blanket then the bare metal was under him and when he tried lying on the blanket, there wasn't enough left to completely cover him. His neck also hurt because there was no pillow. He finally gave up and sat up for a while. Eventually, he did sleep for a little while but he kept waking up in discomfort.

After four days, they decided that he was not suicidal. He was given a mattress, a pillow, sheets and a pillowcase, an emerald green jumpsuit, a pair of boxers, a pair of socks, a cup and an orange plastic spork. A day later, a run around (a Death Row inmate whose job it was to run errands ) brought him two washcloths, a towel, another pair of underwear, another pair of socks, and two undershirts. "This is from a couple of the guys on the row. A welcoming gift I guess."

"Tell them thanks," replied Kyle.

Kyle soon found out more about Death Row. It had two sections: A and B. The cells of each section formed a U shape. Between the two sections was a sally port and a control area which, together with the two U shapes of the section, formed the Greek letter Theta θ. If you were on the rock on B section facing the top of the U, the sally port was to the left and the control area to the right. A section was a mirror image of B section. When you first got to Death Row, you were placed in B section. If you committed a major infraction after you arrived there, they moved you to A section and you stayed there as long as you were on Death Row. Although there were a few people in A section who had not committed major infractions but had been on A section before it became the policy to put the troublemakers there, most of the people on A section were troublemakers. A few of them were crazy. One person in A section was so mean that he would attack anybody who came within his reach. He had escaped from a prison in Georgia and then killed a police officer at a mall in the town of Edisto. Since coming to Death Row, at different times, he had attacked both officers and inmates. He had been sent to the super-max in Columbia for a while after he stabbed an officer but for some reason they later sent him back. He could not be taken out of his cell unless three officers were present. A section was also noisier than B section and a few of the inmates on A section had been known to through fecal material on both officers and other inmates. Kyle planned to stay in B section. The observation cell was the first cell on the ground level of B Section. There was also a second level. The second level was accessed by stairs and a walkway. The walkway was about six feet wide with a finished concrete floor. The walkway formed a rough U shape but the walls were not curved but had oblique angles after every few cells. In each section, at the bottom of the U, were four showers on each level for a total of 16 showers on all of Death Row. Around the walkway on the second level, there was a railing and floor to ceiling chain-link fencing to keep anyone from falling off. Looking down through the chain-link, you could see "the Rock," an open area in the middle of the U with tables and benches secured to the floor. "The Rock" was not used much on death row.

A couple of weeks after coming to Death Row, Kyle was moved from the observation cell to the cell that would be his permanent cell. His new cell was also on the ground level of B section. Kyle's cell was more than half way around the U near a corner of the U.

The cell on one side of him was empty. The cell on the other side was occupied by Joel Pinckney. Joel was a tall, handsome black man. There was an angle or corner between Kyle's cell and Joel's cell so that if Kyle looked out of the opened food hatch at his cell door, he could actually see Joel's cell door. Because of this, it was easy for him to talk to him.

"Where are you from?" Kyle asked Joel.

"Charleston."

"That's pretty close. Do you get a lot of visitors?"

"My mom comes about once a month but my brother moved to Tennessee five years ago so he hardly ever comes."

"That's too bad but at least your mother comes."

"What about you? Has anybody visited you yet?"

"No. My parents are both dead. I have a sister Sharon. She's really stuck with me. I talked to her every week on the phone when I was at Hunter and she always gave me whatever money I needed for the canteen. She even wrote me regularly while I was at the super-max in Columbia but she lives in Atlanta and her youngest son is disabled so it's hard for her to travel this far."

"That's too bad about your nephew but I'm glad you've got family anyway."

Now that he was in a regular cell, Kyle was allowed to go out to recreation. The first time he went out to recreation, he was put in the rec cage with a couple of other guys. One of the guys introduced himself. "I'm Jordan Stevenson but you can call me Jack. I'm from Georgia."

