Recently I received a letter from two women in their early 20s. They were inmates at Rikers Island in New York, and they had written on the front and back of the same sheet, because together, they were able to come up with just one envelope, one stamp, one pencil, and one piece of paper. They wrote out of poverty. They had come to the end of their material resources. They had come to the end of themselves. But they asked for something that could make that rich beyond their wildest dreams – Bibles.
These young women are not unusual. Up to a dozen inmates will write on a single piece of paper, pleading for a Bible, access to Bible studies, and prayer. They know where the power to change comes from, and thanks to the support of friends like you, they know they can write to Prison Fellowship for support.
But what if there was no one to whom they could write? Would Prison Fellowship be missed? It’s a valid question we must all ask ourselves: Are we spending our days on work of such vital importance that others would notice if we stopped?
I believe that with your support, God is calling us to redouble our ministry to prisoners and their families in 2013. Without this work, too many would have nowhere to turn. As one of the young women at Rikers wrote, “I decided that I would like to be closer to God and learn how to be more like Jesus Christ … I would like to … get a free Bible because I don’t have access to one. Me and the inmate on the other side of this paper are anxious for a prompt response.”