Kelon Williams, a brother I am getting to know, handed me a book and told me he had been published in it. The title read, Stories of Faith and Courage from Prison. Upon proudly handing me the book, Kelon pointed to the pages he had written. Then he walked off and gave me time to read. Naturally, the first thing I read from the book was Kelon's contribution to it.
Kelon's story is of the courage his faith gave him to stand in defense of a fellow Christian he witnessed being persecuted by a bully in prison. The situation could have turned out bad, but it didn't, and by God's grace and providence, Kelon eventually helped that bully come to Christ.
Thoroughly impressed, I closed the book and looked for Kelon so I could ask him questions. He was nowhere around, so with time on my hands I reopened the book and read a few more stories. What I quickly discovered is that the book is hard to put down! Page after page, it's filled with compelling and inspirational life stories. In all, it is a collection of 365 vivid personal anecdotes, one for each day of the year. Some of the stories are written by prisoners or people who do volunteer work inside of prisons, and some by ex-prisoners or the people who love them. Each one is a powerful testimony in its own way.
Each story is hard to forget. Like the story of Kim Humphrey, imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam, and the story of her husband Ron Humphrey, a Vietnam vet who was imprisoned in America after abusing official influence in an effort to free his wife. Neither of the Humphreys are people you'd think of as criminal, so it is easy to feel compassion for their plight.
I followed that up by reading the story of Kim Rojas, the wife of a prisoner with HIV who'd found Christ, then the story of Mike Ownby, who transitioned from being a convict to a deacon after his release. The last story I read was of Linda Kesterson, a longsuffering mother whose love couldn't save her son, but whose answered prayers did. These stories I mentioned are just a few.
I highly recommend this book. No one who reads Storeis of Faith and Courage from Prison will come away from it without feeling uplifted and looking at prisons and prisoners differently. Many who read it might even decide they want to volunteer in a prison or perhaps financially support a prison ministry that they've heard of. (I suggest several excellent ones at the bottom of THIS page of my site.) The book shows that they work.
Kelon's story is of the courage his faith gave him to stand in defense of a fellow Christian he witnessed being persecuted by a bully in prison. The situation could have turned out bad, but it didn't, and by God's grace and providence, Kelon eventually helped that bully come to Christ.
Thoroughly impressed, I closed the book and looked for Kelon so I could ask him questions. He was nowhere around, so with time on my hands I reopened the book and read a few more stories. What I quickly discovered is that the book is hard to put down! Page after page, it's filled with compelling and inspirational life stories. In all, it is a collection of 365 vivid personal anecdotes, one for each day of the year. Some of the stories are written by prisoners or people who do volunteer work inside of prisons, and some by ex-prisoners or the people who love them. Each one is a powerful testimony in its own way.
Each story is hard to forget. Like the story of Kim Humphrey, imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam, and the story of her husband Ron Humphrey, a Vietnam vet who was imprisoned in America after abusing official influence in an effort to free his wife. Neither of the Humphreys are people you'd think of as criminal, so it is easy to feel compassion for their plight.
I followed that up by reading the story of Kim Rojas, the wife of a prisoner with HIV who'd found Christ, then the story of Mike Ownby, who transitioned from being a convict to a deacon after his release. The last story I read was of Linda Kesterson, a longsuffering mother whose love couldn't save her son, but whose answered prayers did. These stories I mentioned are just a few.
I highly recommend this book. No one who reads Storeis of Faith and Courage from Prison will come away from it without feeling uplifted and looking at prisons and prisoners differently. Many who read it might even decide they want to volunteer in a prison or perhaps financially support a prison ministry that they've heard of. (I suggest several excellent ones at the bottom of THIS page of my site.) The book shows that they work.
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