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Tim Tebow Surprises Maximum Security Prisoners After Receiving a Letter: 'They Matter to God'

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Former football star Tim Tebow drove 40 minutes from a speaking engagement in Waco, Texas, to Gatesville, Texas, to visit a group of men inside a high-security prison facility.

“Honestly it’s one of my favorite things to do on this earth,” Tebow said of visiting prisoners.

The Heisman Trophy winner was in Waco to speak at the annual Care Net banquet but took a detour after his foundation received a moving letter.

A father of one of the inmates at the Alfred Hughes prison reached out to the Tim Tebow Foundation after hearing that Tebow would be in central Texas and requested that the former NFL player-turned-professional baseball player drop in.

Hundreds of inmates were surprised when Tebow actually arrived on the prison’s campus last Thursday.

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According to KWTX-TV, Tebow’s foundation reached out to a prison ministry called Discipleship Unlimited to help organize the surprise visit after receiving the letter from the inmate’s father.

“Duck Dynasty” star Jep Robertson drove from Houston to join the Christian athlete on the visit.

“I know it sounds weird, going to a prison, but man I just feel like it’s something God put on my heart a long time ago and he said, ‘Hey, most of the world forgot about them, but you don’t forget.’ So I try not to forget,” Tebow said, according to Fox News.

“I try to get with them and share with the hope that we have in our faith, to share encouragement…how they matter to me but more importantly how they matter to God.”

Tebow spent around five hours at the prison, meeting and encouraging the prisoners. At one point during the visit, he was able to speak to a room of 250 inmates and remind them how much God loved them.

He also participated in a push-up contest.

“We had fun, but I got smoked! So encouraged by what God is doing at Alfred Hughes prison and grateful for the time spent with my new brothers in Christ today!” Tebow wrote on his Instagram.

“Excited to see how they will use their lives for the Kingdom as the grow closer to God and encourage others to live in faith!” he continued. “Thank you to the Warden and the entire staff- thank you for opening your doors and letting us love on your boys today!”

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Suzanne McDonald of Discipleship Unlimited, who was also a part of the visit, told KWTX it was an “emotional” experience for her.

“I started crying and was blown away,” she said. “He was in such a rush when we left but just to spend the day doing this when he could have been doing whatever but this is his passion and it just showed.

“It meant so much to us and it meant so much to the guys. Just to know someone cared.”

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Kayla has been a staff writer for The Western Journal since 2018.
Kayla Kunkel began writing for The Western Journal in 2018.
Birthplace
Tennessee
Honors/Awards
Lifetime Member of the Girl Scouts
Location
Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
News, Crime, Lifestyle & Human Interest




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