P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

Paper Sunshine -- Part 1

LONNIE: Imagine there are no more prisons, no more folks in jail. Imagine all the prisoners set free is Jesus name. Today, we visit with the God Squad, Don and Yvonne McClure of Someone Cares Prison Ministry. Stay tuned to learn how you can help.

CONNIE: Hello, this is Connie Jeffery! Welcome to our week of programs as we talk to some of our favorite people, Don and Yvonne McClure of the Someone Cares Prison Ministry. The McClure’s have dedicated their lives to reaching out to men and women behind bars. The great thing about Someone Cares is that anyone can get involved. We’ll have complete information on how you can get started in this ministry in about ten minutes. But right now let me just give you a little preview. What Don and Yvonne have set up is a system that allows anyone, even children, to correspond with prisoners without any risk involved. Don and Yvonne filter all the contacts through their office. I’d also like to mention the web page where you can learn more. It’s located at www.someonecares.org. Stay tuned for mailing address and further information. But right now, let’s join Lonnie and Don and Yvonne McClure as we learn more.

LONNIE: We’ve got the God Squad in our studio today…From Someone Cares Prison Ministry, Don and Yvonne McClure…Welcome!

DON & YVONNE: Thanks!

LONNIE: Well, you two are double trouble behind the walls…

DON: No! She’s double trouble!

LONNIE: We’re going to talk today as we open our series on Someone Cares Prison Ministry. I want to talk a little bit more about your years before you met Jesus, Don. The contrast of what it means to be outside the wall…You did some time didn’t you?

DON: Yeah…I did too much time! I did too many stupid things and unfortunately because I knew not Christ…I started very early. I was busted the first time when I was eleven. So I did juvenile time and then I graduated progressively and I learned to hate. I turned that hate into rebellion and that rebellion didn’t stop until I met Yvonne in a series of events later.

LONNIE: And we’ll talk about some of those in just a minute, but let’s fast-forward just a little bit now to when you got acquainted with her…Yvonne, you’re in Los Gatos, CA. You’re in a car riding at about 120 miles per hour and you’re down on the floor. Tell us a little bit about what happened...Who was this guy that you were with?

YVONNE: Well, he had taken me to a very expensive restaurant and I was just soaking in all of the plush atmosphere around me…

LONNIE: Naïve little preachers kid!

YVONNE: …naïve little preachers kid and drinking a soda as usual and Don started a fight and I thought one person would be enough, but he was fighting five people! Chairs were flying and this plush place that I was looking at was literally being torn apart. So Don said, Hurry up, get in the car. So we ran to the car and got in and somehow I ended up in the back seat, he and his friend ended up in the front seat, and I just laid down on the back seat and I prayed to the Lord.
LONNIE: Well, you didn’t have a clue of what was happening or who this person was driving at such Pell Mell speeds…

DON: And Lonnie, I’m not running from something…I’ve never run from a fight in my life! But the five guys we took on in this club were all organized crime gangsters and I didn’t want Yvonne hurt. I was going to find a spot to drop her. I didn’t care if we went back and finished the beef, but we didn’t.

LONNIE: In particular, one of the guys you were taking on was the son of a very well known mafia boss.

DON: A very high person in the mafia.

LONNIE: So, we’re talking about a life of gangs, street turf and brick walls. Tell me about that for just a little bit.

DON: Well, I ran away from home because I couldn’t adjust. I got tired, so I went to the big city and started a gang, in New York City. Our philosophy was live fast and die young and leave a good looking corpse. I started badly but I got smart. When you get busted and locked up, it’s not comfortable. When you lose or get hurt, it’s not comfortable. The idea in any gang is to have somebody get your back. The idea in the family of God is you’ve always got Jesus at your back.

LONNIE: Now this is an amazing contrast! We’re talking to a person that had no family, no home, no love, no purpose…You get into the gang syndrome, which is big time with the youth culture today…Both parents are working and there is no focus at home, talk to us about these shackles that hurt. Especially when we talk about alcohol and drugs.

DON: Well one of the things too and it’s kind of amusing, even though it’s not funny, back in those days our weapons were zip guns, a couple of pieces of wood, a nail, and rubber band. Now they use Uzis and sub-machine guns. Our biggest weapon was brass knuckles and better yet if you were going to be a turf boss, you better be able to do it with your bare knuckles. At thirteen years old, very few people could beat me at a fight!

LONNIE: What are shanks?

DON: A shank is a homemade knife!

LONNIE: So you are familiar with all of the above?

DON: I use to be! I lived by the knife!

LONNIE: So, you, Yvonne had fallen for this neat guy that lived on the edge!

YVONNE: But he was a complete gentleman when I met him. I had no idea that he had another side to him.

DON: Well I got busted and learned that it’s time to get the dirty clothes off and put the clean clothes on. You don’t have to fight as hard…You can use different ways…Crime is crime!

LONNIE: So you’re telling me that not all criminals are behind the walls?

DON: Of Course not! In fact some of them are in business suits.

LONNIE: But somehow along the way you met Christ and you gave up that whole world, what can that do for the person today, maybe they are in San Quentin…You’ve been in there…?

DON: Well, let me talk about in that relation, the first time that I went to prison. The very first thing that I had to do was make a shank or knife. Because if you don’t have protection in prison you’re in a world of trouble. Then 30 years later…I’ll never forget the first time that I ministered in prison. I had a different sword, I had the sword of the Lord and that carried a lot more weight. Those of you in prison…because there are too many prisoners who need to be free in the spiritual sense.

LONNIE: Getting high on Jesus and getting unshackled had a different meaning for you didn’t Don?

DON: Yeah! Shackles hurt, Lonnie! They cut, and Jesus knows that very well because He carried shackles for us many years ago. Getting unshackled and having the peace that passes and all understanding, knowing that when you get up you won’t have a hangover. I stay high on the Lord, but I don’t have a hangover, I don’t feel bad, I don’t have to hide. Yvonne and I don’t have to run anymore! I don’t have to do things at night because when you’re in a world of destruction whether is be prison or some other addiction, Jesus can set us free from them.

LONNIE: It’s the world of darkness, as you operate in darkness, but when you find Jesus the lights turn on. Yvonne, what do you see as a difference in his life since coming to Jesus?

YVONNE: Oh! Completely a different person! Someone that can be a companion to me.
DON: Well I think an important question to ask Yvonne too, she was raised as a pastor’s daughter and that’s good, but the fast lane she enjoyed! It would be nice to be able to say that she took me away from that life but…

LONNIE: Final word as we close today. What would you say to that person who says that my life is messed up just like that?

DON: Believe and receive, just the simplicity of the gospel. Jesus said, I come to set you free, free from whatever you’ve got. Trust in the Lord always!

LONNIE: Don and Yvonne McClure, thanks for joining us today and this week.

CONNIE: Wow! Amazing stories from Don and Yvonne McClure…From inside prison walls to returning once again as a changed man to help those there in need.

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