Tuesday morning the south Florida team for Prison Fellowship left their homes very early in the morning and traveled to South Bay Correctional Facility to pray and set up for a Christmas event. Prison Fellowship and The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) volunteers were hosting the event for the TUMI participants. We were able to bring in food, gingerbread men to decorate, Christmas cards for their families, a drama group with props, toiletry gift packages, and a lot of love.
Oh, did I mention food? The men told us how blessed they were to be able to eat wonderful “free world” food (as they put it).
The inmates had decorated their dorm with a paper Christmas tree, paper Poinsettias, banners and snowflakes. The chapel musical instruments were also set up and ready to play. The men were so excited they could not concentrate on anything else. Just after we arrived, the men performed a skit for us called the “Rag Man” and it brought tears to everyone’s eyes. Then they began playing the instruments and sang Christmas Carols.
It was a wonderful and beautiful day. Imagine if you can adult men that are considered hardened criminals very diligently decorating large gingerbread cookies and loving every moment of it. To see their joy was a wonderful Christmas gift to all of us from the outside who attended.
I want to share with you a couple of comments from the inmates.
‘I have been in various prisons since 1984, and you people (Prison Fellowship) are the only people that have tried to help me (he said this with tears in his eyes). I thought you should hear that.'”
“I was incarcerated years ago on Christmas Eve. From that moment on I erased Christmas from my mind and heart. When the request came to decorate the dorm for Christmas the Lord worked in my heart. I thought of all these men I am the one with the artistic ability and art background. I began to construct the decorations with the help of my brother inmates and the true meaning of Christmas birthed back in my heart. I have never experienced so much joy in all my years inside or my life on the outside.”
The newest Reentry student approached me and in broken English began to say thank you for the day. Then he stopped and his shoulders began to shake. He broke down and started to cry and covered his face. I stood there just looking at him as tears began to run down my cheeks. Words were not needed at that moment.
Luis (the inmate) tried to recover and tell me he was grateful but could not speak. He stood holding his toiletry gift bag in one arm and covering his face with the other arm.
Finally, he looked at me and said, “Thank you, no one has ever given me a gift before. Thank you for loving us and caring enough to show us Jesus.”
Needless to say, when the team left later that afternoon, we were all walking about 10 feet from the ground. The men we left were so joyous and seemed to be basking in the love of Jesus in a very dark place.
My prayer is that all that love will continue for days, months, and years to come. I hope you join me in that prayer this Christmas and beyond.