Through Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy, Carinity goes inside Queensland's jails to bring messages of love, faith and support to people who often feel far from God.
We provide faith based pastoral care, bringing the light of Christ into where there is darkness.
We give hope and purpose, regardless of the person's past, through the sharing of God's word and His love for us.
Sammy's story highlights the vital role Prison Chaplaincy can play in transforming the lives of people in prison through the word of God.
Sammy grew up in a violent home and was abused on a regular basis until, at the age of 15, he finally left home. By that stage he was already addicted to drugs and pornography.
By the age of 18 he was drinking a cask of wine a day to try and drown out the voices that tormented him.
The voices urged him to kill everyone, including himself. He attempted suicide a couple of times, however on each occasion something stopped him from going through with it.
Before long, his addictions and the need to fund them led him to commit a number of armed robberies. During his second visit to prison he handed over his life to God.
"Finding God in prison was the best thing that ever happened to me. He had been walking with me the whole time and led me to a place of repentance," Sammy explains.
The prison chaplains became a breath of fresh air in a dark place for Sammy as they gave him a chance to speak about topics other than drugs, perversity and crime - regular prison topics he increasingly found he could no longer tolerate.
Sammy lived week to week, waiting to speak to the prison chaplains about good, wholesome things. He looked forward to the Sunday Service. Having someone to pray with him, minister to him and show genuine care was like an oasis in the desert.
One night, God showed Sammy his future in a dream and told him that he would be a shepherd one day. Sammy is holding on to that promise.
Today, Sammy is "outside" and studying a Diploma of Counselling so he can fulfill his calling to shepherd others. He is in a positive relationship and is looking forward to God fulfilling his dream of marriage and family.
Without the intervention of prison chaplains, Sammy's story may have ended quite differently.
