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IF VERSES PATIENCE
By Lawrence Cottle
(inmate)

If I could live a Christian life without the desires of the world,
I'd live a life of happiness and in God's bosom I'd be cured.

If I could live a Christian life, without the trials of life,
I'd live a life of solitude and never live in strife.

If I could live a Christian life and never worry about the day,
I'd live a life of contentment no matter what a person might say.

But we know all of the snares above grows patience in a saints life.
So let patience have her perfect word, so that we can grow in God's eyesight.

Patience, as the Bible exclaims, is something we must have to win the race.
Without it we cannot love, have temperance, or even have faith.

So let patience endure in each and every one of your lives, especially in times like these.
And never let "if" control your life, but stand firm on patience gifts.

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(A GROWING TESTIMONY. . .Continued from page 3 )

The next time the chaplain came around he slid a Bible under the door. This time he did not walk away. I asked him what the words meant on the little papers that I read. He said that they were words of salvation. He asked me if I believed in God. I said that I didn't know, and why, what did that matter? Because, he said, if you believe in God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, you can and will be saved.
I thought to myself, "How is He going to save me?"
The Chaplain left with the words, "He will give you rest."
As I began to read the Bible I came across many verses that I had read in the tracts that the chaplain first slid under my door. I began to realize what the words meant. I finally knew that I needed to be saved. I thought to myself, "But how could God save me for all I had done." I was unworthy and didn't deserve what He was saying. Did I deserve to be saved like the Bible was saying? I came across this verse. 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold all things become new' (II Corinthians 5:17). How could I be a new creation? How could all my past be gone?
As I began to read further I began to understand that God would save me and take away my sins and set me free. He said He would give me rest.
I realized something. I wanted to be free. I wanted to be free of all my anger and hurt. I sometimes felt that the whole world was on my shoulders. I felt the shame of being who I was and, I did not like what I was. As I read on in the Bible, I found out that Jesus Christ could save me, if only I would believe in Him and ask for forgiveness and ask Him to come into my heart and save me.
That night I knelt down and prayed to God. I said, "God, I hope that you can hear me from this deep dark place. I know that I have not talked to You or asked You for anything. I do not know if I even believe in You, because my life is such a mess. I know that I have not been a very good person and I have hurt a lot of people. For that I am sorry and I do ask You to forgive me and save me from this life that I am living. You said that anything I ask in Your name, it will be given to me. Well, God, I want You to come into my heart and save me. I want to be free of this place. I want to be free of all the pain and hurt. Please help me."
As I began to open my eyes they filled with tears and it felt like the whole world was lifted off my shoulders. I knew that God had come into my heart and saved me. I knew that God loved me that much. I must have cried a bucket of tears that night. I was so overjoyed with my newfound feelings it was as if I was walking on air.
God did come into my heart and save me that day. He came to me in a lonely little jail cell and set me free. With my newfound faith I wanted to know everything I could about God and Jesus Christ. But most important of all, I wanted to make things right with all the people I hurt; my family and my friends.
That prison chaplain and I became friends and he taught me how much God loved me and that He had plans for me. I took all kinds of Bible studies and courses to help me along my walk with God and my newfound friend, Jesus Christ.
Dr. Lewis McClellen was that prison chaplain, and I am deeply in his debt for helping me find myself and showing me that I belonged within a family that would not cast me aside when times got tough. I stayed in contact with the chaplain after my release from prison. He is a good friend and I know that he will be my friend for a long time. I have not seen him for quite some time now. It has been about ten years or so since I last spoke to him, but I know that one day I will see him again. He will be with another good friend of mine, Jesus Christ. Maybe you have heard of Him. If not, you should get to know Him as I do.
As time passes on I continue to walk with Jesus Christ as my guide. Sometimes I fall behind and loose sight of Him, but I know that He is just up ahead waiting for me at the side of the trail to catch up. That is the beauty of an ever-loving God. He will never leave or forsake me. Nobody said this walk was going to be easy. In fact, I know that it will be hard. If your "broomtail" goes to buck'n and throws your keester in the dirt, what's the first thing you do? You stand up, dust yourself off and climb back up in the saddle and give'r another go. But this time you're a little smarter and it will be that much tougher to throw you the next time. That's the way it was for me. It sure wasn't easy. I spent a lot of time "eat'n dirt". I just believed in my heart that it would get better. But I have one advantage. I have God as my "Trail Boss" and Jesus Christ as my guide to lend me a hand up when I need Him. I know that I'll follow Him wherever He leads me.
So here I sit, gazing at all the wondrous beauty that God has to offer me. The mountains and the valleys, the hills and the plains. And I am so thankful that my friend, Jesus Christ, is here to guide me through this walk we call life. And most important of all, He will guide me one day to His Home far beyond the mountains high, and the valleys low, to that great log mansion that the Trail Boss has in Heaven. The one He has promised to me.

