"Walk in a New Way" – Sylvia’s Story
Sylvia Price receives applause at our gala on Oct 5, 2021 in Raleigh, NC.
As we look back on the year, one especially bright part is how God brought Sylvia Price to our ministry, first as participant in our Bible study program while serving time in prison, then as a supporter of the ministry from her home in the DC metro. We were honored by her presence at our 2021 gala where we shared her video testimony of God’s healing work in her life. You can watch that video below.
In a previous newsletter, we shared a heartfelt letter that Sylvia sent to our offices. Reading it again brings us much satisfaction in the work God has called us to: To glorify God by sharing His love with the incarcerated by distributing donated Bibles, Christian books, and volunteer-reviewed correspondence Bible studies throughout the world. May he continue to use CLI Prison Alliance to impact the lives of men and women behind bars.
Read Sylvia’s letter to CLI below:
Dear CLI,
I feel very blessed having so much love and care extended to me. It feels good having people like you helping people like me to get through the devastation of being in prison. I encourage you to continue with this wonderful thing that you do. If you ever wondered before if your effort is even worth it, take it from me, IT IS!! I wait eagerly for mail from CLI Prison Alliance. The comments make me feel so good about what I’ve done. The joy I feel when I share the lessons with some of my roommates or with the women in my prayer group is amazing. I feel like I’m finally a part of something good, something godly, something real. God’s work is being done. His will is being revealed and His love shows in all that you do. So please, each time you receive mail from this facility, know how much we appreciate this ministry and how important your purpose is for lives that are lost.
I’m eight days from returning to the community and family I left behind 5 years ago. My life prior to July 2015 was one of turmoil, unrest, distrust, and unhappiness. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps! I never would have imagined that anyone, let alone a loving God, would be capable of saving a wreck like me. I was so caught up with the world as I knew it and its perverse morals and values, I succumbed to a life that enveloped me in complete darkness. But God knew me, all about me, including my heart. He created me, so of course He knew what He was going to do with me. Psalm 145:14 reminds me that “The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.” Although God hates sin and all evil actions, He did not react with anger.
Instead, He showed me His great power and how much He had love and compassion for a wreck like me. And my changed life is proof of all that He has done.
God promised in Jeremiah 29:13-14, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never happen. We are powerless to stand against our tendency toward sin and failure, but God reaches out to those who are weak and entrapped by sin to forgive us and strengthen us by His glorious power to rebuild our lives. Through Jesus, God already conquered the power of sin. All we need to do is admit that we do need His help and ask Him for it. He will empower us to overcome our weaknesses.
Today I breathe new life, beat a new heart, walk in a new way, with new hope inspired by a new faith in the same God! My life as I knew it, although in the past, was necessary all the same so that I can be the living testimony of God’s amazing grace and mercy. My experience is “His story” (History) and I’m blessed to be a part of it. And I’m so grateful that He uses you also, the volunteers at CLI Prison Alliance, to encourage me with prayers and motivating words of wisdom. Thank you for all the time and love you put into your God-given calling. Although this experience saved my life, I still am happy that I am going home. I’m praying every day that God continues to enlighten me with understanding His precious word and to mature in my Christian walk. I still have a lot of work to do on myself, a lot of growing up to do, and I thank God for where I am so far.
I pray that this is the “beginning” of a forever relationship with all of you, my new family in Christ.
I do have family in Durham, NC, as well as in Wilson, NC, so I can only hope that one day the Lord will use me in an awesome way and allow me to give back what you all gave me, hope and love! May God bless all of you and CLI Prison Alliance and please continue to send me the material to help me as I pursue getting to know all about His word and His will for my life.
Thank you and God bless,
Sylvia Price