IBG has a thriving domestic Bible giving ministry. Whether it is to prisoners, to people in recovery, or to someone who simply does not know Jesus, God uses our ministry to change lives for all eternity. At the last IBG meeting, we heard a marvelous story from a former addict who received an IBG Bible in prison and experienced life transformation. I received permission to share some of Jessica’s story to remind you that you make a huge difference every day by funding Bibles.

Jessica: “It’s such an honor to be here today — especially standing before the very ministry that once placed a Bible into my own hands. That first Bible was a seed that God planted deep in my heart, and I had no idea how far He would take it. You see, I grew up walking on eggshells with a dad who was angry and hot-tempered. Because of that, I experienced feelings of rejection, abandonment, and never felt truly loved.

All through school I tried to fit in, smoking and using drugs at a young age just to feel accepted. I spent most of my twenty’s partying, drinking, and searching for something to fill the emptiness I felt inside—but nothing ever did.

I once fell in love and had a daughter. But he eventually chose drugs over us, and in my pain, I went down the same dark path. I tried meth for the first time, and my life began to spiral. After five months of dating someone new, he was shot and killed. That loss shattered me, and my addiction took complete control. I lost everything—my daughter, my job, my car, my home. Instead of fighting to get her back, I went deeper into addiction.

I committed crimes I never thought I would just to support my habit. In and out of treatment, I eventually ended up on the run from five different counties. I finally hit total despair and loaded a needle with fentanyl and meth to end my life...

BUT GOD

I fell asleep in my car before managing the injection, and I woke up surrounded by police. Handcuffed in the back of that cop car, I remember thinking, thank God it’s over. In jail, I got a Bible from the book cart and saw a sticker inside to write IBG for my own Bible. So I did just that. Today, I'm sitting here at our IBG meeting, listening to the letters from people in jail asking IBG for prayer and a Bible and it hit me! You probably read my letter from prison here 3 years ago!

After spending four months in jail, I received the opportunity to come to Teen Challenge. And that’s where the Lord found me. For the first time in my life, I began to feel real hope. God started to heal me—from the pain, the trauma, the rejection, all of it. I got baptized in water and filled with the Holy Spirit. Through His grace, I now carry and distribute those same Bibles to others - the very gift that once transformed my life.

I once dealt in darkness, but now I’m a carrier of the Light. The same hands that once passed out things that led to bondage now hand out Bibles that lead to freedom.

Today, I’ve graduated the long-term program, gone through Teen Challenge Leadership Institute and I've been working at Teen Challenge for over a year, helping others find the same freedom I found. I once was lost, broken, and hopeless, but Jesus gave me a brand-new life. He made beauty out of ashes.”

There is more to Jessica’s story, so seek her out at a future IBG meeting. Her heart still yearns for a reestablished relationship with her daughter, and her heart is broken by the death of her daughter’s father to a drug overdose while she was incarcerated. This broken world attacks us all, but she is now journeying with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Give Hope! Give Life! Give Bibles!

Chuck Hayes