Ahuge thank you to our Ellsworth area community for your unbelievable participation and support of the ministry inside Ellsworth Correctional Facility. With your great help, God is making a difference in the lives and families of those incarcerated at ECF. Today we simply share some activities and a photo that God is doing through the Spiritual Life Center inside ECF.

The last weekend of April and first weekend of May, we hosted the 12th Annual Dinner Theater with the production of Momma Mildy, written and directed by Larry E. Temple of Elyria, Kan. A total of 609 outside community guests attended the five productions of the play inside the SLC. The Dinner Theater project starts with cast auditions in January and concludes with the final performance in early May each year. Over 70 inmates are involved as cast, support crew, preparing and serving the dinner and making and selling the unique metal Bike Art and wood Custom Crafts.

How valuable is the Dinner Theater? Here is what one mother emailed to her incarcerated son after the play: “Precious son, Daddy and I enjoyed ourselves SO MUCH TONIGHT at the play! It was so entertaining to watch the fellas, they were believable and made us laugh, the meal was good, the ‘gift shop’ area was nicely loaded, mostly we were just THRILLED to visit with you & enjoy your presence in a more relaxing environment! It fills us with PRIDE to see what you have worked so hard on & to see your positive interaction with this group! You are a WONDERFUL PERSON & others enjoy you! For me, being inside with you was as special as if we took you home! We are very proud of the man you have become! Tonight we are at a hotel only about a mile from you ... & even though (hometown) has the same big sky as Ellsworth does, it is a comfort to know how very close we are to you! See you in the AM! Can’t wait for more visiting time! Just had to type tonight how much I loved this event!” Priceless.

On Friday, May 31, we served a BBQ hamburger and hot dog meal to all 825 inmates inside ECF Central Unit. This event was held outside on a concrete pad behind the Spiritual Life Center. Along with the BBQ, inmates enjoyed a Christian Blues concert by the Jimmie Bratcher Band, and an outstanding performance by the Real Encounter bike and motorcycle stunt team. The afternoon was a nice break from the normal “prison” routine and everyone involved enjoyed a “day in the park”.

On Saturday, June 1, we hosted the 20th Annual, and final, Run For The Soul Motorcycle Run at the Ellsworth Recreational Center. Also on that day was the Old Iron, Custom Car & Cycle Show, the Jimmie Bratcher Band, and the Real Encounter bike and motorcycle stunt team. Community support and participation in the Motorcycle Run over the past 20 years helped build and operate the Spiritual Life Center. A huge thank you to all of our committee members and volunteers over the years who did all of the hard work for this event. At the Run this year, LeeRoy and Rose Charvat were given a special 20-year service award. LeeRoy has been the president of the Motorcycle Run Committee for all 20 years. LeeRoy was also present at the ground-breaking for the SLC in 2001.

Finally, the weekend of June 7-9, the ECF Post Rock Jaycee’s group hosted an internal Cancer Walk to benefit the Ellsworth County Cancer Fund. Over 250 inmates participated in the actual walk and various contests. Twenty-five inmates worked and judged the event. The inmates themselves gave $4,000. Their family and friends sent over $1,500 directly to the county cancer fund. And the Jaycee’s group gave $1,000 as a Premium Sponsor of the community cancer walk the following weekend. All total ECF inmates raised over $6,500 for the Ellsworth County Cancer Fund. Awesome job men!

So here is how God works. A community supports a correctional facility to help change lives and families of those incarcerated. Lives and families are changed. In turn those incarcerated lives and families support the community. And everyone had a great time doing it. For more information on our programs, go to www.righttrackfoundation.org.

God bless.