Page 7
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Life Lines sends hope, comfort to incarcerated
John and Jude McLaughlin (Shane Welsh photo)
A matter of salvation ...
(Continued from page 5)
my father did; I think on
purpose. She didn’t know
any other way to live other
than under my father’s
thumb. He had dominated
every aspect of her exis-
tence and relegated her to
more than a non-entity.
She was a convenience to
him; a baby dropper; his
servant,” he said.
Inside the cover is a
dedication to his mother
Emma. “For all of your
children, I thank you mom,
gone these many years, the
light in you has not
dimmed.”
“Because my mom
cared so much and loved
so much, and never closed
a door to anyone, I did this
in her memory,” he said.
A portion of the book
sales also will go into a
fund to aid abused chil-
dren; the “Emma” fund.
“When I left the jail,
they had a pool and the
longest I think they said I
would last was 68 days.
Here I am now, 15 years
and five months later,” he
said smiling.
“All my life I had gone
to prison for despicable
crimes,” said McLaughlin.
“ I now have an attitude of
gratitude. I know what a
scumbag I was; that man
died, Jan. 10, 1989 when I
got out of jail and accepted
Jesus Christ as my savior.”
McLaughlin has since
married his wife, Jude,
whom he met after prison.
He lives each day with a
new understanding of what
a difference having love
and peace in his heart can
make in life.
Restrictions increased
due to high fire danger
Increasing fire danger
has prompted Oregon
Dept. of Forestry (ODF)
officials to tighten restric-
tion on activities that have
historically caused wild-
fires under similar existing
conditions.
Increased restrictions
are designed to prevent
costly human-caused wild-
fires that Oregon can no
longer afford, said ODF.
Activities which have
been between 1 and 8 p.m.
are now restricted between
10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily.
As of Monday, July
19, the following restric-
tions are in effect on all
state, county, private, and
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment (BLM) lands pro-
tected by ODF in Jose-
phine and Jackson coun-
ties. For the general public,
this means:
*Use of fireworks is
prohibited, except in
cleared areas free of all
flammable vegetation.
Fireworks use is prohibited
year-round, on BLM land
protected by ODF, on na-
tional forest land protected
by the U.S. Forest Service,
and within many city lim-
its.
*Debris burning is
prohibited.
*Chainsaw use is pro-
hibited between 10 a.m.
and 8 p.m.
*Non-agricultural
mowing of dry or cured
grasses between 10 a.m.
and 8 p.m. is prohibited.
For commercial/
industrial forest operators,
the Industrial Fire Precau-
tion Level (IFPL) is
changed to Level 2.
Added ODF, “These
public and industrial re-
strictions will be strictly
enforced.
“If a person is willful,
malicious, or negligent in
the origin of a fire, ODF is
required by state law ORS
477.068 to recover costs
associated with suppress-
ing the fire, and the re-
sponsible party will be
billed for these costs.
“Parents can be held
responsible for costs asso-
ciated with suppressing
fires started by their chil-
dren.”
GRANTS PASS SHOPPING CENTER- (541) 474-1060
Stores also in Medford and Roseburg
By SHANE WELSH
Staff Writer
Cave Junction-based
Life Lines Ministry started
nearly 10 years ago, send-
ing letters of comfort to
three prisoners, and has
grown to involve more
than 2,200 monthly news-
letters to 482 prisons in 46
states and nine countries.
Founded by Jo y
Hoskins, of Cave Junction,
the Christian ministry has
become a “life line” to
prisoners and others by
sending letters of love and
encouragement to help
strengthen hope and faith.
Life Lines Ministry is
operated out of the
Hoskins’ family home.
The main crew consists of
Hoskins, her husband,
Doug, and their daughter,
Melanie Gayle.
“The idea didn’t just
come to me,” said Joy. “I
bought a country magazine
to pass the time while my
mother was in a doctor’s
appointment. While flip-
ping through the pages, I
happened to notice a pen
pal page.
