Transformation Is A Life Long Journey Send To Printer | Close Window

By Andy Kilen, Rochester Network for Re-Entry

I arose earlier than normal. This was a day I had been looking forward to for a long time. The gray cold morning did not dampen the joy that Keith and I felt as we drove to the prison to pick up Antonio who was to become the very first resident of the Discipleship Home. Keith had agreed to be Antonio’s mentor and was anxious to meet him. The joy on the face of the one walking out of the gate from incarceration to freedom does not accurately reflect the real feeling of fear and anxiety that they feel within. Antonio wasn’t any different. After a cheerful meeting the conversation quickly turned to the serious issues of re-entry. The previous experience of re-entry failed miserably and he feared failing again.

Antonio’s life’s journey began on Chicago’s Westside. He found the lure of the streets and gangs at the early age. “My life seemed hopeless and that no one cared about me,” reflects Antonio. At fourteen this was the thought that lead to a suicide attempt. His dad left home when Antonio was two, his step-dad was a drug dealer, his mother a drug addict, and a brother in prison. At age 16, Antonio moved from his house into the projects on Chicago’s south side with his girlfriend and her sister, and supported his drug habit and girl friend through criminal activity. “Drug use and robbery were a part of my everyday life,” said Antonio in describing his life at that time.

He was first arrested at the age of fifteen for burglary and auto theft. Drugs, crime and gang activity continued to escalate for Antonio. He moved out of Chicago in 1995 at the promptings of his mother because she feared for his life. He ended up moving in with an uncle here in Rochester, MN. Shortly after moving to Rochester his uncle went to jail, and Antonio was again on his own. The lifestyle of drugs and all the madness that went with it continued and from 1996 to 2002 Antonio was in out of jail and prison for various charges.

While in the Olmsted County jail in 1999 a fellow inmate began to talk with Antonio about God. At first He was very resistant to any talk of God but wanted a friend so he tolerated the talk. The continuing talks he had with his friend led him to become interested in going to Bible study. It was at the Bible Study that I met Antonio and a friendship began. He soon came to the point where he realized he needed a change and he placed his trust in Christ for his salvation. Even though the pattern of his life continued to look a lot like the old, Antonio, did not loose interest in the things of God. He was in and out of jail a couple of more times and our relationship continued.

As Keith, Antonio and I drove up to the Discipleship Home that gray fall day we were all so very hopeful that the opportunity he was getting to make all things new in his life would not end in the same way as the past.

His first words to me as we walked into the Discipleship Home were “I get to live here.” He was responding to the comfort and the warmth of the home that all who enter it feel. Unfortunately, living at the Discipleship Home is not a guarantee that life will be different as before prison. After a couple of weeks Antonio was gone from the home and back to the old life style and soon back in jail for another trip to prison.

Recently, Antonio was released from prison and is living a few blocks from the Discipleship Home. Our relationship has continued and he is a part of the Network. He attends and participates in the Bible Studies and activities that we offer. He is growing in the knowledge of the Lord. When I asked him what he has learned that will make this time out prison different, he says “The last time out I wasn’t a believer. I didn’t trust others more than I trusted myself. Today I know
I need to seek many advisers and trust their advice. I am no longer a victim I am a participant.”

It is our joy to see the transformation of lives even though most of the time we do not understand the process. The relationships we start here at Rochester Network for Re-Entry are for a lifetime. We trust that Antonio will be a lifetime participant at the Network. It becomes more obvious to us with each relationship that we build that life is about eternity.

Andy Kilen is the Director of Rochester Network for Re-Entry in Rochester, Minnesota. The mission of Rochester Network for Re-Entry is to build lasting relationships with those in our community impacted by crime, restoring them to God, family and community.