To Inspire:

2024 Men’s Bus Trip attendees

Dear Clients and Friends: If you read this today (Friday), I’ll be at the Pickaway Correctional Institution for our firm’s annual Men’s Bus Trip to an Ohio prison (we also do an annual Women’s Trip). For ten years now we’ve been hosting these trips with the aim of allowing our clients and friends to spend a day in conversation with a group of incarcerated men that have spent many years in prison (20-40 years typically), in most cases for having taken a life. These men have had an encounter with Christ and have come to faith and are striving to live a life far different than the one they were living at the time of their incarceration.

As I write this the day before, I thought I would share with you my hopes for the trip:

Affording each man the dignity they deserve. Many of these men still struggle with feeling unworthy for the blessings they receive. They are so thankful to have outside men (professional men as they often refer to us) that are willing to take a day and spend time with them. One of our most important goals is simply by our presence to remind them of their inherent dignity as being made in God’s image.

Listening to them. Nearly all of these men grew up in very difficult situations: poverty, addiction (their own and their parents), absent fathers, etc. They’ve been neglected, unloved, and unheard. When we spend a day with them, much of our time is spent simply listening to them as they share their past lives, their shame and guilt, but also their hopes and dreams.

Sharing their excitement about their future. The ministry we work with is preparing these men for life after decades of incarceration. Not an easy task. One of our goals during our day with them is to help them focus on the opportunities that await them and the excitement we have as we hear about their plans.

Seeing our own hearts changed. The day is a powerful one for all of us “outside guys.” We learn that in many of the most important ways we are not much different than them. We too have fears, hopes, and dreams and they appreciate hearing about our stories as well. We come away with changed hearts – a love for these men and a desire to see them paroled, back in society and thriving. We also see the powerful change in their lives that has come about from their relationship with Christ and we find our own desire to invest more in our faith journey with God.

Perhaps these hopes are ones that we can take into our lives: affording others the dignity they deserve; becoming better listeners; sharing our excitement about the future plans of those we love; and finally, working to change our hearts as it relates to our faith journey.

If you’ve not gone on one of these trips, I encourage you to do so. Like the many that have gone on past trips, I think your heart will be changed for the better. Let’s live with hope!

Written by Matt Palmer, Partner & Co-Founder