“There were three
names with numbers fol-
lowing them; I realized
these were prisoners. I de-
cided to write to them like
family, just to say hello;
and that’s how it all be-
gan,” she said.
During the next six
years, the Life Lines mail-
ing list grew to 52 people
as Joy kept buying maga-
zines looking for more
prisoners to write.
“In 2000, we decided
to go into the ministry full
time,” said Joy. “We even
began making connections
(through listings on the
internet) with people who
are on death row.”
There are currently
more than 20 volunteers
that serve the ministry by
performing tasks such as
answering, folding and
sorting hundreds of letters,
delivering and collecting
food, and raising funds.
The ministry has
grown so large since it be-
gan, it nearly engulfs the
Hoskins’ home; filling
each room with stacks of
mailings, food donations,
and computer and copy
equipment.
“We send our newslet-
ter to people for three
months. If they choose to
write back to us, then we
put them on our regular
mailing list,” said Joy.
Th e ir se v e n- pa ge
monthly newsletter is com-
prised of stories and poems
written by prisoners; letters
from volunteers who aid
the ministry; and words of
spiritual guidance and en-
couragement from Bible
scriptures.
“For specific needs,
we have a staff of prayer
warriors that give prisoners
prayer or send them per-
sonal notes,” said Joy.
“We even have a couple of
ladies that send about 100
birthday cards a month,”
she said.
In 2000, the Grants
Pass Gospel Rescue Mis-
sion began donating its
excess food to Life Lines
to help distribute food to
those in need in Illinois
Valley.
At first, the Hoskins
made two trips a week to
Grants Pass to get food. As
donations grew, their trips
increased to five per week.
Since there is no ware-
house (other than their
home) to store food, the
organization must distrib-
ute perishable items imme-
diately instead of holding
Say you saw it in the
‘Illinois Valley News’
Doug, Joy and Melanie Gayle Hoskins (Photo by Shane Welsh)
food until the need arises.
The network of food
distribution includes 13
local churches, two senior
housing complexes, the
I.V. Senior Center, and
many families and home-
less people.
In 2001, the ministry
began printing artwork
produced by a Delaware
prisoner, Ed Thompson,
who gave permission to
sell the items to help raise
funds for the ministry.
In 2003, Life Lines
started a community ser-
vice program with Jose-
phine County Community
Service’s Work Alterna-
tive Program. The program
allows people from the
Illinois Valley to work at
the registered nonprofit
organization to help pay
off restitution and fines.
The organization is
funded entirely through
donation and fund-raisers.
Each year, Life Lines con-
ducts at least four fund-
raising events where it
sells donated items such as
prisoner artwork, hand-
crafted items, locally pre-
served jellies, bookmarks,
booklets and art.
During the last three
years, the ministry began
publishing books written
by prisoners, including a
book by Selma resident
John J. McLaughlin, a for-
mer prisoner and abused
youth who tells a story of
love, faith, hope, peace and
restoration. Three other
prisoners from California,
Texas, and Michigan have
also submitted books
which were published.
There is also a “faith-
inspiring” booklet avail-
able that was written by
Joy Hoskins. Life Lines
anticipates the release of at
least two more book publi-
cations. All proceeds from
book sales are used to help
fund the ministry.
Recently, Life Lines
began “Operation: Free-
dom,” a program which
will sponsor McLaughlin’s
book, “A Walk to Free-
dom.” The goal is to put a
copy of his book in every
prison. So far, 89 books
have been sent to various
prisons, 27 of which were
recently sent to all Massa-
chusetts prisons.
Although there are
many facets to the growing
ministry, the objective of
Life Lines is simple. “We
starve the emptiness and
feed the hunger,” said Joy.
LOW CARB DIETERS!
‘Steak & Fish are 0 carbs!’
Open 5 to 9 p.m. - Restaurant parking in rear
126 S. Redwood Hwy., CJ
592-4222 or 592-2892
1-541-476-2127