May 4, 2020 Mailing

Hello friends,

We want you all to know about how much love and support you and this project are receiving. We started an online fundraiser one week ago to cover the cost of JPay stamps for the summer and met our goal within THREE DAYS! We’ve raised the goal to get us through fall, and we are now only $25 away from that threshold, with dozens of people stepping up to contribute. We’re posting your responses on the project’s website, which has been visited 268 times (and counting) in the past two weeks. So know that people out here are not only speaking up for you, but also supporting these efforts with their dollars.

I also want to take a moment to recognize the passing of George Henderson, a man I never had the chance to meet but who has made such a strong impact on so many of you. Thank you for sharing your memories of him and his name with us.

Stay strong,

Lifelines for MCI

Thoughts from the Free World

I don’t know anything about you, but I am grateful for the opportunity to write to you today ... even if it is brief. In this season of pandemic and crisis, one thing is for sure — we are all battling something. There is an odd feeling of unity in my mind knowing the entire world is going through so much change and uncertainty at one time. I know your facility has been impacted immensely, and I will be thinking of everyone there in the weeks to come. -Jen

You are not alone. We are here, and we are with you. – Meagan C

You matter. You count. Someone is praying for you. – Jeannie who loves nature

You are not alone. People who have never met you in person care about you and your well-being

– Literata

Ohio citizens are calling for the review of the sentences of incarcerated individuals, to help with Covid-19 safety in Ohio prisons. – Janice

Mental/Physical Workouts for Today

Spend ten minutes in stillness, being aware of the soles of your feet.

There are three houses. One is red, one is blue, and one is white. If the red house is to the left of the house in the middle, and the blue house is to the right to the house in the middle, where is the white house? (Answer at the end)

You are in a cabin and it is pitch black. You have one match on you. Which do you light first, the newspaper, the lamp, the candle, or the fire? (Answer at the end)

Look out. Life your gaze. Does anything surprise you? Any small detail that you hadn't seen before?

Quotations to Think About Today

He who loses money loses much. He who loses a friend loses much more. He who loses faith loses all. —Eleanor Roosevelt

Deuteronomy 31:8-9 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Pull a thread here and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world.”

― Nadeem Aslam, The Wasted Vigil

Brainteaser answers: Washington, DC; the match