This is part 1 of a 5 part interview series highlighting the amazing work that is happening in Kewanee, Illinois in regards to prison ministry and re-entry initiatives. In this series we will hear from former inmates, prison ministry volunteers and a business owner who are involved in the work which is taking place out there.
In this episode, Omar is joined by Michelle Gillespie and Ronnie Carrasquillo to discuss their incredible work in helping formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society. Ronnie was recently released from prison after having served over 47 years straight. Witness first-hand accounts of redemption, community support, and the life-changing impact of faith and compassion. This episode provides a deep look into how lives can be turned around from the darkest places to the light, with the help of dedicated people and supportive communities.
This episode features Michelle Gillespie and highlights her involvement in prison ministry in Kewanee, Illinois. The discussion covers the impactful prison ministry initiatives in Kewanee, including live church services, spiritual support, and reentry programs that help incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society. Michelle shares her personal journey, her faith, and the profound changes she has witnessed in both herself and the formerly incarcerated individuals she supports. Through testimonies and community support, the episode underscores the importance of compassion, faith, and structured reentry programs in transforming lives.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Omar (00:15):
From the city of Chicago, a city most recently known for
its crime and violence.
On this podcast, we will besharing stories of redemption
from individuals raised in thetough streets of Chicago and
from around the country.
Some of them were gang members,drug dealers, incarcerated
victims, and perpetrators ofviolence.
(00:36):
Listen to my guests as theyshare their experiences,
struggles, trauma, but also thestrength, Hope, faith and
perseverance.
These have developed in them tokeep pushing and moving forward
in life.
Tune in to hear how their liveshave gone from darkness to light
and from wrong to strong.
Hello everyone.
(00:57):
And welcome to another episodeof Wrong to Strong Chicago.
I'm your host, Jeff.
I'm your host.
My name is Omar Calvillo andtonight we have the opportunity
to be at our sister's house.
Her name is Michelle Gillespie.
Uh, we're out here in Kewanee,Illinois.
I'm out here because of RonnieCarrasquillo.
I've been connected with hisbrother, man, it's been probably
close to a year, maybe a littlebit under, uh, but I've been
(01:17):
making a lot of connections, uh,through Ronnie and we decided to
come out here in Kewaneebecause, uh, Kewanee played a
part of his story of, what hedid there and how it impacted
him.
Uh, but, uh, But he told me,man, let's go out to Kewanee and
let's share some of the storiesthat are, that are happening
down there, uh, through prisonministry.
Uh, so that's the reason thatwe're here.
(01:37):
Uh, we're here to talk to mysister and we're going to maybe
get a little bit of your story,if you don't mind, maybe a
little bit just of yourbackground.
Cause eventually the, what wewant to get into is how you got
into prison ministry.
You know, that's why we're here.
Uh, the impact that it's made,maybe making your life and your
family's life.
Uh, but also to, show people inChicago what's happening out
(01:58):
here.
Because we're like in a ruralcountry, I guess you would call
it, or the country of Illinois.
Uh, so he wanted to highlightwhat's going on out here.
Ronnie (02:07):
What reentry looks like.
Omar (02:09):
Okay.
Ronnie (02:09):
A real reentry, uh, program it looks like.
Omar (02:13):
Compared to the
Ronnie (02:14):
So the city has their own type of reentry, but this,
uh, township has, uh, startedgoing into the prison and, uh,
fellowshipping with the brothersin the prison and then learning
that them people wanted newlifestyles, new places to stay.
And these people took it toheart and they actually carried
(02:35):
it out of allowing these.
Brothers to parole into theirarea, helping them get jobs,
housing, cars, and to start anew life, and uh, monitoring
them, help them, uh, reintegrateinto society.
So that's what we're here for totalk about.
Omar (02:48):
Hey man, that, that's huge, you know.
You've seen it firsthand, andwe're going to get a firsthand
account here.
So, so Michelle, who goes?
One of the first soldiers,
Ronnie (02:55):
one of the first, uh, families that, uh, came into the
system and started doingservices with us.
They turned in from, uh, baptisminto regular services, Monday
night services.
To the chaplain was a chaplainNew York in the prison and then
it turned into, uh, doing biblestudies.
So they were Continuously comingevery week supporting people and
(03:17):
uh retraining people in thesystem to have different mindset
how to come home and to Workback into society and be
successful citizens not reentering into the system
Omar (03:29):
You know what ronnie if you don't mind me asking you
Could you share what was goingon in Kewanee before they came
in, you know What did a churchservice look like there?
Ronnie (03:40):
When I got there, church service looked like, uh, you'd
go to a room, a classroom and,and uh, watch the service on TV.
A church would be highlighted onthe TV and you would just be in
the room watching a TV.
So then they would come inanother day sometimes and talk
about it, but it was not a liveperson speaking to you at the
moment.
So when they came in on abaptism one time, we, we
(04:04):
challenged the chaplain at thetime.
And the outside ministry whocame in to start coming in and,
uh, giving us live serviceswhere humans talking to humans.
And they, uh, lived up to thechallenge.
They created four ministries inthe environment to start.
They used a guy named Jeff as amediator, Jeff Heppner.
And, uh, I started bringingdifferent churches into the
(04:27):
facility so that every Mondaynight we had a live, uh, service
with a minister coming andgiving us sermons.
Omar (04:35):
All right, Michel, now we're going to turn it over to
you.
Um, so I know Robiney mentionedthere was no church services
going on at this time.
Uh, how did your life look priorto you stepping foot into
Kewanee, I guess?
Could you tell us a little bitabout yourself?
You know, maybe even, you know,even before you get there.
Can you describe Kewanee, youknow, cause I'm born and raised
in Chicago, you know, we're outhere in the country, I think
(04:57):
it's Southwest of Chicago wherewe're at.
So maybe can you describe thisarea for people that don't know
what life is like out here?
Michelle (05:04):
Yeah, sure.
So, um, I actually used to go toa really big church in Peoria,
um, where the congregation wasmaybe a couple thousand people
and, um, during COVID, you know,everything shut down and, um,
Uh, the church that I'm at nowin Kewanee is a smaller church
and a couple hundred people.
(05:25):
And, um, they were one of thefirst to start having services
again.
So, uh, my family started going,you know, to that church and we
just fell in love with it.
Everything was perfect for us.
Um, as Ronnie had mentioned,Jeff Heppner, he was, you know,
one of the first guys thatstarted going out to the Kewanee
Life Skills and he went to ourchurch and, um, he, a couple of
(05:47):
times had, you know, stood up onthe stage.
And, um, the first time I heardit, it was in, uh, I think it
was in a January, but yeah, itwas in January and, um, it was
winter time.
And right after service, I saidto my husband, I think I'm going
to go downstairs and ask Jeffmore about this.
(06:08):
Do you mind?
And he says.
I knew you were going to saythat.
And um, I, you know, I've alwaysbeen a servant and I just like
to help others and anytime I cando that, I, you know, take on
that challenge.
And so I, I prayed on it and I,you know, kind of talked to my
family about it who was a littlebit, you know, on edge about it.
(06:30):
I was like, well, maybe I shouldjust hold off a little while.
And then a couple of weekslater, Jeff asked again and I
was like, okay, we're going todo this.
You know, got it.
God wants me to do this and, andwe did and um, the first time I
went, I loved it.
I couldn't have felt morewelcome.
I did not feel like I was in aprison at all.
Um, I got to meet Ronnie thatnight, a couple other guys and
(06:52):
uh, my brother passed away in2010 from a car accident and I
felt instantly like, like theyfilled a void that I didn't have
before.
Like it was like I had purpose.
I don't have like my onlysibling anymore, but I had these
guys I could help, you know,like, you know, it just.
It was awesome.
It came full circle.
Omar (07:12):
And I know, I know you say you, you had to pray about it,
so can you tell us about yourfaith, like growing up, or what,
how does, how does faith look inyour life as you're, you know,
growing up, you know, like.
Michelle (07:22):
Yeah, sure.
So, um, when I was younger, um,my parents, we went to church
occasionally.
I mostly went with mygrandparents on both sides of my
family.
Um, and then my parents got adivorce and we didn't go to
church a lot, uh, but I still,you know, went like with my
family.
I feel like I've always had,like.
a relationship with God, um, Ijust wasn't doing a good job of,
(07:44):
you know, studying his word and,um, always acting on it.
And so then when I had kids, Iknew that that was something
that I wanted to make sure thatthey had in their life.