"Good to meet you, I'm Kyle Matthews."

The other inmate in the rec cage introduced himself as Mark Kilgus. "Do you play chess?" Mark asked.

"Sure do."

"How about a game right now?"

"Okay."

Kyle set up the chessboard and they started to play. The time passed quickly and soon it was time to return to his cell.

That night, he called his sister Sharon on the phone. After listening to the recording, she pushed the button to accept the call.

"Kyle? How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. How's everything there? Is Brandan doing okay in school? How is Owen?"

"He's fine. I put $500.00 into your Cooper fund, you should be able to get what you need from the canteen."

"Thanks. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."

Kyle and Sharon talked for almost fifteen minutes. When the recording warned that there was only one minute left, Sharon asked, "Can you call me back again so we can talk longer?"

"Sorry, but there are several guys here waiting for the phone. I'll call you again tomorrow evening."

"Okay. Take care. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodbye."

After they exchanged goodbyes, Kyle hung up the phone and an officer moved it to the cell of the next guy waiting for it.

The next day, Kyle went to the canteen. An officer walked him and a couple of other inmates there. He bought boxers, undershirts, dish detergent to clean his cell with, and some food items. He also ordered a coffee pot, a radio and a TV.

A week later, the TV, the radio and the coffeepot were delivered to his cell. The next morning, he decided to use the coffeepot to cook some food. Fixing your own food that way was called a "setup." First he borrowed a resealable plastic bag that instant coffee came in from Joel, the guy in the next cell. He used a plastic spork to cut up some beef sausage and put it in the bag. Then he opened a can of pinto beans, poured it into the plastic bag and sealed it. He filled the coffeepot with water, placed the plastic bag in the water and turned it on.

That evening, when his food tray came for supper, he opened the plastic bag from the coffeepot and poured it over the rice on his tray. It was actually pretty good. After supper, he decided to wash his clothes. They had a washing machine and a dryer in one of the cells on A section that was used to wash their laundry but the washing machine was currently broken so he had to wash all his clothes out by hand.

Kyle watched the news that night on his new TV. Before his TV had arrived, the only option had been to watch the TVs that were on polls outside the cells. He had had to stand at the door to watch so it was too tiring to watch all day long. He was really glad to finally have a TV in his cell even if it was just a 7-inch screen.

For the next couple of days, he spent a lot of time reading. There was a cell down on the first level that was used as a library. It had a number of books. On death row, inmates could have both paperback and hardback books. They could only receive books by mail from a bookstore or publisher though; books couldn't be received from an individual. The only exception was approved Bibles which volunteers were allowed to give out. They were only allowed to keep ten books at a time in their cell so when an inmate finished reading a book, if it wasn't one he wanted to keep and nobody else had asked for it, he would typically send it to their library downstairs. There were quite a few good books down there.

A few days later, Kyle was standing at the door to his cell, talking with Joel when Joel invited him to come to the Bible study the next day.

"You go to the Bible study? Does that mean that you're a Christian?"

"Yes, I got saved about a year ago, right after I got here."

"Well let me ask you this, if someone told you they would kill you if you kept talking about Jesus, would you keep doing it anyway?"

"I don't know. I hope I would."

"Why?"

"Well, because it's what God would want me to do. God commands Christians to be witnesses and He tells us not to be afraid of those who can kill us. We're supposed to fear God instead of man."

"That doesn't make any sense. If somebody is threatening to kill me, I'm supposed to ignore it because of my religious belief?"

"God is in control. He controls who lives and who dies. He also will judge you after you die. This life isn't all there is. After you die, you either spend eternity in heaven or in hell."

"I don't believe that but I might come to the Bible study tomorrow just to get out of this cell for a while."

The next day, when it was time for the Bible study to begin, an officer opened Kyle's door and then Joel's door. As they walked onto the Rock, Kyle wondered why he was going to a Bible study. "I guess this place is really getting to me," he thought to himself. A volunteer was sitting at one of the tables and he and the other inmates who had chosen to participate in the Bible study sat down at the table with the volunteer. The volunteer began the Bible study.

