It’s only been five years since Gloria’s daughter was sentenced to prison for the negligent homicide of Gloria’s then 18-month-old granddaughter, but the despair she once felt is slowly melting into hope as she sees the small ways that God is redeeming the terrible.
As concert goers were serenaded by Casting Crowns, Newsboys, Crowder, and many more Christian artists, they also got to witness a very touching moment.
Volunteer prays with a camper at an Angel Tree camp
As summer comes to a close, stories begin flowing in about the impact of various Angel Tree camps on specific campers. Every year, great stories come out of Camp IdRaHaJe (“I’d Rather Have Jesus”) in the Denver area.
When Ann Lownin first considered volunteering with Prison Fellowship, she admits to being a little nervous.
“At first I thought it was going to be intimidating, but it is not intimidating at all,” Lowin says. “It is so rewarding, and I have met some of the most special people.”
Heidi and Rachel
“God doesn’t waste our pain.”
Heidi should know. She spent more than eight years in prison, separated from her three young children. And they were some of the most painful years of her life.
“He’s always there,” she recalls.
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.
Hayden’s life collapsed the day his daddy went to prison. But today, Hayden is getting the love and support of caring Angel Tree volunteers and the church community where it all happens.
In a major criminal justice reform speech this week, President Obama brought attention to the steep rise in America’s prison population over the last few decades—and its collateral consequences for prisoners’ children.
“Around one million fathers are behind bars,” the president said.
It’s altogether too easy for those of us with little or no connection to prison to dismiss and ignore the men and women behind bars. Content to live our own lives, we are quick to conclude that the incarcerated “got what they had coming to them,” and to write them off as inconsequential.
Long-time visitors to this blog may remember the story of Davion Only. In 2013, the then-15-year-old Davion stepped in front of a church in Florida and asked if someone would adopt him.
Davion and Connie. (Reprinted with permission of The Tampa Bay Times.
Many friends like you help us with Angel Tree year after year, whether it’s by praying, giving financially, wrapping a gift, or working at a Christmas party. This past Christmas, you helped us match 330,663 children with volunteers who delivered gifts, the Gospel, and personal messages from moms and dads behind bars.
“They say the truth sets you free, and it does,” reflects Audrey, “but first I had to go prison.”
I have been an Angel Tree church coordinator for many years, but 2014 has to have been the best ministry year yet.
How can a man who spent years behind bars call himself “lucky”? It’s because God used Angel Tree to soften his heart.
If you weren't able to participate in Angel Tree this season, you can still snag a glimpse of the difference the program is making in the lives of children with incarcerated parents.