Not many people have heard what I’m about to share with you.
Recently, Prison Fellowship program participants celebrated their graduation at Minnesota Correctional Facility–Faribault. These men just completed an intensive, biblically based program made possible by friends like you!
I wanted to give you a glimpse of two graduation speeches given to a small audience of classmates, prison staff, volunteers, and relatives who attended the ceremony. These men expressed such gratitude and resolve that I just had to share with you.
See how one man described his hope for the future after participating in this life-changing program:
It allowed me to challenge myself in different ways, giving me a different perspective on how I was living my life before and the way I want to live my life moving forward. I learned about faith, believing that God has a plan for me, that He loves me, and to be righteous in the way I act and the way I think. I learned a lot about how to take care of me and how to stay open-minded and not be close-minded.
It gave me hope in my life with my family, showing me all they went through—also, how my action affected them. It taught me about being selfless, making amends for the things I’ve done, and asking them for forgiveness, while at the same time being forgiving to those I harbored anger towards all these years.
Another participant shared how he let go of shame and learned to pray:
The first night of class, I wondered what I’d gotten myself into. I’ve always been a private person. Add to that the fact that I carried a lot of shame for my crime. The evening dragged on for what seemed like forever. As we all got to know each other things soon changed, and I found myself opening up more and more. Now nearly a year later, I’m amazed how fast the time went.
The best piece of advice I can give everyone here is to pray. Pray always and often. In the past year there have been many questions in the course material. Interesting how many of them can be answered with one word: pray! Recently I heard the following words, ‘Prayer has three possible answers. Yes, not now, and I’ve got something else for you to do.’ Never lose faith that your prayers will be answered.
For some men and women in our programs, this is their first graduation from anything—the first program of its kind that they’ve ever completed. And for so many, it’s an important step on their faith journey with Christ. You are helping to make an impact for eternity when you support Prison Fellowship!
Thank you for joining us to see lives transformed. If there’s any way we can be praying for you, please reach out to us today.
Serving Him with you,
HEATHER RICE-MINUS President and CEO
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