Friday, June 28^th, 2002

Hello All- Well, we finally made it into the hands of Oregon’s DOC. I was ushered into the loving arms of this rehabilitation organization on Tuesday, June 18^th. Ruth followed on the 20^th. My heart sank as our diesel pusher bus rolled through the entrance with razor wire more than 20 feet deep on each side. As it turns out, the rest of the facility doesn’t have near this amount. It’s probably there to intimidate incoming cattle as well as deter visitors to the facility from making any plans for a breakout. Being moved & stripped and processed as we were, many of the inmates likened it to a meat packing plant. Ironically, the females in the actual prison here can work at a meat packing facility.

            Prison is definitely an improvement over County Jail. Though Ruth & I are both still in the intake phase where few privileges are granted, it beats county by a mile in my book. The whole facility is brand new, still having the kinks ironed out. Besides being the intake center for males, females, and juveniles alike, this is also the main female prison in Oregon. Ruth will simply gain privileges like commissary, jobs and more time out of the cell when she finishes the intake “assessment” period which reportedly lasts from 9 to 50 odd days. I won't receive any privileges until I’m shipped off to one of 11 other state prisons.

            I’m extremely happy about getting yard for 20 minutes each day! The smell of pine trees and being able to see grass helps me feel more alive, like I’m still a part of the world. The guards are all pretty cool and I’ve met some true believing inmates as well. No matter where you go in prison, you are going to have a cellie. Ruth and I were lucky to get decent ones that we get along with. Seeing as you’re locked in the same 12’x 6’ area all but 3 hours a day, getting along is critical.

            There are a lot of sad stories in here similar to ours, forced divorces, kids ripped from families and the like, but there are also a lot of sick cases I don’t even want to hear about. There seems to be a big difference between the men and the women here. I was recognized all along the way during transport and then up here. Many have come to me just to shake my hand and on several other occasions, people have exclaimed “That’s my hero right there” & I’ve gotten cheers & ovations which was awesome! But apparently, the women are full of gossip & dissention as Ruth has encountered jeering & hostility from some women who’d saved up slanderous articles on us from Grants Pass’s Daily Courier. She has also had many come up to shake her hand etc, but the few feces-stirrers can really make your life hell in the women’s section. Please pray for Ruth’s safety, protection and preservation of her integrity and reputation. I wish I could be there to protect her, but God will have to be her rear guard.

            The food here is far better than county food and the vegetarian trays include fresh vegetables and fruit. You are only given 5 envelopes here that have to last your entire time in intake. I’ve traded food for a few extra envelopes so I can write to Ruth a little more often. I’ve sent her 2 letters so far. I saw her through some glass one day over in the receiving building and on the 26^th we were able to have a telephone conference for 30 minutes with Ed, our attorney. Though not allowed to touch, we certainly smiled & gleamed a lot at each other as we discussed the plea bargain Ed had negotiated. Thankfully we have no further pending charges in Oregon, all are dealt with and no additional time is added to our sentences.

            For those who don’t understand or haven’t heard what out sentences are, we both got 7 1/2 years under Measure 11 which you do day for day, no parole, no good time. I also received an additional 5 years called a “gun minimum” which I believe does carry good time. Good time means you do 80% of your sentence provided you work 40 hours a week to help run the prison & you don’t get into serious trouble during your stay. With as many people streaming in here as I’ve seen (over 50 in my group!) and with so many long term Measure 11 sentences they’re either going to have to build prisons even faster then they already are or come up with new programs to get people out on the streets faster. The judicial system/imprisonment is the fastest growing industry in America and its all becoming privatized, scary huh?

            Well, I just read an article about how a court ruled that “One Nation Under God” is unconstitutional.  This leads me into some of the insight I’ve gained recently through all this. Ruth and I read a chapter of the Bible together every evening, which helps to bond us together, even though we’re separate. On Sunday, the 16^th we started Deuteronomy after finishing Numbers and part of the scripture jumped out at me;  verse 6&7 “You have stayed here long enough at this mountain:  turn and take your journey and go to the hill country…”.  I knew we were leaving, and sure enough, we were scheduled for transport that week.  As we headed north on I-5, I enjoyed the views of the “hill country” and thanked God for my first trip outside that Roseburg jailhouse in 10 months!

            The scriptures we’ve been reading amazingly follow very closely with our life as it unfolds . The whole book of Deuteronomy is a recounting of where God has brought us from, a reminder of His faithfulness to us in the desert and a time of preparation before entering into his promises. Joshua will be a time of action. Like I said earlier about my heart sinking at the sight of all that barbed wire and razor wire, I thought on how I was about to be swallowed up in the belly of  this beast, about how little hope there is to escape such a fortress. I confess I forgot all of God’s promises in a single moment. But then I remembered how Moses had sent out the spies to survey the land promised them. Their report on return was that they were as mere grasshoppers compared to the inhabitants of the land promised them. Their report on return was that they were as mere grasshoppers compared to the inhabitants of the land and their cities were fortresses impenetrable. I realized that I’d better keep faith and remember God’s promise to our family for deliverance. Since then I’ve gathered my strength and God has been showing me through scripture as well as other inmates that he is about to move.

            Almost everyone knows that something big is coming, something huge and many will not survive. Striking “one nation under God” is perhaps the final nail in the coffin? If we, from the pulpit of the “Justice” system declare ourselves no longer under God, somehow independent of the creator, then we attempt to dethrone him, for the foundation of his throne is Justice. Is our justice higher than his? Just like our case where God established our family but our nation’s “justice” says no way! If this doesn’t anger God then nothing will.

            He is about to remove his grace which he did shed on thee America when we were a little more faithful. 9/11 was a warning. God allowed the two symbols of our greatest idols to be struck down in a single hour, our wealth and our might. Wisdom in the Bible tells us that no king is saved by the size of his army and a horse is a vain hope for salvation yet the general opinion is that America is invincible. I just read about U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan drafting and passing a new constitution stating “America is here and will kick your ass!” Where is the humility?  Its been replaced with arrogance and stupidity.

            Then there’s America’s financial pride and obsession with excess. People hardly know how to grow their own food anymore and are hopelessly dependent on other people to supply their need. Is it any wonder that the antichrist will sway the masses by offering food and supplies but at the cost of his mark? I don’t know when that day will come, but we sure are ripe for it today.

            So it is clear to me that this time is a time of preparation for all of us before entering the promised land of God, whatever that is in each of our lives. For Ruth and I it is to stand together side by side in unity and to be leaders of many peoples. Many, many times God has confirmed this. The scripture given to us over our marriage through many independent people is Isaiah 58. We are to be the restorers and leaders after the destruction, our whole lives have been training for that (verse 12)

            So even though it seems impossible, I must keep praying and waiting on God, for His promise to come to pass and for going in to possess the land appointed to me, keeping in mind it is he that must increase as I decrease (Deuteronomy 9:4-5). It’s for His name’s sake, not by my earning it or by my righteousness. I pray God keeps me in humility all the days of my life that I don’t give a haughty look which he despises.

            I thank each and every one of you for your prayers, especially prayers for Ruth’s safety and for peace in the hearts of our little ones. I know they are struggling with loneliness and feelings of worthlessness and abandonment. God bless you all. Here is our address in case you want to write to us:

             I don’ know what the future holds for us, how long we must wait, but things sure do seem to be taking shape rapidly. God is gracious and full of mercy. Let us all remember where God has brought us from, his provision for us in the waste places and His promises that He will keep, for he is trustworthy and good.

 Love,

 Brian Christine