The old saying goes, that "The old person sees more sitting down than the young person does standing up". And this is certainly true in the area of missions. Having been in missionary work for more than fifty years now, we have lived through an abundance of changes! And those changes seem to be taking place at an increasingly rapid rate....
(We now attend an Alliance church which many international workers call home, so some of my observations come from present contact with present day international workers.)
It used to be that newly appointed West African missionaries were sent to France for a year of language study and than went directly to their fields of service where they remained to work for four (or more) years. Than came a one year furlough, which was partially filled with speaking tours in the U.S. Some workers did come back to the U.S. for family marriages and deaths, but even this was not always possible. Those were not ideal times either!
Now the pendulum has swung the other way. In an Alliance church like ours, we see a constant parade of international workers back here in the States for not only weddings or funerals, but also for vacations, mid-term tours, etc. Money certainly flows more freely now, but we do wonder sometimes, wonder how folks can leave their place of service so frequently?? What does the sending church think when they observe their international workers making trips to their home country so often? And how is the ministry overseas affected by the frequent comings and goings to their home countries? I guess everyone just makes adjustments. One does wonder what the national churches of the world think about this innovation??
The Alliance is also giving birth to new programs on mission fields, and of course all of this involves huge bites of money from the Great Commission giving as these new programs have to be directed and funded... It also causes confusion on some fields, as there are unresolved questions about money and personnel. As international workers adjust to new means of funding (such as "the ask") and also question how some of these new entities (such as Envision) relate to the rest of the staff already working in an area for many years. Finances are involved as well as administrative adjustments. All very interesting changes, which we personally saw on our recent trip to Africa, and which makes us glad for the times in which we lived. The lines were clearer then!
We still are trying to wade through the terms of "team leader", "team developper", and "regional team leader" and just hope that they do not stumble over each other trying to lead!! It looks to us like some team developers do not have many people to develop.....and what is meant by developing someone who has been at the work on the ground for many years?? From our vantage point, in our armchairs, it should be an interesting future for the current crop of workers!!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
MEMORIES OF AUNT FRAN
We just received word of the death of your Aunt Fran. The news was not totally unexpected as she had had a severe heart condition and had been in a rehab facility. But death usually does surprise us - hope springs eternal in the human heart, and we had hoped and prayed for her recovery again. But God had other plans for Aunt Fran and she is now whole and well and happy in Heaven, even as we mourn here.
Aunt Fran was a Southern Belle from Alabama. Uncle Luther was in the Army and stationed in Dotham, Alabama, which was Aunt Fran's home. The Dotham Baptist church held a dance for the U.S. servicemen stationed in their town, and thus it was that the Alabama belle and New England soldier met, fell in love and married. You may remember that Aunt Fran maintained her Southern accent all of her life.
Aunt Fran was also mother of four rambunctious boys.Their family had a lovely home next door to Grandma Pierce's home on the hill, the one you al remember from your childhood. Later they moved to Miami and then Hallendale, Florida, and we visited them there. Aunt Fran was the perfect hostess, a great cook also.;
I don't ever remember Aunt Fran looking unkempt or dowdy - she always had every hair in place and was fashionably dressed for every occasion. She was also a great housekeeper and cook. Visiting in their home was always a special pleasure.
She suffered greatly these last years - brain surgery and other illnesses.....and this past week her sweet spirit left that worn body and went to be with her Lord in Heaven. We will all miss her.
Aunt Fran was a Southern Belle from Alabama. Uncle Luther was in the Army and stationed in Dotham, Alabama, which was Aunt Fran's home. The Dotham Baptist church held a dance for the U.S. servicemen stationed in their town, and thus it was that the Alabama belle and New England soldier met, fell in love and married. You may remember that Aunt Fran maintained her Southern accent all of her life.
Aunt Fran was also mother of four rambunctious boys.Their family had a lovely home next door to Grandma Pierce's home on the hill, the one you al remember from your childhood. Later they moved to Miami and then Hallendale, Florida, and we visited them there. Aunt Fran was the perfect hostess, a great cook also.;
I don't ever remember Aunt Fran looking unkempt or dowdy - she always had every hair in place and was fashionably dressed for every occasion. She was also a great housekeeper and cook. Visiting in their home was always a special pleasure.
She suffered greatly these last years - brain surgery and other illnesses.....and this past week her sweet spirit left that worn body and went to be with her Lord in Heaven. We will all miss her.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
LIFE GOES ON FOR US ............