"What is God like? What does the Bible have to say about Who God is?" the volunteer asked the inmates.

"God is everywhere", said Joel.

"That's right, turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 23:24. Everyone started looking for Jeremiah. Kyle didn't have a Bible of his own so he looked on with Joel. Joel found the verse quickly but some of the other inmates needed help from the volunteer to find it. Once everybody had the verse, the volunteer read, "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord."

"What else do we know about God?" asked the volunteer.

No one had any suggestions.

"God is eternal. He never had a beginning, He wasn't born and He will never die or cease to exist. He lives by His own power. How do we know this? Turn to Psalm 90 verse 2." Again, everyone flipped the pages of their Bibles. Kyle looked on with Joel as the volunteer read, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

The Bible study continued on in this fashion. They learned that God is holy and righteous, that God is a Spirit, that God doesn't change and that God is in control of everything. They also talked about how God is a trinity and that there are three persons Who make up one God. Some of what they talked about was familiar to Kyle but he had never spent much time thinking about it.

Then someone asked, "But isn't the Bible unscientific?"

'No, over three thousand years ago, the book of Job was written. In it we read, "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." That's Job 26:7. That was written thousands of years before scientist understood that the earth hangs in the emptiness of outer space or how the northern polar cap stretches out over empty sea rather than land. But God knew then because He made it all. A few hundred years ago, doctors were still bleeding their patients to death in an effort to cure them but, thousands of years ago, the Bible said in Leviticus 17:11, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood." When the New Testament was written, nearly two thousand years ago, God knew that there would be people in our day who would look at creation and refuse to see His handiwork. Turn to Romans chapter one. Follow along with me starting in verse eighteen, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest [or made clear] in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." Listen to what Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20 and 21, "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith." Just because evolution is taught by scientists does not mean that it is true science. Listen to what Peter had to say, "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:" That's 2 Peter 3: 3 through 6. According to these verses, in the last days, there will be people who will refuse to be believe that God created the World or that the Great Flood of Noah happened. They will think instead that all change is the result of slow gradual processes. Evolutionists today look at millions of layers of fossils and think that they took millions of years to be deposited. But actually, there are scientific examples to the contrary. After Mount St. Helens erupted, Spirit Lake deposited similar layers of earth and then a channel was later cut through it as the water drained, forming a miniature Grand Canyon. This newly created "Grand Canyon" had millions of tiny layers just like the real Grand Canyon. Most of today's scientist claim that the Grand Canyon was formed over millions of years of slow processes but this similar but smaller canyon was formed in my lifetime. Also, the trees, which were washed into Spirit Lake during the volcanic eruption, floated there for months and then gradually sunk, often with their trunks upright. The result was very similar to the way trees are positioned in so called petrified forests. Also, if evolution were true, you would expect to find a gradual continuum between different animals. You wouldn't expect to find distinct kinds. Darwin expected that all the missing links would be found in the fossil record but that hasn't happened. In Genesis chapter one, the Bible talks about seed yielding seed according to its kind. Each different kind can adapt and adjust to different environments by making small changes over time. Foxes that live in deserts have thinner bodies, long ears and relatively light fur so they can stay cool. Artic foxes have compact bodies and thick fur to protect them from the cold. But both are still foxes. There is a limit to how much they can change. People also have adapted to different environments. That's why some people have dark skin to protect them from the harsh sun of tropical regions while others have fair skin to allow as much vitamin D absorption as possible. Even though we come in different colors because of the different environments our ancestors lived in we are all one kind. We are all human beings created in the image of God. Acts 17:26 says, "[God] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;" The Bible may contradict scientist but it does not contradict true science.'

When the Bible study was over and they went back to their cells, Kyle decided to ask Joel a question or two about what they had studied.

