The prison mailbag is full again! Actually, it's almost always full. Thousands of prisoners around the United States routinely write to VGR, asking for Message material. Many write in often, and some are writing for the first time. Here are a few excerpts of the letters from prisoners.
I was a Message child, raised on the tapes, prayer at every meal. Well, I am sure I am not the first to tell you this story. As soon as I could leave, I did. Ran with the dogs to say, got into everything I could, there was no limit. But you know everything has limits everything runs out, you can only run so far and fast until you finally fall down, and fall I did. I remember waking up in an alley, smelly, headache, and sick, looking up I wondered how I ever got here. I remembered the story about the prodigal son living with the pigs, and there I was. I tried to walk, but kept falling over and then I blacked out. I woke up in the hospital cuffed to the bed. They told me I had so much in me I almost died, and also I had so much on me I was going to jail. Well, I got five years in prison. I knew I wanted to straighten up, and I prayed to God for help. The cell they put me in, the other inmate was just leaving. He said, "I have too many books, I will leave you this one, looks like you need it." I looked at it. He said, "You recognize it because you just went white." I sat on the rack and just cried. There it is was, "A Testimony On The Sea."
GA
I was bored to death, and I really wanted something to read. Another inmate gave me a book he finished about a flashing red light. Well, I read it and read it over and over again. Someone asked me, "What are you reading?" I said, "It’s about a man waiting for a train." I realized as many times as I read the message, that is all I knew about it, so I set down and started studying. About half way through I started crying because this book is about me, this is my life. I asked the Lord for a bag of peanuts, anything to throw down so I could just run. I had nothing to throw. I started crying more, then it seemed I heard, but I can’t say for sure, but in my head came, "Throw down your life and run to me, don’t think." Time is now. Talk about a trembling cry, "Lord here I am!" I don’t know what that was, I pray it was Him. Please remember me and if I could receive more material. God bless you.
NM
I know God’s Word is anointed, and no one can tell me that these Message books you send are anything but God’s Word. Brother Branham has a true anointed Word of God. I was reading my Bible for years, but when the first Message book fell in my hands, I just started to grow spiritually in Jesus Christ. It has been over 20 years now, and every word is just sweeter than it was yesterday. It is the pure Word from the throne. Your sister in Christ.
MS
I cannot express the light these books have brought to me in the darkest time of my life.
OH
In 2004, I started reading a book called, A Man Sent From God. I was not able to finish it because of being moved. Over the years I thought and asked many about that book, to no avail. Well, these years later I was sitting in the yard, a man walked up to me and said, "Have you heard about a man sent from God?" Well, I scared him and the guards, I just gave a yell, jumped up and hugged him. Wrong thing to do, but it all worked out. He gave me your address, and I sure would like to finish that book.
NV
I was a tough guy, street gang, guns, and money. Nobody pushed me, except for the judge. I am currently serving number six of fifteen years. I saw a little booklet called Mystery, and read it. Found one about a Perfect Man. Good stuff, Brother Branham is a good man. I’ve been reading more and more and really enjoying it. I got one of your Bibles. Made me nervous, I never had one, they always called it God’s book and that scared me. Now I love it, talks right to me, and I started talking right to Him, thanks to Brother Branham. I have learned to love that man. Please send me more; I want the Holy Spirit. Oh, I’m still a tough guy, I learned who the real tough guys are. See you carry a Bible around here; you are one tough guy. See, God’s with me now, Greater is HE!
NY
Throughout my life, I felt He has always been there. Through Brother Branham’s teachings, I have finally come to see Him. I felt like the eunuch, how could you understand unless someone teaches me, and God sent me a teacher.
WI
Such a wonderful Message, I really have to read slowly to understand everything, then the light bulb comes on . Thank you so much for sending them to me.
NJ
A special thank you and prayer for you as you help us to learn of Jesus Christ.
NV
My life has been turned upside down over all of this, as I would never have believed this was all possible. I never knew "real" Christians. I was sad as I had to leave most of the books behind, then a sister and her husband stopped to visit me and gave me a tablet with all the books, videos, Bible, and the voice. I read and listen every day. What a blessing to have a prophet in our land. I thank you a million times every day for sending that first book, and will do all I can to help with the ministry.
WA
I am a religious teacher in the Texas Prison system, and I just wanted to send you a little thank you. It is very hard in any prison system as there are no materials available. Therefore, you can imagine my surprise when the inmates started asking what I would call higher-level questions about the Bible. I started noticing small Bibles here and there, wonderful. We do not have any Bibles to use. Someone asked a question about if I thought it was really an apple. Now that is not a normal question in any teaching. So I asked, where did that come from? Many of the inmates held up your books. I asked where are they from? They said, same place as the Bibles. I just wanted to thank you from my heart, for the Christian love and care you show for these inmates, this is just wonderful. I try to teach some of the points Reverend Branham touches on. Your ministry is touching lives.
TX
All of us at this women’s facility thank you with all that is in us, we have not words to express our love. It came to us when a new inmate arrived. She was settling in, and well, you can imagine a new place, all new people. She was a little scared. Someone gave her one of your Bibles and the Church Age book. She just broke down, said she never had anything so precious, that is was more like a homecoming. We walked around and she asked if we were nuns or something. No, we are all recovering addicts and street people, like her. She said, you see what you have here? Yes, we all want our life change and there is only one way through Jesus Christ. Then we looked around and saw the Message books and Bibles. Ashamed, we joined hands, knelt down and thanked Jesus Christ for His mercy and love for us lost souls. Thanked Him for Brother Branham, the Message, Bibles, and Voice Of God Recordings. We are a faith based section and are given special privilege for Quite Time, and we felt that we never really gave thanks for that privilege, we are blessed. Now every morning in our devotions we give a special thank you for the ones that make this possible. God Bless His Ministry.
OK
I have always been in trouble. I went from school right to jail. I thought I tried, and I promised God many times, and then went back to jail. I told another inmate that if God would let me out this time, I’d make it work. He laughed at me and said, "You will never stay out." "Why," I asked. He said, "You cannot make it work, you cannot clean yourself up, it takes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Make Him the center of your life and then ask what you will." I said, "How do you know so much?" He gave me a book about "is your life worthy" and said, "Ask around." I have a long way to go my friends, and I will tell you straight out, my life is not worthy. I sit with another inmate from time to time, he is a lifer with the best attitude I have ever seen and the greatest love for Brother Branham and Jesus Christ. Yes, I did ask around, and from what I was told, he was not the man he is now.
CA
Just a word of thanks from an old inmate. Been reading the Bible all my life, know ever chapter and verse. I could stand my ground with anyone. Then, one inmate, I called him Fireball, said, you don’t know the Word. I could have hammered the little guy. He gave me a booklet about the 70 Weeks and walked away. I almost did not read it, but I did, then The Great Shinning Light. Brothers, I hang my head in shame. Words are nothing without the Spirit to give them life, and only God’s prophet has that Spirit, I know this now. I did apologize to Fireball, and I asked for forgiveness, for the Bible is not a book, it is a Living Word. Please send me the Church Ages.
AZ
One of the inmates was sharing a story with me about a Token, and that you can apply it for your family. I never heard anything like that, he seemed to know what he was saying. He gave me your address and said, read for yourself.
AK