Faith in handcuffs

In October 2003, Robbie was informed that his five-year-old son, Robquez, had died in a house fire. Suddenly, prison became a mere appetizer to this bitter meal, the kind that could have reduced Robbie to a bitter, jaded man for the rest of his life.

Instead, Robbie, bound by handcuffs and shackles, went to the funeral (because he was a low-risk inmate and someone was willing to pay for his transportation and security) and stood before a sea of friends and family members—many of whom had all but joined the fast-track to prison themselves—and told them how Christ was sustaining him through the pain. Then he asked their forgiveness for the times he had wronged them over the years.

"He touched a lot of people that day," said Robbie's wife Sarah, at the time his girlfriend.

"I went back to prison with a peaceful heart," Robbie was able to admit.

He returned to the friendship of Prison Fellowship volunteers and fellow Christian prisoners who comforted him as he continued to grieve his son's death, as well as the separation from his daughter (whom he wasn't allowed to see for five years for custody reasons). Over the next two years, he worked hard to learn all he could about Christianity and prepare for release.

Short Steps and Catapults

Because of his friends at Prison Fellowship, when he walked out of prison in March 2005, he had a place to live at a transitional house and a church to attend—Community Heights Alliance in Newton, outside of Des Moines. And a few weeks after he was released, he married his girlfriend, Sarah, who had stuck by him while he was in prison.

He also landed a job with a printing company. Although it was hard living on a $7.50 per hour paycheck, "I had a lot of people from the church supporting me."

In October 2005, a mentor from church encouraged him to try to get a job at Vermeer Manufacturing, a construction equipment company. Although the employment department initially turned him away because of his criminal past, when owners heard Robbie's story, they decided to give him a chance.

Over the past three plus years, Robbie, has watched his skills, salary, and responsibility multiply. A year ago, he was promoted from welder to a technician.

As Robbie's career has catapulted forward, he has also found moments within his busy weeks to share his faith in Christ with his co-workers, who, he said, recognize the fact that there is something different about him. With a chaplain at his plant, he also helped begin a Wednesday-morning prayer gathering for Vermeer employees.

"He's a stand-up guy. You can always depend on him. He's here every day," said Robbie's supervisor, Chad Dixson who explained that Robbie's "electric personality" sets him as a leader among his peers. Chad admits that he even comes to Robbie for advice.