Jerria Martin knows she was called to be a part of something bigger.

Over recent months, Martin has spent a dozen Sundays leading a Circle of Hope ministry to women at the Dallas County Jail.

For the normally humble Martin, she can see the program is changing the lives of the women serving time behind bars.

“I’ve seen lives transform,” Martin said. “I’ve seen some of the meanest, hardest want-to-be-thug women breakdown, cry and just let every thing all out to make me understand their pain, so I can pray for their happiness.”

The program isn’t a way to make Martin feel better about herself, instead, it is a way to both teach the women about the Bible as well as to let them know they have not been forgotten.

After she spoke to the women as part of another program recently, Martin said God called her to continue the teachings.

“God’s word just came,” Martin said. “I began to start sharing scriptures and those scriptures stood out to them. It was stuff that they remembered hearing before. It was things that really ministered to them.”

Not everyone will hear a call as drastic as Martin did, but we all have similar gifts to share with others.

Martin’s lessons won’t cure all of Selma’s ills, but they will make this community better.

None of us could fix the world with one act, but we can make it better one act at a time.

We want to thank Martin for her lessons and her devotion to improving the lives of these women.

It is our hope that Martin’s story encourages others to seek out ways they can work to improve the lives of others in Selma and Dallas County.