Stories

Through our Twice Blessed, Manna House, and Jail Ministry programs, Reaching Up and Reaching Out has touched the lives of many women in the Mercer County area. Our ministries help women break the cycles of addictive and dysfunctional behavior to help them avoid reincarceration and get back on their feet. All of our work is rooted in the teachings of the Bible, and we share the Gospel with the women whenever possible. Over the years, we’ve helped many people find a new beginning in Christ.

Kayla’s Prayer

Kayla is one of the women who participated in our programming and accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She wrote a prayer in which she expresses her yearning for forgiveness and to help others who have the same struggles find new life in Christ as well. Here is her prayer:

Dear Lord,

I admit to you that I am powerless over my addictions and compulsive behaviors. I know that nothing good lives in me and my life has become unmanageable. Lord I believe that a greater power than myself could restore me to sanity and I made the decision to turn my life and my will over to the care of you God. Lord Jesus, I have made a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself and I admit to you God, to myself, and to others the nature of our wrongdoings to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other so we may be healed. Lord, I am ready for you to remove all these defects of my character and lift me up. I ask you to remove all my shortcomings, and help me make amends with the people I have named. Help me to make direct amends to these people whenever possible. Father, if I continue to take personal inventory, please forgive me for I ant to stand firm with you Lord and not fall. Lord, through prayer I wish to improve my contact with you, and knowledge of your will for me and the power to carry it out. God I want to have a spiritual experience and carry your message to others and help restore others who have sinned.

In Jesus name I pray, amen.

– Kayla

Reflections on Brandi

Brandi was an inmate at Mercer County Jail who completed the entire 12-step recovery program. Now she is being used by God to further His kingdom with her amazing testimony. Here is a reflection on Brandi written by one of our Bible study leaders:

Brandi is a personality that takes over a room when she enters. One night at Mercer County Jail, Brandi came in with an unbelievable thirst to read Scripture and to understand this relationship with Christ. She is one of the few women that actually completed the entire 12 steps in jail. We were all amazed by her ability to memorize Scripture and her complete devotion to this life of transformation. During her time in MCJ, she led Bible studies for the other women. I remember during the Christmas season she put together a Christmas Day Program and the women were so touched by her devotion and transparent love for Christ. Brandi left MCJ to go to Muncy Prison and then a very vigorous rehab program that was physically and mentally challenging. She then went to a residential rehab facility, where we reconnected as much as was permitted. Brandi shared her testimony at our second raiser and now she is connected with Reaching Up and Reaching Out in a different capacity. She feels God has called her to write the revelations that He gives her and her prayer is that in His time these will be published into books. Her first book is about David and we are helping her with the process of editing and publishing. We don’t know the final chapter of how God will use Brandi’s passion and testimony but we know that she clearly has broken the chains of addiction and is now addicted to her love of Jesus.

 

Inmate Artwork

Written testimony isn’t the only way that inmates express their feelings. Many of the inmates we’ve connected with have used artwork to communicate their new life in Christ. Here are a few examples: