This letter is from the wife of an inmate we recently met while ministering behind prison walls.  What a sweet testimony!  Names have been changed...

Hello,                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
 
My  Name is Tonya, my son and I were at  the camp this weekend in Texas. I would just like to say Thank you so much for this great day! There was a lot of emotion for us this weekend. I cried all day at the camp that we had at the  church. Hearing other stories was just so sad, I learned a lot. I would like to share a story that I couldn’t really say out loud without me just crying there at the church. Here is my story:  I had just got a new home with my husband and everything was as happy as can be when I moved into my house I found out that I was pregnant, it was the happiest time in our lives. When my son was
6 ½ months old my husband when out with friends and had a lot to drink made the biggest mistake of his life and ended up in prison with a 35 year sentence. I went into shock; I started to have anxiety attacks, depression, hate, anger. I
was very upset with GOD and couldn’t understand why this had happened, why I was feeling this way? There was a lot whys? I had to sell a lot of things from our home and do lots of changes. It was a very difficult time for me. One day my
sister-n-law told me GOD wouldn’t give you anything you could not handle. I didn’t really understand that, I was like what do you mean? She said there are always people in this world that have it worse than us. And things could have
been a lot worse. It was just hard for me to understand what she was trying to tell me. She said I know my brother is in prison but he’s still alive. I said ok to myself and thought she has a point. Even though I have all this pain in me I decided hey GOD gave me a son just as this happened. And I know that I have to be strong and move forward with my life and do everything in my power and strength to be a good mom to my son. No matter what happened I have always tried my best to take my son to visit his dad and to be there for him. There was times when I was so angry at him but just kept everything inside of me, because we have a son that needs all the love that he can get. 
 
God has given me a wonderful son.  He is 8 years old right now; an “A” Student who loves school very much his favorite
subject is math. He loves and can play basketball like you couldn’t believe. He is a big Kobe Bryant fan from the Los Angeles Lakers. I get letters from school that he is a great student, respectful, organized and receives many awards. We
are very proud of him. My parents, brothers, grandmas, in-laws, have been very supported of me and have helped me with my son very much. Without them I don’t know what else what have kept me so strong. We are all very much involved in his
life and keep him busy with his sports and activities.

Well the main part I wanted to share with you was that when this camp came up my husband signed up for it was very excited, there was a sign or letter or something there at the prison at had a list of inmates that where approved. He did not see his name and was very disappointed. My son and I have been going to church and been praying a lot that one day my son would have another opportunity like that to go spend time with his dad as the one my husband had mentioned about. All of a sudden One day I’m here at work and I had a voice mail from a lady named Brenda with a prison ministry. When I heard the message she says “just calling to confirm that your son will be able to attend the one day camp with his father”. When I heard this message I just couldn’t believe it. I called back right away and was like really is he approved. Brenda called me back
and said let me call the prison and make sure everything is ok and I’ll call you back in about a week or so. I was still very nervous and didn’t know if I should tell my son or not. Brenda actually called me back later that day and said yes
your husband is approved. After that call I was in the internet trying to get a flight out to San Antonio. I couldn’t believe it the flights where $69 each way to go out there. Everything was happening so fast, My parents and brother where
excited and decided to fly up there with me to make sure my son and I were going to be ok, they didn’t want us to go by ourselves cause it was a long way that we came. As they day got closer I called Brenda again, She probably that I was
crazy cause I was like ok so we are approved right. I guess I just wanted her to tell me a hundred times. Well as the day comes we are finally here at the  Church, my mom drops my son and I off. As we are going in my son and I are very
nervous. My mind is going like a hundred miles an hour. Because this is the first time my husband and Son are going to have a lot of time, and bond with each other. All my son has ever had was to talk to him though a glass window in
jail and then when we would have to travel very far to see him for 2 days for  four hours in prison, sure he got to hug him and hold him but never do anything else with him. He was nervous also he didn’t want to eat he just wanted to go
with his dad. Well we get all registered in and we meet two wonderful volunteers that were to be with my son the whole time their names are Rhonda and Jack, very very nice people. We got to talk and get to know each other. Then they took my
son to see his dad. I gave my son a big hug and kiss and told him you have a great day with your dad son. As I sat in the First Baptist Church all I could think of what my son was doing, and feeling.  Getting this chance to be with his dad was like all of our dreams come true. We watched the videos and I just started to cry and cry there in my chair. I just really listened to everything that was going on in there.  Everyone was so nice, everyone going through pain in their lives in different ways but all they
same emotion. As I sat there I felt GOD next to me, as all these years I have blinded myself to realize that he has also been there for me. I mean yes I’m a single parent but I have a great Gift my son. I realized GOD brought me here today, he approved this visit for us, and one thing I couldn’t get over was a lot of the camp dealt with basketball. My son is really a great basketball player and he has always wanted his dad to see him play. As it was time to see pictures of the kids with their dads, I see basketballs going and I’m in complete shock , GOD has gave my son the chance to at least dribble the ball for
his dad. Then they say there are girls from the Olympics that are performing basketball tricks. I was just blown away. I was like my son is there with his dad and there is basketball involved, wow GOD did all this for him. I was just so happy and in tears about the whole time I was there in church. This weekend was very powerful for me I felt GOD right next to me, to give my son the opportunity to bond with his dad was just amazing I can’t even begin to explain it. GOD is so powerful! This was something that just hit me like a lighten bolt, everything was just so nice, made me see life in a whole different view. I feel a lot of pain, hate and anger that has been lifted off my back. 
 
