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Category: Stories

  • TH’s Story

    One of the things I love about working with Better Life Integration and Support is having a front row seat to the amazing stories of our care recipients. Viewing God at work in an individual’s life in such radical and transformative ways is such a privilege.

    This month, I’ve been looking forward to sharing TH’s remarkable story with you.

    But first, some background: Better Life works with Federal Corrections, so every offender we serve has a sentence of over two years because of the severity of their crimes. (Sentences of under two years fall under provincial corrections.)

    While in prison for his serious crime, TH had a radical and life-changing encounter with Jesus. It’s important to note that it wasn’t some mystical experience that came about in isolation, but rather was supported by the actions of some very key people. The Institutional/Site Chaplain and volunteers had a significant, invaluable role in engaging with TH—and through their engagement and example, TH encountered Jesus.

    To pause for a moment in TH’s story, this is why the role of volunteers within Corrections Institutions, working alongside Site Chaplains, is so invaluable.

    We’re incredibly grateful for the volunteers who work alongside the Site Chaplains to facilitate training such as Alpha, Purpose Driven Life, and Jim Putnam’s Real-Life Discipleship (“reproducible” discipleship, where a disciple is defined as someone who is discipling others.)

    All of the above influences were instrumental in supporting and leading the way to the experience that TH had with Jesus. But, their impact is also exemplified in what TH decided to do next.

    TH recommitted his life to Jesus and was baptized while in prison, and then, recognizing the value of what he had experienced, began discipling other offenders and helping them to find and follow Jesus.

    The influence of what Jesus has been doing in TH’s life since is almost immeasurable. TH has had the privilege of baptizing three other offenders who came to Jesus and were being discipled. 70 other offenders came out to witness it!

    In a prison culture that often can lean towards cynicism and despair, the example of TH and the others who have come to know Jesus has been far-reaching in multiple ways.

    First, while TH, now out of prison, is in a halfway house, employed, and rapidly moving towards being released from his ‘warrant,’ he continues to recognize that God’s purpose for his life is to invest back into others.

    TH recently shared with one of our Better Life chaplains how he has been struggling with painful areas in his life. During their time together, our chaplain received a phone call from an offender still with prison. TH was able to talk with this other man and encourage him in his faith, and what it means to continue to trust in and follow Jesus, especially through the restrictions of COVID-19.

    But—and this is so significant—TH not only provided support for another, through the phone conversation he gained perspective and clarity about his own situation, re-affirming God’s purpose for his life!

    As the restrictions of COVID-19 continue to ease, Better Life hopes to be able to hold several Vision Nights this fall in various locations (tentatively: Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Victoria).

    TH is going to be the featured speaker during these nights to help all of us envision how to be engaged in this valuable work of healthy reintegration!

    Please keep an eye on our newsletter or the events space on our website for updates as to when and where Better Life Vision Nights will be taking place. We hope you can join us!

    On behalf of our amazing team at Better Life Integration & Support,

    Adam Wiggins

    General Director

  • Prayer & Powerful Stories

    Dear Friends of Better Life,

    Our goal is for the content we share with you to be as meaningful and valuable as possible.

    As mentioned previously, we want to use this space to develop and communicate the pathway Better Life supports men and women on as they move from eligibility for parole to integration into a faith community.

    But at the same time, we recognize the importance of stories.

    We recently shared some stories of transformation in the lives of men and women coming out of incarceration with the local church they have connected to—remotely via Zoom, of course—and many of the staff were brought to tears. God is clearly at work, and what He is doing in the lives of men and women both within the Corrections Institutions and out on parole is awesome!

    So we’re going to start weaving in more storytelling into our content calendar, alternating between highlighting various aspects of the process of reintegration and practical resources, and sharing the powerful stories of our men and women.

    I also want to invite you to sign up as one of our prayer partners. Reintegration can be challenging.

    We would love to have you praying with us for the men and women coming out of Corrections and practical needs and challenges they face.

    Email us at prayerforbetterlife@gmail.com to join the list and get regular monthly and as-needed urgent prayer requests.


    If you are a part of a faith community or ministry team already supporting an individual who is incarcerated or paroled, please email us prayer requests at prayerforbetterlife@gmail.com so we can pass those along to our prayer partners on a monthly basis. (Please write “urgent” in the subject line if it’s time-sensitive so we know to share it right away!)

    prayer, torso of a shadowed figure in a white top with upraised hands
    Photo by Monstera Production on Pexels.com


    Today we’re sharing the story of one of our care recipients.

    YC had been doing well for a number of years after a significant time of incarceration. He is married and is meaningfully employed.

    However, like with many the men and women we support, the COVID-19 pandemic, with all of its many changes and challenges, has had a significant impact on his well being.

    YC recently violated a condition of his parole and was in lock-up for 48 hours—but came to a powerful understanding through his difficult experience.

    He wrote his support network these words:

    Dear friends,

    I am writing this letter because I have been struggling very much in the last few months. My stressors have been building up and I have been having difficulties dealings with all of this.

    I was locked up at the Chilliwack RCMP detachment for 48 hours on Easter Sunday. I was released on the following Tuesday. I was detained because of a breach on my parole conditions.

    On Easter Saturday, feeling really depressed and overwhelmed with a lot of the stressors in my life, I went to visit a friend and started to feel really depressed. I started to drink one beer after another. After a couple I thought that I might as well keep drinking because I realized that I have already (messed) up, one or twelve doesn’t make a difference on (messing) up. I didn’t want to risk driving my vehicle anywhere, especially under the influence. I haven’t drank for so many years and not having had anything to eat all day, the drinking really hit me hard. I ended up sleeping there on their couch.

    There was also very poor cell reception, so that I didn’t communicate at all with my (wife). (My wife) was extremely concerned about my whereabouts, she didn’t know if I had committed suicide, ran off the road and was laying at the bottom of a ditch or ravine somewhere. What I have done was extremely selfish and irresponsible. My bad choice of actions that Easter Saturday with dealing with my stressors and depression was out of character for me. I am truly sorry for having put (my wife), her family and all of my support group through hell by not having been able to deal with this in a better way.

    It is too simple to say that this proves that I am only human, but no, I should have known better. This incident has made me realized that one of the contributing factors for this shortcoming is that I have been trying to deal with some issues by myself. In the last few years I have been distancing myself from my support group that I have built over the years.

    I have now realized that I have the need to reconnect and tighten my support group. Realizing that I can’t do this on my own, I can’t deal with all my stressors all at once. I can deal with those stressors when they are one at the time, but when I let them pile up I get extremely overwhelmed and my depression goes into overdrive. Unfortunately, I have a difficult time opening up and sharing my weaknesses because I don’t want to burden anyone. That’s the reason that my response to “How are you?” is usually “fine.”

    So I am reaching out to all of you, in the hope that I haven’t lost your friendships, trust, love and support. I am truly sorry if I have let anyone of you down. I’m so grateful to have my dear wife by my side to support me through these difficult times, but my wife cannot be my only support, because of my history, this is way too much for even her to handle. That is the reason why I need to reconnect with all of you.

    Please pray for YC. His story represents the very real challenges of reintegration, as well as the game-changer having a supportive faith community can be in the lives of the men and women we care for.