Dear Friend of Damascus Way,

 

 “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”

 

 Did you hear that bit of wisdom as a child? What did it mean to you? Like me, you probably learned quickly it referred to human development, not horticulture! I see a picture of seedlings neatly planted in a plot of earth, inclined to grow in any and all directions, but tied firmly to a stake driven deep into the ground. That stake holds tight to the growing twig until the new plant is strong enough to stand perfectly straight on its own.

 

 Now, I can’t say Damascus Way has turned to gardening! But we can certainly identify with bent twigs. Let me tell you about Eric.

 

 He became a pot smoker at age eight and was in constant trouble from then on. Born in Jordan, Minnesota, he moved with his brother, sister and parents to Florida for five years, then returned to the Jordan area. During that time, his parents divorced, his Dad tried unsuccessfully to be both father and mother, Eric learned to drink, began skipping school (despite decent grades) and ultimately landed in a foster home.

 

 After breaking into cars, he was moved into a second foster home. And after stealing a camera, he was sent to Red Wing prison. Your taxes paid for part of Eric’s teen years, because he alternated between Red Wing prison and Isanti Boys Ranch (a juvenile correctional facility). When he was not locked up he was stealing, working odd jobs, running with a criminal gang or using drugs. He recounted later that his life was driven by sin and selfishness.

 

 At 19 Eric tried living with his Dad for awhile but the opportunity came to move to Florida and Eric grabbed it. Here he used and sold cocaine. His job ended when he was caught stealing from his employer; his liberty ended with a trip back to prison for a year and a day after breaking into a home. The death of his father brought Eric back to Minnesota where he sold his dad’s place to purchase land he used to set up an illegal factory, manufacturing meth-amphetamine. The police raided Eric’s factory, confiscated the land and sent Eric back to prison.

 

 Bouncing in and out of prison, in and out of treatment, Eric finally began to recognize he had wasted his youth. He had been impressed by the lives of some Christians he met both inside and outside the prison, and joined a Christian group called Residents Encountering Christ. Eric began to read his Bible regularly. He grew spiritually, and also learned to build, instead of raid, houses, through a construction program in Alexandria, Minnesota, which hired inmates to go into the community, under supervision, and build homes.

 

 In Alexandria, Eric attended a Bible study called, “Let’s Talk,” as well as AA meetings and church each week. Until coming to faith in Jesus Christ through “these kind people”, Eric said, he had never known peace. At Damascus Way, for the first time in his life, Eric is living in a culture of peace and godliness; he has the opportunity to learn more about God and to watch Christianity in action. God has already been moving in his life: Within a week of Eric’s arrival, he found work in the construction field and today has a steady job.

 

 Eric entered Damascus Way on the Department of Corrections’ Work Release program and will be with us for eight months, during which time he is still considered an inmate. That eight months offers Eric plenty of time to find employment, locate a place to live and generally prepare for his life in the community. Most Work Release men are propery offenders and often have drug or alcohol problems.

 

 The other Minnesota State Corrections program with which we work is called Supervised Release. Supervised Release men have often commited a crime against a person. These men are no longer considered inmates but are released to us under very strict guidelines and can be sent back to prison if they violate any guideline.

 

 Here is a critical difference in the two: Supervised Release is a 60-day program. State support runs out after the sixty days. Yet these men must accomplish the same goals: find employment, locate a place to live and generally prepare for life in the community. Very often, they’re just not ready. These men have a felony conviction, so housing and employment become a huge challenge. So they remain with us for weeks, sometimes months, at our expense. If we did not keep them, they would return to prison.

 

 This is where you come in! And this is why donations from our friends become so critical.

 

 It is costly to operate a live-in program with round-the-clock staffing. Each man is required to make a small rent payment but most expenses are met by individuals like you, willing to make a difference in a man's life. Let me add that many men are fathers and husbands, so entire families are depending on your donations to Damascus Way.

 

 Come to think of it, you are the strong stakes in our “garden!” You are bound to our “bent twigs” by many cords of love and we greatly need you. As you pray and give faithfully, God uses you to straighten out these wayward lives, and He receives great glory. Thank you for being willing to make a difference.

 

For the men of Damascus Way,

 

 

 

Dick Harden, Director