Patrick, a bright, always smiling, 34-year-old, who
goes by the nickname Deacon, is a student in our Seminary-in-Prison program at the
Everglades Re-Entry Center in Miami. Both of Patrick’s parents were drug
addicts. He and his siblings were raised mainly by his grandparents. His
grandmother, who Patrick said regularly “beat the mess out of him,” left the
kids at home whenever she went shopping or to her club meetings. During one of
her times away from the home Patrick was raped by a neighbor.
His grandparents were Christians, and took him to
church, but neither his grandparents nor his church helped him deal with the
emotional turmoil and pain he felt. From an early age, Patrick began using and
selling drugs as well as having promiscuous sex with both men and women. He now
knows he was looking for something to ease his pain and satisfy his longing for
real love and acceptance. None of it, however, Patrick said, “healed the wounds
in my heart.”
Patrick received Christ when he was 14 years old, but
his life continued to spiral downward. In his early 20s he began going in and
out of drug rehab programs. While in a Salvation Army program, he learned that his
father was near death due to AIDS and cancer. The director allowed him to leave
the program and visit his father in the hospice facility. He could no longer
see or speak, but he could hear. Patrick told his father that he forgave him
and that he loved him. Patrick said he could do that because he’d learned that
Jesus loved and forgave him, so he could do the same for his father. As he said
those things he began to feel some peace in his heart for the first time.
A few
years later, while in another Christ-centered drug rehab, this one in Atlanta, he
learned that his mother was also dying from AIDS related complications. He
desperately wanted to see her and tell her that, because of Jesus, he loved and
forgave her also. But, she passed away before he could get there. He was angry
with God for a time, but then, as he prayed, he again felt a supernatural peace
enter his heart.
Patrick let go of his anger and bitterness toward his
parents and others because he learned that God, through Jesus, was not angry
with him. He found in Jesus the love and acceptance he’d searched for his whole
life. He was given a sense of freedom and joy. However, Patrick still had to
face consequences from his life of selling drugs and other crimes. He is currently
serving a nine-year sentence. However, Patrick said that God is turning
incarceration into something good for him. Since coming to prison Patrick has
been fully involved in several chapel programs and frequently shares his faith
with others, thus his nickname “Deacon.” He believes that God has called him to
a ministry of evangelism.
Patrick enrolled in our Seminary-in-Prison program so
that he can gain a “deeper, more intimate knowledge of God” and to become better
equipped “as an ambassador of Christ.” Patrick is pursuing an associate of arts
degree in theological studies.
Will
you prayerfully consider investing in changed lives and donate to help support
this work? The State does not provide any funds. All funds come from the
generous gifts of our friends. Go to mints.edu and use the PayPal button to
donate and designate your gift to Prison Ministry or send a check to MINTS,
14401 Old Cutler Rd., Palmetto Bay, FL 33158 and be sure to write Prison
Ministry on the memo line.
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