Sponsorship By Mail

By Lee D.

I began my correspondence with Ryan B. back in October. My family leader, Jan Cheripko, announced that he had heard from a former student who was serving a long prison term, and that he would be delighted to receive letters from anyone.

For some reason I felt compelled to write Ryan a letter and open up to a stranger. I began writing things that I hadn’t told anyone yet. I told him some of my biggest fears and traits about me that I hated and would not admit to anyone here at the school. Eventually my life was spilled out on the pages of that first letter.

Fear gripped me as I handed all my secrets over to Jan to be sent out to a man who I had never seen or talked to. I didn’t know what to expect. Would I get a response telling me things that I had heard year after year, from countless therapists and some of the staff here at the school? Or, would I receive a response from the heart telling me how it is, (whether I liked it or not?)

Luckily, it was just that!

The first letter I received from Ryan got straight to the point. He set down his ground rules right off the bat. First he said, “I will never sugarcoat anything.” Next, he said “If I hear that you are using me and our correspondence as a means to escape reality or get away from talking to people, our correspon­dence will cease immediately and will not continue again until I am prompted otherwise by Jan.”And lastly, he stated, “Our correspon­dence will also cease if I hear that your grades have gone down.” That was a shock in itself to me from the start!

I went on with the correspon­dence anyway.

Ryan shared his story with me and told me how the choices he made in life had put him where he is today. He lived life in the moment and did anything to be “happy.” Happy to him, as well as to me, was getting high and drunk so that the feelings of hurt, guilt, and fear would get buried deep down and never surface as long as the drugs and alcohol were in his system.

Eventually this had to end, and it did after Ryan got down on his knees and begged God to help him. He was arrested and put in jail within hours. His prayer was answered, not in the way that he may have liked, but his prayer was still answered.

After being in prison for a while he found God and his true self through prayer and medita­tion. Even though he has more than two years of his sentence to serve, he is still freer than he ever has been before.

I read his story over and over again and I began to understand how he could find this freedom in a place where he is surrounded by bars and concrete walls, and I began to see what I was doing differently, and how the choices I was making would affect my life for years to come.

I continue to write him every week and all the time I am gain­ing a powerful relationship with him, and a better understanding of how to get to where he is. He has changed my life, and helped me in ways I never believed pos­sible. I owe so much to him and the only way I can repay him is to keep sharing my experience, strength, and hope with all whom I come in contact.

Tagged as: The Family Foundation School