February 10, 2012
Dear Friends,
In mid-January, I received an email from Mike, whom I hadn’t heard from since he left San Diego quietly in early 2005. Mike had been released on parole from the Miramar Brig in early 2000, violated parole later that year and was sent to the Army prison at Ft. Leavenworth. I kept in touch with Mike on and off throughout this period, and after he was released invited him to come to San Diego where I could be of more help to him. There’s a lot more to the story, but he came to San Diego from Atlanta in July of 2004
Mike was at the Miramar Brig when I first started leading a Bible study there in May of 1998. When I spoke to him last month, he reported that the time between his departure from San Diego in 2005 until now had been full of ups and downs. For over two years, however, Mike (now living near Atlanta) has been walking closely with the Lord, is involved in a church, and has been keeping his life clean. He called me to let me know about the downs and the ups, and we praised God together for His faithfulness.
The spring of 2012 will be the 25th anniversary of my appointment to a staff position with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. At the time, I was a graduate student and President of the IVCF chapter at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. I was meeting weekly, one-on-one, with Tom, a freshman at Miami.
Through seven years of InterVarsity staff (in Ohio), four years of full-time work with the Navigators Military Ministry (in Hawaii), and now almost 14 years in San Diego as Associate Staff with the Navs and almost 10 years since beginning the Hebrews 13:3 Project, I have engaged in one-on-one discipleship with over 50 men. In those times, I focus with these men on studying the Bible and developing a passion for the Scriptures and the Lord to Whom they testify.
We used to call this “discipling”, but the more popular term these days is “mentoring.” These days, I am regularly engaged with several men, and in several different media: phone, email, letters, and face-to-face. I want to tell you about some of these men, and I hope you’ll pray for them and for the time I spend with them. Some of them have been in prison, some of them are in prison, but some of them have never been in prison.
Matt and James, for example, have never been in prison. They are active duty Marines stationed at MCAS Miramar. They have been close friends since right after boot camp in 2007, and will finish their enlistments this summer. Matt plans to remain in San Diego and attend SDSU; James plans to attend school in Arizona to become a helicopter pilot. Both of them come for dinner at my home and Bible study in Galatians on Friday nights. Matt and I have spent more one-on-one time together: we went to the Holiday Bowl this past December, and we hiked Lake Cuyamaca on a chilly Saturday last month.
Tyler also has never been in prison. Like Matt and James (and a good friend of theirs) he joined the Marines in 2007. We met one-on-one for almost two years before he completed his enlistment last summer and went to college at John Brown University in Arkansas on the Post-9/11 GI Bill. We meet weekly for prayer over the phone.
Michael is not in prison, but is in the Navy and works at the Miramar Brig. We began meeting weekly in October of 2011. We are able to meet on Thursday afternoons, before the inmates show up for Bible study. We began a study recently in Galatians, after finishing a study through Jonah. Michael works almost every Sunday, so it’s difficult for him to take his wife and 7-year-old son to church.
Norm was released from the Miramar Brig in December 2009. His conviction was later overturned and he retired from the Army. He now works as a civilian contractor at the Kandahar Base in Afghanistan. Norm writes insightful emails at least once a week.
Dan was released from the Miramar Brig about six months after Norm. He is now back in jail, awaiting trial, in Colorado. He writes letters about once a month or so. Although Dan obviously had a “lapse” in his faith, his letters speak of a deep confidence that God is with him.
I am also in touch periodically with Nate (living in Savannah, Georgia), Patrick (living in Ventura, California), and Tom (living near Tacoma, Washington). They all spent some time at the Miramar Brig.
Javier was released from Federal custody in 2011, and is now on parole in Los Angeles. We have been reading through the Gospel of John together for the past several months, but it has been difficult to coordinate schedules recently. We usually meet in San Clemente, a one-hour drive for each of us.
Clark is in prison in Arizona, serving Life Without Parole after a murder conviction. Clark is not a Christian, and is indeed quite hostile to Christian ideas. But he writes long (5-7 pages), deeply thought-out letters to me every couple of weeks. I learned about Clark by a documentary called “Soldiers in Prison,” and have been thoroughly enjoying the correspondence. Responding to Clark often requires days of deep thought. I hope to visit Clark in March for the first time.
The “regulars” who are studying John with me at the Brig on Thursday night are Bruce, Brad, Arthur, David, Robert, Roy, and Oleg. A half dozen others come more sporadically.
Please keep all of these men in your prayers--and me, too. Off the top of my head, I can think of two or three other men I’d like to disciple/mentor, but finding the time can be difficult.
As always, thank you for your prayers and financial donations.
