When you sign up to be a prisoner correspondent there are a few things we want to know - most importantly: Why would you like to volunteer in the correspondence program?

Here is what one new volunteer, Stephanie, responded.

To be honest, I was struggling to find the words to answer the question as to “Why” being a part of the prisoner program was important to me. I had more of a feeling of service coupled with compassion in my heart that I could not quite explain in words. So instead of being quick to force out some words to just “answer” the question, I decided to sit with it for a little while and let the answer come to me.

Earlier today I took off work for a Dr’s. appointment and while in the waiting room, a prisoner from the nearby jail came into the Dr’s office with 2 armed police officers, shackled and in full black and white jumpsuit. I thought to myself, “You have got to be kidding me.” So I kept quiet and listened to him speak to the officers about sports and recent news. He asked about the surrounding area because he was not from the island and had never been in a “big” city before like Honolulu. He was from Nashville and remarked there were no high-rise buildings like in this city. He was so curious, so interested in the world around him…almost like a child wanting to know more. He was asking about work and if all the construction jobs were unionized. He sounded full of hope and thinking about his life after prison. 

What he said next struck me so hard in my heart that it almost brought tears to my eyes….in a low voice, as if talking to himself, he said to the officer next to him, "I was driving along and it got slippery…I went off the road.” He fell silent afterwards as if in deep contemplation about his past mistake that landed him in jail.  The slippery part of the road was “life” and the road he ran off was the road back “home.” Life gets slippery for everyone one of us at some time or another and we all have driven off the road back “home.” Every one of us is looking to get on the road “home”...back to the awareness of “who we are.”

We are all children of God…we are all One and all deserve that opportunity to awaken to the infinite Bliss of discovering that we are already free and on the road back home….there is no other way. So that is “why” I would like to be a part of the prisoner program…service to all God’s children to support our way back “home.”  As I stood to go into the exam room, I looked over at this beautiful being…caught the sparkle in his eye and we both shared a smile that melted my heart and I am hoping melted his too.

Now paired with Marlow as a corresponder, Stephanie writes: "When I am writing to him or reading his letters, there is an incredible sense of clarity and peace that doesn't leave a trace to give way to a memory or residue to recall as an experience. I feel a great sense of openness and connectedness. There is a sense of freedom to be able to share Life beyond words with another. I am truly blessed for this opportunity.