Xmas gift bags for inmates

Every year God Behind Bars makes sure that each inmate at 'our' prisons gets a little gift. It was time again to 'stuff the bags'. Fun times!

Whole families came out to help!

The bags have candy, lotion, deodorant and lip balm

The WINNING table

Which was of course MY table! :)

These guys didn't even have a table

LOADS of bags. And that's just a couple hundred. 

I reckon she looks a little like Santa

Christmas party for inmates and their kids

So pretty much 3 weeks ago at a Starbucks a Christmas party was organised. That fact alone sounds scary, but since we are working closely together with God and his helpers it was pulled off. 

So on December 19th 2011 we were able to pick up inmates from Casa Grande (transitional housing) and provide them with 4 hours time with their kids. It was an awesome event. 

Some kids had been flown in for this event from Utah to be able to spend some time with Dad. 

Each Mum and Dad got to give 3 presents to each one of their kids thanks to the donations from people at Central's North East Campus (who also provided an 8 foot table FULL of desserts)

The inmates got to pick the gifts, which then were wrapped and then they got to give them to their kids. 

Here are some pictures of the night. Enjoy!

The toy donation room looked like Toys R Us on steroids.

Getting the room ready

Sound Check

I helped decorate this tree! BIG deal! Huge...
Just don't look at the back! :)

The first families coming in and getting something to eat.

Shopping for the kids!!!

Working on the Christmas Cards

Mountains of presents for each kid!

The family photo opp. 

I had to test it of course

So so cool to see this come together

Rain Drops Junior High

The Junior High Ministry at church puts on this awesome event each year: Breakaway Serve. It's a mix of camp and serving. 
So this year I got to go with my Junior High Group (8th grade girls) and serve others.

Part of the panel,
 getting asked questions about serving

 So on Friday night we started with just a 'couple' of us hanging at church (read: over 300 Junior High Kids)

The panel

There was a slam poet, worship and a panel (I was part of that. Pretty rat!)
















And then there was a time to be quiet. To listen to God, give Him room to speak. Just 20 minutes. So the bare numbers are: 300+ Junior High Kids and 20 min quietness. You might be surprised to hear that it worked! Here's a photo of that time. 

Getting ready for quiet time

Then we camped out at church. Boys upstairs (and I still maintain that the room probably need to be chemically treated to get the boys smell out of there) and the girls downstairs (once everyone was in their sleeping bag there was no room to stand anywhere anymore)

Aspiring super models! 

The next morning we got up and drove over to Foster Connect...


Say whaaaat? That's right, we got to serve Foster Connect, which is a part of YWAM I got to hang with my friends! 


You didn't know that serving could be so much fun eh? We took HEAPS of pictures, especially since we were sorting clothes and there was one photo op after another. I have a group of super models after all! 


Don't worry, we totally got the job done in time! 

Having fun whilst sorting

So we sorted clothes and toys for the first half of the day... And let me tell ya, my girls RULE! 


They were just going for it the whole time. Sometimes when things got a little boring and they seemed ready to quit I just had to throw a ridiculous outfit into their direction and take a picture and all was well with the world again! 




The theme of Breakaway serve this year was raindrops. The idea behind it is that if we all do our part (be a rain drop), together we can create a Tsunami. 

Dropping some leftover stuff
at Good Will

So even though sometimes we feel very unimportant and can't imagine how our tiny little contribution can change anything, that's when God takes it and together with Him we become this Tsunami of servants that will change the world. 

Stuffing bags

 For the second half of the day we got to stuff bags for Central's North East Campus. I don't even know how many bags we got to stuff... Couple thousand I'd say. And man, these girls wanted to win some speed competition that I didn't know was happening. They were stuffing these bags like there was some prize money at the end of it. 

Stuffing Bags

The picture obviously doesn't do the speed justice. Let's just say they were fast! 

A 'couple' of kids came to Breakaway serve

Germany trip - PICTURES!!!! :)

Pictures from the trip to Germany..

Amsterdam - such a fun city

Last month I got to go to Germany and I just wanted to quickly post a few pictures of my trip...
On the way there I had an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam, which I of course used to explore the city.. So so cool! :)

In Bad Laer

My Mum was turning 70, so to celebrate her birthday (and to get away for a few days) she treated herself (and me) to 2 nights in a hotel that we used to visit all the time when I was little. It's very pretty in 'Bad Laer', even though it was freezing.

Near my Mums house -
about 2 minutes away from 'if I'd live here,
 I'd have to shoot myself in the foot'

It's no secret that I am no fan of the town my Mum lives in these days.... This photo shows you what's around... NOTHING.

Dear Brother, god daughter and sis in law

Hanging with 'Dear Brother'. Love that family! Helps that they live in an area I actually like. :)

Birthday party at the Chinese Restaurant

My Mum had invited her friends and family to celebrate her 70th at her favourite Chines Restaurant! Oh yeah, it's THAT good. 
Everyone came and had a great time. It was nice catching up with some of my family that I hadn't seen in years... Like 6 years or something! Ha! So weird. 

Building a tower

I got to visit some of my friends while I was there.... Sometimes that meant 4 hour train trips there, 3 hours with my friends and 4 hour train trips back! They call my crazy. No self respecting, frugal, environmentally conscious German does that. I do... It's worth it!

Raclette Dinner set up...
Halfway there! :)

My friends decided we should have dinner... A Raclette Dinner! OMG. So good. And their house is amazing and always makes me feel right at home. I was very tempted to spend the night. But I didn't.... Left at one am instead! :)

Haha, the 'weird' family! :)

Got to hang with my best friend and her fam. TWICE! Such a blessing! Good times. See picture.. 

