Springtime!
The time of year when many living things turn from brown to green is my favorite season. I love to see the emergence of buds and the spring cultivation of fields and gardens.
In my day job, I manage a grocery store, and in my business, we pay a lot of attention to what is growing in warmer regions. This is because those areas are our sources for produce during the colder seasons.
I have the privilege of observing strawberry pickers in North Carolina, and I am fascinated by their skill, teamwork, and work ethic. A hundred pickers will begin at one end of a field, and in an hour’s time, they can harvest an entire massive field and bring in a truckload of beautiful fresh fruit.
As each pail of berries comes in from the field, supervisors check them for quality, pack them in retail flats, and scan the picker’s cards to ensure each picker is paid for his or her work.
Currently, we ship Loaves & Fishes to about 350 bulk subscribers. I envision this group of people working in God’s fields every day, bringing in a beautiful harvest.
The addition of souls to the kingdom of God is the first goal we seek, but further than that, we want to see them cultivated and developed in the same way we would care for fruit-bearing plants. We hope to see the harvest enhanced by character growth, increase of knowledge, and spiritual formation.
Finally, we know that at the end of the day, as we individually bring in the fruit we have harvested, God waits with a reward of blessing. He will not forget our labor of love.
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23,24).
—Mike Fisher, Operations Manager
Need Extra Magazines?
If you distribute Loaves & Fishes, be aware that we currently have an abundance of inventory of certain back issues. Each time we publish, we order from 5,000-10,000 extra copies so we have the ability to immediately fill new subscriptions that come in.
At this time, we have plenty of inventory of the following issues: 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, and 40. We have lesser quantities of the following issues as well: 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 28, 27, 26, 25, and 24.
If you can use any of these in your work, please let us know how many you can use, and we would be delighted to send them to you, as always free of charge. All we ask is that you put them into the hands of prison inmates who might find them a blessing.
Issue 51 Shipped
Issue 51 was shipped in mid-March. We ordered 69,150 copies of the magazine, with a circulation of 62,215 at the time of mailing. The cost of printing and shipping this issue was $26,881.13, for a cost of 40¢ per printed piece.
This issue was published and shipped one month of schedule, and represents the first time we have been able to publish on a three-month interval. It has long been our goal to publish quarterly. Thanks to our donors who generously supported this project.
Issue 52 Update
Our team is currently working on producing issue 52. The theme of the issue is “Nonresistance,” or the idea of suffering love taught and exemplified by Jesus and His followers.
In prison, fighting and retribution are normal life, and are often considered necessary for survival. We hope to point our readers to the example of Jesus, who laid down His life so others could benefit, and think about what this might mean for prison life.
As of this writing, our funds on hand are around $19,000. We have a goal of shipping the next issue in mid-June. In the intervening time, we hope to raise a minimum of $12,000-15,000 to cover the cost of printing issue 52 and cover overhead expenses.
Donors to this ministry are deeply appreciated as an integral part of our work. May God richly bless those of you who give as you are able.
Distributor Feedback
I have a friend in Fresno California who is a street preacher. He reaches the worst of the worst. I sometimes send him boxes of tracts and small Bibles to pass out. I was recently given a whole box of Loaves and Fishes magazines and I wanted to let you know that I'm sending them out there. So, from Pennsylvania to Tennessee then out to California this message of Jesus Christ will go. The impact you're making has not gone unnoticed. Thank you!
—Elizabeth Spivey
I am the Chaplain at Halawa Correctional Facility, the main facility in Hawaii. The Chapel is not funded by the State, and everything we have is by donation to make available for the inmate population. Your Loaves & Fishes Magazine is a blessing to the men here in Halawa. We have approximately 200-250 inmates attending chapel services on a weekly basis. We serve a prison population of over 850 inmates.
With Warmest Aloha,
—Chaplain Alan Leigh, Aiea, Hawaii
Reader Feedback
Thank you all for this amazing booklet. I enjoy everything inside it all the time! Especially all the great stories and testimonies from different walks and persons. God Bless.
—Sergio Rojas Lara, CCI, Tehachapi, CA
Thank you for your magazine! It's very uplifting and touches on things we will need in the real world as well as things we can use while incarcerated. The Bible studies help give me a direction to go when I'm swamped with verses to read.Thanks for helping to bring hope where it feels hard to come by sometimes.
—Brittany Barnes, BJC, Texarkana, TX
