The following Stories From The Field editions will be a series of letters written by incarcerated men in the United States. These letters were penned as a response to FREEDOM FROM WITHIN, Foundations For Life – Unleash The Masterpiece, a program developed by Missionaries Cliff and Sue Parrish to teach how to live Godly principles in such a way that brings contagious life transformation, even within the walls of a prison. Cliff and Sue are taking Freedom From Within to the prisons of the United States and possibly to a church near you.
Letter 1
I’m here to tell you that you are of value. You are worth investing time in. I don’t care what you’ve done to get here. It’s none of my business. I am here to show you how to unleash the masterpiece that is within you.
These are words I will never forget.
Cliff Parrish, a man I see as a mentor, said these words to a whole class. I felt as if he was directly talking to me and really he was. I had never heard these words in that way. Let alone spoken to me.
I am 27 years old. I have been incarcerated since I was 18 years old. Fatherless home with a loving mom, trying to play both roles while battling her own demons. She is a wonderful mom but just let some things set her very far off course. I grew up hopping around. Never really had a stable father figure except for my Uncle. It was always easy for me to do wrong never right. Through all of this, I never was really taught to have a foundation in my life. It was always “Do good in school, and you can do what you want.” And I did just that most of the time.
Luckily, I ended up in prison. While many people consider this a curse, it has honestly the best thing (Besides my daughter) that has ever happened to me. If it weren’t for this, I would have never encountered Foundations for Life.
When I first took “Foundations for Life” I had just accepted Jesus and was trying to get my feet wet into whatever seemed faith-based. I had no idea what I was in for! That was life changing Foundational framework for my life.
Principles and values. Meaningful impact. Authentic friendship. These are just a tiny taste of what you will find in this book.
If you believe in transformation and are seeking it, this is for you! If you think you are of value and even more so if you don’t this is for you! Just believing isn’t enough.
1Peter 1:13 states “Therefore prepare your minds for action…” Keyword Action, you see, if there is no action behind your belief is there a belief?
Foundations For Life has greatly impacted my life. Every day I walk this beautiful earth. I am revealing the masterpiece to myself and the to the world though I fail, I am still as Ephesians 2:10.