It’s been a week since David had to surrender to Lompoc Federal Prison Satellite Camp. We chose to drive down to California early and spend a few days at the beach all together before he had to leave us. We stayed at Pismo Beach and enjoyed the playing on the beach for 3 days. I had never driven from Idaho to California before, so the drive was interesting and beautiful, even if it was for a completely horrible reason. Our dear friends came along on the trip and helped with everything from driving to emotional support. They have children the same ages as several of our children and it was very helpful for all of us to have compassionate friends with us, praying with us, and supporting us. I praise God for having friends like this!

On May 15, we drove down from Pismo Beach to the town of Lompoc and met our friends at a park with a playground. The kids played at the playground and we prayed together and said goodbye to David, then I drove him to the prison. We had been told that with a doctor’s note David would be allowed to keep his helmet and vitamin D. We had also been told that he needed to bring a copy of his release plan when he surrendered and that he would be allowed to keep his Bible. We were also advised many times that the Bureau of Prison’s does whatever they want. Well, when we first arrived, I was told to wait and see if he wouldn’t be allowed to take something with him. Well after about 5 minutes, I was told to leave. I then returned to the playground in the town of Lompoc where my children were playing, and we drove to Sacramento to spend the night. David had said that he would call as soon as he could and he was hoping he would be able to call that evening. I know that many people were praying for us because I had God’s peace throughout the whole time. The night before he surrendered I had a lot more anxiety and upset feelings than the day of. Thank you for praying! I have often said that prayer is the most powerful thing that we can ever do.

It wasn’t too far to get to Sacramento where we stayed at a hotel with our friends and enjoyed swimming in the pool. David wasn’t able to call that evening. By the next morning, I was feeling rather anxious since I had not yet heard form David and had no idea if he was safe or if they let him keep the things we had been told that he should bring. Having no other form of communication, I wrote him a letter and mailed it from Sacramento. We then got on the road to drive home. Somewhere in Nevada, David was finally able to call me! We pulled over to make sure that we would not loose the connection. He said that he was safe, praise God! I asked if he was allowed to keep his helmet and he told me that the only things he was allowed to keep were his glasses and his wedding ring. We still have no idea what happened to his helmet, vitamin D, release plan, and Bible, but he wasn’t allowed to keep any of it. He was able to get a Bible from the chaplain thankfully. David has been able to call me almost every day and he is able to write messages to the children and I through a system like email that the have available for inmates. He is limited to 15 minutes on a phone call and he has a limited number of overall minutes each month. He can only use the computer for 15 minutes at a time because many inmates want to connect with their loved ones. While many things are completely awful about our situation, I am very thankful that David is safe, that he has been able to call, that he can send messages through Corrlinks, and that the Lord is working in our lives to share the gospel message with many people! Please continue to pray for us!

We have learned about legislation that is being proposed by the sentencing committee that could help get David home sooner. Several amendments to the sentencing guidelines are being proposed and the sentencing committee is requesting public comment on whether these amendments should be made retroactive. The amendment that could help David is §4C1.1 (Adjustment for Certain Zero-Point Offenders.) My understanding is that this amendment could take two levels off of the sentences of first time offenders who did not commit a violent crime. That would translate to 6 months off of David’s sentence. Please make a public comment supporting making the amendment retroactive! Some of the reasons to make it retroactive are: to reduce recidivism, to provide relief for inmates and their families, to save the government money, and to provide consistent sentencing for those who are already incarcerated. Several attorneys David knows have said that including the argument that the sentencing for those already incarcerated should be consistent with those who are yet to be sentenced is one of the most powerful arguments you can make in support of §4C1.1 (Adjustment for Certain Zero-Point Offenders.) being made retroactive! Public comments are open until June 23, 2023. You can make a public comment by sending a letter to:

One Columbus Circle, N.E., Suite 2-500, Washington, D.C. 20002-8002, Attention: Public Affairs
– Issue for Comment on Retroactivity

Or you can make an online comment at: https://comment.ussc.gov/apex/ussc_apex/r/publiccomment/home

James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

While our situation is horrendous, I am excited to see what the Lord will do!