"So you really believe all that stuff about God being in control?" Kyle asked Joel.

"Yes."

"I don't. If God even exists, He's sure not in control. Going to church or reading your Bible might make you feel better but God can't do anything real."

"You're wrong. God controls every aspect of your life."

"Oh yeah, I don't think so!"

"God could change things around here completely if He wanted to."

"Yeah? Okay, God, if you're real, make things get a lot worse. Do something to change things drastically!"

"Lord. You heard what Kyle just prayed. I don't really want things a lot worse but it would be worth it if it got him saved so, Lord, I'm asking you to answer Kyle's prayer and make things here a lot worse."

"Nothing's going to happen. I told you God can't do anything."

"God can if He wants to. I guess we're going to find out if He wants to."

The next morning Joel went outside to Rec but Kyle decided to stay inside because it was too cold outside. An hour later, he heard yelling coming from A section. He heard a pop sound like a gun going off several times and a few minutes later he also smelled a faint odor of tear gas. What was going on? There were no officers in sight; they had all hurried over to A section. After a while, he heard sirens and then everything got quiet. He was hoping that Joel would know something but before Joel came back, an officer closed and locked the food hatch on his cell door.

That night, when he watched the evening news on his TV, he found out that there had been an officer stabbed on death row.

The next day they opened the food hatches back up and he was able to talk to Joel.

"What happened yesterday? Did you see anything?"

"Yes," said Joel. "I was locked in one of the rec cages when it happened with a couple of other guys. Two of the guys from A section stabbed the officer that had rec duty. For no reason at all! He was a really nice guy, they had no reason to be mad at him. After they stabbed him, they left him and went back to the dorm, then, once they were gone, he went in too."

"They stabbed him and then went back into the dorm? What were they trying to do?"

"I don't know. They weren't trying to escape! It really makes no sense. I think they must be crazy or something. When he got stabbed I felt really bad for him. Before I got saved, I wouldn't have cared but my heart is different now. I just hope he's going to be okay."

"What was the siren for yesterday and all the shots?"

"I'm not sure about the shots, maybe rubber bullets or tear gas, but they had two ambulances here. I guess that was the sirens."

"Since I prayed and asked God to make things worse, do you think that God made the inmates stab the officer?"

"No, they did so of their own free will. God allowed it to happen but He didn't cause it. God never does or causes evil but He allows evil to happen because If He didn't, we wouldn't have free will. But He causes even evil things to work for His purposes. Nothing happens unless God either causes it or allows it. Hold on a minute and let me get my Bible. I want to read you some verses."

'After Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, Joseph said, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." That's from Genesis 50:20. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Psalm 76:10 says, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain."'

They were locked down for a week with no recreation and no showers. Finally, it was announced that they would be allowed to take showers twice a week but they were required to wear handcuffs behind their backs while walking to and from the showers. Wearing only his boxers and carrying a towel, Kyle walked to the shower. When he got there, he stepped into the shower and held his hands behind him through the bars so the officers could take the cuffs off. He shaved and washed his hair and then the rest of him. Finally, he washed out his underwear, dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist. Holding the wet, clean underwear in his hands behind his back, he walked back to his cell wearing only a towel. As he hung the underwear on a plastic hanger and hooked the hanger on his top bunk, Kyle wondered when things would get back to normal.

The next day, he decided to clean his cell. He asked an officer to bring him the cleaning equipment. The officer brought him a broom, a toilet brush and a black piece of scrub pad from a floor-waxer. He used an old washcloth to dust the one-piece metal desk and chair, which was against the wall opposite the door. He also dusted the top bunk of his bed, which was in the back left corner of the room. He kept his books and extra clothes there. A small white porcelain sink was in the left front corner of the room and a porcelain toilet was located between the sink and the bed. He cleaned both with dish detergent purchased from the canteen. There were two windows on the back wall. Both were about four inches wide and six feet high. He didn't clean the windows. Once he finished everything else, he swept the floor and then scrubbed it with the floor-waxer pad and rinsed and dried it with an old towel. Once he finished, he passed the broom, toilet brush and floor-waxer pad back through the food hatch to an officer.

