When Terry was a teenager, his dad came home one day, handed him a mask and a gun and said “Follow me, son.” Terry’s dad was a member of a gang. Terry followed his dad and began to rob banks in a Southwestern state.
His dad was so proud of his son. He would even tell his friends how proud of Terry he was. Terry was a good bank robber, his dad said. Eventually Terry and his dad were caught by the police. Both were charged with armed robbery and both were sentenced to prison. Terry was released from prison before his dad. He got married and started a family. One day Terry heard a knock on his door. There was his dad, recently released from prison. He handed Terry a mask and a gun and said “follow me, son.”
Inextricably, Terry took the mask and the gun and followed his dad. They were caught after their first bank robbery this time. Terry’s dad was sentenced to life in prison and Terry was sentenced to 40 years. They were sentenced to serve their time in different prisons, which Terry appreciated. He wanted never to see his dad again.
While in prison, Terry applied to and was accepted in a college seminary program offered in one of the state prisons. Terry began college, became a follower of Jesus and graduated with a seminary degree. Our program here in Oregon is very similar to the one Terry was in.
To his surprise, Terry found out that his dad had been transferred to the same prison where Terry was. Terry tried to avoid seeing his dad there, but one day in a chapel service he saw him. His dad looked different. He looked broken. During the service Terry decided to approach his dad. He sat down next to him. His dad was crying. There was an altar call and his dad said he wanted to go up front and give his life to Jesus. Terry handed his Bible to his dad and said “follow me, dad.”
Soon afterwards, Terry collaborated with two of his fellow student/inmates and together they wrote Exiles, A Prisoner’s Daily Devotional:
Exiles is available on Amazon. I would love to provide a copy to our students at the Corban extension in OSCI.
The cost per book is $14.99. We have 25 students now and will have 25 more in the fall.
these for our students?
Please continue to pray for our students, the staff at Corban and the staff throughout the Oregon DOC.