DA423 | A Miracle in a Jail Cell, Death to Life at Death Beach, and Why Getting Uncomfortable Reveals God's Love (Jeff Zaugg)
Feb 26, 2026
A man in a jail hallway erupts into curses, then worship transforms the room into peace. Baptisms at a place called Death Beach turn stories of death into new life. The power of getting uncomfortable is framed as the path where healing and a father’s love are revealed.
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insights INSIGHT
Teen Boys Dreamed About Becoming Fathers
Jeff noticed several teenage boys on the trip said they dream of being dads, showing fatherhood can be a compelling vision for young men.
In a culture with high fatherlessness and incarceration, modeling fatherhood on trips created hope and a positive identity for teens.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Worship Flipped A Jail Hallway To Peace
Jeff Zaugg described entering a crowded county jail in La Libertad where an English-speaking inmate screamed curses and hostility at the team.
Teenage worship leaders began to play and sing, and the hostile man faded while the whole hallway shifted to peace and soft, tearful faces.
question_answer ANECDOTE
You Are Special Story Brought Tears In The Cells
Jeff read Max Lucado's You Are Special to the inmates, using the story of Punchinello and Eli to illustrate God's view over human marks.
The story's line that stickers only stick if you let them paralleled inmates releasing shame as they heard they are loved by their Maker.
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🇸🇻 What happens when a man in a jail cell starts screaming curses — and then worship begins?
In this powerful solo episode, Jeff shares the miraculous story of what God did inside a county jail in El Salvador during a recent mission trip with fathers and sons.
You'll hear:
➡️ How worship flipped an environment from darkness to God's peace in an instant
➡️ Why getting uncomfortable reveals where God wants to bring healing
➡️ The beloved story Jeff shared with inmates that brought men and women to tears
INVITES:
Support JEFF'S FUNDRAISER - Team DADAWESOME 6-Mile SPARTAN event ($25 or $250)
What happens when you step into a dark, crowded jail hallway in El Salvador and a man starts screaming curses at you in English? In this raw solo episode, Jeff shares the miraculous story of what God did on a mission trip over his 44th birthday — and why getting uncomfortable as a dad is exactly where God wants to meet you. Plus, he reads the beloved story You Are Special by Max Lucado and shares why it changed everything inside that jail cell.
TAKEAWAYS
Worship often precedes breakthrough. When darkness and resistance filled that jail hallway, it was worship that flipped the entire environment from hostility to God's peace.
Getting outside your comfort zone reveals places in your heart where God wants to bring healing — you can't grow staying in the comfort loop.
The marks the world gives you — and the marks you give yourself — don't have to stick. What matters is what your Maker thinks of you.
Teenage young men who dream about being dads and starting families are growing up in homes where fatherhood is cast as a vision worth pursuing.
You are special because God made you, and He doesn't make mistakes. That truth changes everything — for you and for your kids.
Top 5 Quotes
"Worship released peace. Worship flipped the environment of that space. It radically shifted things — worship."
"Getting uncomfortable going, serving — getting to new places often reveals new places of our hearts."
"We can stay in a comfort loop and continue to stay comfortable — or we can go."
"I'm dreaming about being a dad, starting a family. I loved hearing that answer from teenage young men."
"The marks from the world don't have to stick. Walk in freedom and know your true identity."
GUEST
This is a solo episode with Jeff Zaugg, founder and executive director of DadAwesome. Jeff shares from a recent mission trip to El Salvador where he traveled with a group of fathers and teenage sons, served alongside the ministry of Jonathan Ferrant, and witnessed a miraculous encounter in a county jail in La Libertad.
DadAwesome 
