Brian and Ruth Christine Newsletter

March 2005 Newsletter 

Hi everyone,

I hope this finds you well.  Another month has passed, work goes on at the DMV.  The girls are all well.

Abbey-Rose told me today on the the telephone that they had gone out for milkshakes. She had a strawberry one and Olivia had a broccoli milk shake!  Yes, broccoli!  Well it turns out that the broccoli milkshake was just a green, mint flavored milkshake =). Kids are fun.

Our oldest 3 had a good easer vacation in Spain with my parents. 

The long haul is the hardest part. Going to jail is a shock and it is hard, but faith wise you know you have to hold on tight to God or you're not going to make it.  These days life has a routine and I am busy.  The heartache is there but I think about it less. The hard part is holding on and not getting too discouraged with the time still to do.  Lord Please help me to really trust you with every day in here.

Pleas keep in prayer the current changes that legislature is looking at for Measure 11 good time.  Discussions are taking place currently.  The proposal is for 33.3% good time for regular offenders and 20% for most measure 11 sentences.  That would mean a small time cut for both me and Brian.  For me it would be 18 months off, which would definitely be worth having.  Oregon currently has some of the longest sentences of out of any of the states.  

Thank you for your prayers.  God Bless, Ruth

I would like to share with all of you something I just read in an inmate newspaper that is printed in Missouri.  This particular story actually comes out of OSP in Salem.  Keith Jesperson is doing life without parole at Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP).

The volleyball court was having it's sand replaced so it was dugout and ready for the new sand.  Over the next few days it rained and filled the pit with water.  When the sun came out, several of the men went outside to enjoy the weather.  When Keith saw the pond, he had an idea.  He decided to go fishing.  He got some dental floss, a stick and a rock and made a fishing line and sat down and pretended he was fishing.  After a while a bunch of the guys came over and sat with him, also pretending that they were fishing.  

Keith writes-

"But in that day of fishing you get your mind away from the problems in your life.  Well, today I sat next to the pond and with my fishing line in the water, I was gathering souls.  Every man that sat there with me had a piece of the soul attached to my line.  It took them to a time and place only their minds could o.  A day of fishing is a good day.  Today, I made their day a good day in a place where we seldom have one".

Keith's words brought tears to my eyes, because I can identify.  Any inmate can identify.  This man will probably never get to go fishing again in his life, but for that small space of time, he was able to pretend that he was fishing and to share that with others.  

Next time you go fishing or watch  the sunset over the ocean, or even look up at the stars and night, thank God that you can and say a prayer for Mr. Jesperson and all the other inmates who may never have that opportunity again.  And to Mr Jesperson I say "I am glad you had a good day fishing" and I respect the fact that although you may never again taste freedom, you haven't given up hope and you still care about the people around you.  Praise God.

Ruth