Ken's Summary:

As I reflect upon the first day I entered Prison I recall the words very well written above the door. "He who enters here leaves all hope behind." When you live in a hopeless state you are dead. I was truly a dead man walking. I thought to myself, "you really got yourself in a big mess now, Hulsey." But we have a God of hope who will never let us go.

Now, thirty-six years later and much wiser, I can only thank God everyday that He loved me enough to never give up on me. As Charlene has shared, the transition for me on the outside of the gate was difficult. Without the Lord, the Church, the Body of Christ, Char by my side, and the love of family and friends, I wouldn't have made it.

We became involved in ministry right away. I needed to give back to the Lord what He had given me while I was incarcerated. To help others see they too, could have a new life in Jesus. Char and I joined a church where Christ was alive. She became an Elder and I, a Deacon. I struggled within my soul with a calling for my life. I fought the calling and ran from it for years. Moses said "who am I that I should deliver your people," and I thought to myself, "who am I that God would or could ever use me?" Yet God's word tells us that: "So faith comes by hearing (what is told), and what is heard comes by the preaching (of the message that came from the lips) of Christ, the Messiah Himself."
Romans 10:17
God called but I kept making excuses.

The breakthrough for me was a sermon that Pastor Clay Allard preached one Sunday. His prophetic words were these:
"To know and not to do is not to know."
The apostle James said this: "Anyone than who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sins."
James 4:17
I loved the Lord with all my heart and I knew without a doubt He was calling me into the ministry. I was sinning against the God who had redeemed me and saved me from Hell. I had to obey His calling on my life.

I had been a Lay Preacher at my church and involved in the Great Banquet Community making Christ known. Deep inside I knew that this was the ministry I wanted for the rest of my life: to preach and teach the Word of God and help others find the way, the truth and the life. Through guidance from my pastor, last year I enrolled in the Commissioned Lay Pastor Program of the Presbyterian Church. God willing, I will complete this program in a few years.

So you can see I have gone from a Prison cell to a pulpit by the grace of God. Last June I had the opportunity along with five other men to travel to Poland on a Mission trip. I had the privilege to preach and witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ to men who were incarcerated in Gryfow, Poland. I have had the joy of speaking to youth groups and helping young people to see that the choices they make all have consequences that will affect their lives. Life is a series of lessons which will be repeated until learned.

Char and I can sum up our lives thusly: God was faithful to us and had a plan for our lives, for the good, even in the darkest of times.

    You are who you are for a reason. You're part of an intricate plan.
    You're a precious and perfect unique design, called God's special woman or man.
    You look like you look for a reason. Our God made no mistakes.
    He knit you together within the womb, you're just what He wanted to make.
    The parents you had were the ones He chose, and no matter how you feel,
    They were custom designed with God's plan in mind, and they bear the Master's seal.
    No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so;
    But it was allowed to shape your heart so that into His likeness you'd grow.
    You are who you are for a reason, you've been formed by the Master's rod.
    You are who you are, beloved, because there is a God!


            Russell Kelfer

Char's Summary:

As I reflect, I can see the Master's hand weaving the beautiful threads of my life together. Many times I cried out to God, "What should I do Lord?" Always I heard His soft and gentle voice say to me, "Put your hand to the plow." We are called to be Plowmen. To put our faith into action, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are unloved, hurting and broken. We are called to be the salt and light. Whatever it takes to bring a soul to Christ is worth everything in the world. Like the apostle Paul says, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."

Mother Teresa speaks of carrying our Lord to places where He has not walked before. This is precisely our task as followers of the Good Shepherd. Christ calls us to be His hands, His feet, His voice. He has delegated us to bring His love to a love-starved world and to the needy and lost. Can we do less?

Thank you for reading our story. May our Lord bless you always. Strive to be a blessing to the stranger, to the sick, to those in prison, to the hungry, to those in need of clothing, to the thirsty who need a drink of water, and those falling by the wayside in the darkness.
            All praise, honor and glory be to God, our Redeemer, our friend,

                        Ken and Char Hulsey