When my son came out of the prison he walked up to me hugged me so tight and just cried and cried his eyes out. He couldn’t even explain to me what kind of day he had with his dad, for the first time in his life he had that chance to just eat, play, and enjoy his dad. He was so thankful, he told me he had the best day in his life….Jack told me as he gave me my son, he said you have a wonderful son; it was an amazing day for all of us. He said your son is good with a basketball; he did get a little disappointed that he couldn’t make a basket for his dad. But he had a great time. I gave Jack and Rhonda a big hug
and told them thank you so much. Everyone was so wonderful. The next day I got to visit with my husband he was so happy, I have never seen a big smile on his face like I did this Sunday. I just wanted to thank you Scottie from the bottom
of my heart, my husband’s heart, and my sons heart for putting this program together, you’re a wonderful person, I wish I had the chance to personally thank you and give you the biggest hug ever. You have really impacted our lives with
great happiness, and so many others in this world. In these 8 years that my husband has been in prison, I have never felt the way I feel now. We have accepted GOD into our hearts and lives and will never turn back; we will continue to move forward.  Thank you for all the wonderful gifts and for you being the person you are!! I could keep going on and on. But I will end this long letter now. 
                         
Love, 

Tonya

Behind prison walls. 
Few people want to be there.  Yet there are some that go willingly, giving time, money, and energy to share the message of Hope and Salvation.  Once you go in, you want to go back again and again.  To see a life changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ is contagious.  High fences and razor wire cannot keep the work of the Holy Spirit out.  He goes before us, stays with us, works through us, and, long after we’re gone, continues to fill inmates’ lives with the Peace and Hope that only Christ
can bring.  God is at work – behind prison walls. 
 
Torres Unit, Hondo, Texas, September 22, 2012.  The Texas sun was shining and it promised to be a warm day.  Inside the gymnasium, approximately 40 inmates gathered in anticipation of something that had never happened before.  Their children were being brought in, behind prison walls, to spend the day with them.  The inmates had worked hard for this day.  Their conduct had been stellar, they had studied, they had been counseled, and they were seeing firsthand the fruits of their labor. 
What was about to happen was a privilege not many inmates get to experience.  In speaking with many of them, they were scared to death.  It had been years since some of them had laid eyes on their children.  Brought about through the pain of
her own broken relationship with her father, Scottie Barnes of Forgiven Ministry works to see men and women that are in prison have a restored relationship with their children, and ultimately a personal relationship with God through Jesus
Christ.  Only the hand of God can bring it about!
 
The male prisoners lined up on one side of the prison yard.  Their children were escorted in with mentors and lined up on the other side of the yard.  As one of our team members called out the name of a prisoner, that prisoner and his children ran to each other, embraced and shouted with joy, all to the cheers of 150+ volunteers that had come to minister on this day.  Not a dry eye could be found.  What was happening here was a miracle – over 18 years in the making.  It couldn’t be done many had said.  And yet there were a few that said it could be.  They had prayed that the doors would be opened behind prison walls in
Hondo, TX.
 
Barracks surround this prison yard.  Inmates not in the program could see what was taking place.  This same yard where physical and verbal altercations had taken place, where blood had been shed between gang members, was now an arena of joy and celebration.  Something greater was happening.  Emotional and spiritual barriers were coming down.  Lives
were being touched and changed from the inside out.
 
As platform guests for Forgiven Ministry, Dribble for Destiny was privileged to perform and share with these inmates and
children.  For two hours we had the opportunity to share about a Heavenly Father that loves us and cares for us and
has a specific plan for our lives.  Our being there was a chance to tell them that it is halftime – time to  make adjustments.  Fix the game plan.  What didn’t work in the first half must be corrected so that the same mistakes are not repeated. Whether or not they were looking at parole next week, next month, next year, or never, God has a plan for their lives and they can be set free, even behind prison walls.  Because of the generosity of some of our supporters, we were able to give each of the children an official Olympic pin from the 2012 Olympics as a reminder of their day with dad as well as a reminder that God has a special plan for their lives.  Thank you to those of you that give so that we can go!
 
Leaving the prison we headed over to do a program for the caretakers – those that care for the children of the inmates while dad is in prison.  How sweet to hear testimonies of the mothers, grandparents, aunts, and sisters about how God is
working in their lives because of what they are experiencing.  So many times we go to be an encouragement and come away being so much more encouraged than we dreamed.  These are warriors that are working hard so that their children’s children do not repeat the same mistakes.
 
Sunday, September 23, 2012, Torres Unit Chapel, Hondo, Texas.  Scottie shared for  45 minutes about her father who was imprisoned and died while there. Dressed in his prison uniform and holding two coins not amounting to more than 25 cents, his body was shipped home in a wooden box.   God used that story to change lives that morning.  After the service Scottie asked to please speak with the harder criminals, the ones not allowed to go to the chapel service.  There was little time left and the officials said it might not be possible.  She knew in her heart that she had to speak to these men.  Granted permission, she shared for about ten minutes.  Once again lives were changed. The men stood as she spoke, not wanting to sit down.  When Scottie asked the guard why they wouldn’t sit, he responded that they had great respect for her.   Standing meant that they honored her.  One prisoner, a gang leader, asked if he could speak to her at the close of the service.  As they visited, he gave his heart to Christ.  He was changed.  He went back to his dorm crying and wanted to share the news that he had been redeemed.  Other inmates in his dorm began to weep as he shared what he had experienced.  And it happened behind prison walls.
 
Last week as we drove from South Carolina to San Antonio we knew the blessings would come.  But the magnitude of that blessing was far greater than we ever imagined.  Going through New Orleans we received a phone call from Tully Blanchard,
one of the original Four Horsemen.  We have worked with Tully in prisons all over the southeast for years.  What we didn’t know was that he was now living in San Antonio.  He was calling to see if Sherri could golf in a fund raiser on
Monday.  Sherri asked him, “Tully, do you know where I am heading right now?”   He had no idea we were heading to San  Antonio!  The tournament was held by Cornerstone Church to raise funds for their Christian school.   Pastor John Hagee and his church, one of San Antonio’s largest, have a heart for missions and long to see lives changed.  As a prelude to going into prisons, we always listen to his sermon on the Soul Winner’s Crown.  Scottie Barnes has tried for years to meet Pastor Hagee, knowing that he had a heart for inmates, but had no connection.  After the tournament on Monday, Sherri was personally introduced to him  and shared with him about Scottie’s passion for prisoners and their families.  He told her to ask  Scottie to come to the church, go to the security personnel, and they would personally escort her to his office.  
  
God’s plan is big. It’s bigger than we can imagine.  And His plan is about Him.  The beauty in that is that He uses us to fulfill that plan!  He orchestrates peoples’ lives, He longs to bless us.  We are His passion, His heartbeat.  What happens when we follow His lead and go where He sends us is beyond  what our tiny minds can fathom or dream.  Whether it is in a small church, on international soil, in communist countries, in a mega church, or a workplace, God is at work.  He uses our unique gifts and talents to bring people to Him.  He is light in dark places.  And He longs to restore broken lives to the purpose He has planned.  How humbling to be used.  Even behind prison walls.