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Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, but in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.

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If the world is getting smaller, why do they keep raising postal rates?

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All I care to know about a man is that he is a human being -- that is enough for me; he can't be any worse..

Mark Twain

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CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

Editors note: I have started receiving reports from the group below. Because they are shorter than the articles in Voice of the Martyrs, I will be using them in our Christian Persecution awareness section. They are: The Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, PEWSEY, Wiltshire, SN9 5DB, UK, Tel 01672 564938, Fax 01672 565030, E-mail: [email protected]

BETHLEHEM IN FIRING LINE
HOLY LAND
15 March 2001

Bethlehem is one of the main 'flash points' in the ongoing conflict between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants and Christian residents of the town are, often quite literally, caught in the crossfire.
Although Israeli forces are today (March 15) reported to be withdrawing from other parts of the West Bank, troops remain in Bethlehem with tanks poised just about 300 yards from the Church of the Nativity. A church was damaged by Israeli tank fire in the early hours of Thursday March 14 and Bethlehem's Bible College has been forced to close down temporarily. One Christian eyewitness says: "Bethlehem is a terrifying place, schools, shops and institutions are closed. The streets are empty. The people are concerned about medicines, food, access to hospitals and care. We are trapped behind the checkpoints."
The church that was damaged was in a compound, which includes a hospital, orphanage and hostel. It is near university buildings from which Palestinian snipers had been shooting at Israeli soldiers. No one was injured during the attack but it caused panic and much distress to those in the compound at the time. An Israeli Army spokesman has promised an inquiry and insisted that soldiers were under orders not to fire in or at holy sites.
Bethlehem's Manger Square has become a place where militant Palestinian groups congregate on a daily basis. This in turn makes the area a target for the Israeli army, and the Christian residents are often caught in the middle of the ensuing violence. It is reported that two Christians have been killed in the recent violence. Some Christian homes and business premises have been damaged or destroyed and many Christians are unemployed. Others are unable to leave their homes for fear of being caught up in the violence and no longer have access to basic amenities.
PRAY.
Pray for the Christians of Bethlehem for safety and protection. Pray that the situation will improve sufficiently for them to leave their homes and be able to obtain basic necessities of life. Pray that unemployed Christians will find work and those Christian businesses whose premises have been damaged or destroyed, will be able to restart their activities. Pray for a final and lasting peace in the Holy Land.
The Barnabas Fund has a project to help Christians in Bethlehem with food and other basic needs (Project 65-377)

Editors note: The church we are helping to build in India is in the next province over to Gujarat.
CHRISTIANS CAUGHT UP IN GUJARAT VIOLENCE
INDIA
7 March 2002
Christians have been attacked and church buildings and other property damaged during the upsurge in violence in the Indian
state of Gujarat.
Reports indicate that a number of church buildings have been damaged and that at least one has been burnt down. When four Christians were on their way to the police station to report an attack on a Church-run school in Khurda village, they were assaulted by militant Hindu activists. One sustained head injuries and had to be taken to hospital, while the others received minor injuries. In Sanjeli town, the pastor of one church and his wife had to move to a safer place. Other Christians have received threatening telephone calls.
Christian leaders have added their voice to calls for an end to the violence. The All India Christian Council has also called for a ban on Hindu extremist groups that targeted Christians during the rioting. The violence broke out after a train carrying Hindu activists was set alight in Godhra on 27 February by Muslims. Some 58 people died in the fire and over 600 more were killed in the subsequent wave of revenge attacks mainly targeted at Muslims. A large-scale deployment of police and troops has helped to reduce the level of violence but many people remain fearful.
PRAY.
Pray for an end to violence and a reduction of tension between the different communities in Gujarat. Pray for protection for Christians and Christian owned property, and that Christians will look to the Lord to meet all their needs during these difficult times.

