Prison to prison

Hey guys I thought I posted this last week. Because I’m wanting to post weekly I’ll post another blog asap. Enjoy 🙂

This my third time going out of the country to follow God. Knowing what travelling overseas looks like, I would consider myself a good international traveler. But one thing I just learned right before leaving the country was, the last few pages of a passport are not for visas. Lol they are for memories and notes. Well that means I found myself with a little passport issue right before leaving the country. Because on a 9 month 4 country trip I only had 2 open pages in my passport lol.

I found a passport agency in Atlanta and i really only had one day free to get this done. I booked a train ticket from Gainsville Georgia to Atlanta. I arrived in Atlanta called an Uber and headed to the passport agency. My Uber driver was a wonderful woman named Chanda. I got to share with her my testimonies and she told me about her life. I was able to pray with her during our drive and watched as God healed her physically and spiritually. It was a blessing to meet her. I made it to the passport agency and it was the best passport experience ever. The employees were kind and I didn’t have to wait at all. After speaking with the teller, I was told to come back in 2 hours to pick up my new passport. With some time to spend I decided to explore downtown Atlanta.

I took a walk and bumped into a man named Sterling. Sterling had just been released from prison. He asked me for help. I asked what do you need? He said, I could use some money. I was hesitant to just give him money. I asked him what do you need that I can buy you? He said underwear and socks maybe some shoes. I said ok let’s go, I don’t have much but what I do have I’ll give to you. From past experiences I generally don’t just give money away unless the Lord tells me too. I like to buy people food or other goods. Because some times cash doesn’t go to good things. So Sterling and I walked around town looking for a place to buy clothes. As we walked and talked, he shared his story with me of how he ended up in prison. He was honest and told me he murdered a man who molested his niece. His sentence was 25 to life. But with good behavior he was out in 20. He told me while he was in prison God saved his life. Even though he was in prison for 20 years he was free. But stepping out into the public for the first time in 20 years was scary. It was a completely different world from when he last saw it. He was lost in this new world and not one person was willing to help him. I told him that even though this world is new God hasn’t changed, he was loved by Him. We kept walking and talking until we reached a store in a hard part of town. He asked me why I wanted to buy him stuff instead of giving him money. I didn’t want to tell him the truth. The fact that I didn’t trust him with money just seemed too harsh. And that’s when I realized I was wrong. God tells us to give to those who ask of you (Matt 5:42.) Here I was, thinking I had a better idea for this man’s life. That buying him some clothes was the best thing I could for him. He told me that only buying him stuff stopped him from learning how to budget his own money. It was just another hand out, just like being taken care of when he was in prison. He wanted to be in control of his own life and he wanted to figure out what it looks like to live outside of the prison. I apologized to him for judging him before even speaking to him. I learned that day that it didn’t matter that I was willing to give. But was I willing to listen and love. I was able to pray for Sterling and bless him with all I had. I’m not sure where he is now but I know God will continue to reshape his life.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read and support me. I’m fundraising to continue to live and share the love of Jesus to all those who will let me. Please consider donating as a tithe and offering to God’s kingdom.

 

I leave you with one question. 

Do we give just to give or do we sincerely care about the person in front of us. 

 

Love you, God bless.