And so, and so we did.
Um, like I said, my brotherpassed away in 2010 and I can
remember a moment when somebodyhad asked me, um, if I blamed
God for that and I was kind oftaken back by it because I
(08:08):
didn't and that never wouldhappen.
wants crossed my mind at all.
And, um, I just knew from thatpoint forward that, you know, I
did, I had God with me and Iwould pray on that for my
brother.
I would pray that he would findpeace, that he would get to go
to heaven.
I didn't know where he was at inhis faith, you know?
Um, and I prayed every day andthen there was one day where I
(08:30):
just immediately, uh, felt, feltpeace.
And so I knew where he was and Idon't know, I just feel like
there's a lot of testimonythroughout my whole life, not
just one testimony.
But I know now through going tothe prison and watching what
these guys can do and just therelationships there, there's so
much more testimony and I mean,it's just incredible what God
(08:51):
has done in this place.
Omar (08:54):
I know, I know, uh, you mentioned that your husband
almost like knew like, man, Iknow she's, she's going to want
to go now.
You mentioned a servant.
Well, um, how does, how does aservant look like, or what do
you feel you got that, uh,servant's heart, I guess, like
in for you?
Yeah,
Michelle (09:09):
I do.
How do you feel like that?
I just, I like to serve atchurch, um, you know, these
guys, if they need help withsomething, I like to help them.
If they say that they don't havefamily when they get out, um,
you know, I like to be able tohelp get them the resources that
they need so that they have aplace to go so that they have a
support system.
Um, like Ronnie was saying,Kewanee has become a really good
(09:29):
support system.
There's three or four, maybeeven five churches that are very
involved.
Um, either they have volunteersthat go in or they have
volunteers that are, you know,ready to help them when they get
out.
out, uh, the communities inKewanee and around.
There's some other, other townsaround, uh, Galveston, one of
them.
The city hires these guys, youknow, to come in while they're
still in the prison and, andthey get to work there and the
(09:52):
communities just become reallyreceptive to that and, um,
there's just a huge supportsystem here.
Omar (09:57):
Right.
What, what year, I know I wasasking you Ronnie, uh, what year
did they open the prison outhere, uh, Kewanee?
Something like 2014.
2014?
Uh huh.
Okay.
Okay.
Now, I, I know you mentioned thesupport of the community, like.
Helping, uh, was there any, anypushback?
I guess, you know,'cause outhere is like rural, you know,
country.
Yeah.
And, uh, was there any pushback,like, I don't know, like to help
(10:18):
these guys reintegrate here andto stay in the community?
Because I know that's one ofthe, the big things we, we wanna
highlight how how the communitydoes, does help, you know, but
I, I don't know.
Just,
Michelle (10:28):
um, so as far as the community as a whole, I'm really
not sure, um, chance that Imoved here in 2010 and.
So I haven't been here as longas some, um, and I know when I
tell people what I do, you know,with this ministry, some people
are a little standoffish aboutit, but I do think as a whole,
(10:50):
you know, they see the good init and you know, these guys have
proven themselves.
They come out and they, youknow, they've, they've spent the
last few years proving thatthey're coming out and doing
good things.
They mentor to others, they're,they're doing good things.
Omar (11:03):
Okay.
Now I know you met Ronnie there,Could you talk about, um, I
know, no, before, I guess beforewe get into that, anybody like,
like as you're growing up,anybody like in your family,
friends that facedincarceration, I guess.
Um, maybe is that part of thereason to want to go into prison
or not?
Like.
Michelle (11:21):
Yeah.
So my brother was one.
He had actually had three DUIsand, um, he was looking at some
pretty serious prison time and,um, then he was ironically, uh,
killed in a drunk drivingaccident.
So.
Um, yeah, absolutely, uh, Ijust, and I know he was good,
so.
Omar (11:42):
I'm sorry to hear that, I know you mentioned that being
your only, uh, sibling that ithad to be, uh, rough, you know,
and.
Michelle (11:47):
I have some more siblings, some extended family
in there, but, um, yeah, I mean,he was, there's, there's a big
difference between the rest ofus, so, I mean, it was just he
and I for the first, uh, 11 or12 years, I think, so, yep.
Omar (12:00):
Uh, so I know you mentioned going in there and,
uh, meeting these guys and theyalmost became, you know, like in
your mind, almost like brothers.
Uh, what, what was it thatyou've seen in them that maybe
you didn't expect to see?
Cause usually when you go intoprison or before you go in, you
have this mindset of what theseguys are going to be like,
they're going to be hard andcold.
I can't trust them.
Maybe they're scary or whatever,you know, whatever comes to
mind.
But what was it that?
(12:21):
that you witnessed that made youwant to keep coming back?
Michelle (12:25):
Well, yeah, I did expect hard and scary and, uh,
you know, you go in and theyall, uh, shake your hand and,
um, they just, they weren't,they weren't that.
They were so kind.
Um, I think I met happy firstand they call him happy because
he is just.
Always happy.
There's a smile on his face allthe time.
(12:46):
Um, and then I got to talk toRonnie, and Ronnie just, I mean,
he scouts out everybody thatwalks in the room.
And, I, I just, all theinformation I got from him, I
just, I learned so much aboutthe Bible in such a, like,
probably a ten minuteconversation.
I knew that that was somethingalready, before going into the
prison, that I needed to work onfor myself.
(13:07):
I honestly got, probably getmore from going there than they
do, you know, from me.
Um, I just, I, I went home thatnight and Chance asked me how it
was and I said, well, I met aman named Ronnie and he talks
like Al Pacino and uh, he said,Oh, and I was like, no, no, he's
(13:31):
great.
I learned so much about theBible and I just, every week I
would come home and I would tellChance about Ronnie and finally
Chance, my husband went and gotto meet Ronnie and um, If he had
met him, he would always say, becareful when I was, you know,
leaving to go to the prison.
And after he met Ronnie, uh,every night he would say, or
every Monday night he would say,have fun.
(13:52):
Tell the guys I said hi.
You know, it was just, theseguys are incredible.
They, they are trying so hard.
It's so hard to get it rightthis time and um, I do believe
that God is in Kewanee doingamazing things for sure.
Omar (14:06):
Amen.
Amen.
Now Ronnie, as they're comingin, you know, I know you
mentioned before they didn'thave no chaplain, no in person
services, I know you mentionedDVDs or TV.
So what, what was it like forthe guys in there to finally get
like a in person, you know, likeministers, I guess, to come to,
to serve in there?
Ronnie (14:25):
Well, we started from two or three people to 50.
to 20 to 30 to uh, doingprogram.
Uh, Christmas candle lighting,Christmas uh, what do you call
it?
Visual.
Visual.
Christmas visual light wherethey bring candles in.
Christmas Eve.
They started bringing, becausethe ministries got so big, we
started doing uh, feeding thechildren programs.
(14:45):
Boxing was a 20, 000, 20, 000meals for kids and stuff like
that.
So we had a Sunday night, Mondaynight service, Tuesday night
Bible study.
So we had like four differentfamilies, up to five families.
Uh, coming in to study theBible, Bible training, you know,
and then, uh, trading sermons,then plus bringing the, the, uh,
(15:09):
ministers in from the street.
So it just became a, a, atraining center, a serious
training center of the ministry.
You know, that's what we turnedit into.
Omar (15:19):
Amen.
Amen.
Now I know it was, um, thechurch also, but could you guys
talk about, I don't know if youguys want to, uh, but, but, What
are others doing outside of thechurch to help these guys out
here in Kewanee?
Michelle (15:31):
Okay, so, um, well actually one of the brothers
that got out, uh, he and anothervolunteer that had been coming
to the prison started a non forprofit, you know, to help
financially, you know, get theseguys on these feet with, you
know, some housing, uh,opportunities, in some cases job
opportunities, um, you know,their first grocery bill and
(15:54):
things like that.
Um, And then alongside of that,some of the guys that got out
and stayed within the community,um, just on their own, um, you
know, have taken it uponthemselves to kind of show the
guys the ropes and, uh, justshow them what to do, what not
to do, you know, help them feelcomfortable, just give them a
support system.
And, um, I, I really think thatthat's.
(16:16):
That in itself is justincredible, you know, just
because those are the guys thatyou've been with for years and
um, you know, it gives themsomewhere safe.
Omar (16:25):
Got it.
So you got the chance to see theguys while they're still in
there, you're in thereministering and now you've seen
them out here.