FIVE KILLED IN ATTACK ON CHURCH: PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS FACE NEW CLIMATE OF FEAR

18 March 2002
A horrific grenade attack upon a church in Islamabad yesterday signals a massive increase in insecurity, tension and fear for Christians across Pakistan as many wonder whether their church will be next.
HORRIFIC ATTACK
"I was attending the service when all of a sudden explosions occurred. I found myself standing among the bodies soaked in blood." Sarfraz Masih is one of the devastated and stunned survivors of an attack on the Protestant International Church in Islamabad on Sunday, March

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17, in which five people were killed and 45 injured. A young man, strongly suspected to be an Islamic militant linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, walked into the church at 10.50 am and began throwing grenades into the congregation of some 60 - 70 people. The terrified Christian worshippers scrambled desperately to find cover beneath chairs and behind pillars as smoke filled the church and the explosions ripped apart chairs, windows and people, splattering the walls, floor and ceiling with blood.
"Everyone panicked. I saw one woman on the steps with a piece of shrapnel in her carotid artery. She bled to death right there," recalled Mark Robinson, an American. "I saw people coming out and there were screams and shouts," said an Afghan boy praying outside the church, whose father was badly wounded in the attack. In the bloody aftermath members of the congregation picked through the devastation calling to each other. Many did not dare to move the wounded for fear of several grenades which had failed to explode still lying around the church.
Four of the people killed in the blasts have been identified by police as Anwar Baizar, an Afghan Christian; Rabia Edward, a Pakistani woman; and Barbara Green and Kristen Wormsley, an American mother and daughter. The fifth victim is believed to be a Pakistani man, and there is speculation that he was in fact the bomber who may have deliberately killed himself as part of a planned suicide attack. Seven of those who were injured are said to be in a critical condition, and doctors warn that the death toll from the attack could rise. Police, who arrived quickly on the scene, have yet to make any arrests. They are unclear as to exactly how many people were involved in the terrible attack.
CHRISTIANS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE
The attack has devastated Pakistan's Christian community. The Protestant International Church is mainly attended by foreign diplomats and their families, and most consider this to have been primarily an anti-Western rather than anti-Christian attack. However, many Pakistani Christians also regularly worshiped at the church (some of them from amongst the most influential and senior sections of Pakistani Christian society), and the church's obvious Christian identity would also have been a deciding factor in choosing it as a target for attack.
This latest terrible incident comes some five months after fifteen Christian worshipers and a Muslim policeman were brutally shot and killed by Islamic militants in a savage attack on St Dominic's Church, Bahawalpur, on Sunday, October 28. On that occasion the gunmen shouted "Pakistan and Afghanistan, graveyard of Christians," "God is Great," and "This is just the start," before opening fire on the congregation, most of whom were women and children. Just a month earlier several Islamic religious leaders in Pakistan issued a fatwa stating that two Pakistani Christians would be killed for every Muslim who dies during American strikes on Afghanistan.
With the end of the war in Afghanistan, President Pervaiz Musharraf's clamping down on Islamic militant groups, and the widely welcomed recent announcement of the end of Pakistan's discriminatory system of separate electorates, Pakistan's long-suffering Christian minority had been optimistic about their future. Now this latest devastating attack has left the future seeming far less certain. With militant Islam still a widespread and serious threat in Pakistan, many Christians are again feeling insecure and worried. If extremists can strike with such devastating effect at an international church in a "secure" area in the center of Islamabad where many Western diplomats live, how can Pakistani churches, many in isolated rural areas, have any hope of protection? As security is increased at churches across the country in the wake of the latest violence Christians are left to wonder: will it be my church next Sunday?
PRAY
Please pray for Christians in Pakistan at this deeply upsetting and disturbing time. Pray for all those wounded in the attack on the Protestant International Church. Pray for a swift and full recovery. Pray for those who have lost loved ones, that the Lord will meet with them and comfort them in their grief. Pray for all the members of the church, that they will know love, support and comfort from each other, and that they will be healed emotionally and spiritually from the scars left by this terrible experience.
Pray for the authorities in Pakistan. Pray that the security forces will be diligent and thorough in apprehending those responsible for such horrific attacks, and in protecting Christians from further violence. Pray that no further churches will be attacked.
Pray for those responsible for violence like this. Ask that the Lord will break cold and hardened hearts, help them to feel the pain of the suffering they have caused, and lead them to utterly reject their violent ways.
BARNABAS FUND E-MAIL NEWS SERVICE
The Barnabas Fund's e-mail news service provides our supporters with short urgent news briefs and prayer requests for suffering Christians around the world.

