Last week, Christian singer Lauren Daigle visited the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as the “Alcatraz of the South,” ministering to the inmates there.
The “You Say” singer posted footage of her trip to the prison, the largest maximum-security facility in the U.S., announcing she and her fans had raised $17,000 to help the inmates make phone calls and get new clothes for Christmas.
Daigle first shared the campaign to raise the funds to her Facebook page on Giving Tuesday, noting she would soon be visiting Angola.
“We’re heading to Angola Prison in Louisiana next week and I want to invite you all to gift the prisoners with calls and clothes,” she announced. “These are luxuries to inmates and not every person can afford to call home for the holidays, connect with their families and hear the voice of a loved one.”
“There is also a need for loungewear for the women,” she added. “Help comfort them this season and let them know there are people who care and have not forgotten them.”
A lot of the prisoners — there are 6,300 inmates total — are serving life sentences, making it unlikely they will ever have the opportunity to have a Christmas outside incarceration.
The Lord, though, meets them exactly where they are, Daigle reminded them during her performance at the state penitentiary.
“In the middle of the pain, in the middle of your problems, in the middle of you being the worst of who you are, He comes and He sits next to you in the process,” Daigle said. “He doesn’t point the finger, He doesn’t give you shame, He sits with you. I think that’s why He’s called the Savior of the world.”
“He’s not the fixer of the world,” she continued, “He’s called the savior because He comes to save us and to set us free and rescue us from the things that would have us caught and ensnared and left in bondage he sets every captive heart free.”