The greatest gift in Zachary’s life is his daughter. Like many new dads, his whole world changed when she was born. “She was the light in my world of endless darkness. She made me see,” he wrote in a recent letter to Prison Fellowship. He was home for her first Christmas, but after that, he needed to come to terms with wrong choices he had made in the past. He went through detox, turned himself in, and went to prison to serve a 10-year term. His daughter will be 9 years old before he is eligible for parole.
It haunts Zachary that his daughter is paying for his crimes, too. “She goes without daddy every day and is affected daily by my mistakes,” he says. But he does his best to strengthen their bond until he is released. Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program is an important part of maintaining their relationship.
“I have used your program for four years now,” Zachary writes, “and you have never disappointed my daughter yet. It’s not really the gifts, it’s the fact that she feels like her daddy has taken the time to get her something, and that’s what makes it so magical to her.”
“What I am trying to say is thank you so much for everything that you have done and the gifts you haven given to my Gift, that mean so much to her you couldn’t possibly understand. Even if it was just a book it would mean more to her than all the presents she gets from anyone else because she knows daddy loves her.”
For more than 30 years friends like you have helped keep parents and their children connected through a Christmas gift and the Good News of Jesus Christ. To learn how you can help, visit www.angeltree.org today.