Something to be Thankful for…

How important is stability in the home?

Across the country, prisons and meth addiction rehabilitation centers are filled with shattered dreams and the despair of men and women who made poor choices. Statistically more than 87% of these individuals come from broken and fatherless families. That’s why prison ministry and the chaplains serving through our New Life Corrections Ministry are so vital in reaching out and helping rebuild lives and families. Often, this leads to Christian recovery and transitional housing facilities like Wayside Cross Ministries Lifespring and Master’s Touch programs. Together, through the grace of our Lord and Savior, it’s changing lives, repairs broken families and impacting future generations.

Meet Kenny Parsons, our new Kitchen Supervisor. Underneath the exterior of this soft-spoken man beats the heart of a lion, a man after God’s own heart. Today, Kenny helps supervise the production of over 210,000 meals a year at Wayside Cross Ministries’ three shelter and recovery centers. He’s earned the respect and support of staff, volunteers and Wayside residents alike. You help make this possible.

But it wasn’t always this way.

Growing up in the small rural town of Marshall, an industrial and agricultural community located along the Illinois-Indiana border, there wasn’t a lot to do for a young man with an active imagination. The son of a military man who served in Vietnam, Kenny experienced a home-life frequently overrun with violent memories of his father, who carried the scars of war back from the battlefields.

Like so many families today, throughout his entire childhood, Kenny’s family never went to a church or found outside support to help navigate their struggles. At a very early age and with no moral compass to guide him, the lure of the drug culture became a natural way to pass the time of an otherwise tumultuous family life.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”~ Proverbs 22:6

Over time, Kenny’s father got control over his inner demons and even taught Kenny how to drive. But by then, the lure of the drug culture in a small town got a foothold in his life. At just 14 years of age, Kenny started using drugs to cope. However, by the time he reached his early 20’s, it looked as if things might actually turn around when he met and married his girlfriend. Together, they had two children, and for a time, Kenny found a life he never knew. Unfortunately, these new responsibilities at such an early age weighed on him, as did his habitual use of drugs, which by now, was getting out of control.

Soon, he began selling drugs as an extra source of income to help make ends meet. Eventually, that still small voice protesting his poor choices was drowned out by the necessities of addiction and meeting his new family responsibilities. Things just went from bad to worse.

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.”

~Ecclesiastes 2:10 

That was about the time his wife left with their two kids. Within a year, he was busted and sent to prison for 16 years, leaving behind his wife and their two children. Kenny was now in a bad place spiritually. Here in the quiet of a lonely cell Kenny learned both his parents would pass away within months of each other. He would never have an opportunity to make amends or say goodbye. But later, he would receive the most devastating news of his life…

That was the day he learned one of his sons had followed him into the same lifestyle and was now in prison as well. As with any father, it was a soul-crushing realization for Kenny, who only wanted the best for his kids.

Nationwide, more than 87% of prisoners come from broken homes. Kenny and his son were now part of a sad and growing statistic. It’s an epidemic that reflects a national trend of faithless and fatherless families today.

† Source 1  | †† Source 2

As bad as it can be, many prisoners become accustomed to this day-to-day routine of prison life. Consequently, when the time comes, they are ill-equipped to live a life outside that system. Apart from it, they long for its familiarity and are willing to trade everything, even at the expense of their freedom, to go back to it. Just like the early Israelites who followed Moses.

“So I brought them out of Egypt and
led them into the wilderness.” ~ Ezekiel 20:10

But Kenny made a fateful decision that day. If he ever got the chance to help his family, he would do everything in his power to be a better father and to make something of himself. And above all, he would never make the same mistakes again. The real question was how?

As luck would have it, Kenny’s cellmate had a spirit-filled mother who was not afraid to chase after her prodigal son, even when he was sent to prison. Armed only with a Bible, she brought Jesus with her every week and witnessed to her son, and to Kenny too. Like many heroines of faith, she was a powerful and determined woman, and her love for the Lord and trust in His redemptive power was infectious.

