I am still receiving many letters from the girls at the Ryzan prison.  This prison was one of our stops on a previous evangelistic crusade.  This special prison houses 440 girls, between the ages of 14 and 18 years of age, most of them from broken homes.  Conditions in this prison were so poor that the girls did not even have the most basic hygiene items.  As part of our ministry, we provided them with soap, shampoo and even a candy bar treat.  This letter is from Svetlana, who is 17 years old.  The Russian-to-English translation reveals that:

    "When I was 14 years old, I was raped, and after that, I started to live a very bad life.  My mother, who is alcoholic, threw me out and I lived for two years in different places.   Sometimes, my food was bread with a soup made from weeds.

    One day, I wanted to have a peace with my mother, so I went and committed a crime.  I went and stole some things from an apartment.  I brought it to my mother so we could be friends.  She sold half of what I had stolen and bought vodka and drank it with her husband.  I thought we would have a relationship (friendship), but that day, the police came and arrested me for committing the crime.

    I went to prison without even any warm clothes.  I thought my mother would visit me when there was a court date, but she did not even come.  My mother did not even come to bring my warm clothes at the prison.

    I don't have anybody, and I saw no reason for life.  I asked the director of the prison if I can continue to stay in the prison (after completing her prison sentence) and he said, 'We have no place for you here after you finish your time.'

    I did not know what to do, and why should I leave?  Thank you, Sasha, for coming.  And now, I have found God.  I know what I will do, because now I have found the reason for my life.  As I get out of the prison, I want to find a church, and I want to be in a place where my Father is worshiped.

    Sasha, thank you for coming and bringing light."