Stories

I Don't Even Know These People

by Melissa Westmore

Through the witness of students in elementary grades at Minnetonka Christian Academy, a lonely prisoner grasped the love of God and committed his life to Christ. After his parole, he visited the students to share his testimony of gratitude to God and to them.

At a Friday chapel service, 50 students in grades 5 through 8 sat spellbound as they witnessed the miraculous result of their prison outreach. Brook Nordstrom shared his story of a troubled childhood that led to drug addiction, which he supported through robbery. At first drugs had seemed “cool,” but they completely messed up his life and landed him in prison for several years.

Nordstrom described prison life: “You harden yourself and don’t show emotion, never knowing when you could be physically assaulted. Evil abounds, and Christ does not seem to be in most of the inmates.” He admitted being scared about what each moment might bring.

Then God stepped into his situation through the witness of the Minnetonka students. A few weeks before Christmas 2006, a friend of teacher Melissa Westmore mentioned that he was corresponding with an acquaintance in prison—Nordstrom. Westmore suggested that her students make some Christmas cards for this inmate, in the spirit of Christ’s admonition in Matthew 25: “I was in prison, and you visited Me.” She encouraged them to do their best artwork and writing, finding a meaningful verse to include. She was amazed at the depth of insight exhibited in the children’s cards, such as, “My family had to immigrate to this country, and I know what it’s like to go through a hard time. God will help you through.” Students and teacher sensed that God’s hand was guiding their special project.

Later the next year, Westmore phoned Nordstrom, now paroled, and arranged for him to visit the school and share his testimony. This past January, Nordstrom told the students that they had a first-hand role in his conversion. He had not received anything else from friends or family over the holidays, and their package with its cards had arrived the last day before the mail shut down for Christmas. He said that he sat in his cell and read the cards one by one, tears streaming down his face. This was the first time he had shown any real emotion during his prison years. At this pivotal moment, he realized that perhaps there was hope for a normal life outside prison walls, and he renewed his commitment to the Lord.

Other prisoners gathered around him to read the cards and asked where they came from. Nordstrom replied, “I don’t even know these people.” Their spiritual expressions were like an unexpected light shining through the prison. Nordstrom dedicated his life to Christ and became a new person. He described to the students how he talks to Jesus every morning.

Their applause was long and beautiful. It was a full-circle moment for the entire group. At a post-chapel class discussion, the students shared their observations:

“He sounded like he has been a Christian his whole life.”

“God used kids to turn his life around.”

“If some little cards can change someone’s life, how many more lives can we touch?”

“Now I know that God is real, because I never saw anything like that happen before.”

Melissa Westmore teaches grades 5 and 6 at Minnetonka Christian Academy.