Is there anyone that comes tomind?
I'm sure maybe there's a couple,but one that comes to mind that
you want to share like whatyou've seen maybe from in there
and maybe how they're doing now.
You know, through, through God'shelp.
Michelle (16:42):
Yeah, there's several.
I mean, of course Ronnie's one,uh, Happy's another, you know,
he, uh, he was doing, uh, somework for the city and some
volunteer work, I believe, and,um, now he's doing some hair
cutting and, you know, like,he's just, he's doing great
things and he's ministeringwhile he's cutting hair and, um,
he goes to prayer group with hismom, you know, I mean, it's just
incredible listening to that.
(17:03):
Um, another guy, Freddie, uh, Ididn't get to know him while we
were inside.
I met him at our church.
I was there helping some otherguys get some things ready for
their appointment or apartmentsthat were getting out of prison.
And, um, Freddy had stopped by.
I think he was looking for maybea bed frame or something like
that.
(17:24):
And I asked him if he was comingto church.
And he said, well, are you goingto give me a ride?
And I said, yep.
And, uh, I went home and told myhusband, who was, of course, you
know, just as thrilled as everthat I offered help, and, um, we
picked him up, uh, the nextmorning for church, and, you
(17:47):
know, he had just gotten out, hedidn't really know about his
phone or anything, and he wassitting right next to my son at
church, and my son was showinghim how to email the church to
get on the email list, and, youknow, it was just, it was
perfect, and, um, he means He'sa world to us.
He's become really close to ourfamily and you know, I, I
wouldn't have met him if I wouldhave, wouldn't have started
(18:08):
going out there.
So, very important.
Omar (18:10):
No, thanks for sharing that.
What about you, Ronnie?
Anything that comes to mind asfar as that?
Yeah, this is what, uh, from,from your perspective, what
you've seen this community do tohelp some of these guys, you
know, that are coming out as faras reentry?
Ronnie (18:23):
Well, a lot of guys that are inside, uh, a lot of people
imagine that they have thingsand they walk a long time.
Thinking they have things, butwhen it comes close to the door,
you actually don't have a lot ofthings, you don't have a lot of
support.
And then they, you see thembreaking down and coming to the
church because that's where, uh,the stronger, stronger
(18:45):
representatives are of thatcommunity.
Guys that are constantly in thechurch, constantly doing Bible
studies, so they're recognizedas, uh, you know, always there,
they're, uh, they're, they'reconstant.
So they come in and thenannounce they don't have a place
to go or they don't have thethings that they, Walked like
they did have.
So then it's like a scramble.
(19:07):
Even the administration tryingto find housing for these guys,
whether in this communitywhether in another community.
So they scramble to uh, helpthese guys make the release
date.
And uh, that gives us a chanceto finally give them their final
Blessings are, uh, you know, thefinal talk about Act Right, to
do the Act Right.
So we created a, a program inthere.
(19:29):
We didn't create it, we broughtthem in there.
It was, uh, called Freedom FromWithin Organization.
And, uh, actually we broughtthem in there, we brought
another program in there.
Uh, Sister Janet from PreciousBlood Ministry in Chicago.
And these are to teach us, uh,peacekeeping circles, uh,
cognitive behavior therapy, howto work with, uh, traumatized
people.
(19:49):
And in, in, uh, the incarceratedworld and the incarceration
factor, there are many, uh,Mental health issues in there of
uh, people have been traumatizedtheir whole life.
So, you know being that we werein the church we had a chance to
Rob up against these kind ofpeople and see the hurt and the
pain and Through these peoplefrom the outside like Michelle
(20:10):
her family and other familiesJeff Kevin and Trish we had
different families the wexelsand you know to coach them along
they did uh, they had support ifthey wanted to reach for it, so
These people would say to them,you don't have to go back to the
community it came from.
We'll let you land right here.
So that offering is like anolive branch.
(20:32):
That's a life changer that, youknow, guys been there so long,
they don't even know how to geton a train.
They don't know how to get aticket for the train.
They have to be, uh, led like,like children, uh, baby steps
along the way.
So for you to walk out thatfront door and these people to
be there, to take you in a carand to take you to the church
and to get you close and totake.
you and do that, that, uh,that's not your family.
(20:54):
Them are, uh, them are humongoussteps.
Those are, uh, they humble you,you know, to see, to see that
happen.
So, uh, what we did in theinside was make sure when these
people came in, you know, thatthey seen hospitality, we
preached hospitality, we gavethem water to everybody, made
sure they had water.
Uh, everybody was, uh, uh,Respectful towards them, you
(21:16):
know, respectful to theauthorities in there too.
If they said eight o'clock, wehad to leave.
We leave earlier than eighto'clock so we don't run into,
you know, because you canexercise a difference, you know,
like you think you got itcovered and, or this is ours or
something.
So it was to maintain thathumility and we maintained that
humility throughout.
Everything that we did wasthrough humility, you know, and
(21:40):
it was just a blessing to see.
Uh, like I said, when you walkout that front door on my own
release, uh, I came back toKewanee to go get my property
the next day.
And, uh, The first place I, Istopped was in the church, you
know, the town church where thepeople were from the head came
in and visit us and the nextthing you know, we're under 2020
(22:00):
people and they're just, youknow, so it's a second family.
They come like family, you know,so it's a, it's a blessing to
see people be able to be, uh,catapulted, I would say, you
know, off into society.
It's like a trajectory.
You just, okay, you're done now.
Now it's time for you to go.
Live that, that life and youhave that, that network right
(22:22):
outside the front door, pick youup and take you where you got to
go to start you off.
Omar (22:26):
Amen.
And I know you had mentionedwhat we were talking about, how
you would like to see more ofthis.
Like I know we're coming fromChicago, like almost like a
model, right?
Ronnie (22:37):
Chicago is more industrial.
You could say like it's so bigand so vast, you know, and
there's so many, uh, peoplecoming out into that community.
So you don't see it on apersonal level because you have
South Side, North Side, you haveit so big that you don't see the
personal level that these peopleUh, do so, um, these families
(22:57):
right here, Michelle, her familyand the families I mentioned,
they actually, you're workingwith them in the prison for six
months, eight months, a year,and getting to know they're
coming in there religiouslyevery week, you know, Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday, so they getto know you.
So you're familiar and you'relike walking out the door with
your family.
You're walking out with somebodyfamiliar where when people, uh,
(23:20):
Go home and just go to Chicago.
They might go with a family orthey might go to a halfway
house.
You're walking into a strangeterritory.
You're walking into a firstmeeting.
It's the first time of all thatand it's not personal.
So it takes time to thaw out of,of that.
You know, you have society, uh,The strategies of society, bum
rush, you just the fast pacethat hit you.
(23:42):
So after you've been in anincarcerated world 20, 30, 40
years, and to walk out into thatsteamroller, you know, is mind
boggling.
So this is the landing inKewanee where this is more
personal, it's more softer thangoing into the city where you
just, you got to get up and runor, or you just blind for a
(24:02):
longer period of time.
Omar (24:04):
There's definitely more.
A fast pace of life over yougotta like you mentioned you
gotta almost like come outRunning, you know, it ain't you
ain't no like getting like aslow pace back into it's a life
in society But uh, you know whatI could ask you How long have
you been doing this for nowprison ministry
Michelle (24:21):
a little over two years
Omar (24:22):
two years What's been the biggest difference you feel in
you and in your family?
Like I guess let's say beforeprison ministry and now what are
some of the things that younotice have changed?
Or like the the positive thingsthat how I would say affected
you and your family?
Michelle (24:37):
Sure.
So I'm definitely a morecompassionate person.
Um, my family has told me thatfrom, you know, my immediate
family and my household and myparents.
Um, I was the oldest and soeverything was always really
black and white for me.
I tell everybody it was always,you know, right or wrong.
Um, and Now I look at thingsvery differently, you know, um,
(24:59):
I don't think I'm as judgmentaland so I think that's good.
I think that's good a behaviorto model to my children um, you
know, um My kids get to meetsome of these guys.
My kids know ronnie well Um,they know they know freddie
really well Um, you know, I meanwe don't invite everybody out
here That gets out of there, butthe ones that we feel pretty
(25:21):
close with, they've gotten tomeet them.
And I just think that's a goodlife lesson for them as well.
And I hope that, you know, ithelps them have some compassion.
I, I hope that it leads themboth into some form of ministry
and to helping others.
And you know, I just hope it allrubs off on them.
Omar (25:36):
Amen.