Sincerely in Christ,
Ben Conarroe
Dear Friends,
In mid-January, I received an email from Mike, whom I hadn’t heard from since he left San Diego quietly in early 2005. Mike had been released on parole from the Miramar Brig in early 2000, violated parole later that year and was sent to the Army prison at Ft. Leavenworth. I kept in touch with Mike on and off throughout this period, and after he was released invited him to come to San Diego where I could be of more help to him. There’s a lot more to the story, but he came to San Diego from Atlanta in July of 2004
Mike was at the Miramar Brig when I first started leading a Bible study there in May of 1998. When I spoke to him last month, he reported that the time between his departure from San Diego in 2005 until now had been full of ups and downs. For over two years, however, Mike (now living near Atlanta) has been walking closely with the Lord, is involved in a church, and has been keeping his life clean. He called me to let me know about the downs and the ups, and we praised God together for His faithfulness.
The spring of 2012 will be the 25th anniversary of my appointment to a staff position with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. At the time, I was a graduate student and President of the IVCF chapter at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. I was meeting weekly, one-on-one, with Tom, a freshman at Miami.
Through seven years of InterVarsity staff (in Ohio), four years of full-time work with the Navigators Military Ministry (in Hawaii), and now almost 14 years in San Diego as Associate Staff with the Navs and almost 10 years since beginning the Hebrews 13:3 Project, I have engaged in one-on-one discipleship with over 50 men. In those times, I focus with these men on studying the Bible and developing a passion for the Scriptures and the Lord to Whom they testify.
We used to call this “discipling”, but the more popular term these days is “mentoring.” These days, I am regularly engaged with several men, and in several different media: phone, email, letters, and face-to-face. I want to tell you about some of these men, and I hope you’ll pray for them and for the time I spend with them. Some of them have been in prison, some of them are in prison, but some of them have never been in prison.
Matt and James, for example, have never been in prison. They are active duty Marines stationed at MCAS Miramar. They have been close friends since right after boot camp in 2007, and will finish their enlistments this summer. Matt plans to remain in San Diego and attend SDSU; James plans to attend school in Arizona to become a helicopter pilot. Both of them come for dinner at my home and Bible study in Galatians on Friday nights. Matt and I have spent more one-on-one time together: we went to the Holiday Bowl this past December, and we hiked Lake Cuyamaca on a chilly Saturday last month.
Tyler also has never been in prison. Like Matt and James (and a good friend of theirs) he joined the Marines in 2007. We met one-on-one for almost two years before he completed his enlistment last summer and went to college at John Brown University in Arkansas on the Post-9/11 GI Bill. We meet weekly for prayer over the phone.
Michael is not in prison, but is in the Navy and works at the Miramar Brig. We began meeting weekly in October of 2011. We are able to meet on Thursday afternoons, before the inmates show up for Bible study. We began a study recently in Galatians, after finishing a study through Jonah. Michael works almost every Sunday, so it’s difficult for him to take his wife and 7-year-old son to church.
Norm was released from the Miramar Brig in December 2009. His conviction was later overturned and he retired from the Army. He now works as a civilian contractor at the Kandahar Base in Afghanistan. Norm writes insightful emails at least once a week.
Dan was released from the Miramar Brig about six months after Norm. He is now back in jail, awaiting trial, in Colorado. He writes letters about once a month or so. Although Dan obviously had a “lapse” in his faith, his letters speak of a deep confidence that God is with him.
I am also in touch periodically with Nate (living in Savannah, Georgia), Patrick (living in Ventura, California), and Tom (living near Tacoma, Washington). They all spent some time at the Miramar Brig.
Javier was released from Federal custody in 2011, and is now on parole in Los Angeles. We have been reading through the Gospel of John together for the past several months, but it has been difficult to coordinate schedules recently. We usually meet in San Clemente, a one-hour drive for each of us.
Clark is in prison in Arizona, serving Life Without Parole after a murder conviction. Clark is not a Christian, and is indeed quite hostile to Christian ideas. But he writes long (5-7 pages), deeply thought-out letters to me every couple of weeks. I learned about Clark by a documentary called “Soldiers in Prison,” and have been thoroughly enjoying the correspondence. Responding to Clark often requires days of deep thought. I hope to visit Clark in March for the first time.
The “regulars” who are studying John with me at the Brig on Thursday night are Bruce, Brad, Arthur, David, Robert, Roy, and Oleg. A half dozen others come more sporadically.
Please keep all of these men in your prayers--and me, too. Off the top of my head, I can think of two or three other men I’d like to disciple/mentor, but finding the time can be difficult.
As always, thank you for your prayers and financial donations.
Sincerely in Christ,
Ben Conarroe
