When Jesus died on the cross, the first person he escorted into heaven was a convict. Our Lord died between two thieves. One repented and one did not. The blood of Jesus purchased salvation for the one who believed. This is part of the message Eddie Echarri gave to the inmates at Fountain Prison Thursday evening in Atmore, Alabama. Eddie serves as our Director of Community Outreach. We were there for a chapel service. I preached from Ezekiel 2 and Eddie gave his testimony. Along with Eddie and myself the OBC quartet, Con4med, join us for the service. It was a great evening.

Chaplain Brian Eskelinen invited us for the visit. He is a member of Olive and this is our second trip to the prison for chapel. To begin the evening the chaplain baptized two new converts. It was a joyous occasion to see these men go public with their faith.

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us to visit those in prison. Eddie does this day by day as a dynamic outreach of Olive. These are places I would call hard ground. Nevertheless, when an individual is persistent with the Gospel in a loving way the seed of truth penetrates even the rocky soil in due time. I thank God for people like Eddie and Chaplain Brian.

Pastor Ted Traylor