2007 - 12 - December
THE Grapevine NEWSLETTER > December 2007
Matthew 25 Ministries, Inc., A Ministry of Prison After-care
P.O. Box 5690, Lake Worth, FL. 33466
Dick & Maggie Witherow
Contact Us | (561) 432-9072
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SHOP FOR CHRISTMAS WHILE SUPPORTING US… AT THE SAME TIME!
These are words we use to describe our Online Shopping Mall and Bookstore. Now you can buy all your personal, business, church and ministry supplies through our “state of the art” Online Shopping Mall. Not only will you receive discounts, but a portion of the sale goes to support Matthew 25 Ministries. Just log onto our web site and you’ll see the invitation to shop. You will find recognized names like iTunes, Macy’s, Petsmart, Staples, Wal-Mart and many others. There is a Christian Bookstore with an unparalleled selection of Christian books, bibles, music, etc. SupportThisMinistry.com has developed partnerships with hundreds of online stores. Isn’t this great? In addition to your regular giving, you can add to your support of this ministry by buying items you were going to buy anyway, at our Online Mall, just in time for Christmas!!
How can I suppport Matthew 25 Ministries by shopping?!?
Shop Now! | Fact Sheet (PDF) | Promote Your Business & Support Us Too! (PDF) | Matthew 25 Ministries Christmast Flyer
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C.A.P.A CONVENTION
What an exciting time, as Maggie and Dick along with 400 other attendees were at the sixth annual Prison Re-Entry Conference sponsored by the Christian Association of Prison Aftercare and hosted by Prison Fellowship. It was cold in Minneapolis, but the warmth of our fellow laborers made up for it. Each of the keynote speakers expressed how vital is the work of assisting ex-offenders in making the adjustment from prison life back into society. They shared how the United States with 2.2 million behind bars, incarcerates more of their citizens than any other country in the world. There are another 5 million on probation or parole. In spite of the fact that each year 600,000 prisoners are released, our prison population continues to increase. Consider the fact that 75% of those who get out of prison are back in within a short period of time. Christian re-entry programs are making a difference since less than 10% of their graduate’s recidivate and prison administrators are beginning to take notice.
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A TESTIMONY
Depressed. I cried out to God,” Either you take my life or I will.” Thoughts of suicide kept coming on how I would do it. A few days later as I got into my truck, I turned the radio on and heard them speaking about Jesus and all that He did. I started to turn the station thinking, “I’m not going to listen to this.” Then another thought came. “You’ve tried so many other things, why not listen to this?” So I listened. For a week straight every time I got into the truck for the day’s deliveries I would listen to ministers R.W. Shambach, Kenneth Copeland, & Lester Summerall. After a week of listening —The light dawned on me! Jesus is God who came in the flesh! He is alive! He is not dead. He’s Alive!!! An overwhelming joy came over me. The depression left. A few days after that I awoke in the middle of the night speaking in a language I never heard of. Then a voice came saying, “Shut up, that’s from the devil” So I stopped. Not understanding what had happened. Being so grateful for Jesus, I asked God, “Who is doing Your work?” I then went to the telephone book and my finger landed on Gospel Rescue Mission. So I went there to see if I could help out. Every once in awhile on my one day off work I would volunteer with odds and ends. After a short period of time I started to experience excruciating pain in my neck and all of a sudden tumors started popping out all over my neck. I cried out to God, “What is going on?” I heard, “Go to the Gospel Rescue Mission.” So I left work and went right away. When I got there Maggie Witherow and their secretary Linda began to show me Scripture regarding the Baptism of The Holy Spirit. Not quite understanding what that meant, Maggie finally said, “It’s more of Jesus”. When I heard that — I received. I went to my knees and that same language that I heard in the middle of the night awhile back was there again. This time I knew without a doubt, this is from God! It is not of the devil. The pain and the tumors left immediately. Jesus truly does give life and ever so more abundantly.
Our faithful volunteer chooses to remain anonymous.
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CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS
The Florida Dept. of Corrections calls our prisons “correctional institutions”. While there was a time when prisons made an effort to correct those things that cause criminals to remain criminals, those days are long gone. There may be many reasons for abandoning attempts at rehabilitation, but the main reason is a lack of finances. With the swelling of the prison population, requiring the need to build and staff more prisons, dollars once spent on providing education and vocational training are no longer available. DOC is increasingly taking advantage of “citizen volunteers” to fill the void. However with the emphasis on security they are losing many of these volunteers.
Case in point: A recent incident resulting in the death of a female correctional officer at the hands of an inmate has caused DOC to greatly restrict the movement of inmates. One of those restrictions was to eliminate all evening programs after dark. Since many of the volunteer programs are conducted in the evening, the inmates lose the benefit of programs like AA and other spiritually based programs, including many chapel services. The absence of these spiritually and morally uplifting programs will most certainly lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair. This undoubtedly will result in a lowering of moral, which leads to discipline problems within prisons. While not belittling the death of a correctional officer, is this one incident worth causing the disruption of many successful programs that not only benefit the inmates, but assist in the peaceful operation of our prisons?
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MERRY CHRISTMAS
With hearts filled with gratitude for all our faithful friends, we wish you a wonderful Christ centered Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Don’t forget to go to our web page and shop on line.
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UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Last Call:
If you call us right away, there may still be time to include you in those who will be singing Christmas Carols at a nursing home and three area prisons on December 14th.
Dec. 9th Chapel Service Okeec. C. I.
Monday’s – Alcoholics Victorious Meetings Glades C. I. *
Tuesday’s - Anger Management, Okeechobee Jail.
Wednesday’s Sexual Purity Glades C.I.*
Thursday’s - Woman’s Work Release. *
* These programs are conducted by volunteers