| Prison Fellowship |
| Written by Alycia |
| Tuesday, 29 September 2009 00:00 |
|
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Hebrews 13: 3, NIV)
 I never imagined that I would be involved in Prison ministry. I had heard of prison ministry but in America I didn’t live near a prison and didn’t know anyone doing prison ministry. I felt God calling me to work with women but women in prison were not who I imagined spending time with. I can’t honestly say “it was the last place I thought of visiting” as I had never even thought of visiting a prison.
But that was before moving to Nigeria, that was before I opened myself to be wherever God wants me to be, doing what He wants me to do. A couple of months after moving to Nigeria my friend, Missy, and I were heading to the market to do some shopping. On the way Missy needed to stop at the prison. The day before she had visited with a team to see what prison ministry was all about. The team took scarves for all the women prisoners and did not have enough, so Missy was dropping off a couple more. So, I tagged along. Immediately upon entering the prison I was overwhelmed by the scent of urine and the site of men hanging around the prison yard, some playing soccer and some just chatting. We walked through the male area of the prison, past the clinic, and into the women’s prison yard- what stark contrast there was! The women’s area doesn’t smell bad, is kept clean and tidy, and the women were gathered around having some kind of class. Then I met Murna. Murna is a 28 year old woman who had been in the prison over a month. Murna is an educated deaf woman who knows sign language but there was no one in the women’s prison who sign’s. Can you imagine, being in prison and not being able to communicate with anyone except through writing?
 In college I took sign language and worked at a camp with deaf children. After college I had a few opportunities to work with deaf people in Bolivia, but that was 10 years ago…I had not signed in 10 years. However, I remembered enough to greet Murna, to ask her how she was doing, and to see her face light up with a huge smile!
That visit to the prison encouraged Missy and I to begin doing ministry on a weekly basis with the women there. I say the women there, not the prisoners there, because God has granted us ministry not only with the prisoners, but also with the guards! There are about 17 guards who rotate through to guard the women (at the moment we are down to 5 prisoners!!). Oftentimes 2 or 3 of the guards will sit with us during our time of worship, Bible study, and prayer. Yesterday (Sept. 28), another team came to visit. The prisoners planned a special presentation of song and testimony- with each prisoner sharing a memory verse and a little about how God has changed their life since they entered prison. Their stories brought tears to my eyes…but the guards standing with them, singing to our Lord, gave me goose bumps! It was the most amazing sight! These ladies are not simply guards, they are “aunties” to the prisoners, and they are participating in learning about our Savior and growing in their faith while the prisoners grow! Wow! Now, for a little about the ladies (I won’t use the names of those still in prison, just their initial): Baba A (grandma) has been in prison for 4 years. She wears a blue outfit, this means that she has been convicted of a crime. Her husband was having an affair and she got angry and killed the woman. Not only has she been convicted, but she is condemned to die. She is a Muslim but is learning about Jesus and may have already accepted Christ as her Savior but since she doesn’t speak English we are unsure. She is praying for a pardon. V. has been in prison 5 years. She wears a green outfit- this means that she has not yet been convicted…her trial is still open! She is also accused of killing someone…she got in a fight and poured hot water on the woman…the woman died. She was a Christian before entering prison but her faith has grown Tremendously! She sings with the passion of someone who is very close to her Savior! S. was a prostitute before entering the prison. She has been accused of selling drugs. She came to prison the day before my first visit. She also wears green. She was not a believer before entering prison, but she now thanks God for bringing her to prison so that she could meet Him and begin a relationship with our Savior!! C. has been in prison for only 2 months but she was being held at the jail for 4 months before being moved to prison. They do not actually have rooms at the jail to hold prisoners, so she had been living in a hallway. She wears green. She was also in a fight with the mistress of her husband. The woman threw hot food on C. and burned her. In the fight, the woman caught on fire and died. Although the woman’s family admits it is not C’s fault and has dropped charges, she is still in prison. She came to prison thinking she was a Christian but is now really learning the Truth of Christ and is asking great questions! P. should get out this week! P. is a 20 year old orphan. She wears green. After her parents died her brother and her became “street kids”. 2 years ago the police captured her “gang”. She was pushed to the front so they brought her in. All she needs in order to get out of prison is to pay a fine but since she has no money and no family she has been waiting. Money was given yesterday to free her and Missy is making arrangements for her to live in a room at one of SIM’s City Ministry Care centers, as well as for her to participate in a sewing program! If you have read this far, you must be wondering, what happened to Murna? She was released on Friday (Sept. 25)! We picked her up at the prison and took her home. She lives with her mom and siblings. She is so excited to be out of prison and is ready to go back to school where she is working on a degree in Christian Education. She was imprisoned due to a false accusation and was convicted based on this accusation. She was sentenced to 5 months. Now she is free! We plan to visit her church in a couple of weeks but hope to see her before then. So, these are the stories of women who God has placed on my heart. Missy and I, along with 3-4 other women, try to visit them each week to share God’s love and Word with them. However, each week we come away encouraged and with our own faith deepened from our time with them. We have met with an attorney who works pro-bono. She has met with each woman and is reviewing their cases. Please pray for these women, that God will work mightily in their lives and that if and when they are free, they will be Lights in their dark world! To read more about our prison ministry please visit my blog: www.allyabts.blogspot.com |
