When you’ve lost your “monster truck” toy!
Child in distress!
On a recent First Thursday Fun Fest in Cannon Falls, a little boy had won money during the event but now had lost his bag of items and a toy monster truck.
But... the bag was recovered by a teacher and returned to the boy.
And... Cannon Falls Police Officer Marcus Fluhrer purchased a new monster truck toy for the child.
(Smiley face emoticon here!)
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How to change a life...
A prisoner in a correctional facility in Minnesota wrote the chaplin: “For your crew to come in to our lives here, behind concrete wall and razor wire, is so amazing... to not judge us... Thank you from the middle of our hearts. You have shown me God's love, and in doing so you have brought this convict to tears... We need to know that you all still care.”
They care...
Roger Tutewohl of Cannon Falls took part in one of the retreats done by teams from Charis Prison Ministry, a non-denominational Christian group. Team members are selected and trained under the guidance of Charis leadership and approved by correctional institutions. Roger and his wife, Lora, follow these yearly sessions every month to continue the discussions.
Roger recalled: These prisoners may believe “it is a dog eat dog world on the outside. That works for them until they get caught doing something that is illegal...
“Some figure it out and stay out... Others use the revolving door method. They are out for a while, go back to their old ways and revolve back in again.
“The programs and people that come into the prison can help them learn how to alter their lives to avoid reoffending.”
One way to help...
One way to help, Roger believes, is to offer a transition home after being released from prison. The organizer of this opportunity is Pastor David Hibbison of New Life In Christ Ministry based in Clearwater, MN. They have raised almost $100,000 to purchase a house to accomplish their goal.
Roger explained his enthusiasm by adding: “It is so exciting for the two of us to be involved with these men who have been pretty much just cast aside. They are human beings with joys and sorrows just like we are. They are longer on sorrows and shorter on joys.
“We believe that frustration on their part can bring on reasons to re-offend when they get out. If we can give them hope in their God and they develop a resolve not to reoffend we have given them something that they really need.”
Transition...
Roger continued, “The state prisons in Minnesota are costing taxpayers about 400 million dollars a year. So there are several reasons to be concerned with the released offenders having an opportunity to transition in an atmosphere that will help them become productive citizens, perhaps for the first time in their lives.”
