WM Series: Far Beyond Prison Walls Part Three
Betty Thompson concludes her Far Beyond Prison Walls series - a stirring overview of her decade long prison ministry - with more stories of God's goodness and grace moving in the jails of Aotearoa and the spirits of the inmates she ministered to.
If you missed the other installments, click through these links for Far Beyond Prison Walls Intro, Far Beyond Prison Walls Part One and Far Beyond Prison Walls Part Two.
The Sycamore Tree Project
While involved in prison ministry, I had the opportunity to be part of the Sycamore Tree Project - a restorative justice program begun by Prison Fellowship NZ in 1997 (although due to cost-cutting, this particular branch no longer operates in New Zealand prisons). This was a comprehensive program aimed at helping offenders to process the effects and repercussions their crimes had on victims and the community.
The sessions involved:
- Eight inmates: Each was handpicked by the prison, and had been identified as being ready to embark on this next stage of their rehabilitation.
- Eight volunteers: Each was as a member of the public and many of whom had no concept of prison ways and had never been inside a prison. Most of us were still not quite sure what to expect from this venture.
- Eight sessions: Each session lasted for two hours every week, and entire course took eight weeks to complete.
Each inmate was partnered with a volunteer, and a trained facilitator helped us work through the course material together. It was more than a little daunting for all concerned!
A victim's perspective
We were asked to share with the prisoners an experience of a crime committed against us, and its repercussions in our lives.
Most likely, these men had never faced talking to a victim of a crime, especially in this kind of setting and in this much detail. As they listened, you could see the dawning realisation for them that these crimes continued to reverberate harm in the lives of the victims.
Talking afterwards with one another, the volunteers came away amazed at the empathy the inmates showed us in the face of our suffering. This could only mean that they had begun to think about the way their crimes were hurting their victims, too.
A criminal's perspective
As part of the program, the criminals then had to share their crimes in a firsthand perspective.
The man I was partnered with had committed a pre-meditated attack, that had ended with him murdering someone. As I listened to him recount the details of this homicide, I realised that this story had probably only been previously discussed with the police who arrested him and the lawyer who defended him.
Hearing it from his own mouth was incredibly compelling and disturbing.
We had a wide selection of offenders present, representing many different criminal offences. I found it amazing that the men didn't try to offer excuses for their behaviour or deny their guilt, but instead offered honest confessions about the wrong they had committed.
They were then asked to write a letter to their victim or victims family (this would not be posted), which was a valuable exercise in the men taking further responsibility for their actions.
Face value
One part of the course worthy of mention is when each of the volunteers and inmates were handed a photo of a different man or woman (all quite pleasant seeming) and asked to study them.
We then had to answer these questions:
- What do you think this person does for a job?
- What do you like about their face?
- What sort of a person do you think they are?
Well, we came up with all sorts of things! The answers were varied and very interesting.
After we had each shared our insights, we were then told something we found shocking... every single photo was of a person convicted of murder and currently on death row in the United States of America!
You never know what can be hidden behind a smiling face, and our perceptions - whether for good or bad - are so often biased and not correct.
Beauty instead of ashes
To conclude this series on my time in prison ministry, I would like to introduce you to a special young man I wrote to over a period of six years and several of his incarcerations.
One Sunday after our regular prison chapel service, we had a rare few extra minutes to share with the men and I found myself drawn to a young man, powerfully built, good-looking and sitting entirely alone. I asked if he had enjoyed the team’s talk about 'joy’.
'Well, I don't know about joy. I come from a gang family. My dad, brothers, and me... all we've ever known is fists and violence.'
He didn't want to get into much more talking with me and was rather aloof - until I asked if he had any children he might like me to pray for (and his face just lit up)!
'Yes!...Could you?'
I agreed, and I also told him that if he liked I could 'drop him a line’ by letter, like I was currently doing with many other inmates. He agreed, and I wrote to him not long after.
Joy instead of mourning
I learned that this young man was a formidable gang leader and feared by many for his violence. And yet in response to my first letter, he replied:
'Betty, no one has ever written to me like that before... You've touched my heart and most who know me would say I don't even have a heart! My promise to you is that I will continue to attend the chapel services when I can.'
In our correspondence, he told me how desperately he wanted to get help to overcome his violence. He told me that no one who knew him would believe he was writing me - a Christian - letters!
'I am no longer going to be ashamed of trying to stand for God. If it wasn't for you caring, Betty, I might never have gone to chapel again, I was pretty down the day we met... Thank you for not judging me for what I am, but seeing me for who I am.’
Can you see how Almighty God can reach into the darkest places, and touch hearts?
Can you testify with me to his great compassion, his ceaseless love for those he died for?
My young letter-writing friend told me that was so grateful to have someone caring about him. Is that not the cry of every heart, trapped in loneliness, despair and sin?
Praise instead of despair
'I do believe in the Lord Jesus, and as each day goes by, I know that belief gets stronger and know I am becoming a better man.’
Fast forward three years, and we meet again for the second time, in that same chapel.
And do you know what? He brought eighteen other gang members along with him to that service! I felt overwhelmed at the opportunity to speak the gospel to these hardened men, and excited at what I knew God could do in their hearts! That was a special day.
He was soon after moved to another prison, but the letters still came. He told me that people often find him hard to talk to, but that through the love and care of Jesus Christ he saw in me, he felt he could open up a side of himself that he had kept hidden under silence, fear and violence.
An oak of righteousness
So, readers, isn’t this an insight into two unlikely friends!
Only God brings these things about! God has his reasons and ways of doing things - so precious and lost on me - but I hope that one day I will hear that this young man has fully given his life over to Jesus and in all areas!
This young ex-inmate has amazing leadership skills, and if they were used in the right way they could influence so many young men for you Lord!
I pray this over him, and you could join me in this too (or praying for those in your life who aren’t walking with Jesus): ‘He is in your hands, I commit him to you, to complete your will in his life.’
The display of God's splendor
In closing this series, readers, I would just like to tell you - I have learnt so much during my prison ministry. And yet previous to sharing at the prison, I was actually pretty judgmental. Yes, even as a Christian! I shudder when I think back to how I was - my view of prisoners was 'If you've done the crime, do the time!', just serve them bread and water, and dinner on Sunday. Oh, I was really awful...
But God gave me a compassion to see through new eyes so many things.
I saw loneliness, despair, deep longing, loyalty, and yes... love. I began to realize that these four walls held men with so much hidden goodness, so much until-now-undiscovered value - value that had never been recognized as a child, had never been nurtured as young person, had no encouragement given through trials and always was raised alongside such crushingly low self esteem.
All these things our gracious Lord CAN heal and restore. You and I can be the change! I've seen it! I've seen the transformation! I've seen the glowing faces of redeemed men - men with a new purpose, a new love for God, a light so deep and a zeal and smile so wide as to put many complacent Christians on the 'outside' to shame.
A wonderful saying I love is ‘Instead of dishing the dirt, look for the gold’.
Oh, there is gold, I can assure you!
In each and every life, wherever we go, there is gold! Sometimes this gold, this treasure and beauty can be buried so deeply, as was the case for these inmates. But instead of pointing out the dirt or being afraid of getting muddy, God asks us to approach every person, every life, every man and woman with the intent of finding his gold buried within them. Let us be digging for gold, so others might see the light of Christ revealed in them.
Blessings to you all,
Betty T.
'...provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of God's splendor.' - Isaiah 61:2,3
by Betty Thompson
WM Author