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Stories From Workcamp, as told by Kimberly Kilburn, a homeowner in Warrenton, VA:
My name is Kimberly Kilburn and I was a very blessed individual that had my home drastically IMPROVED by the members of Reach Workcamps. The reason for writing this letter is not only to thank you for my beautiful home improvements that I appreciate from the bottom of my heart, but to say thank you for helping to rebuild my faith with God. Let’s just say that God and I have  been on a roller coaster ride for most of my life.To give everyone a short description of what I’m talking about, I’ll start by saying when I was the age of many of you I stopped going to church with my parents and started hanging out with the wrong crowd. The wrong crowd made me cool and I thought since I was popular now God didn’t matter because I had all the cool friends I could see. Never once did I imagine then that I had given up the coolest friend that I can’t see for the cool ones I could. Well, without God my life really went downhill. My cool friends ended up getting themselves and me in trouble with the law. I was put on probation and within two weeks I had violated it. The judge, needless to say, wasn’t happy with me and neither were my parents. But God on the other hand was leading me down an unusual path in life. On February 8th, 1993, I was given all my time that had been suspended so I was on my way to a Virginia prison for 14 years and I was 18 years old. Needless to say, growing up in a Baptist family, I turned to God thinking He’d save me and open the gates to prison and let me out! That didn’t happen! After continuing to want to hang out with the cool ones even in prison and causing trouble for two years in prison…I once again went to God because I had a parole hearing coming up. I prayed for two months and was good and expected God to release me but yet again God didn’t. For the next ten years I did the  same thing over and over again. I’d grab by Bible and pray all the time before my parole hearing and every time for ten years God said no.
I called my mother on the phone and told her once again I had been turned down for parole. She told me that God has a purpose for me and it was either something in prison for me to do or He wasn’t ready for me out in the free world yet. She told me God was patient and I wasn’t! That was my life changing phone call that I needed. I became an honor inmate after that I participated in all of the Scared Straight programs! I dedicated all my time to God then not just at parole time. Even after my parole answers when I got turned down for the next three years, I didn’t lose my faith. I continued to serve God and help everyone and remembered what my mom told me on the phone. On May 8, 2007, after 14 years and two months and twenty-two days, I was released. I came to Marsh Run to live with my mom and dad. I continued to spread God’s word but in a different way. I spread my story to the young kids in this park. I eventually met a good man and had a beautiful daughter. I named her Frances Grace after my mother. Six months after she was born, God needed an angel on June 29th, 2009, and took my mother home. I could have rebelled and reverted back to my old ways, but instead I have continued to strive and spread my story about what I had been through. When my mother passed away, she had been concerned about her roof. Thanks to Reach Workcamps, my Dad doesn’t have to carry that burden any more. I myself applied for my dad’s roof to be done and a friend of some of the teens that I had helped got with my dad and got my place done. For the three years I have been home, God blessed me with my own child because He knew He needed my mom so He gave me her to love just as much. Now today at the end of Reach week here at Marsh Run, I realize that from all the Scared Straight programs and kids around the park that I’ve tried to help, God sent me a group of the greatest kids to help me and my family! For that I love and thank all of you! May God bless each one of you that did this for me and my family! God works in mysterious ways and it may not be today, tomorrow, or ten years from now, but as long as you trust and believe in Him, He will bless each one of you. Besides having my own child…Reach has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me! How ironic is it for God to make my path to spread my story to teens trying to save just one from going through what I went through to  Him sending teens to help me! From, Kim and Jonathan and Baby Frances and the entire Kilburn family. Thank you so much! Read more Stories From Camp... |
         
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