July 31, 2011

RETURNING HEARTS CELEBRATION 2011

July 9th, 2011



A total of 1,462 people attended Returning Hearts Celebration!
621 kids
262 dads
160 guardians
419 volunteers

The temperature was 97 with a heat index of 103! This was the hottest RHC at Angola!

We ate 2,000 hamburgers and 1,700 hot dogs! All the food was cooked by a volunteer ministry, Cooking For Christ, from Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge. Our thanks to them for their ministry year after year at Angola!

Please pray for the dads, kids and guardians of Angola. Pray that reconciliation will continue between the dads and their kids. Also, pray that the dads, kids and guardians that don’t know the Lord will come to know Him as their Savior.

Mark your calendars for next year’s Returning Hearts Celebration: Saturday, May 19, 2012!
http://awanalifeline.org/#/programs/returning-hearts

God is sure to bless you.

You'll leave a changed person.

July 27, 2011

PRISON ART POST #1


The Prison Pen Pal Program has blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined or put into words. This is just one of the many blessings I’ve received from two remarkable inmates in Texas, Clifford and Bill.

Thanks guys!

May God bless you in all you do.

Kym

July 24, 2011

A SPECIAL LETTER FROM AN INMATE TO A SUNDAY CLASS




I’ve been involved in the Prison Pen Pal Program since 2004. I write to several guys that are incarcerated. Through this amazing ministry, God has blessed me in countless ways. I also handled the miscellaneous mail that comes into Willow Creek Community Church from the prisons and jails. One of the letters I received had a heart shaped necklace with a cross in the middle of it, along with a request for a faith based non-fiction book.

One letter lead to another and this particular one to a group of girls in a Sunday class at Willow, by an inmate in Texas named, Clifford. He made each of them necklaces which lead to many questions from the girls. They wanted to know his story, and he was gracious enough to write them this letter. It touched my soul and brought tears to my eyes.

Later each of the girls in the group wrote him a thank you, many accompanied by a hand drawn picture. Each heartfelt, filled with compassion. God truly blessed several lives in what started out as a simple request for a book to grow ones faith.



3/27/2011

To my young friends at Willow Creek Community Church. Hi from Clifford the cross maker in Liberty Texas. First let me say that I am very happy to hear that you like your crosses so much. I had fun making them for each of you. Let me know if you would like another one, okay.

I hear that you are about eight-years old, maybe nine. I guess you know that I’m in jail. The reason I’m in jail now at the age of fifty-two is because of decisions, mistakes, and wrong choices that I made when I was nine-years old, your age. Hard to believe that the choices we make at such a young age can have consequences that last a lifetime.

Are you working what I could have done at your age that could cause me to be in jail? I was warned by my mother and father not to do it. They had some special classes and films at school too. You are all very smart and I know that your parents and your teachers have told you the very same thing that mine told me when I was your exact age. Now you will all have to make a decision and a choice just like I did. I’m taking about drugs. I wish I could find just the right words to tell you how bad they are and not to ever try them. It’s even worse today than it was when I was your age. They are everywhere. I let an older friend of mine talk me into smoking marijuana. He said it wouldn’t hurt me. I wish I would have said no. I did at first but I was curious and it didn’t seem to be hurting him so I tried it. That was the biggest mistake of my entire life, a mistake I made when I was nine-years old. A mistake that has cost me everything, broke my mother’s heart and put me in prison.

It doesn’t happen all at once. At first it was fun. It didn’t seem as bad as they say. I lived in California back then and had a real nice family. I started playing guitar on Christmas day when I was seven-years old. I loved my guitar and still do. It was so much fun. I loved it. I hung around with older guys that played guitar and they would teach me. They were all using drugs so I did too so I would fit in. Little did I know. As I grew older I started playing in bands at different places and everywhere we went there were drugs and beer and alcohol. It took some time before all the bad stuff started happening. It tricked me. Before I made it to college to be a guitar major, several of my friends had died from drugs in car accidents, but that still didn’t stop me. In college there was even more drugs.

Suddenly I realized that I was addicted to different drugs and couldn’t quit. If I didn’t have them I would feel really bad. They made me do things I knew I shouldn’t do but I wanted the drugs so bad. That was a terrible feeling and I got scared and didn’t know what to do. I was afraid to tell anybody the truth. Afraid to stop and afraid to not stop. Before I knew it, drugs took control of my life. I had to quit school because I couldn’t think and do all my homework. I was failing. I quite school and joined the Navy. Thought if I moved and quit playing my guitar that would fix things but it didn’t.

