“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth he will certainly not lose his reward. Matthew 10:42 (NIV Study Bible)

 

 

 

Can you imagine what it must be like to lose all of your freedoms?   

To not have even a single item of clothing or a piece of paper that you can call your own.  To not be able to leave your room or go anywhere you want whenever you want?  To be totally cut-off from everyone with almost no outside contact—this is how it is when a person is in prison. 

If you’ve ever had a loved one in this situation, you know this can be a most difficult time for everyone involved.  Many of the prison inmates have lost not only their freedoms, but their families too.  “Dear John letters” are a common occurrence.  In these cases, they truly have lost all contact with the outside world and feel completely alone and forgotten.  What a hopeless situation this must be! 

We need to remember that we all make mistakes in life, for some of us our mistakes don’t seem that big, while for others they are huge!  But Praise the Lord, we serve a God of second, third, and endless chances…a God who forgives us of all past mistakes and restores us into a right fellowship with Him through His son, Jesus Christ.  We serve a God who desires a personal relationship with each of His children.  It is this message of love and hope which we are sharing with the prison inmates in America as God opens the doors and gives us access.  Through letter writing, we are reminding them that they have not been forgotten and with each letter we are including a copy of our message of hope entitled, “Encouraging Hope™” or “Feasting With The Father™.”  To people who have lost everything, even a piece of paper or a letter they can call their own is precious.

We also want to help meet the ex-offenders physical needs by providing clothing and food upon their release from prison and help them get connected with a faith based Residential Aftercare Program.  This is especially important because the statistics in Texas indicate that 60% of released inmates will commit another crime and return to prison within 2 years of their release.  However, it has also been discovered that faith based Residential Aftercare Programs significantly reduce new crimes to less than 4%.  This is wonderful news!  Less crime means safer streets for everyone.  In addition, the ex-offender is restored to a new life in Christ and transformed into a productive citizen of our society.  Praise God for His powers of transformation and restoration!