Newsletter

July 2009

Dear Friends,  

“You know, Mark. I figured something out today.” Donny and I were on the way to Walmart to pick up a pair of jeans.

He continued, “Something I never realized I before.”   

Donny was a cocaine and heroin user for close to 20 years. He’s not a user anymore. He lost his business, his wife, the custody of his daughters…“Cindy cried so hard when Child Services took her away,” he told me one day at during a jail visit. “I will never forget it. I have a lot to make up for.” He lost everything to drugs. After 2 years behind bars, he’s determined to have his life back again.

“I realized this morning that God is working in my life. I never knew how much he’s doing for me, but now I understand. I KNOW he’s looking out for me. HE put me in recovery. HE put you into my life as a mentor. He’s looking out for me. He keeps blessing me. I’m ashamed of the things I did for drugs- but that’s not me anymore. I’m a new man.”

Life is a daily battle for Donny. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard at recovery. His biggest challenge is patience. He wants to do it all-now. I’ve been his mentor for almost 6 months and have watched him grow in sobriety, self awareness and faith during that short time.

“So, what’s your success rate?” The world we live in demands results. Foundations want a return on their investment. The government wants to see lives saved per dollar. We know, however, that results belong to God. We boast not in our own achievements, but in the work God has done in the lives of each man we serve. We need look no farther than the testimony of men like Donny for evidence of the success of this ministry.

The lives of mentors are being changed as well. Just today I received this in an email- “Each inmate I meet with is a new connection in my own relationship with God.  It gets the conversation off me and my concerns, and on to his agenda of how I need to help Him.  Very healthy for the mind.”

How is your soul? There’s a saying in AA- “The program works if you work it.” Join us- as a mentor, as a member of the prayer team, as a financial supporter. Help men like Donny make a new life and find a new life yourself.

Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement and your support.  

Much grace and many blessings,  

Mark  

P.S. I don’t need to tell you these are hard times. This ministry, like every other is struggling to pay the bills. Please help by sending your gift today. Help a released prisoner find hope.