I started playing guitar in the Navy band and made two trips to Europe, France, and Italy, all the while in the band. Everywhere I went there were still drugs. I got worse and worse. It was horrible.

I had two bad car wrecks and by a miracle, didn’t die. Then I woke up in a hospital and didn’t know what happened. They said I almost died from too many drugs. For some reason God had saved me. But He didn’t keep me from jail. I have to pay for my mistakes. He kept me alive though. Maybe it was just so I could write this letter and tell you about a bad choices I made when I was nine-years-old.

“God, I pray that you will let these special young people learn from my mistakes so none of them will ever go to jail or prison or die from using drugs.”

Thanks for letting me share a little of my story. I don’t want to leave you feeling bad or sad though. I’m doing really well here. I’m not on drugs anymore, have a job here and lots of friends. My mother is still alive and lives in Oklahoma. We write a lot and talk on the phone. We have been through a lot together. I told her all about ya’ll and that I got to make you some cross necklaces.

Thanks again. I would love to hear from you. I will be here for awhile so let me know if you want more Heart Crosses. Oh, I learned how to make them in jail.

God Bless all of you,

Clifford.

July 2, 2011

Sheridan Correctional Malachi Dads Prayer Request - Friday July 1, 2011

Greeting all;

Though it was a joy to spend the past couple of weeks with my mom in Henderson, NV it is also a joy to be home and back with the men of Sheridan on Friday nights.

A special request, as you will read in Antoine's prayer request, Antoine is enduring one of imprisonments toughest challenges, the death of a loved one, for Antoine, it was the passing of his father. For most of us we can only imagine what it must be like to grieve not only the death of a loved one but to grieve without other loved ones grieving the same loss. He will not be with them when they gather to share the memories of his dad, whether they be ones of laughter or tears. To grieve in unity is a great healer, to grieve in solitude from family and loved ones is hard, please be certain to life Antoine during this time of being apart from family

Jon B – Seeking prayer for the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to make he right decisions in my daily life and J for God’s favor and grace. Thank you

Charles W – Hello, I would like prayer for the understanding of God’s Word, for a good relationship with my daughter Serena and ex-wife Angie and for me to have faith in my decisions.

Robert F. – I’m asking for prayer for my family just to seek to seek the Lord and to walk in obedience and for myself to walk in the light and to be on fire for the Lord, just not read and talk in obedience but to live it everyday in my life and to keep His loving arms around every inmate in Sheridan and if it’s the Lord’s will for me to receive work release. Thank you God bless you and your family.

Clarence – Hello God bless you, pray my strength in the Lord that I will steadfast and persevere in faithfulness. Pray that I would seen receive a letter from my son and his mother Finesha, Justin, Brendon and Derrius.

Jacob – I would like you to pray that God protect me from all my enemies including my cell mate he tries to intimidate me and make me feel down. But I refuse to let him do that because God is on my side. I pray that God give me inner peace so I can make it through this time.

Robert M – I would like to start by thanking you. Then please pray for the brothers who have asked me to their families, the Lord knows who is in my heart. They may not know the Lord well, but please help them and their families. Also please continue to pray for my family and myself so that I can grow to be the man He made me to be. Thank you His loving servant.

John P. – Thanks for continuing to keep us ‘Malachi Dads’ in your prayers. Scott thanks for continuing to keep all of us in your prayers. Please pray for my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am trying to rely on my faith ‘faith’ but I am getting a little anxious as I have four months left now. Please pray that I get a response from my daughters one day. Humbly yours.

Antoine – I ask that you pray for me and my brothers and sisters. My father passed on June 26, and I am having a tough time. Also for my son and nieces and nephews, that the Lord may strengthen us in our time of grief.
???? – Please pray for Tyrell, he is going through some things with his family.

A final request, the Malachi Dads class is drawing to a close in a few weeks, please pray that those in position at Sheridan will show favor to the Malachi Dads and agree to a Malachi Dads graduation celebration where these men 'the Malachi Dads' can experience the affirmation they deserve for their pursuit to be godly fathers to their children.

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord;

Scott Kalas
Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries™
www.soldiers-of-Christ.org

To bring the gospel to the prisons, disciple Christian prisoners and connect them with resources that will provide them with holistic discipleship during and after incarceration.

U.S. Mail
Soldiers Of Christ Prison Ministries
P.O. Box 671
Cortland, IL 60112-0671