SOCPM Newsletter | April 9, 2022

Greetings,

SOCPM Inside the Prison Gate: The return to Sheridan is a reality. Praise God. However, a bump in the road at Dixon.

SOCPM Outside the Prison Gate: Fellow members at Redeemer Fellowship come alongside SOCPM in advancing towards 

On the Home Front: Continued discipline in exercise and diet. The start of a new hobby. Some new reading material for my break time and Pursuing a healthier lifestyle

On the Prayer Front - All things family and SOCPM

These are the topics for this week's SOCPM Newsletter. I hope you enjoy it, despite my lack of an editor. Michelle would like to edit my newsletters (I think she has a deep-seated desire to be an English teacher with a red pencil in hand), but her work voids the time.

To Him be the glory in ALL things and Him alone,

Scott Kalas
Soldiers of Christ Prison Ministries

SOCPM Inside the Prison Gate

Praise God! At long last, I returned to Sheridan. A mere 756 days, but who's counting? I'm sure only me, but God has me again in Sheridan!

SOCPM was blessed to have 49 first-time students and one returning student. However, it wasn't the Brandon, the one remaining student from the COVID fallout; it was Lewis, a SOCPM alumni from 03/2014 thru 06/2014. It was sad to see Lewis back into IDOC. Even more so in that Lewis was an excellent student his last go around. I faintly recognized him when he started walking up to me. He has put on some weight and was walking with a cane. Despite the no-hugging policy, he gave me a hug when he reached me. I had to look at his ID to recall the name of the faintly remembered face. As I looked into Lewis' eyes, I could see the years since we last met had been hard. He humbled me later when I asked the class why they were taking the Discipleship class 'What Does Revelation Teach?' He responded, 'I'm only here for two more weeks, but the topic looked interesting and had your name. It allowed me to first share a thank you to Lewis's endorsement with the class, but more importantly, though I was sad to see Lewis is back in IDOC, I still love Lewis and if life ever brings you back in IDOC, know you you have nothing to be ashamed about, I love. You are always welcome back to my classes.

The prayer requests are another piece of my joy in being back in Sheridan. I can't explain why prayer requests at Dixon have always been minimal. However, at Sheridan, they are a part of the chemistry that makes me humbled to be God's servant in prison ministry. The prayer requests are transparent; it reminds me that the various trials these men encounter by God's mercy have not been ones I had to experience personally.

Would you please visit SOCPM's Student Prayer Requests page and life the prayers of those men who submitted them? Then, through God's grace, answered prayers to those offered will encourage those who do not abandon their pride and submit the cries of their heart in prayer.
I'm looking forward to the coming weeks and ask you to join me in prayer God will use me as His essel to bring transformation to these men's live.

I wish I could say it was a doubleheader week of joy in both Dixon and Sheridan, but it was not to be. They have an electrical problem in the classroom at Dixon. It resulted in the canceling of both classes. Would you please pray that SOCPM will have those doubleheader weeks where God has me in both Dixon and Sheridan in the coming weeks?

Sheridan Correctional Center Lockdown 0 weeks; Praise God!

SOCPM Outside the Prison Gate

With the upcoming return to Sheridan and the planning of expectant classes at Dixon, my time to give focus to other areas of SOCPM had to become a lesser priority.

The SOCPM Church Connection publication I forward to a Redeemer Fellowship member got lost in the vast cyber world. So, I will resend it today.

Prison Fellowship's Illinois Field Director, Mary Johnson, forwarded me a couple of publications with a wealth of re-entry/post-prison resources that I will begin to reach out to in hopes of them becoming SOCPM ministry partners.

I met with Benny, another Redeemer Fellowship member, who is willing to translate SOCPM resources from English to Spanish for SOCPM's presence at a Redeemer Fellowship. We have a process worked out for me to give Benny a copy of the original English and a Google translation. Then Benny will make corrections where Google translate erred. If it is God's will, SOCPM will be at Clothes Closet the first Monday of every month starting May 2nd.

On the Home Front

There were other things, but after my medical issue last December, all that health stuff is finally being received more seriously, followed by more disciplines.
News On The home front decreases as the Inside the Gate activities increase. But, I'm happy to say I made my target three times a week, on the treadmill and consuming a smoothie with spinach almost daily.

Now that Michelle and I have a yard, a postage stamp size yard, but a yard nonetheless, we will join the hummingbird watchers. So, I'm reading up on everything, well, almost everything one could know about hummingbirds.

As for reading, now that I've finished More God Less Crime, I'm looking for another book to read during my break time while in Dixon and Sheridan. I was down to one of two; Ministry with Prisoners and Families: The Way Forward or The Visitor's Book of Texts. However, my Pastor Joe Thorn mentioned another book in our Diaconate meeting, The Surprising Grace of Disappointment: Finding Hope When God Seems to Fail US by John Koessler. All three have subjects of interest, but I've decided to go with the latter as I believe it can benefit me in three personal areas; prison ministry, my son Cameron and myself.

On the Prayer Front

Cameron - I communicated with Cameron once this past week. He shared he was in the hospital for a couple of days. It was related to his long-term abuse of alcohol and could eventually become life-threatening. Would you please, first and foremost, his salvation, permanent sobriety, and health? Would you also pray for healthy friendships?

Michelle (aka my lovely bride) - To be more intentional in reading God's Word.

Self - I completed my vestibular therapy, and it has helped with dealing with my dizziness, but it requires I continue doing the exercises I was taught in therapy. Though I've reached a small goal in exercising and diet, please pray I continue improving on those goals. Also, now that I'm back in both Sheridan and Dixon, I'm intentional in seeking God's will on how to glorify Him in my stewardship of SOCPM.

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