Related to SD…
An instructor attended Sheriff Joe Arpio's Annual Banquet this year, there were three testifiers who currently work for the Sheriff's Office who were previously incarcerated. The first testimonial was by a woman with three children, who had been locked up by the police after a year and a half of using methamphetamine. After a month in jail while awaiting her sentencing release, and not knowing what she was going to do with her life, she exclaimed that she was bored, so she signed up for a few religious meetings. The first one was HATS. She stated that the guy who taught it was on fire about life and had a firm conviction in what he was saying about God's control!

It turned her around with some serious thought about dropping the drugs that were holding her back, and clouding her thinking. Now she is very grateful and fully free from the drugs. After being release from jail, as stated above, she now works for the Sheriff’s Department.

From ML…
The biggest thrill I get from being involved with teaching HATS in the Maricopa Jail and the Arizona. State Prison is watching the faces of the attendees when they get a glimmer of what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. When they get a feeling of who they really are. Their faces just light up with excitement.

My favorite topics to talk about are God, and Man. The inmates can begin to see who they really are…spiritually, mentally, creations of God, wholly good, beloved, and complete. They can start seeing that it applies to their neighbors with whom they may have a problem. This is especially true when they are dealing with so-called “enemies.”

I feel that I'm getting as much out of the classes because it brings these truths to my own consciousness. Some times, I find myself getting irritated in daily life, and then I remember the lessons that I'm teaching. As a porter at the door of thought, I can denounce it and know only the reality. Regardless of what my eyes and ears suggest to me, I know that God is really the only Cause, and it relaxes me and I let the problems evaporate.

I had a particularly vivid example of that a few weeks ago when I was driving to the women's jail, and came to a road block on U.S. 60. Traffic went from 4 lanes down to one, and the police had not shut down the on ramps, so new traffic was trying to merge into an existing jam causing a bigger jam. I was thinking how could the traffic engineers and police do this. (This was for scheduled maintenance on the overpasses). I was unsettled mentally, then I remembered where I was going and laughed at myself and immediately relaxed, and the traffic smoothed out. I saw I was going to be an hour late for my scheduled class. When I got to the jail the room was available, the control tower called out that HATS class would be starting in 10 minutes. I had a full class and the ladies indicated that they had just gotten off of a special work detail cleaning up the area for an unexpected visit for a church leader. The ladies were grateful that I was an hour late.

I am grateful to be working with this program. I'm putting about 300 miles a week in travel and spending 3 days a week. It is a joy just to see those faces light up. They get a peek at the truth about themselves, and as with all of us, we start seeing what has always been true about ourselves. We’re God’s child.

From LH…
Volunteering to serve in the Jails and Prisons is one of the most rewarding things we can ever do. God showers us with rewarded, blessings because of the good we do and represent. One thing we learn is: to cut to the chase and see through the miasma of wrong thought and correct it through listening for God’s guidance. We thereby are able to guide the incarcerated from lessons we have learned from the Holy Bible and from the practical examples of our own experiences derived through prayer. The men and women grasp it and yearn to learn how to pray and receive God’s guidance. We can really reach out to this receptive thought!

In the men’s new 4th Avenue Jail, I am now holding two services back to back. From our Weekly Bible Lesson, I am able to quickly prepare at the top of the week for a Non-Denominational Service to about 15 to 20 men in each Pod at the facility. Doing this early each week gives me time to ponder their needs prayerfully, receiving ideas on what to share as I read my Daily Bible Lesson. Their lessons are most likely my lessons learned. They are then shared in the non-denominational format required by the Chaplains Office. There are many sound, fundamental Christian concepts expressed in our weekly lesson which allow me to clearly explain the actions Jesus and his Disciples, derived from whole-hearted prayer. This is a Sunday School type of setting. The word gets out to the other inmates, and the attendance continues to grow.

While serving in the Estrella Women’s jail and teaching a HATS class this past year, one gal listened closely and wrote down as much as she could. After her first class, she asked for a visit from me. She reported that she would never be able to see her daughter ever again. Between the family friction and the restrictions for visits at the Estrella facility, in tears she explained that it was too tough. We dug into the true meaning of love, the love God has for us that we reflect. This was a whole new concept for her. I showed her what to study from our religious textbook. I was led to have her read a few pages everyday in the chapter on Prayer, and then selections in the Marriage chapter, and that I would support her in prayer. The next week she couldn’t wait to tell the whole class the news about love as she now saw it. Then she held up a large envelope with pictures and a great letter from her daughter and fiancé (news that was previously being held back from her). She was not a little comforted, she was joyful, triumphant!

Inmate Testimonials »