Teresa

Dear Bible Ministry,

Hello and happy Sunday to you all.  My name is Teresa. I am a resident at the California Institution for Women.  I’ve been here since 2016.  During this time, I have learned the value and worth of who I am truly through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  That is why I do not label myself as an inmate or a prisoner.  My prison ran deep on the inside long before I ever came here.  Today I wake daily and thank the Lord for my internal freedom.  I am free from addiction abuse and trauma 7 years solid strong!  During my first year in 2017 I was given a pamphlet with inspiring stories from warriors, a part of your ministry.  I was so blessed the day I received my Bible, the significance of having my name engraved on it to me was everything because it told me loud and clear this is yours! Nobody, not even this place, can take it from you, like they’ve taken everything else.  Throughout these years the Lord has put people in my path that have sat down with me and showed me how to read His Word, understand Him and internalize Him.  Today I am grateful and humbled by my discipline and faith in our Lord.  I came here an alcoholic but today I am an alcohol and drug counselor state certified, and I teach women the beautiful art of recovery daily.  I have a close friend who has just recently been blessed to begin his journey outside of these walls once again.  I am hoping that I can pay it forward by touching him with the armor of his very own Bible for guidance and protection the same way it has for me.  He is in a state funded sober living home now and buses everyday rain or sleet or snow to meet his responsibilities.  When he shared with me this morning that he found a church just down the street and he was on his way.  I immediately thought of your ministry!  I understand your volume of requests are all personally valuable and that there can’t be any guarantee.  Please know everything you do for incarcerated worshippers down to the newsletters are so greatly appreciated by us. 

May God continue to bless you and keep you, Teresa