Maricopa resident’s prison ministry reaches thousands

Maricopa resident Katie Souza travels tens of thousands of miles each year, flying to prisons and churches across the country to share the word of God. It is a mission born out of a life of crime.

Nearly 12 years ago, Souza lay in a hospital bed, recovering from chemical burns and toxins released from methamphetamines that seeped into her system as she cooked them. She wasn’t in the bed under her own free will.

Souza had been arrested for manufacturing methamphetamines and other crimes that could have landed her in federal prison for more than 13 years.

“When I was arrested I figured all hope was lost.” Little did the Chicago native, who had worked briefly in television and modeling, know that her purpose was just beginning.

While she lay in the hospital, the federal agent in charge of her had removed the cuffs and then became involved in a conversation with a nearby nurse. With her keeper preoccupied, Souza lifted her worn body from the white canvas of the hospital bed and made her way to the door.

One step, two steps, three—each seemed to get heavier until she reached her destination undetected. However, the last step to freedom was one she could not take.

Souza believes this was her first experience with God, one that would throw her headfirst into the Bible. “I picked up the Bible and found stories of trials and tribulations and people being held captive,” she said. “It was something I could relate to.”

When released on appeal after serving five years of her sentence, Souza’s mission became one of helping others in similar situations.

“People on the inside need to connect with God,” she said.

To help make that connection Souza penned a 146-page book that parallels tales of her own trials and tribulations with stories from the Bible, and started a fellowship called Expected End Ministries.

“The book is an easy read that anyone can pick up,” Souza said. “We get hundreds of letters each year from people thanking us for the difference we helped make in their lives.”

Today, more than 30,000 copies of Souza’s book, which is mailed free to anyone who asks, are circulated in more than 700 prisons across the United States and five other countries.

However, it is not only with her written word that Souza reaches out to those on the inside. Each year she and members of the ministry visit prisons and churches across the United States to deliver the message of God as they understand it.

Souza’s ministry is in the process of purchasing a 4,600-square-foot residence that will be transformed into a halfway or rehabilitation house for recently released offenders who have been impacted by her message.

Submitted photo

This article originally appeared in the September issue of InMaricopa News.