A POEM
By Daniel A Rogowski
(inmate)

My gods are all dead,
(My idols all gone).

My beliefs are laid to rest,
(Now I know instead).

No more dogma and creed,
(Now love is my steed).

Now no one sees me give, (Only charity in secret is not greed.)

THE SIGH OF THE OPPRESSED
By Ustad Khalilullah Khalili of Afghanistan
submitted by Daniel Rogowski

They killed humanity and called it politics.
They laid the world to waste and said it was wise.
In the guise of goodness towards men
They destroyed -- this is real cleverness!

In my heart, in every state, is my support.
In this world of being it is my king.
When from deceit of reason I am weary
I call God to witness -- I am grateful to my heart!

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The greatest joy is the company of the Friends.
To be parted from them is the misery of death.
Since they, i time, are gathered to dust
So life and death to us are one and the same.

Alas! Life is but a breath and pain.
A heart, torture, an eye filled with tears.
Either enduring, day by day, oppression
Or oneself stamping the jackboot upon the rest.

For the desperate, what happiness or sadness can there be
The dead taste neither the bitter nor the sweet.
With our freedom's riding - camel sunk in a morass
What matter if our goal be near or far?

When just a drop of blood falls on earth
The ring of heaven's lost a precious jewel.
Tyranny, beware! For an oppressed orphan's sigh
Will yet again destroy your mighty throne.

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THE CONDEMNED MAN
By Dale Sloss
(inmate)

As I sit here in this death cell,
Staring at a wall of stone,
Memories flash before my eyes,
And I feel so alone.

I feel like giving up all hope,
'Cause nobody cares about me.
I have nobody to turn to for help.
Oh, God, have mercy on me.

The friends I had have forgotten me.
My relatives never write.
They don't understand the hell I go through,
Each hour of the long, lonely night.

I watch the mail for just one letter,
A letter from anyone.
But the mailman always passes my cell.
For me there is none.

I know what I did was very wrong,
But I am paying now.
How can I gain people's forgiveness?
Please, someone tell me how.

Some of you made mistakes, I know,
Though not as serious as mine;
Tell me, why does everyone reject me?
Please, someone, treat me kind.

Just one letter could give me hope,
But nobody seems to care.
My home in hell is one small cell
That nobody wants to own.

For here I spend my life condemned,
A man the world disowns.

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The rest of page 9, pages 10, 11, 12 and part of page 13 are pen-pal listings...please go to our pen-pal pages to view these listings.

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"Mommy," said little Judy, "did you ever see a cross-eyed bear?"
Why, no, Judy," chuckled her mother. "But why do you ask?"
"Well, in Sunday school this morning, we sang about 'the consecrated cross-eyed bear.'"

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CALLING ALL CHRISTIANS, BE A WITNESS

By Maria

September 11th was a day that forever changed the world as we know it. I don't think in our wildest dreams that we ever imagined that terrorists could take down the grandest, tallest buildings in New York City. I wouldn't have believed it if someone told me it was going to happen. Yet happen it did. I watched in horror as the buildings collapsed.
It was like something from a movie. Like most Americans, I was glued to the television set for days, listening every day of who was responsible and why.
Then I wondered, could this have been prevented? The terrorists lived in South Florida, sunning themselves by the pool, going to nightclubs, getting rough with some of the dancers, and drinking alcohol. All things which are against Islamic Teachings.
So, were these men truly devoted to Islam? Or were they just confused young men who were being used by Osama Bid Laden to further his cause against the west?
I know the government has their way of finding terrorists to try to make sure this doesn't happen again. Stopping them at the border, checking to see if their name is on a list. If that fails, then racial profiling. Talking to young Muslims or anyone who might look "like a terrorist." But I wonder what would have happened if the terrorists might have met up with a " real Christian." I don't mean a 'get dressed to go to church on Sunday like you've done since you were little because your family "goes Christian"'; I mean an on fire Bible-believing Holy Ghost filled Christian. Since they are so rare, how about an 'I care about you, God is real, let me help you, compassionate, caring, reach out to my neighbor, invite you to church Christian.' Or an 'it's the end times and we need to get all people on this earth ready to meet Jesus or we will be responsible for their souls Christian' who also feels they should reach out to all people within a 2 block radius type of Christian.