Just then, he heard an inmate a couple of cells over ask to use the microwave. Each level had a microwave on a cart that could be moved to the different cells for the inmates to use. The inmate was told that they were not allowed to use the microwave because the microwave on A section had been destroyed and it wasn't fair for them to have one if A section didn't.

"You mean that, just because those dudes in A section tore up their own microwave, we can't use ours?"

"I'm sorry but that's how it is."

The inmate said a few cuss words. Kyle felt like cussing too, it was pretty disgusting.

A week later, they were told that there would be no rec until the rec cages were redone. The cages would be partitioned into smaller cages so that each person would be in a separate cage. Also, from now on, they would not be allowed outside their cell without handcuffs and they were to be escorted at all times by two officers for each inmate and kept away from each other when there was no wall or fencing between them. The worst thing though was that, before going to rec, they would have to undergo a strip search. Some inmates hated the strip search so much that they decided not to go to rec. Everyone was pretty disgusted with the change in policy. Even the officers weren't very happy about it since they would have to do work that the inmates previously did but then it was announced that all the officers currently working on death row would be transferred and new officers would be transferred in to replace them. Kyle wondered if these changes could be as a result of the prayer that he had prayed the day before the stabbing took place. He decided to read the Gospel of John as was suggested by the volunteer who gave him a Bible when he went to the Bible study. It made more sense than when he read it before when he was in the Max unit but there were still many parts that he didn't understand.

Kyle was talking with Joel again the next day when they started talking about the policy changes that were coming down from the people in charge of the Department of Corrections in Columbia.

"You said that God gives people free will. If that's the case, how can He be making them change the policy like this? There have been stabbings before and they never made all these changes before?"

'I was just thinking about that yesterday and I found a verse that I think talks about that. It is Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." God doesn't force their wills but just like, if you dam up a river one place, it will have to go around the dam so you can make it go where you want it to, God orders things so that their free will choices accomplish His purposes.'

"If God is in control, why don't you see Him controlling things in the World?"

"Actually, you do, you just have to know where to look. I'm reading a book now on Israel. Wait a minute, let me get it."

Joel stepped back from the door for a moment to retrieve the book.

'Listen to this, "And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God." That's from Amos 9:14, 15. This verse isn't talking about the return to the land after the Babylonian captivity because Isaiah 11:11 says, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." Notice it talks about a second time? Over a hundred years ago the land of Israel was sparsely inhabited and there weren't very many Jews living there. Then they started to return to the land. During the holocaust in World War II, it seemed like they were going to be wiped out but then a few years after the war was over and Israel became a nation, there was a flood of immigrants from Europe to the land of Israel. The Bible has a prophecy that exactly fits this, Ezekiel 37:11-13, "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves." Besides Europe, a lot of Jews moved to Israel from Arab countries and from because they were being persecuted. More recently, when the Soviet Union fell apart, a lot of Jews moved to Israel from there. There were also a number of Jews rescued from Ethiopia and brought to Israel. Isaiah 43:5 and 6 talks about that, "Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up ; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth." The Arabs have attacked the Jews a number of times but even though the Jews were outnumbered, God never has allowed them to be destroyed. We shouldn't be surprised at all the argument in the world about who Jerusalem should belong to because, Zechariah 12:2, 3 says, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, ... And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." Read the rest Zechariah starting in Chapter 12. It tells about how, when Jesus comes back, He's going to seek to destroy those that are attacking Jerusalem. God is working in the world today getting things ready for when Jesus comes back.'

"Well, that sounds interesting. Can you write down those verses for me so I can look them up?"

"Sure. You can even borrow my book on Israel if you like, once I finish reading it. I should be done tomorrow."

"Thanks."

