Friday, May 18th, 2018
I gave three presentations at the Meeker County Jail yesterday. In the first one, a woman told me she had been arrested 100 times and had 47 felonies on her record. Lest you rush to judgement, she explained her accomplishments this way: “I have not experienced any life but crime and addiction from the time I was a little girl. I was born into it, you might say. When I get out of jail, I have no place to go but back to what I’ve known. Where else can I go? What else can I do?” Hers is a tale of hopelessness.
She knows about Jesus, but when she gets out of jail, His life is drowned out by the evil that surrounds her. What she needs is a separation from the terrible world she lives in – a long stay in a faith-based facility. Adult and Teen Challenge would fit the bill, as would Metro Hope Center in Minneapolis or the arm of the Salvation Army that offers help to those getting out of prison. I can’t get personally involved in helping her find any of those places (the rules of my being allowed into jails) but I can pray that she’ll find such a place. Will you pray for her as well? Her name is Cherie.
By the way, I publish a monthly newsletter about my work in jail ministry. If you’d like to receive the letter, send a request by email to pday56201@yahoo.com.