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together
with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you
yourselves were suffering.” ~ Hebrews 13:3

Eventually, Kenny gave his life to Christ in the middle of a cell floor. That’s when the God who can raise people from the dead breathed new life and new hope into him. It’s the day when he heard about Wayside Cross Ministries’ Master’s Touch Program, a Bible-based, Christ-centered recovery program that had a track record for helping the broken, addicted and abused change their lives. When his parole came up, he made a call and to his surprise, “Jonatan, one of the Wayside Chaplains, even helped pick me up!” But change can be a scary even for an ex-offender.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:4-8

Making a personal commitment…

Kenny got deeply involved in the ministry’s transformational recovery program and in challenging his own demons. His contributions and willingness to share his story encouraged so many others. After graduation, he was made a Resident Assistant when he entered Phase 3 of the recovery program.

Moreover, he also started worked in the kitchen to help make and serve meals, a job he was assigned in prison. This is where his real talent and God-given gifts began to emerge, in the kitchen and in life. His encouragement and support of others and the willingness to go above the call of duty also inspired his peers as he was frequently picking people up when they were feeling down or even driving them for job interviews. But he calls this strength to serve others is something new. He attributes it all to Christ.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” ~ Psalm 32:8

Eventually, program participants learn new patterns and responses for overcoming the areas they struggle with the most. They start to see their lives change as they work their way through the program and are surrounded with mentors from our many local church partners. Next, they develop new work skills and habits in our Hope Outreach development ministry. In addition, they earn their high school diplomas or take job certifications through advancement programs to improve their hireability. And they take advantage of a network of corporate business partners at Wayside who seek to hire our resident graduates.

It’s also a journey in faith… 

In Kenny’s case, new skills began to show out in the kitchen. He started preparing meals, not just assisting. This caught the eye of Jon Beall, the director of the men’s recovery center. The men started to rave about the new meals coming out of the kitchen too. Eventually he was approached to take a staff position as the lead role in the kitchen. But he had to pass his food handlers certification and earn the nomination from peers and staff, which he did with flying colors.

The final step was to make an omelet for James, the executive director who only had one word to say after tasting it.

“Perfection!”

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.” ~ Matthew 25:35

Today, Kenny helps Wayside Cross Ministries prepare and serve 210,000 free meals a year as part of our recovery and transitional housing programs.

Thinking about it now, Kenny understands how God use a work detail in the prison kitchen where he helped served over 2,000 meals a day to give him the basic confidence to work in and assume the kitchen responsibilities at Wayside.

But the art of cooking was just one of the new skills that God uncovered for Kenny at Wayside. Residents in recovery are encouraged to develop the courage to step out in faith and rebuild relationships of trust with people they injured along the way. It’s not always possible, but when it does work, they are breaking a generational curse that continues to perpetuate in jails and institutions across the country. That only happens through the power of Christ and a network of volunteers, churches and supporters that help to provide continued aftercare, well after resident men and women leave Wayside.

“I can do all this through him who
gives me strength.” ~ Philippians 4:13

Today, Kenny is doing just that. Determined to help his adult son, who is currently imprisoned, he has been making regular calls to encourage him to come to Wayside when he is released. Sr Chaplain Steve Madawick, who leads our New Life Corrections Ministry, is also working behind the scenes with the prison warden and parole board to help make that possible. Kenny is also involved in his youngest son’s life. He has the support of his former wife and a determination not to allow his youngest to make these same mistakes.

Now sober and a full-time staff member at Wayside, Kenny says he has lots to be thankful for. His position as a Resident Staff member and Kitchen Coordinator places him in regular touch with our donors who frequently drop things off for the kitchen. Whenever he gets a chance to meet them, he always has a few words to say:

“Coming to Wayside Cross Ministries was the best decision I ever made. But I know none of it would be possible without the prayers and support of people like you. I was lost for a time. More than 16 years to be exact. But now today, I’m found. You are helping me find my way back home and my kids too! I can’t thank you enough.”

If you know someone who needs help with addiction or a place to recover and rebuild their lives contact Wayside Cross Ministries and ask to speak with one of our chaplains. (630) 892-4239

If you enjoyed this story and want to learn about other lives that were changed, click: Stories of Hope & Recovery