That's awesome.
What would you say to somebodythat has a mindset where, man,
I'm not going to do no prisonministry, you know, that's, you
know, like, what would you sayto a man or woman that's,
that's, that's going.
You know, hear you share yourstory, you know.
Michelle (25:51):
Well, that's what I do.
I share my story and, um, it'sokay if they, if they don't
believe me.
Um, I don't believe that a lotof people learn from somebody
telling them anything.
And so, I just try to model itand, um, I feel like God has
helped me learn how to modelwhat He wants me to model.
through these guys.
(26:11):
It's always been hard for me totalk about God and like be, I
was always nervous about beingjudged for it, but this gives me
a really easy way to talk abouthim.
Um, you know, cause I can talkabout what I do and I can talk
about what God is doing thereand it just makes it so much
easier.
So I'm hoping that that willhelp others
Omar (26:29):
to share their faith, you know, not just to keep it for
themselves, you know.
Any other things you guys wantedto talk about, you know that we
didn't we haven't touched on yetas far as like, you know
Ronnie (26:38):
As far as what we started to do was build a church
in the in the prison system Wellin there just and the bottom
line to that of of being achurch is that the bible says
god is love.
So Uh, we just wanted toexercise that love for people
and no matter who they were whatthey did Uh, we put input into
them.
We try to build them up throughdifferent programming and you
(27:00):
see the results.
And I, I left there and startedimmediately, a Bible study on,
uh, zoom and, uh, mygranddaughter and having, uh, my
niece on there.
So I started that then and nowMichelle and her family are
under, uh, every Tuesday nightwe do a Bible study.
So there's probably 15 people,10 to 15 people on our.
(27:24):
On the zoom at night or 10people in my house.
So we do a, uh, a Bible study inthat regard.
So it's still, we are stilltraining people.
And, uh, since then, my, myniece has branched off to
minister to other girls.
She has a lot of girls.
She has branched, Michelle hasbranched off to, uh, minister
into the work release center.
(27:45):
Through the training and throughthe, the, the Bible says iron
sharpens iron.
Through that sharpening of us,sharpening each other, they
became their own teachers andstepped off.
And that's what the Bible says,when you, to be a disciple,
Jesus disciple, and to go makethem of all nations.
So, we're taking the teachingand, and spreading it.
And for people that are notBible believers or God
(28:07):
believers, uh, they're gettingthe full effect in just, Our
humanity, the love that we haveand the compassion in our
personal self.
So we don't go to everybody andthrow God or just right away.
If they receive it, they receiveit, but no matter if they are
Christians or not Christian, westill love them the same way.
And don't judge them for ifthey're not.
(28:28):
And then just, uh, steady buildthem up and respect them.
That you're a vessel being usedin one way or another.
Whether you want to believe itor not.
Omar (28:35):
Amen.
You know, I know in the way hereyou were talking about, even
like with the waters.
You said you guys werecollecting the waters and you
were giving them to everybody,to every group.
No matter if it was differentreligions or anything, man, hey,
here, we're just gonna be, yeah,there you go.
Hospitality, the Bible has a
Ronnie (28:48):
big section of hospitality, so, you know, the
Bible says that, uh, when Jesussent his messengers out to, uh,
go to people's house, and ifthey don't respect you coming in
there with the word of God, uh,shake your feet off and wipe the
dust off, and it'll be worse forthem than anything they ever had
before, so, we, uh, weexercised, we first talked about
(29:09):
it, it was not there.
And then we exercise it andhospitality was a major factor
where we were at.
So whether they were AlcoholicsAnonymous, whether they were,
uh, Jehovah Witness, whether itwas Muslim programs, it didn't
matter.
When an outside guest came inand gave us the time and energy
of coming in, we made sure theyhad.
(29:30):
The least a bottle of water, youknow, the least,
Omar (29:33):
you know, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm sure it
even made an impact on thembecause I know you mentioned
sometimes I'm being there fortwo, three hours and having no
water.
And then you guys, they were,
Ronnie (29:43):
yeah, they were laughing, not laughing, but in a
sense laughing when I firststarted pushing it, you know,
because We put, we had to kindof like push it.
Hey, we're going to do this andwe're going to do it, you know?
So it was a great thing to seethat every time we came in, uh,
and sometimes you gave out 20bottles of water a night when
they will come in.
So you had to go get fundingand, and get that to produce
(30:04):
that water.
You know, and give it to theseguests every night they came in.
They're coming in.
Oh, thank you.
Especially sometimes summer is90 degrees outside, even though
it's air conditioned, you wantwater, you're going to be there
for two hours, you know, and theguys had water.
So the guests, we made sure theyhad water.
Omar (30:18):
Now you want to talk about the hospitality, but what did
you see from your perspective asfar as that goes?
Uh, hospitality.
Michelle (30:25):
Well, um, I had never been in a prison before.
And so I.
I honestly didn't at firstrealize the importance of the
water and what it meant to theseguys because I would just would
expect these guys to havebottled water all the time.
Um, that's not the case in aprison.
Um, and so I think it was maybethe second or third time I was
(30:48):
there and Ronnie told me thestory about that, how they
didn't use to, you know, dothat.
And he told me a story about howthat came about and it just
meant so much to me that theycared so much how.
Uh, we felt and honestly, Imean, you just, it just makes
you that much more committed togoing, but they do every, every
week when I walk in there, Imean, it's a struggle.
(31:12):
They're like trying to see whocan get us the water fastest.
And I mean, you know, it reallymeans something to them.
They want to be the one to handus that bottle of water.
Um, I mean, we can sit whereverwe want.
And I, you know, I always sitwith one of the guys, um, that I
get to talk to that night.
And, um.
Sometimes they'll be like, Oh,no, you should go sit in one of
(31:33):
the comfy chairs.
You know, there's special comfychairs there and, uh, they're
just, they're so kind.
It's very hospitable.
Omar (31:40):
That's awesome.
That's going on.
Oh, you know what?
Um, any final words before weget ready to wrap up or both of
yous?
And then I'm going to ask you,Michelle, usually I ask my
guests to close us out inprayer.
So any final words first, andthen.
Ronnie (31:53):
I just wanted to come here with you, Omar, to, uh,
capture their testimonies.
And there's going to be moretestimonies.
then Michelle's and Chance'stestimony to, uh, that it can be
broadcasted that, that we need.
I would like to see this, thesestories told, you know, of these
people that, uh, go in there.
(32:13):
And it's so important for them.
people in there to have somebodyto give them a soft landing
because coming from a situationlike that after especially many,
many years, it can be a hard,hard landing and you can't get
your footage and mental healthplays a big role.
So they soften that blow and uh,almost like parents, you know,
(32:34):
that you don't have, they'realmost like parents that you
don't have or almost likebrothers and sisters that you
don't have, you know, to comeforward and do that.
Not everybody does that.
So it's a model that needs to bespoken about.
Omar (32:45):
Amen.
Oh, yeah.
For sure.
That's one reason why we arehere.
I know you mentioned, you know,more interviews too.
So we'll be highlighting more ofwhat's going on out here in
Kewaunee as far, but, uh, yeah,any final words and then if you
could close us out on theprayer.
Michelle (32:56):
Sure.
Yeah.
I just, I just hope that it, youknow, continues to blossom out
from here and it already has alittle bit and it's been so fun
to watch and I just hope that,you know, more prisons, more
churches, you know, get involvedin this.
Omar (33:09):
Amen.
Amen.
And then we close up.
Sure.
Michelle (33:12):
Thank you so much, God, for bringing these guys in.
I'm so excited to have you guyshere tonight to be able to talk
about, um, bringing the men inthe prison to you and then
ultimately, um, sending them outinto the world and giving them
the support system that theyneed to be able to teach more
about you as well.
And just let your love getspread, you know, amongst
everybody that we can, God.
(33:33):
And court, if you could pleasejust wrap your arms around, uh,
Ronnie and Omar as they gothrough this podcast that will
hopefully also reach, um, somemore men and, uh, just give them
some guidance.
and be on their hearts and justhelp show them the way, um,
Lord, also just please help usto, uh, open our hearts to be
(33:53):
able to, um, open our hearts tobe able to, uh, show, you know,
show others the way to you and,um, Lord, just be with our
families too as we do this andhelp them to understand, you
know, that this means so much tous and maybe it will help, uh,
them to do the same.
In your son's name, we pray.
Amen.
Omar (34:13):
Amen.
Amen.