Train station

This picture was only taken for my American friends who apparently LOVE trains! (SHELDON!) They are really not THAT exciting. Just a mode of transport. 

Christmas tree in my city

 Before I flew out I decided to stop for a couple hours on the way in 'my' city... the place I hung out at, place I Looooove! :) It was decorated for Christmas! 

Some huge traditional Christmas thing.
Wouldn't know the name right now

Black Friday Yearly Challenge (aka Black Friday Insanity)

The Black Friday insanity...
Every year I decide to do something stupid on Black Friday. When I talk about it before it doesn't sound so stupid. But during the execution it usually dawns on me that this indeed was stupid ... Again... Let me recap:

The beginning - still smiling

Year one: Climbing some hill at Red Rock. This was probably one of the more uneventful ones. I only about died 3 times by sliding down the hill (ROCKS) on my bottom...

Year two: Decided to do the same hill, but this time I got lost ON THE WAY DOWN... Who does that? How is that even possible. I spent some time sliding down the wrong side of the hill (ROCKS again) and climbing said wrong side again to try and find my way. Well, I'm typing this, so I found it...

Year three: Walk the 13 mile loop at Red Rock... Let's just say I made life harder than it had to be. Started too late, got bored by mile two, decided to try and find a short cut, which resulted in me getting lost in the bushes for a couple hours.

Found my way again and because I learn so well, decided to try another short cut which wasn't one and actually added about a mile to my endeavor.

Still all good during mile 2

Then it got dark when I was still 5 miles out from my car. I was freezing coz I hadn't packed a sweater and thirsty, coz I only took one water bottle. Battled for a mile with my pride and then asked some strangers for a 2 mile ride. They asked if I wanted more, but pride won and I walked back to my car in utter darkness. No fun.

Year four: Booooooring!  Not even worth the mention. Didn't die. Nothing happened.

Year five: This would be last week. Decided to try the loop again. This time for real. You know, start earlier, pack better, finish it. No short cuts....

Nice view eh?

Messing with the camera

Well, I got bored by mile 4 and started looking for a short cut, which I took by mile 6. This 'short cut', which of course got me lost again, took maybe a mile off the total. So not worth it.Plus I kept on running into weird cactussy plant things. Really not a fan of nature...

The final distance... 

Thought I should stick to the road. But I got bored. Then my feet started really hurting, because I'd kind been in denial about my plantar fasciitis. Walked the last 4 miles in huge pain, but pride kept me  from asking for a ride. Made it back though..





Now that I can walk straight again I am wondering what I shall do next year. Thoughts?

Sky scenes

The last 2 months with God Behind Bars

God and me. Together.

It’s been a crazy couple months filled with LOTS of meetings, training (to go into prisons) and learning the new culture of this thing called God Behind Bars.

It’s been great so far! I get to work with some fantastic people who are on fire for the Lord and have a deep passion to bring God into the lives of prisoners world wide. But for now we are focusing on Las Vegas (and Oklahoma, and Denver, and Alaska… Why stop at one, when you can change the world!) :)

We are serving over 1000 individuals a month in 4 prisons with our worship experience. For the past 2 months I’ve been running the service at a transitional housing location (Casa Grande) with up to 50 inmates per service. I LOVE them! They are so fun, so hungry for God and so humble. For the past 3 weeks we have been running small groups as well and it's been so fun getting to know some of the girls on a more personal level. 

After Care

But the real heart of it all lays in After Care. So we are working on getting programs set up inside the prison, that will help the inmate get ready for when they are released.

Once released we meet them at the gate and connect them with mentors and churches that will help them get housing, get a job and stay on the outside. It’s amazing!  Just today we were able to help a former inmate get one step closer to getting a job.

The youth

There are lots of things I really love about this new ministry, but I especially love that they invited me to dream with them for the youth and are now backing me up in making it happen.

We are in the process of getting into 2 youth prisons with our worship experience and the youth after care mentorship program we have set up.

That after care mentorship program will also serve those kids and youth who have one or more parent in prison and are at risk of ending up on the inside themselves.

We will be working with professional athletes and artists to create a 1 year mentorship experience for the students that will help them stay on the straight path. The heart of it is of course introducing them to Jesus and helping them understand how important a relationship with Jesus will be in their life.

Sobering fact: Over the past 2 months I have met TWO fathers who met their sons for the first time in the prison yard… Shocking!

I’m excited for where God is going to take me in all this.

As for what’s going to happen in the next 2 weeks… I will be in Germany, visiting my Mum and celebrating her 70th birthday with her! So excited.

Things God Behind Bars does, but I am not directly involved:

-Starting a new campus in Colorado and Alaska in 2012

-Opening a 2nd hand store to create jobs for former inmates

-Fresh Start Kits: Greeting the former inmate at the gate upon their release with the Fresh Start kit, that includes clothing, sheets, pillows, prepaid cell phone, toiletries and more. This also includes their first meal on the outside that they got to pick out themselves. (This is apparently a conversation that can take a while, because as an inmate you're not used to making decisions anymore. Making a decision about their first meal is sometimes overwhelming, but necessary to get them used to life on the outside again.)

-Media art studio: God Behind Bars is teaching inmates in one of the prisons how to be a graphic designer. This serves to help them create income for themselves upon their release. 

-Celebrate Recovery (CR) meets at least once a week in all of our prisons. Upon their release (if former inmate stays in Vegas) they can join Celebrate Recovery at Central (our partner church). It's a Christian 12 step program that doesn't just focus on addiction, but rather hurts, habits and hang ups. It takes 1 year to 'graduate' from CR and we have well over 100 inmates who have graduated. 

Linkage you should check out here, here and here! Oh and you can follow me here!