Devotionals and divine intervention: How book led to local prison ministry
Dorothy Ruelas was volunteering at Brookwood Community, a residential vocational program for adults with disabilities, while also developing a prison ministry when she learned about the bestselling devotional “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young.
Ruelas’ two callings collided then, a little more than five years ago, when a prisoner created a drawing as a gift for a Brookwood resident — the son of Brookwood’s executive director, Vivian Shudde.
Shudde was so appreciative of the drawing that she wanted to give something in return.
“She wanted to send ‘Jesus Calling’ to say thank you,” said Ruelas, who, at that time, had never heard of the book, which has sold more than 30 million copies since it was published in 2004.
Shudde wanted the prisoners to have the devotional, an accessible way to learn more about faith.
“This is a conversation with God,” she said.
Before long, Ruelas, of Rosenberg, was reading the devotional along with two prisoners on death row, both of whom found comfort in the book. “It spoke so strongly to them,” Ruelas said.
Both men also learned, while in prison, to lean on faith for support, committing to Christianity before they were executed.
Since then, Ruelas has given “Jesus Calling” to at least 15 prisoners. Each told her that the book provided them with encouragement and, as a daily devotional, a topic for meditation.
“Dorothy took that book and passed it around — and it led several to Jesus Christ,” Shudde said.
Ruelas wanted to let Young know about the transformative effect her book was having on the men.
“I wrote Sarah about the experiences I was having,” Ruelas said. “I thought, she needs to hear this.”
She explained, in a message on Young’s Facebook page, that on their last day of life, several men on death row turned to “Jesus Calling” to find comfort in the reading for that day.
One man told her the reading for the day of his execution helped him prepare to be sent home, she explained. Another man who was executed read about how there were no separations from Jesus’ presence. A third man shared with his minister how the day’s entry in “Jesus Calling” on his execution date had reminded him God was at his side.
“I was just sharing these stories with Sarah,” Ruelas said. “I was so amazed at the way God had talked to these inmates at their time of need.”
Ruelas did not expect to hear back from Young, but before long, she received a reply.
“When I heard Dorothy’s powerful story, I was in awe of her courage and her commitment to helping Texas death row inmates,” Young said. “Through her faithful service, many have come to know the love of Jesus — finding forgiveness and hope in Him.”
She was touched to learn that Ruelas was using “Jesus Calling” to help.
Young had her own interest in prison ministry. Since 2011, she has helped place more than 170,000 paperback copies of her devotional in prisons and jails throughout the U.S.
“I love hearing accounts of people whose lives have been transformed by Christ — yet Dorothy’s story takes it to another level,” Young said. “Her courageous work is in a desperate environment that most of us will never enter. Moreover, it’s clear that she cares deeply for these inmates, showing them Jesus’ amazing love as she reaches out to them.”
Young asked whether Ruelas would be willing to share her story with others in her next edition, “Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions With Real-Life Stories,” which includes how God’s message has affected readers.
“Dorothy’s remarkable work with death row prisoners impacted me quite profoundly,” Young said. “So when I was choosing stories to include in this new edition, hers was one of the very first that came to mind. I consider Dorothy Ruelas a hero.”
Ruelas was willing to tell others about her ministry. “Anything that will touch people’s hearts, I’m open to,” she said.
The new edition published on June 2, and Ruelas is among the individuals featured.
“It’s humbling,” she said.
In her chapter, Ruelas explained, “I am amazed at the way God works to fulfill His purpose in our lives. All of this began with one death row prisoner’s drawing touching the heart of a godly woman who, in turn, shared ‘Jesus Calling’ with him.”
Ruelas believes prison ministry was in her DNA. Her parents were both missionaries. As a teen, she accompanied her mother, Edrie Lee, to the men’s penitentiary in Guadalajara, Mexico, where they lived. A church has since been developed in the prison, started by Lee’s Bible studies.
Ruelas’ father, Wyatt Wain Lee, also had a prison ministry at the Gib Lewis Unit, a state prison near Woodville. He created the ministry after retiring from decades of mission work in Mexico and moving to Texas.
“I am so grateful to God that he gave me the parents he did,” Ruelas said.
Other children might rebel from their parents. Instead, Ruelas chose to follow their example.
Still, it took years and a bit of divine intervention before Ruelas decided to start her own prison ministry.
In late 2006, Ruelas moved to the U.S., even after being certain that she would never leave her native Mexico. Still, she and her husband, Juan José Ruelas, wanted to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
In 2008, Ruelas started writing to a prisoner she had learned about from her son-in-law’s work at Second Mile Mission Center in Missouri City.
“I was praying for this young man, who was a suspect, while I was still in Guadalajara,” she said. “Then I found out that they had given him the death sentence. I felt it in my heart to write him, and that’s how it all started.”
The first prisoner introduced her to another and then to another. Before long, Ruelas was writing to a dozen men on death row. She even “adopted” two prisoners, who referred to her as “Mom.” Ruelas has attended the executions of her “sons” and sits with the family.
“Every moment that I’m awake and free to do so, I’m writing letters,” Ruelas said. “I dedicate all of my time that I’m not at work and not with my grandchildren.”
For the past 34 years, she has worked in clinical research and was a nurse in Mexico.
In her letters to the inmates, Ruelas explained that she wants to share God’s unconditional love.
“You just need to love the men, to know that God can transform their hearts,” she said. “These are men that society has thrown away. They carry a big load because of what they did, and society points their fingers at them.”
They are judged by others, Ruelas added.
“We are not God,” she said. “God is the only one who can take away a life. Jesus does not want anyone to perish. Society thinks these men cannot be redeemed. But they can. I’ve seen it.”
Before COVID-19, Ruelas visited the prisoners ever other week. She even became ordained as a minister two years ago so that she could visit inmates on death row.
When Ruelas goes into the prison, she brings her Bible. She prays with the men. Sometimes they sing hymns together.
“They survive on letters and visits,” she said. “They tell me, it takes them out of their cell for just a while.”
Ruelas considers it a blessing to see the change in the prisoners — but cries whenever she loses a man who has become a friend.
“It’s a painful ministry,” she said. “But it’s full of blessings. They bless me more than I bless them.”
Ruelas believes that everyone has a calling, a purpose in life.
“I truly believe that if God calls you to do something, God is going to make sure you listen sooner or later,” she said. “In my case, I jumped on it, and I’m so grateful.”
Ruelas hopes her ministry will shed light on those on death row.
“If people would give themselves the opportunity to know these men, they would see that they’re not monsters like society says,” she explained. “These men are human beings who need love.”
It’s easy to point a finger, she said. “People should get to know them instead. That would open their eyes.”