You know, speaking of hospital.
I just want to thank you forallowing us to come here into
your home and do this, you know,so we're experiencing the
hospitality for ourselves, youknow, so God bless you and your
family, everything that you'redoing.
And with that, uh, we're goingto get ready to wrap up a
Matthew four 16 reads the peoplewho sat in darkness have seen a
great light and upon those whosat in the region and shadow of
(34:35):
death.
Light has dawned alongside myguests Ronnie Carrasquillo and
Michelle.
My name is Omar Calvillo and weare Wrong Too Strong.
Hey man,
From the city of Chicago, a city most recently known for
its crime and violence.
On this podcast, we will besharing stories of redemption
from individuals raised in thetough streets of Chicago and
from around the country.
Some of them were gang members,drug dealers, incarcerated
victims, and perpetrators ofviolence.
(00:36):
Listen to my guests as theyshare their experiences,
struggles, trauma, but also thestrength, Hope, faith and
perseverance.
These have developed in them tokeep pushing and moving forward
in life.
Tune in to hear how their liveshave gone from darkness to light
and from wrong to strong.
Hello everyone.
(00:57):
And welcome to another episodeof Wrong to Strong Chicago.
I'm your host, Jeff.
I'm your host.
My name is Omar Calvillo andtonight we have the opportunity
to be at our sister's house.
Her name is Michelle Gillespie.
Uh, we're out here in Kewanee,Illinois.
I'm out here because of RonnieCarrasquillo.
I've been connected with hisbrother, man, it's been probably
close to a year, maybe a littlebit under, uh, but I've been
(01:17):
making a lot of connections, uh,through Ronnie and we decided to
come out here in Kewaneebecause, uh, Kewanee played a
part of his story of, what hedid there and how it impacted
him.
Uh, but, uh, But he told me,man, let's go out to Kewanee and
let's share some of the storiesthat are, that are happening
down there, uh, through prisonministry.
Uh, so that's the reason thatwe're here.
(01:37):
Uh, we're here to talk to mysister and we're going to maybe
get a little bit of your story,if you don't mind, maybe a
little bit just of yourbackground.
Cause eventually the, what wewant to get into is how you got
into prison ministry.
You know, that's why we're here.
Uh, the impact that it's made,maybe making your life and your
family's life.
Uh, but also to, show people inChicago what's happening out
(01:58):
here.
Because we're like in a ruralcountry, I guess you would call
it, or the country of Illinois.
Uh, so he wanted to highlightwhat's going on out here.
Ronnie (02:07):
What reentry looks like.
Omar (02:09):
Okay.
Ronnie (02:09):
A real reentry, uh, program it looks like.
Omar (02:13):
Compared to the
Ronnie (02:14):
So the city has their own type of reentry, but this,
uh, township has, uh, startedgoing into the prison and, uh,
fellowshipping with the brothersin the prison and then learning
that them people wanted newlifestyles, new places to stay.
And these people took it toheart and they actually carried
(02:35):
it out of allowing these.
Brothers to parole into theirarea, helping them get jobs,
housing, cars, and to start anew life, and uh, monitoring
them, help them, uh, reintegrateinto society.
So that's what we're here for totalk about.
Omar (02:48):
Hey man, that, that's huge, you know.
You've seen it firsthand, andwe're going to get a firsthand
account here.
So, so Michelle, who goes?
One of the first soldiers,
Ronnie (02:55):
one of the first, uh, families that, uh, came into the
system and started doingservices with us.
They turned in from, uh, baptisminto regular services, Monday
night services.
To the chaplain was a chaplainNew York in the prison and then
it turned into, uh, doing biblestudies.
So they were Continuously comingevery week supporting people and
(03:17):
uh retraining people in thesystem to have different mindset
how to come home and to Workback into society and be
successful citizens not reentering into the system
Omar (03:29):
You know what ronnie if you don't mind me asking you
Could you share what was goingon in Kewanee before they came
in, you know What did a churchservice look like there?
Ronnie (03:40):
When I got there, church service looked like, uh, you'd
go to a room, a classroom and,and uh, watch the service on TV.
A church would be highlighted onthe TV and you would just be in
the room watching a TV.
So then they would come inanother day sometimes and talk
about it, but it was not a liveperson speaking to you at the
moment.
So when they came in on abaptism one time, we, we
(04:04):
challenged the chaplain at thetime.
And the outside ministry whocame in to start coming in and,
uh, giving us live serviceswhere humans talking to humans.
And they, uh, lived up to thechallenge.
They created four ministries inthe environment to start.
They used a guy named Jeff as amediator, Jeff Heppner.
And, uh, I started bringingdifferent churches into the
(04:27):
facility so that every Mondaynight we had a live, uh, service
with a minister coming andgiving us sermons.
Omar (04:35):
All right, Michel, now we're going to turn it over to
you.
Um, so I know Robiney mentionedthere was no church services
going on at this time.
Uh, how did your life look priorto you stepping foot into
Kewanee, I guess?
Could you tell us a little bitabout yourself?
You know, maybe even, you know,even before you get there.
Can you describe Kewanee, youknow, cause I'm born and raised
in Chicago, you know, we're outhere in the country, I think
(04:57):
it's Southwest of Chicago wherewe're at.
So maybe can you describe thisarea for people that don't know
what life is like out here?
Michelle (05:04):
Yeah, sure.
So, um, I actually used to go toa really big church in Peoria,
um, where the congregation wasmaybe a couple thousand people
and, um, during COVID, you know,everything shut down and, um,
Uh, the church that I'm at nowin Kewanee is a smaller church
and a couple hundred people.
(05:25):
And, um, they were one of thefirst to start having services
again.
So, uh, my family started going,you know, to that church and we
just fell in love with it.
Everything was perfect for us.
Um, as Ronnie had mentioned,Jeff Heppner, he was, you know,
one of the first guys thatstarted going out to the Kewanee
Life Skills and he went to ourchurch and, um, he, a couple of
(05:47):
times had, you know, stood up onthe stage.
And, um, the first time I heardit, it was in, uh, I think it
was in a January, but yeah, itwas in January and, um, it was
winter time.
And right after service, I saidto my husband, I think I'm going
to go downstairs and ask Jeffmore about this.
(06:08):
Do you mind?
And he says.
I knew you were going to saythat.
And um, I, you know, I've alwaysbeen a servant and I just like
to help others and anytime I cando that, I, you know, take on
that challenge.
And so I, I prayed on it and I,you know, kind of talked to my
family about it who was a littlebit, you know, on edge about it.
(06:30):
I was like, well, maybe I shouldjust hold off a little while.
And then a couple of weekslater, Jeff asked again and I
was like, okay, we're going todo this.
You know, got it.
God wants me to do this and, andwe did and um, the first time I
went, I loved it.
I couldn't have felt morewelcome.
I did not feel like I was in aprison at all.
Um, I got to meet Ronnie thatnight, a couple other guys and
(06:52):
uh, my brother passed away in2010 from a car accident and I
felt instantly like, like theyfilled a void that I didn't have
before.
Like it was like I had purpose.
I don't have like my onlysibling anymore, but I had these
guys I could help, you know,like, you know, it just.
It was awesome.
It came full circle.
Omar (07:12):
And I know, I know you say you, you had to pray about it,
so can you tell us about yourfaith, like growing up, or what,
how does, how does faith look inyour life as you're, you know,
growing up, you know, like.
Michelle (07:22):
Yeah, sure.
So, um, when I was younger, um,my parents, we went to church
occasionally.
I mostly went with mygrandparents on both sides of my
family.
Um, and then my parents got adivorce and we didn't go to
church a lot, uh, but I still,you know, went like with my
family.
I feel like I've always had,like.
a relationship with God, um, Ijust wasn't doing a good job of,
(07:44):
you know, studying his word and,um, always acting on it.
And so then when I had kids, Iknew that that was something
that I wanted to make sure thatthey had in their life.
And so, and so we did.
Um, like I said, my brotherpassed away in 2010 and I can
remember a moment when somebodyhad asked me, um, if I blamed
God for that and I was kind oftaken back by it because I
(08:08):
didn't and that never wouldhappen.
wants crossed my mind at all.
And, um, I just knew from thatpoint forward that, you know, I
did, I had God with me and Iwould pray on that for my
brother.
I would pray that he would findpeace, that he would get to go
to heaven.
I didn't know where he was at inhis faith, you know?