The next day, the regular laundry man was sick so Kyle volunteered to do the laundry. With his hands cuffed behind his back he walked across to A section. The laundry room was the first cell in A section. It had a washer and dryer. Everyone hung their laundry bags filled with dirty laundry on the food hatch door of their cell and an officer brought the dirty laundry bags to the laundry room. Kyle washed a few bags of laundry at a time. While he was folding clothes, he kept thinking about what had happened with all the changes on Death Row and about all the stuff that Joel had told him about Israel. Was God real? When Joel finished with the book on Israel, he got an officer to pass it to Kyle. Kyle was able to read through it in a few days. How could all of those prophecies have been fulfilled just by chance Kyle wondered?

The church services and Bible studies were no longer allowed because they couldn't go out of their cells onto the Rock anymore. Instead, the chaplain arranged for a singing group to come. The group sang on the Rock and the men listened from their cells. In B section, a few people had objected that they didn't want to hear a Christian group but they were told that they could shut their food hatch doors while the group was singing. Because so many people in A section objected to the group, they only sang in B section. The first song they sang was called Christ Died For All. Kyle listened to the words as they sang:

When Jesus hung upon the cross, He wasn't there alone.

On either side a robber hung for sin that was his own.

One cried, "If you're the Son of God, please take us down from here."

The other, though, called on the Lord for God he'd learned to fear.

For the guiltiest of sinners, upon the cross Christ died.

For the robber and the murderer our Lord was crucified.

Among the chosen bride of Christ are those once deep in sin,

But blood washed by the Lamb of God they now are born again.

Paul Persecuted Christians, he caused a great outcry.

When Stephen preached and then was stoned, Paul wanted him to die.

But then Paul had a meeting with the Christ he'd hated so.

From that day on he served the Lord the grace of God to show.

For the guiltiest of sinners, upon the cross Christ died.

For the robber and the murderer our Lord was crucified.

Among the chosen bride of Christ are those once deep in sin,

But blood washed by the Lamb of God they now are born again.

Kyle thought about the words he was hearing. Maybe it wasn't too late even for him. The group continued to sing but Kyle hardly heard the next few songs for thinking about the first one. Finally, he started paying attention again. The last song that the group sang was called Revival Fire.

They watched the resurrected Christ rise up into the air,

Tarried in Jerusalem, sought the Lord in earnest pray'r;

As rushing wind with tongues like fire the Holy Spirit came;

Then Spirit lead, they all went forth and preached in Jesus name.

America, in early days when men's hearts became cold,

Saw revivals come from God, sinners added to God's fold.

Men gathered on their knees to pray for sinners bound for hell.

'Til even on sin hardened men, revival fire fell.

Can God still send revival as He did in days of old?

Never changing God's the same, might and pow'r He won't withhold.

If humbly we will seek God's face, and turn from wicked ways,

To God we'll pray, His fire will fall, His name we then will praise.

Can great revival come about behind a prison wall?

Prayers of inmates God will hear, when upon God's name they call.

No prison wall can hold Him back, Almighty God is He.

Revival pow'r He still can send, from sin to set men free.

After the song was over, one of the singers talked for a moment about how God loved them and sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in their place to pay for their sins. Kyle knew that he was a sinner. If God was real then, since he had stabbed a Christian to death, he was going to hell. That night, he dreamt that he was in hell. He woke himself up and finally fell back asleep only to have the same dream again. When morning finally came, he decided that he didn't want to go on like this.

"Joel, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. I know now that God is real. I don't want to go to hell. Is there any hope for me?"

"Yes! God loves you. Jesus died to pay for all your sin. If you're willing to repent of your sin and receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, He will save you."

They talked for a few more minutes and then Kyle bowed his head and prayed, asking Jesus to come into his heart and save him.

The seed is the word of God. - Luke 8:11

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. - 1 Peter 1:23

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. - Galatians 3:16

And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. - Tertullian

