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UPPER COLUMBIA CONFERENCE NEWS
Rathdrum Prays for Local Business
Recently the Rathdrum
(Idaho) Church had an
opportunity to minister to some
of their members and provide a
unique witness to the community.
Joe and Emma attend
church. Joe is an Adventist, but
Emma isn’t. They own a small
store in Rathdrum and became
concerned when they began
experiencing conflict with
another business nearby.
It wasn’t long before Joe
and Emma’s business started
to suffer. They began to lose
many customers and were
afraid they were going to lose
everything.
Then the Lord impressed
Todd Parker, the church’s
outreach coordinator, to have
prayer for them at their business
for seven days at 10 a.m.
During the past 18 months,
more than 60 residents of
the Washington State Penitentiary
(WSP) in Walla Walla,
Wash., have been baptized.
Walla Walla Valley volunteers
have been working at the
penitentiary for more than
30 years. This recent upsurge
in baptisms encourages this
volunteer outreach. About
60 members of several area
churches volunteer their time
to serve at the prison — some
monthly and others several
times each week.
24 GLEANER • December 2012
Rathdrum (Idaho) Church members met together for an entire
week to pray for a struggling business owned by church
members.
Parker recruited other church
members to help in this spiritual
warfare.
For an entire week, most
of the church showed up at
Joe and Emma’s business or
Prison Outreach Takes
God Behind Bars
The heart-warming
testimonies given by the new
church members are faithbuilding.
These new Christians
have learned about forgiveness
W.R. CASEBOLT
and know that nothing stands
between them and eternal life;
the former life is gone.
Seeing the residents’ lives
change is life-altering for
the volunteers. Watching
firsthand how the power of
forgiveness transforms a life is
unforgettable.
Several of the officers
employed at WSP have noticed
improved behavior in these
men. As a result, one officer
asked for prayer so he could
find a new job within WSP
that would allow him to attend
prayed in their homes for
them every day at 10 a.m. The
united prayer effort lifted up
the couple and rebuked Satan’s
attacks on their lives.
At the end of the week, Joe
and Emma reviewed their
books. To their joy, they had
record sales that week. In addition,
one of the church members
saw an acquaintance at
the rival business and started a
conversation. That visit led to
the two businesses talking.
As a result of the church
family rallying together in
a time of need, Emma has
expressed a desire to study the
Bible. It’s certainly true that
“they will know we are Christians
by our love.”
Jay Wintermeyer, UCC
communication director
church. The volunteers prayed
for him and rejoiced with him
when his prayer request was
answered.
Those involved in WSP
prison outreach are excited
to watch how active the Holy
Spirit is as daily miracles are
changing lives.
Donald E. Casebolt, prison
ministry volunteer