Um, and I prayed every day andthen there was one day where I
(08:30):
just immediately, uh, felt, feltpeace.
And so I knew where he was and Idon't know, I just feel like
there's a lot of testimonythroughout my whole life, not
just one testimony.
But I know now through going tothe prison and watching what
these guys can do and just therelationships there, there's so
much more testimony and I mean,it's just incredible what God
(08:51):
has done in this place.
Omar (08:54):
I know, I know, uh, you mentioned that your husband
almost like knew like, man, Iknow she's, she's going to want
to go now.
You mentioned a servant.
Well, um, how does, how does aservant look like, or what do
you feel you got that, uh,servant's heart, I guess, like
in for you?
Yeah,
Michelle (09:09):
I do.
How do you feel like that?
I just, I like to serve atchurch, um, you know, these
guys, if they need help withsomething, I like to help them.
If they say that they don't havefamily when they get out, um,
you know, I like to be able tohelp get them the resources that
they need so that they have aplace to go so that they have a
support system.
Um, like Ronnie was saying,Kewanee has become a really good
(09:29):
support system.
There's three or four, maybeeven five churches that are very
involved.
Um, either they have volunteersthat go in or they have
volunteers that are, you know,ready to help them when they get
out.
out, uh, the communities inKewanee and around.
There's some other, other townsaround, uh, Galveston, one of
them.
The city hires these guys, youknow, to come in while they're
still in the prison and, andthey get to work there and the
(09:52):
communities just become reallyreceptive to that and, um,
there's just a huge supportsystem here.
Omar (09:57):
Right.
What, what year, I know I wasasking you Ronnie, uh, what year
did they open the prison outhere, uh, Kewanee?
Something like 2014.
2014?
Uh huh.
Okay.
Okay.
Now, I, I know you mentioned thesupport of the community, like.
Helping, uh, was there any, anypushback?
I guess, you know,'cause outhere is like rural, you know,
country.
Yeah.
And, uh, was there any pushback,like, I don't know, like to help
(10:18):
these guys reintegrate here andto stay in the community?
Because I know that's one ofthe, the big things we, we wanna
highlight how how the communitydoes, does help, you know, but
I, I don't know.
Just,
Michelle (10:28):
um, so as far as the community as a whole, I'm really
not sure, um, chance that Imoved here in 2010 and.
So I haven't been here as longas some, um, and I know when I
tell people what I do, you know,with this ministry, some people
are a little standoffish aboutit, but I do think as a whole,
(10:50):
you know, they see the good init and you know, these guys have
proven themselves.
They come out and they, youknow, they've, they've spent the
last few years proving thatthey're coming out and doing
good things.
They mentor to others, they're,they're doing good things.
Omar (11:03):
Okay.
Now I know you met Ronnie there,Could you talk about, um, I
know, no, before, I guess beforewe get into that, anybody like,
like as you're growing up,anybody like in your family,
friends that facedincarceration, I guess.
Um, maybe is that part of thereason to want to go into prison
or not?
Like.
Michelle (11:21):
Yeah.
So my brother was one.
He had actually had three DUIsand, um, he was looking at some
pretty serious prison time and,um, then he was ironically, uh,
killed in a drunk drivingaccident.
So.
Um, yeah, absolutely, uh, Ijust, and I know he was good,
so.
Omar (11:42):
I'm sorry to hear that, I know you mentioned that being
your only, uh, sibling that ithad to be, uh, rough, you know,
and.
Michelle (11:47):
I have some more siblings, some extended family
in there, but, um, yeah, I mean,he was, there's, there's a big
difference between the rest ofus, so, I mean, it was just he
and I for the first, uh, 11 or12 years, I think, so, yep.
Omar (12:00):
Uh, so I know you mentioned going in there and,
uh, meeting these guys and theyalmost became, you know, like in
your mind, almost like brothers.
Uh, what, what was it thatyou've seen in them that maybe
you didn't expect to see?
Cause usually when you go intoprison or before you go in, you
have this mindset of what theseguys are going to be like,
they're going to be hard andcold.
I can't trust them.
Maybe they're scary or whatever,you know, whatever comes to
mind.
But what was it that?
(12:21):
that you witnessed that made youwant to keep coming back?
Michelle (12:25):
Well, yeah, I did expect hard and scary and, uh,
you know, you go in and theyall, uh, shake your hand and,
um, they just, they weren't,they weren't that.
They were so kind.
Um, I think I met happy firstand they call him happy because
he is just.
Always happy.
There's a smile on his face allthe time.
(12:46):
Um, and then I got to talk toRonnie, and Ronnie just, I mean,
he scouts out everybody thatwalks in the room.
And, I, I just, all theinformation I got from him, I
just, I learned so much aboutthe Bible in such a, like,
probably a ten minuteconversation.
I knew that that was somethingalready, before going into the
prison, that I needed to work onfor myself.
(13:07):
I honestly got, probably getmore from going there than they
do, you know, from me.
Um, I just, I, I went home thatnight and Chance asked me how it
was and I said, well, I met aman named Ronnie and he talks
like Al Pacino and uh, he said,Oh, and I was like, no, no, he's
(13:31):
great.
I learned so much about theBible and I just, every week I
would come home and I would tellChance about Ronnie and finally
Chance, my husband went and gotto meet Ronnie and um, If he had
met him, he would always say, becareful when I was, you know,
leaving to go to the prison.
And after he met Ronnie, uh,every night he would say, or
every Monday night he would say,have fun.
(13:52):
Tell the guys I said hi.
You know, it was just, theseguys are incredible.
They, they are trying so hard.
It's so hard to get it rightthis time and um, I do believe
that God is in Kewanee doingamazing things for sure.
Omar (14:06):
Amen.
Amen.
Now Ronnie, as they're comingin, you know, I know you
mentioned before they didn'thave no chaplain, no in person
services, I know you mentionedDVDs or TV.
So what, what was it like forthe guys in there to finally get
like a in person, you know, likeministers, I guess, to come to,
to serve in there?
Ronnie (14:25):
Well, we started from two or three people to 50.
to 20 to 30 to uh, doingprogram.
Uh, Christmas candle lighting,Christmas uh, what do you call
it?
Visual.
Visual.
Christmas visual light wherethey bring candles in.
Christmas Eve.
They started bringing, becausethe ministries got so big, we
started doing uh, feeding thechildren programs.
(14:45):
Boxing was a 20, 000, 20, 000meals for kids and stuff like
that.
So we had a Sunday night, Mondaynight service, Tuesday night
Bible study.
So we had like four differentfamilies, up to five families.
Uh, coming in to study theBible, Bible training, you know,
and then, uh, trading sermons,then plus bringing the, the, uh,
(15:09):
ministers in from the street.
So it just became a, a, atraining center, a serious
training center of the ministry.
You know, that's what we turnedit into.
Omar (15:19):
Amen.
Amen.
Now I know it was, um, thechurch also, but could you guys
talk about, I don't know if youguys want to, uh, but, but, What
are others doing outside of thechurch to help these guys out
here in Kewanee?
Michelle (15:31):
Okay, so, um, well actually one of the brothers
that got out, uh, he and anothervolunteer that had been coming
to the prison started a non forprofit, you know, to help
financially, you know, get theseguys on these feet with, you
know, some housing, uh,opportunities, in some cases job
opportunities, um, you know,their first grocery bill and
(15:54):
things like that.
Um, And then alongside of that,some of the guys that got out
and stayed within the community,um, just on their own, um, you
know, have taken it uponthemselves to kind of show the
guys the ropes and, uh, justshow them what to do, what not
to do, you know, help them feelcomfortable, just give them a
support system.
And, um, I, I really think thatthat's.
(16:16):
That in itself is justincredible, you know, just
because those are the guys thatyou've been with for years and
um, you know, it gives themsomewhere safe.
Omar (16:25):
Got it.
So you got the chance to see theguys while they're still in
there, you're in thereministering and now you've seen
them out here.
Is there anyone that comes tomind?
I'm sure maybe there's a couple,but one that comes to mind that
you want to share like whatyou've seen maybe from in there
and maybe how they're doing now.
You know, through, through God'shelp.
Michelle (16:42):
Yeah, there's several.
I mean, of course Ronnie's one,uh, Happy's another, you know,
he, uh, he was doing, uh, somework for the city and some
volunteer work, I believe, and,um, now he's doing some hair
cutting and, you know, like,he's just, he's doing great
things and he's ministeringwhile he's cutting hair and, um,
he goes to prayer group with hismom, you know, I mean, it's just
incredible listening to that.