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What would have happened had the terrorists run into some of the Christians above? In their zeal to fit in with us while waiting to blow us up in the air, would they have agreed to go with us to church? I don't see why not. I mean, they had never seen a nude bar before, or swimming pool, or drank alcohol. All that was new to them, and so would the church have been.
Could this tragedy been averted? Could they have met the One True God and learned His Son was Jesus? That killing others was wrong, and they have been lied to?
They have been taught all about us horrible Americans. How we are greedy, selfish, and only want to rule the world, while others live in dire poverty. Had some of us reached out to them, not looking upon them as foreigners and people who weren't like us, but as human beings, it's possible Sept 11th would have just been another peaceful day.
Every last one of us who call ourselves by the name Christian should get on our knees and ask God for forgiveness of our sins. We are guilty of the sin of prejudice and for sticking within our own families and peer groups. Most of us anyway.
An example of this was when I lived in Florida. There is a large elderly population there, as well as a large Cuban population. I would hear how people talked about the Cubans.
Foreigners , criminals, and other such wonderful words were mostly how they were described. How much more would the Afghanistan people be discriminated against? For Christian people, discrimination is not God-like. Sad to say, most churches are racially divided. Not all, but I would say about 90%. In heaven there will be saints. Not black saints, white saints, or any other kind, just saints.
The next time you see someone who is in this country alone, without the comfort of their family. Ask them to go to church with you. Tell them about Jesus. While you might think they aren't listening, or it's a waste of your time, the word of God says, " My word will not return to me Void."
Only God knows what will happen in the future. But that doesn't mean for Christians just to sit around and say,"Well, it's the Lord's will." or "it's the End Times". It is the End times. That is why we must try to get every soul into God's Kingdom that we can. We must rise against the discrimination and anger of the world, and always be watchful for any opportunity to invite someone to church and tell him or her about Jesus.
Look for someone you don't know in your neighborhood and Invite them to church. If they aren't interested, leave them your personal info so they can get a hold of you if they change their mind. Write on it, " Jesus Loves You and so do I " or " you are welcome to worship with us". If they decide to go and have never been to a church before, explain to them what is happening. Introduce them to the pastor. Just make them feel welcome. Treat them as you would want to be treated if you were going to church for the first time.
We owe that to our fellow Americans, to our country, and to Almighty God. I would hate to have someone look up at me from hell and ask me " WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
We must obey the Bible and witness so we don't end up in the pit of fire right along with them. I want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant " on judgment day. And I know you do too.

SOMETHING BAD
by Kirsten Ross
(child of an inmate)

Something bad has happened to me
And you could never tell,
Becuz I live my life in the present,
In the past I do not dwell.

I had an excellent father,
Who had an excellent life.
Instead he through it all away,
His children and his wife.

I do not remember when it all began.
I do not wish to know.
All he did was leave one day
Before the fallen snow.

He was not the same man he used to be,
He changed himself all together.
He was not there to be with us.
I thought he was gone forever.

Time went by and I found out
What changed him was cocaine.
Then these adults tried to tell me,
Two people he had slain.

And then, like that, he was gone,
Yet we talk to him when he calls.
And he is still a part of us,
Just, he is behind cement walls.

He is getting better now
Out of reach of changing drugs.
I wish they had done it sooner though,
For now he lives with crooks and thugs

I tell you this in confidence,
Hoping that you do not judge me.
Because I hope you understand now,
That who someone is you cannot see.

I love him dearly,
With all my heart,
And my warning is not fake.
Things happen, you can forgive,
Even if it's a mistake.

Heed my last warning please,
For it could come to some use.
Please do not try experimenting,
It could lead to drug abuse.

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WHY HAVE YOUR FORSAKEN ME? (Matthew 28:46)
By Jeannine Robinson

