Greetings,

Week 6 of the lockdown was one of the harder ones. I received notice that Titus a student in Dixon was deceased. Being that he was incarcerated my first response was it COVID-19? Though he was a student of two weeks I remember him well and was is grieving I don’t believe he knew the Lord. He was 40.

It was also bittersweet to receive notice of two Sheridan students being paroled. Rashawn was a student since May 20. He had a warm personality and always spoke from the heart. Jason a student since November 2018. His personality may not have been as warm as Rashawn’s but he was a caring and a very serious student. Bitter in saying good-bye without really saying good-bye, sweet in knowing they are free from the lockdown and hopefully with loved ones. They both will be missed.

I sent another letter of encouragement to both Chaplains Thomas of Dixon and McClimans of Sheridan. Noting they have been in lockdown since mid-March the challenge they must be encountering in persevering. I shared the definition of perseverance I found on Bible Study Tools.

In part it said; the word refers to either confidence in or tense expectation of ("waiting on") the power or the faithfulness of God, who delivers his people ( Psalm 37:9; Isa 51:5; Micah 7:7; Zeph 3:8 ). It is closely linked with the idea of hope ( Psalm 5:11; 7:1; 15:1; 16:7 ).

The word ‘confidence’ stood out as since my Pastor Joe Thorn gave a message on Wednesday night titled ‘Coronavirus, Confidence, and Christ.’ It was based on Psalm 16. I shared the five principals to lead us to build confidence in a crisis with Scripture Joe shared (those I had in my notes, being a poor note-taker I may have missed some) and I added some of my own.

First ‘The Lord is our help.’ (Joe: Psalm 121; | Scott: 2 Chronicles 14:11, Psalm 22:19, 33:20-22, 46:1, 54:4, 124:8, John 14:26, Hebrews 13:6.

Second ‘The Lord is my portion’ (In Scripture portion is related to inheritance). Joe: Ephesians 1:11-12, Colossians 3:24, Romans 8:18, 1 Peter 3:4 | Scoot: Lamentations 3:24, Psalm 16:5, 73:26, 142:5, Colossians 1:12.

Third ‘The Lord is my counselor’ Joe: Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 1:5-6 | Scott: Proverbs 1:5, Isaiah 58:9-11, John14:26, 15:26, 16:13, 1 John 5:20.

Forth ‘The Lord is our Joy’ Scott: Psalm 51:12, 71:23, 118:24, Proverbs 17:22, Zephaniah 3:17, John 15:11, Romans 15:13, Philippians 4:4, James 1:2.

Fifth ‘The Lord is our Salvation’ Joe: Acts 22:28, Hebrews 2:18, 4:15-16, 13:20-21, 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10. | Scott: Psalm 37:9, John 6:44, Acts 4:12, 16:30-33, Titus 3:5.

Joe’s teaching was more in-depth on context but the chaplains requested I limited my letters to one page. My hope is the sharing of the key points with a good amount of Scripture will give my students something to meditate on.

In my exchange of e-mails with Chaplain McClimans, he said that the COVID-19 currently has been relatively contained in Sheridan (3 inmates, 0 staff) and the Warden recognizing the longevity of the lockdown is having a serious impact on the inmates is considering lifting some of the lockdown restrictions. Please pray God will give her wisdom in her decision and that the low cases of COVID-19 will remain so based on her decision. With Governor Pritzker’s extension of the statewide stay-in-place order until My 30th and the possibility of volunteers being restricted from entering the correctional facilities an additional 30 days after the order, it is quite possible I will not be returning until late June. That is very discouraging to me and I imagine my students. Please pray that all of us can have confidence and peace in God’s sovereign plan.

As always I truly appreciate your prayers, if there is anything I can pray for you please let me know by responding to this e-mail.

To Him be the glory in ALL things!

Scott Kalas
Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries