(Please note: We are considering changing our blog day from Friday to Wednesday, but things might be a little sporadic until we settle into the new schedule.)
As we enter through the prison gate we are greeted with lots of “Hellos” and “Goodmornings.” (Many of the guards are as excited as the prisoners to be learning English.) Almost immediately, we are ushered into the prison area where we are quickly surrounded by twenty or thirty prisoners all smiling and saying hello as we shake hands all around.
The prison is a small complex. Security is low: high crumbling walls and a small number of seemingly sluggish security guards. Prisoners are housed in one of two sections. Each section has a large room for sleeping—a raised concrete platform runs along the length of the room and accommodates approximately 50 men. Each section also has a courtyard where all the cooking, washing, eating, and recreation occur. The bathrooms are found in the courtyard as well. They are disgusting affairs, overflowing drop toilets, insect and rat infested, and falling apart. One of the sections has a large tree, which offers shade, but the other section bakes in the sun.
We hang the white board against the wall as the students pull up bits of stone and blocks of wood to sit on. The prison courtyard is our makeshift classroom. The setting is a bit rough, but as soon as we start teaching, it feels like any other class.
It all started when a friend of Chris’s was put in prison. Chris started visiting him there. At first visits were expeditions into bureaucracy with numerous papers to sign, offices to wait in, and plenty of middlemen approvals needed. But the result was that Chris met the chief of the prison a number of times and started talking to him about what our group could do to help them out. It began with some small things—fixing their basketball hoop and bringing a meal over for the prisoners. Now it has developed into an English course. Starting next week, we will be teaching two classes, one to each of the major sections of the prison!
Most of the prisoners are there short term. My teammates have been teaching there for a couple of months and have seen almost a third of their students leave because they’ve been released. But there are some who are serving life sentences. In class, the prisoners are good students. They study and laugh together and they treat one another with respect even when they are making mistakes. Many of them are interested in learning about us. We’ve been able to share lots of things with them.
It has been a wonderful opportunity to serve these men. There is not much room for mercy and forgiveness within the belief systems here. Why help out those receiving their just punishment? The prisoners’ appreciation is palpable and many want to continue their relationships with us when they get out. We’ve also had some interesting reactions from friends and neighbors when we tell them about teaching at the prison. That sort of generosity and love is pretty foreign here, so it definitely raises eyebrows. Hopefully it will lead to more opportunities to share what our group is all about.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Team days have been going smoothly despite the absence of our team leader. We look forward to Chris’ return on Monday. Megan’s incision is improving for which we are very thankful. Grace turns two this week! She is a joy to have around and we are so thankful for her.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for Amy’s meetings that began this week. Continue to pray for our friend Ankili who is still homesick and physically sick in Russia. We are looking for some new language helpers. Pray that we would be able to find the right people.