Why have I been abandoned? Why have you forgotten me? These questions might be often asked in the silence of an inmate's loneliness. While Jesus hung on the cross, He too asked this question of His Father in Heaven. Jesus directed His question to His Father. An inmate may be quietly directing it to a friend, a brother or sister, a parent, and yes, even God.
Why have you abandoned me? This is a question I can bet almost every single inmate asks at one time or another while experiencing the same anguish and agony that Jesus felt on the cross. I see this question asked in many ways daily when I read my prison ministry mail. Prisoners are often dropped from the list of family priorities. Following their sentencing after the guilty decision is rendered by a judge or jury, a man or woman loses every single aspect of privacy he or she has ever known. Incarceration is separation. It's the immediate severing of ties to friends and family. And with this a whole new stigma is born, the very stain or mark that sticks to the inmate. It's a sort of association concept resulting in questions like:"What will people think or say about me if I write to an inmate?"
For some whose family members are caught up in crime and land in jail, there might be some hesitation to keep that bond, once strong and loving, with their son, daughter, father, wife, husband, whoever, because of the same stigma that hovers over the homes of their neighbors. There is often an array of "victims" who suffer from a single crime whether or not they deserve it.
Sometimes family members hesitate to write or visit. Seeing a loved one behind bars is so painful, the visit does nothing but confirm the reality of it all. Some people have a lot of difficulty facing reality and that is not a character fault. That is simply being human. Some families simply cannot afford the trips to and from the prisons. Some families are so poor, especially in the third world countries where sentences are far more extreme for far lesser crimes than those in the West, family members cannot even afford a stamp to mail a letter or card to an incarcerated family member. Often, the incarcerated member was the bread winner.
The absence of letters and/or visits much of the time has little to do with being abandoned. Just as God never would abandon His own Son, a mother or father is not likely to abandon his or her own son.
Some inmates are blessed by family visits or ecstatic to find even the smallest of parcels sent in to them - a sign of being remembered, thought about and cared about. Some receive small amounts of money that may not purchase huge quantities of much needed supplies but produces something that money cannot buy - proof of an undying love for the incarcerated. This is unconditional love, a rare commodity in today's world.
God blesses those who stick by their loved ones but also, He blesses and understands far greater than we do, those who cannot face the despair in the face of the man or woman behind the screen or bars or across the table during the rare moments of being so close yet so very separated
Time passes and, as we all know, time heals. But time also puts distance between events. Things change. People change.
I think the most agonizing moment for an inmate is when he or she discovers that the spouse's interest has waned.
"I can't blame her", said one inmate in one of his letters. "After all, I've been in here for 10 years now. I can't expect her to wait another 10." I could almost see the agony of this sense of loss and having lost. I pictured him trying to word his sentences so that I would understand that he was angry because of his helplessness, but willing to accept this time had to come.
"But the worst part", he continued, "is that I can never get to see my kids and I often wonder what they think of me." He gingerly side-stepped his view about wondering if he would be (or may already be) "replaced" by someone else in the lives of his wife and children. Quietly, in his cell, when the lights go out, he sits there thinking: "Why have you forsaken me?"
Letters to daddies and mommies become fewer and fewer. Visits dwindle and finally stop. Mothers and fathers of inmates become ill and pass away. Inmates sometimes suffer from horrendous guilt because they've never had that last chance to say a proper goodbye or tell someone they loved them.
"My mother and my only friend died last month" another inmate wrote me. "She was all I had". I don't know how he learned of his mother's death but he added when writing about his grief that "God took her away from me". Then came that calm anger again when he wrote: "She's all I had and now even she's left me".
In the weeks that followed the bad news, I'm certain this inmate often repeated to himself: "Why have you forsaken me?"
This is so NOT about being a criminal or being in jail or having that stigma to your history. This is about unconditional love. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son ..." (John 3:16 paraphrased). Just as God sent His Son to save mankind (so that people would have faith IN PEOPLE), so should families and friends support one another and have faith (in God AND IN ONE ANOTHER).
Even though families may not stay connected when a person has been incarcerated for many years and letters dwindle, visits begin to drift off, it's so very important that you, even though you're incarcerated and limited in your method of contact, continue to stay in touch, despite that they may not respond every time. If at all possible, keep sending your letters and stay in touch with whatever family you have - it's a lifeline to the outside, a lifeline that you must tie around your waist and never lose. Never cut that line. If you have no family and are experiencing the sting of the "association stigma", where old friends and close people hesitate to visit or write, circulate your name for pen-pals - reputable ones who might throw you a new lifeline and reinforce an otherwise sense of disconnection.
You have not been forsaken. Family members sometimes just need a little extra push. Keep sending them cards and letters if you can. There are many who remember those in prison. You are never alone. God knows you and loves you. We are only on this earth for a short time. God is forever.
If any of you find the need to talk about your own "association stigma", or simply want to connect with someone, find a friend through some of the friendship correspondents.

Jeannine Robinson
Beacon Prison Ministry International,
P.O. Box 39544
374 Lakeshore Road East
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5G 4S6

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