(17:03):
Um, another guy, Freddie, uh, Ididn't get to know him while we
were inside.
I met him at our church.
I was there helping some otherguys get some things ready for
their appointment or apartmentsthat were getting out of prison.
And, um, Freddy had stopped by.
I think he was looking for maybea bed frame or something like
that.
(17:24):
And I asked him if he was comingto church.
And he said, well, are you goingto give me a ride?
And I said, yep.
And, uh, I went home and told myhusband, who was, of course, you
know, just as thrilled as everthat I offered help, and, um, we
picked him up, uh, the nextmorning for church, and, you
(17:47):
know, he had just gotten out, hedidn't really know about his
phone or anything, and he wassitting right next to my son at
church, and my son was showinghim how to email the church to
get on the email list, and, youknow, it was just, it was
perfect, and, um, he means He'sa world to us.
He's become really close to ourfamily and you know, I, I
wouldn't have met him if I wouldhave, wouldn't have started
(18:08):
going out there.
So, very important.
Omar (18:10):
No, thanks for sharing that.
What about you, Ronnie?
Anything that comes to mind asfar as that?
Yeah, this is what, uh, from,from your perspective, what
you've seen this community do tohelp some of these guys, you
know, that are coming out as faras reentry?
Ronnie (18:23):
Well, a lot of guys that are inside, uh, a lot of people
imagine that they have thingsand they walk a long time.
Thinking they have things, butwhen it comes close to the door,
you actually don't have a lot ofthings, you don't have a lot of
support.
And then they, you see thembreaking down and coming to the
church because that's where, uh,the stronger, stronger
(18:45):
representatives are of thatcommunity.
Guys that are constantly in thechurch, constantly doing Bible
studies, so they're recognizedas, uh, you know, always there,
they're, uh, they're, they'reconstant.
So they come in and thenannounce they don't have a place
to go or they don't have thethings that they, Walked like
they did have.
So then it's like a scramble.
(19:07):
Even the administration tryingto find housing for these guys,
whether in this communitywhether in another community.
So they scramble to uh, helpthese guys make the release
date.
And uh, that gives us a chanceto finally give them their final
Blessings are, uh, you know, thefinal talk about Act Right, to
do the Act Right.
So we created a, a program inthere.
(19:29):
We didn't create it, we broughtthem in there.
It was, uh, called Freedom FromWithin Organization.
And, uh, actually we broughtthem in there, we brought
another program in there.
Uh, Sister Janet from PreciousBlood Ministry in Chicago.
And these are to teach us, uh,peacekeeping circles, uh,
cognitive behavior therapy, howto work with, uh, traumatized
people.
(19:49):
And in, in, uh, the incarceratedworld and the incarceration
factor, there are many, uh,Mental health issues in there of
uh, people have been traumatizedtheir whole life.
So, you know being that we werein the church we had a chance to
Rob up against these kind ofpeople and see the hurt and the
pain and Through these peoplefrom the outside like Michelle
(20:10):
her family and other familiesJeff Kevin and Trish we had
different families the wexelsand you know to coach them along
they did uh, they had support ifthey wanted to reach for it, so
These people would say to them,you don't have to go back to the
community it came from.
We'll let you land right here.
So that offering is like anolive branch.
(20:32):
That's a life changer that, youknow, guys been there so long,
they don't even know how to geton a train.
They don't know how to get aticket for the train.
They have to be, uh, led like,like children, uh, baby steps
along the way.
So for you to walk out thatfront door and these people to
be there, to take you in a carand to take you to the church
and to get you close and totake.
you and do that, that, uh,that's not your family.
(20:54):
Them are, uh, them are humongoussteps.
Those are, uh, they humble you,you know, to see, to see that
happen.
So, uh, what we did in theinside was make sure when these
people came in, you know, thatthey seen hospitality, we
preached hospitality, we gavethem water to everybody, made
sure they had water.
Uh, everybody was, uh, uh,Respectful towards them, you
(21:16):
know, respectful to theauthorities in there too.
If they said eight o'clock, wehad to leave.
We leave earlier than eighto'clock so we don't run into,
you know, because you canexercise a difference, you know,
like you think you got itcovered and, or this is ours or
something.
So it was to maintain thathumility and we maintained that
humility throughout.
Everything that we did wasthrough humility, you know, and
(21:40):
it was just a blessing to see.
Uh, like I said, when you walkout that front door on my own
release, uh, I came back toKewanee to go get my property
the next day.
And, uh, The first place I, Istopped was in the church, you
know, the town church where thepeople were from the head came
in and visit us and the nextthing you know, we're under 2020
(22:00):
people and they're just, youknow, so it's a second family.
They come like family, you know,so it's a, it's a blessing to
see people be able to be, uh,catapulted, I would say, you
know, off into society.
It's like a trajectory.
You just, okay, you're done now.
Now it's time for you to go.
Live that, that life and youhave that, that network right
(22:22):
outside the front door, pick youup and take you where you got to
go to start you off.
Omar (22:26):
Amen.
And I know you had mentionedwhat we were talking about, how
you would like to see more ofthis.
Like I know we're coming fromChicago, like almost like a
model, right?
Ronnie (22:37):
Chicago is more industrial.
You could say like it's so bigand so vast, you know, and
there's so many, uh, peoplecoming out into that community.
So you don't see it on apersonal level because you have
South Side, North Side, you haveit so big that you don't see the
personal level that these peopleUh, do so, um, these families
(22:57):
right here, Michelle, her familyand the families I mentioned,
they actually, you're workingwith them in the prison for six
months, eight months, a year,and getting to know they're
coming in there religiouslyevery week, you know, Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday, so they getto know you.
So you're familiar and you'relike walking out the door with
your family.
You're walking out with somebodyfamiliar where when people, uh,
(23:20):
Go home and just go to Chicago.
They might go with a family orthey might go to a halfway
house.
You're walking into a strangeterritory.
You're walking into a firstmeeting.
It's the first time of all thatand it's not personal.
So it takes time to thaw out of,of that.
You know, you have society, uh,The strategies of society, bum
rush, you just the fast pacethat hit you.
(23:42):
So after you've been in anincarcerated world 20, 30, 40
years, and to walk out into thatsteamroller, you know, is mind
boggling.
So this is the landing inKewanee where this is more
personal, it's more softer thangoing into the city where you
just, you got to get up and runor, or you just blind for a
(24:02):
longer period of time.
Omar (24:04):
There's definitely more.
A fast pace of life over yougotta like you mentioned you
gotta almost like come outRunning, you know, it ain't you
ain't no like getting like aslow pace back into it's a life
in society But uh, you know whatI could ask you How long have
you been doing this for nowprison ministry
Michelle (24:21):
a little over two years
Omar (24:22):
two years What's been the biggest difference you feel in
you and in your family?
Like I guess let's say beforeprison ministry and now what are
some of the things that younotice have changed?
Or like the the positive thingsthat how I would say affected
you and your family?
Michelle (24:37):
Sure.
So I'm definitely a morecompassionate person.
Um, my family has told me thatfrom, you know, my immediate
family and my household and myparents.
Um, I was the oldest and soeverything was always really
black and white for me.
I tell everybody it was always,you know, right or wrong.
Um, and Now I look at thingsvery differently, you know, um,
(24:59):
I don't think I'm as judgmentaland so I think that's good.
I think that's good a behaviorto model to my children um, you
know, um My kids get to meetsome of these guys.
My kids know ronnie well Um,they know they know freddie
really well Um, you know, I meanwe don't invite everybody out
here That gets out of there, butthe ones that we feel pretty
(25:21):
close with, they've gotten tomeet them.
And I just think that's a goodlife lesson for them as well.
And I hope that, you know, ithelps them have some compassion.
I, I hope that it leads themboth into some form of ministry
and to helping others.
And you know, I just hope it allrubs off on them.
Omar (25:36):
Amen.
That's awesome.
What would you say to somebodythat has a mindset where, man,
I'm not going to do no prisonministry, you know, that's, you
know, like, what would you sayto a man or woman that's,
that's, that's going.
You know, hear you share yourstory, you know.
Michelle (25:51):
Well, that's what I do.
I share my story and, um, it'sokay if they, if they don't
believe me.
Um, I don't believe that a lotof people learn from somebody
telling them anything.
And so, I just try to model itand, um, I feel like God has
helped me learn how to modelwhat He wants me to model.
through these guys.
