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Letter from Earnest – April 2018

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

As you read today’s article I want you to know that it is from an inmate. He is 19 years of age and has been a ward of state all his life – no father or mother, no brother or sister that will claim him. A few weeks ago he did something very stupid and could possibly spend the rest of his life incarcerated. “This child is a testament to what the state of Kansas is producing.” That is a blunt and painful statement, but when you have lived an institutionalized life from your earliest remembrance without nurture, affection, and a chance to bond with another human soul, you become disposable. The solution to the problem is finding people who will adopt or do foster parenting and then provide for their needs so they are equip for the task.

Please read the following letter from Tylor;

“I know that you tried to raise me right and I’m trying to change. I also know that it hurts you to see me back in jail. I am so sorry, you tried your best and I was too stupid to understand that. I was taking everything for granted. I never knew how to love somebody until they were gone. I lived my whole life pushing people away, lying, stealing, and all of the above. When I first met you, you were kind, giving, and acted like a father to everyone at the ranch. I never knew my father and I don’t think I ever wanted to or wanted a father. One day before I left the ranch it hit me in my heart; I never felt anything like it. I don’t know why, but since I stay in contact with you that feeling only grows. For the longest time I was taking you for granted, but since I went to jail I’ve had a lonely feeling and also since I left the ranch. I had never felt lonely until I went there. When I got out, I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me. I was wrong. You were still there and I didn’t know why until the other day when you called over the visitation thing and it hit me; you are trying to give me something I never had. A family and a father. That is the thing I failed to see until now. The thing I tried to push out of my mind for as long as I can remember. I ’ve never known how to treat family; I am sorry. If and when I get out I’m going to fix everything in my life, and I hope that you and God will forgive me, and everyone I pushed out of my life. I don’t think I can  ever lose you in my heart. Thank you for everything that you have done for me. I guess the saying is true ‘where there is light there is darkness, where there is darkness there is a always light.’”

Please pray for Tylor and the many like him aging out of the system and ultimately being discarded. Please pray for Youth Horizons and when you can, please volunteer and give.

Your Brother in Christ,

Earnest