Life Changes

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Life Changes
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Thanks to the compassionate efforts of thousands of volunteers from 13,000 churches  perhaps including your own--540,511 children of prisoners enjoyed a special connection with their incarcerated parent last Christmas. As participants in Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree ministry, these volunteers provided gifts for the children on behalf of their parents, who also communicated personal messages to their children when they signed up for the program.

For many prisoners, expressing love to children is “either difficult or the opportunities are not available because of broken relationships,” wrote the chaplain of Henry Hill Correctional Center in Illinois. Angel Tree gives them a chance to reconnect.

Seeking to help reconcile children not only with their imprisoned parent but also with God, volunteers also shared the Gospel message--either personally during Angel Tree Christmas parties or home deliveries, or through age-appropriate materials tucked in with the gifts.

Soon after Christmas, stories of Angel Tree’s impact began tumbling in--testimonies of God’s transforming grace in the lives of prisoners’ children, their parents and caregivers, and the volunteers ministering to them. Here is just a sampling of God’s power and provision.