Unexpected Personal Healing

The more things went wrong (planning and executing the events of the day) the more the universe kicked in to support us. The prison administration required quite a bit of documentation from Franky in order to process his guest pass. Documents that they had never required before, that he had to get from his attorney and the court. It was a very difficult process, and yet he didn’t give up.

The longer it took to process his pass, the longer he had to wait to buy his plane ticket and the more expensive it became. Community contributions flowed in, helping offset the financial burden for Franky to participate in the banquet and Circles of Light event.

Also, inmates attending the event were supposed to receive a permission slip called a “ducket” the night before, a slip that would allow them to be released from their cells. But when I arrived Tuesday morning, none had received their duckets or been placed on the “daily movement sheet.” I had to go from building to building to get the men out.

When we were all assembled in the chapel, one man rose to the stage with tears in his eyes and said, “Julie was not going to stop until every single one of us was here today. No one has ever done anything like that for me before. I am so grateful.” Them not receiving their duckets made it possible for them to experience being valued and cared for. My lesson? There are no problems, only opportunities for growth.