Faces:

Fear gives way

Executive shares faith with prisoners

Fear isn’t part of daily life for Mike Lindahl, the president of a commercial real estate and business financing company. But he admitted he did feel a twinge the first time he entered the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. That was in 1998 when Lindahl, a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Westerville, Ohio, began volunteer work with the Kairos Prison Ministry.

Mike Lindahl goes to prison twice a year as “a disciple of Christ.”

Bonding soon replaced fear, he said, after he was paired with an inmate who confided in him about having a difficult time forgiving himself and others for his situation and imprisonment. Lindahl prayed with the inmate and talked with him about God’s love and forgiveness, which he came to accept. The man later joined the prison’s weekly prayer-and-share group.

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