(26:11):
It's always been hard for me totalk about God and like be, I
was always nervous about beingjudged for it, but this gives me
a really easy way to talk abouthim.
Um, you know, cause I can talkabout what I do and I can talk
about what God is doing thereand it just makes it so much
easier.
So I'm hoping that that willhelp others
Omar (26:29):
to share their faith, you know, not just to keep it for
themselves, you know.
Any other things you guys wantedto talk about, you know that we
didn't we haven't touched on yetas far as like, you know
Ronnie (26:38):
As far as what we started to do was build a church
in the in the prison system Wellin there just and the bottom
line to that of of being achurch is that the bible says
god is love.
So Uh, we just wanted toexercise that love for people
and no matter who they were whatthey did Uh, we put input into
them.
We try to build them up throughdifferent programming and you
(27:00):
see the results.
And I, I left there and startedimmediately, a Bible study on,
uh, zoom and, uh, mygranddaughter and having, uh, my
niece on there.
So I started that then and nowMichelle and her family are
under, uh, every Tuesday nightwe do a Bible study.
So there's probably 15 people,10 to 15 people on our.
(27:24):
On the zoom at night or 10people in my house.
So we do a, uh, a Bible study inthat regard.
So it's still, we are stilltraining people.
And, uh, since then, my, myniece has branched off to
minister to other girls.
She has a lot of girls.
She has branched, Michelle hasbranched off to, uh, minister
into the work release center.
(27:45):
Through the training and throughthe, the, the Bible says iron
sharpens iron.
Through that sharpening of us,sharpening each other, they
became their own teachers andstepped off.
And that's what the Bible says,when you, to be a disciple,
Jesus disciple, and to go makethem of all nations.
So, we're taking the teachingand, and spreading it.
And for people that are notBible believers or God
(28:07):
believers, uh, they're gettingthe full effect in just, Our
humanity, the love that we haveand the compassion in our
personal self.
So we don't go to everybody andthrow God or just right away.
If they receive it, they receiveit, but no matter if they are
Christians or not Christian, westill love them the same way.
And don't judge them for ifthey're not.
(28:28):
And then just, uh, steady buildthem up and respect them.
That you're a vessel being usedin one way or another.
Whether you want to believe itor not.
Omar (28:35):
Amen.
You know, I know in the way hereyou were talking about, even
like with the waters.
You said you guys werecollecting the waters and you
were giving them to everybody,to every group.
No matter if it was differentreligions or anything, man, hey,
here, we're just gonna be, yeah,there you go.
Hospitality, the Bible has a
Ronnie (28:48):
big section of hospitality, so, you know, the
Bible says that, uh, when Jesussent his messengers out to, uh,
go to people's house, and ifthey don't respect you coming in
there with the word of God, uh,shake your feet off and wipe the
dust off, and it'll be worse forthem than anything they ever had
before, so, we, uh, weexercised, we first talked about
(29:09):
it, it was not there.
And then we exercise it andhospitality was a major factor
where we were at.
So whether they were AlcoholicsAnonymous, whether they were,
uh, Jehovah Witness, whether itwas Muslim programs, it didn't
matter.
When an outside guest came inand gave us the time and energy
of coming in, we made sure theyhad.
(29:30):
The least a bottle of water, youknow, the least,
Omar (29:33):
you know, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm sure it
even made an impact on thembecause I know you mentioned
sometimes I'm being there fortwo, three hours and having no
water.
And then you guys, they were,
Ronnie (29:43):
yeah, they were laughing, not laughing, but in a
sense laughing when I firststarted pushing it, you know,
because We put, we had to kindof like push it.
Hey, we're going to do this andwe're going to do it, you know?
So it was a great thing to seethat every time we came in, uh,
and sometimes you gave out 20bottles of water a night when
they will come in.
So you had to go get fundingand, and get that to produce
(30:04):
that water.
You know, and give it to theseguests every night they came in.
They're coming in.
Oh, thank you.
Especially sometimes summer is90 degrees outside, even though
it's air conditioned, you wantwater, you're going to be there
for two hours, you know, and theguys had water.
So the guests, we made sure theyhad water.
Omar (30:18):
Now you want to talk about the hospitality, but what did
you see from your perspective asfar as that goes?
Uh, hospitality.
Michelle (30:25):
Well, um, I had never been in a prison before.
And so I.
I honestly didn't at firstrealize the importance of the
water and what it meant to theseguys because I would just would
expect these guys to havebottled water all the time.
Um, that's not the case in aprison.
Um, and so I think it was maybethe second or third time I was
(30:48):
there and Ronnie told me thestory about that, how they
didn't use to, you know, dothat.
And he told me a story about howthat came about and it just
meant so much to me that theycared so much how.
Uh, we felt and honestly, Imean, you just, it just makes
you that much more committed togoing, but they do every, every
week when I walk in there, Imean, it's a struggle.
(31:12):
They're like trying to see whocan get us the water fastest.
And I mean, you know, it reallymeans something to them.
They want to be the one to handus that bottle of water.
Um, I mean, we can sit whereverwe want.
And I, you know, I always sitwith one of the guys, um, that I
get to talk to that night.
And, um.
Sometimes they'll be like, Oh,no, you should go sit in one of
(31:33):
the comfy chairs.
You know, there's special comfychairs there and, uh, they're
just, they're so kind.
It's very hospitable.
Omar (31:40):
That's awesome.
That's going on.
Oh, you know what?
Um, any final words before weget ready to wrap up or both of
yous?
And then I'm going to ask you,Michelle, usually I ask my
guests to close us out inprayer.
So any final words first, andthen.
Ronnie (31:53):
I just wanted to come here with you, Omar, to, uh,
capture their testimonies.
And there's going to be moretestimonies.
then Michelle's and Chance'stestimony to, uh, that it can be
broadcasted that, that we need.
I would like to see this, thesestories told, you know, of these
people that, uh, go in there.
(32:13):
And it's so important for them.
people in there to have somebodyto give them a soft landing
because coming from a situationlike that after especially many,
many years, it can be a hard,hard landing and you can't get
your footage and mental healthplays a big role.
So they soften that blow and uh,almost like parents, you know,
(32:34):
that you don't have, they'realmost like parents that you
don't have or almost likebrothers and sisters that you
don't have, you know, to comeforward and do that.
Not everybody does that.
So it's a model that needs to bespoken about.
Omar (32:45):
Amen.
Oh, yeah.
For sure.
That's one reason why we arehere.
I know you mentioned, you know,more interviews too.
So we'll be highlighting more ofwhat's going on out here in
Kewaunee as far, but, uh, yeah,any final words and then if you
could close us out on theprayer.
Michelle (32:56):
Sure.
Yeah.
I just, I just hope that it, youknow, continues to blossom out
from here and it already has alittle bit and it's been so fun
to watch and I just hope that,you know, more prisons, more
churches, you know, get involvedin this.
Omar (33:09):
Amen.
Amen.
And then we close up.
Sure.
Michelle (33:12):
Thank you so much, God, for bringing these guys in.
I'm so excited to have you guyshere tonight to be able to talk
about, um, bringing the men inthe prison to you and then
ultimately, um, sending them outinto the world and giving them
the support system that theyneed to be able to teach more
about you as well.
And just let your love getspread, you know, amongst
everybody that we can, God.
(33:33):
And court, if you could pleasejust wrap your arms around, uh,
Ronnie and Omar as they gothrough this podcast that will
hopefully also reach, um, somemore men and, uh, just give them
some guidance.
and be on their hearts and justhelp show them the way, um,
Lord, also just please help usto, uh, open our hearts to be
(33:53):
able to, um, open our hearts tobe able to, uh, show, you know,
show others the way to you and,um, Lord, just be with our
families too as we do this andhelp them to understand, you
know, that this means so much tous and maybe it will help, uh,
them to do the same.
In your son's name, we pray.
Amen.
Omar (34:13):
Amen.
Amen.
You know, speaking of hospital.
I just want to thank you forallowing us to come here into
your home and do this, you know,so we're experiencing the
hospitality for ourselves, youknow, so God bless you and your
family, everything that you'redoing.
And with that, uh, we're goingto get ready to wrap up a
Matthew four 16 reads the peoplewho sat in darkness have seen a
great light and upon those whosat in the region and shadow of
(34:35):
death.
Light has dawned alongside myguests Ronnie Carrasquillo and
Michelle.
My name is Omar Calvillo and weare Wrong Too Strong.
Hey man,
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