Kathy Lang's first day on the job was met with angry stares, bitterness, and harsh words.

"I hate you!" one girl shouted.

"I love you," Kathy replied.

So it goes when your workplace is a prison, a place Kathy never thought she'd be. But God clearly had other plans.

A veteran surgical nurse for over 25 years, Kathy was looking for a new job. An agency that staffs nurses offered her a position at a prison. Without hesitation, Kathy replied emphatically, "No!"

A few days later in the car, she was listening to a Keith Green cd when her ears were startled by the lyrics: "I was in prison, and I rotted there; I'd prayed that you'd come."

Over the next ten days she was bombarded with prison references everywhere she turned. On the tv and the radio—prison news. Her devotion book had references to prison. Kathy finally relinquished: "Okay, God, I get it!"

When she arrived home, she called the agency, but the job had been filled. Undaunted, she visited a local youth detention facility to inquire if they needed a nurse, only to learn there was a hiring freeze. For the next four months she kept calling agencies to inquire. And she prayed.

One night, Kathy and her daughter Jessica were driving home from the store. As they passed the prison at exactly 9:00 p.m., she and Jessica prayed, asking the Lord to open the door if it was truly his will for Kathy to work there. She promised to never stop praying for those girls.

Exactly 12 hours later, at precisely 9:00 the next morning, the agency called to offer her that job.

Growing determination
Her first day on the job included a sobering orientation video explaining all the things the detainees had been through and what to expect. Although shaken from that experience, Kathy became more determined on her way home. Stopping by an area Christian high school to turn in an application for her daughter, she saw a group of girls praying, faces full of peace and hope. Kathy cried out to God as she remembered the faces of the girls she had just met that morning in prison: "Lord, it isn't fair; I've given everything for my daughter to know you, and these girls [inmates] haven't had that opportunity."

She mentally compared her daughter's life of love with the lives of those girls, and she asked God what she could do for them. First, she saw the need to share a message of abstinence and sexual purity. She arranged for some volunteers from the local Pregnancy Information Center—a Christian agency—to come and share. The women also brought Bibles to give to the girls.

That's when Kathy had the idea to give every girl a Bible. But which version? Some of the girls could barely read. After much research, she discovered the Easy-to-Read Version of the Bible produced by World Bible Translation Center. The translation is written at a third-grade level with cross-references and Bible helps. Through a small grant, Kathy was able to get a few hundred for the cost of shipping.

Body and soul
As Kathy worked in the clinic, she developed a routine of ministering to the body and the soul. At the end of each appointment, she offered the girl an erv Bible, briefly explaining how to use it. Their responses were mixed between joy and refusal.

Kathy's heart ached for these girls, most of whom were from difficult backgrounds with little hope for change. Some had lived on the streets for a long time before being incarcerated. One girl told Kathy that her family never paid for anything—they just stole it. Not only was this girl serving time for theft, but so were her parents.

Being a good listener was key to getting through to the girls. Hearing one talk about new puppies at home, Kathy said, "I love dogs," even as she tended to the girl's physical needs—and it wasn't long before she was accepting a Bible.

Sometimes girls call out from their rooms as Kathy passes: "Ma'am, what chapter should I read today?" Kathy replies, "Pick a number between 1 and 150." Whatever number that girl chooses is the Psalm she recommends.

Kathy also spends part of her time at another local correction center, which is co-ed. She relies on the prompting of the Holy Spirit when speaking to these inmates. One young man told her he was a Satanist. Unruffled, she replied, "That's cool."

"You said it's cool?" he asked, astonished.

"God created Satan, and if Satan is real, God is real. You got the wrong guy on the throne. And you are created in the image of God, and your soul has great value to him." At the end of his time with her, he took a Bible, and Kathy offered suggestions about how to get started when reading it.

Capital murder, capital forgiveness
Kathy recalls one day when she was clipping a badly infected ingrown toenail of an inmate serving time for murder. Asking, "What are you in for?" brought about another opening. With his head down the young man replied, "Capital murder, Ma'am."

"Jesus is a capital God, and he is able to forgive you capitally."

He warmed to her as she continued to talk and work on his toe. When she was finished, she offered him a Bible.

"I'm of a different faith, Ma'am."

"That's okay; Jesus loves you too," Kathy answered sweetly.

The young man refused the Bible, but Kathy was not deterred. She purchased a Bible in his native language and brought it to work in hopes of seeing him again. Recently he came in to the clinic and said, "I'm so glad it's you." He thanked her for her kindness—and the Bible.

"I talk to them like a mother who loves them very much," Kathy says. "Often they share their desires to commit suicide or their trouble with drugs, and I just tell them straight that what they need is Jesus. The prison authorities are tough with the kids—they have to be. Often the guards tell me I talk too nice, but they are so thankful that I am there. I know what I say is God's wisdom and not my own, and his words are making a difference in these kids."

6,000 Bibles and counting
Although Kathy is not permitted to proselytize as an employee of the prison, she feels God has called her to sprinkle seeds—and she trusts the Holy Spirit to do the rest. She says prison officials are okay with her distributing Bibles because when the youth are reading Scripture in their cells, they're not causing trouble.

After she gave out the first batch of Bibles, her vision was expanded to do more. She contacted various prison chaplains and was able to place more than 6,000 Bibles in four years.

Although the erv is available in many languages, she has traveled distances to purchase a Bible in a language not available in the erv. Kathy's goal is to see a Bible in the hand of every prisoner. And she has kept her promise to God—she never stops praying for them.

Kathy's guiding verse for her mission with these troubled youth comes from Isaiah 9:2: "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

To learn more about Kathy Lang and Bibles for Prisoners, go to prisonbibles.org.

Cindy Huff has written for Scripture Press, Children's Bible Hour, and Bread for Children.

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