A Fresh Start

By Michael Parker (754-611)

I was raised in church all my life and thought I had life figured out. That changed in 2018 when I was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison.  At the time, I thought my life was over, but prison would turn out to be one of my greatest blessings.

It started in Lorain Correctional.  That’s where I met Mike Swiger from True Freedom Ministries. Mike has a gift to teach, and the Lord used him to reprogram my mind with biblical truth in those weekly Bible studies.  After transferring to Grafton Correctional, I participated in TF’s offender-led technology computer courses, which equipped me for employment upon release.  Dave Wessel taught their ALPHA program, and that challenged me to go deeper in Christ.

Four and a half years later, I was in a halfway house with nothing but the clothes on my back.  I contacted TF, and they blessed me with clothes within days of my initial call. But that wasn’t all. It had been years since I attended church but now that I was following Jesus, the desire returned.  That’s when I reached out to Dave from True Freedom Ministries.  Dave agreed to pick me up every Sunday and take me to church, where I could worship the Lord with him and his family.  The first day he showed up, he stepped out of his car, and I extended my hand for a shake.  That’s when he opened his arms and gave me a bear hug.  In prison, contact between officials and offenders is prohibited, but Dave’s hug was a pleasant surprise.

God has really been good to me, and TF has been a huge part of that goodness.  I don’t know where I would be without their unconditional love and support.  It truly pays to trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5,6).