3 months passes so quickly

3 months have passed by since I last left anything here. In that time I have been raising up volunteers to go in with me, and visiting other prisoners also. To begin with I was just visiting one man who had written to our church asking for information. After 5 or 6 months, I managed to get somebody to join me, which allowed me to submit proposals to Michigan DOC (Department Of Corrections) to have our church formally recognized as an outreach ministry organization. Once we had church approval, my status was changed from "friend" to "outreach ministry volunteer". I have since raised up another 3 volunteers, with at least 3 more interested, we just need to prod people occasionally to keep them moving. Since having my status changed I have met another 5 men and spent time with each of them. This is a rewarding ministry, that most people can't understand unless they are involved in it. One of the men had not had a visitor in the 3 1/2 years of his imprisonment to date. Another had not had a visitor in 13 years, his family and friends all turned their backs and abandoned him when he was first arrested.

With this sort of rejection by family and friends, it is no wonder so many prisoners lose hope, and are unable to cope with release when they get parole. Some statistics show that approximately 70% of released prisoners will return to prison within 3 years of release. If Christian volunteers visit inmates and contribute in some small way to help them to change their lives, if even just 10% of the released prisoners manage to stay out of trouble and avoid re-arrest, then every minute spent in visiting imprisoned men is worth it.

Prejudice towards convicted criminals is understandable, I had enough of my own. I still wonder at times, how my life has changed since I first felt the call to prison ministry. I still find it one of the best days of the week, visiting, and making a difference in the life of a repentant prisoner wanting to be a Christian, seeing him determined to change his ways and be an honest citizen once again.