DFOT Prison Ministry

The St. Francis Prisoner Rescue Project a message from Direction for Our Times    Dear lay apostles, Working together we have already reached 75 more prisons. The average cost per prison box of booklets is about $15-35. This pays to ship the box of booklets from our shipping warehouse to the prison or chaplain themselves. For example, we have a prison right now in Tabor City that is waiting for 1100 Booklets but needs to have the shipping covered as the prisoners and chaplains can not afford this. Right now as I look at the pile of back orders, there is still a big stack of prisons (at least 100) that are waiting for these grace filled messages.   CLICK HERE TO PAY FOR ONE BOX OF SHIPPING (Make sure to choose increments of Dollar Amount you would like to give) (click to watch video)  Or Call to Pick a Prison Near You! 1-708-496-9300 Jesus gave us the messages to give to Prisoners but it is up to us lay apostles to reach out to them! The messages have been written, they have been printed, they are sitting at the warehouse and they just need a few people to help cover the expense of shipping them.  Call us today at 1 708 496 9300 to pick a prison that is right for you or just let us choose. Click here to help us a ship a box of booklets today. Thanks, Ryan and the Prison Rescue Mission Team St. Francis, Pray for us! p.s- UPDATE as of March 26th, 2014- We have had a lot of the prison back orders covered over these last four days. Since Saturday we have been able to ship to 150 new prisons that are waiting for books. We are hoping to get help with all remaining prison back orders. In order to do that we need assistance to cover another 100 prisons with amounts from $15-$35 dollars. You may pick a prison by calling us or just donate to any prison by visiting link. Here are some of the prison locations that still need shipping covered in order to get them sent out: -Lovelady, Texas (200 Booklets) -Huntsville, Texas (2o0 Booklets) -Beumont, Texas (200 Booklets) -Bonham, Texas (200 Booklets) -Dallas, Texas ((200 Booklets) -Edingburg, Texas (100 Spanish/100 English Booklets) -Amarillo, Texas (200 Booklets) -Tabor City, North Carolina (1100 Booklets) -London, Ohio (1100 Booklets) -Marion, Ohio (Sample Set) -Marysville, Ohio (150 Booklets) -London, Ohio (700 Booklets) -Leavittsburg, Ohio (550 Booklets) -Chillicothe, Ohio (Sample Set) -Mansfield, Ohio (600 Booklets) -Lancaster, Ohio (Sample Set) -Marion, Ohio 2nd(600 Booklets) -Toledo, Ohio (250 Booklets) -Grafton, Ohio (250 Booklets) -Caldwell, Ohio (600 Booklets) -Waymart, PA (Complilation Book) -Houtzdale, PA (100 Booklets) -Graterford, PA (600 Booklets) -LaBelle, PA (300 Booklets) -Lino Lakes, MN (75 Booklets) -Still Water, MN (25 Booklets) -St. Cloud, MN (350 Booklets) -Leesburg, NJ (60 Booklets) -Lovelock, NV (200 Booklets) -Trenton, NJ (Sample Set) -White Sulphu, WV (50 Booklets) -Jamestown, ND (200 Booklets) -Goffstown, NH (30 Booklets) - Tennesse Colony, TX (12 Booklets) -Huntsville, TX (200 Booklets) -Laurinburg, NC (325 Booklets) -Clinton, NC (40 Booklets) -Hoffman, NC (110 Booklets) -Brunswick, NC (700 Booklets) -Raleigh, NC (25 Booklets) - Raleigh, NC 2nd (Sample Set) -Lexington, NC (Sample Set) -Bayboro, NC (30 Booklets) -Maury, NC (225 Booklets) -Newport, NC (312 Booklets) -Manson, NC (50 Booklets) -Raleigh, NC (100 Booklets) -Butner, NC (420 Booklets) -Nashville, NC (250 Booklets) -Smithsfield, NC (250 Booklets) plus another stack of about 50 you can choose from, here is a pic :) !

“Outlined In Black” by Mary Carter

Todays guest blogger is Mary Carter. Mare is one of the kindest, gentlest women I have ever met. And, such a beautiful writer:

The reading for today is John 16:20-23, Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world . . .”

Have you ever noticed after spending an hour of meditation with Jesus that everything becomes sharper in focus? Like it was outlined in black? That’s how this morning has been for me. We have a bird in the kitchen that chirps when the first rays of sun come pouring in through the window. This morning I heard him. He chattered non-stop while I prepared the coffee. Is he always this cheerful in the morning, I asked myself? With steaming cup of coffee in hand, I headed back to my bedroom retreat. I stopped long enough to peer through the skinny glass window that lines the front door. I had been eagerly watching for the newly planted grass to cut through the pale brown sand that has been our front yard for the past four years. Excitedly, I noted shoots of green, glistening in the morning sun. My gaze soon focused beyond the yard and into the drive. My son’s girlfriend had been sitting there in her car waiting for my son to come out. She noticed the family dog, Hank, sitting on the porch looking expectantly at her, so she got out and greeted him. He lapped up the attention she gave him while at the same time, my son, who came bounding out of his room, gave me a hug and I lapped up the attention too. As I watched the two teenagers greet each other with happy smiles and drive away, I felt a small hole pierce my heart that within seconds tore into a huge gaping hole. I was caught suddenly by a memory, outlined in black, of my mother standing at her kitchen window with her steaming cup of coffee in hand, watching as each of her children gathered their things and went off to find their way in the world that day. In the later years of her life, my mother spent a good portion of her morning in a pink bathrobe that zipped from her head to her feet. It had pockets that were full of wadded up, mostly used, tissues. How like my mother I am, I thought, as I blinked back tears and looked through the pockets of my robe for a tissue . . . and how unlike my mother I am too, not finding a tissue when I needed it most. I wondered if my grandmother and my grandmother’s mother used to stand at the door with their cups of coffee and watch their children leave each morning. I wondered which of my daughters would do the same thing I’m doing now . . .

Thank you, Jesus, for making each morning new for us. Thank you for cheerful birds, tender green shoots of grass, fresh love, morning tears, and your refreshing grace.

***I am active in women’s ministry and I am keenly aware that with Mother’s Day approaching, many women will see another Mother’s Day pass with their child still in prison. They need constant encouragement, as they hardly know a day that finds peace in their hearts. There is a longing for that child that can’t be quenched without graces from Jesus. I beg each of you to pray for these mothers and constantly remind them to see their complicated lives through the lens of heaven. In Volume One, July 19, 2003, Our Blessed Mother states: “I am a good example of trust, dear children of the light. My time on earth was filled with times when a heavenly perspective was necessary. If you view the world from a worldly perspective, you will feel fear quite often; but heavenly perspective grants peace and emotional security.

Thank you for this touching blog post, Mare! I look forward to more in the future! Love and hugs to you!

God bless,

Bonnie