The young once ten year old Sue now lived with her husband and children in Eastern Washington. Her own life had been a series of mistakes that she regretted. Yet now she was the mother two beautiful children. She volunteered regularly at their Elementary school. She had left the tough streets of Tacoma years ago.

One day Jerry said to the chaplain, “I know that I am in here for the rest of my life. I did my jail time for robbery and stealing. I admit I did those crimes. I am guilty. I got the consequences I deserved for those crimes. What I cannot understand is why I am here for something I did not do. I did not rape that girl.”

As he continued reading, he read the stories that all seemed to lead back to God. God was the caring creator who wanted to know him. He was surprised that the creator of the universe wanted to know him. So, he kept reading.

One day, Jerry decided he would choose to believe in Jesus, as the penitentiary Chaplain had talked about to him. He knew in his mind that his life behind bars offered him constant shame, discouragement, fighting and boredom.

…Continuation from last weeks BLOG (read it to get up to speed on this week’s blog)

Jerry started visiting regularly with the penitentiary’s Chaplain. He spent many hours talking to the Chaplain about what it really meant to have a committed relationship with Jesus.

(cont. from last week) So, the police were happy to arrest Jerry, a repeat offender. The “two strikes you’re out” laws in Washington state locked him up, with a life sentence. Jerry then spent years locked up in many Washington state prisons. He adjusted to “life on the inside.”  One of the adjustments he got familiar with was the dental health. He learned that if he had a toothache, he would go to the penitentiary “dentist.” The tooth or teeth hurting him would be extracted, thus ending his pain.

So, as he started describing the Tacoma he grew up in, I totally understood his description. See, in that area of Tacoma, we (me and my siblings) told strongly, by our parents, that we should NEVER go into that area. I was just certainly a “chick from the sticks” during that time.

At 89 years old, Derlin Newey from Utah was still delivering pizzas about 30 hours a week — not because he wanted to, but because his pension wasn’t enough to cover his bills. One of his regular customers, the Valdez family, always asked for Derlin to bring their order, recording his visits and his signature greeting: “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?”
When these videos were shared on TikTok in early 2023, thousands of people grew to love Derlin. After finding out he was working because he had to, the community came together and raised $12,000 as a surprise tip.