Sorrow can be devastating......we experience sorrow because of sin coming into the world and with sin came sorrow. Experiencing sorrow can alter our pattern of living. Josiah's death was so unexpected, so untimely and so unimaginable that this sad event seemed to sap all my creative juices I had always loved to write and I enjoyed doing this family history of sorts. It was an historical account of our family for you in this generation to enjoy and to learn about your roots.
But after Josiah's funeral, I just could not get back to writing. Just thinking of it made me dissolve into tears. The tears still come along with the thoughts, but at last I feel I can get back to chronicling family history for you of this and the next generation. Josiah is in a better place and we all look forward to also being with him again some day. Josiah lived his life not selfishly but for others and remains a wonderful example to us all. And so I can finally think of getting back to adding to these family musing - as processed by this mother.
I have not touched this blog for nine months, and so had no idea where to start technically. You all know what a technical dunce I am! But Steve and Dad worked long hours to me back into my blog mode and so I continue with more sharing of events, emotions and history for all of you. My thanks to my menfolks for their help getting me technically going again!!
But after Josiah's funeral, I just could not get back to writing. Just thinking of it made me dissolve into tears. The tears still come along with the thoughts, but at last I feel I can get back to chronicling family history for you of this and the next generation. Josiah is in a better place and we all look forward to also being with him again some day. Josiah lived his life not selfishly but for others and remains a wonderful example to us all. And so I can finally think of getting back to adding to these family musing - as processed by this mother.
I have not touched this blog for nine months, and so had no idea where to start technically. You all know what a technical dunce I am! But Steve and Dad worked long hours to me back into my blog mode and so I continue with more sharing of events, emotions and history for all of you. My thanks to my menfolks for their help getting me technically going again!!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
COMFORT IN SORROW.......
Having gone through the recent shock and mourning because of our Josiah's promotion to Heaven, I am learning a lot about comfort for the bereaved. It was a comfort to have so many of the family on both sides be at the actual funeral procedures and burial. We were all mourning together with Joel and Elin, the girls and Rebekah. Many close friends and relatives were also present, and we were all in a state of shock and deep mourning. From the time the news was out, our email box and our PO box were full of consolation greetings - often from people we had not hear from in years even, as well as close friends and extended family. Death often brings people together through mutual sorrowing.
The night we got the sad news of Josiah's homegoing our pastor and his wife came over and prayed with us, and the Albrights were also here to weep with us. This was all a comfort to us, as we made plans to fly to Chicago for the funeral. Our tickets for the planned wedding in August had to be changed to tickets for a different destination and a funeral. What a sad change! We were gone just three days and those days were so full of family grieving together and receiving condolences from so many hundreds (literally) of people who were there for the visitation and then the funeral the next day. We marveled at how the Wheaton church took over all the physical aspects of such an occasion - food, lodging, everything was provided. We all cried together there in Wheaton, trying not to question why God had allowed this to happen.
When a young person dies, a whole life has been struck down - a planned lifetime of ministry, marriage, a family, the joys and pains of old age. It seems so contrary to nature, to the way things should be. And we question and wonder why...We just have to reassure ourselves that God does do all things well, and even though we as human beings do not understand all the "why's", we sorrowfully accept God's will.
Coming back to Toccoa after the funeral, we went through a continuation of the grieving process. Many people phoned us and talked to us at church and sent beautiful sympathy cards and emails. We are grateful to all who took time for this. That first Sunday back everyone expressed sympathy in the congregation at church. Tears were never far from falling as we returned home. But there did seem to be something lacking....... and I was not sure what it was.....
Until towards the end of that first week we had a visit from Ed and Sue Potoroff, former assistant pastor and his wife. They were in town only for a few hours and had business to take care of, but they stopped by to see us and to cry with us and pray for us and the whole family. And it dawned on me what was lacking in our church - we no longer had a pastor like Ed who has a big heart for the sick and grieving and who is a great visitation pastor. We have a terrific senior pastor (whose wife is a very caring person) and we have a great worship pastor and a great youth pastor. But the board has divided up the congregation under a group of elders. Each member is assigned alphabetically to an elder - all good people - and the comforting and/or visitation aspects of ministry are assigned to these men. Our elder is someone we know and we have seen him from a distance in church, but he has never come to see us, nor even expressed his sorrow to us at church. We miss that wonderful ministry of empathy and visitation that Ed and Sue did so naturally. Our pastoral staff is composed of wonderful people and we appreciate them, but real empathy is somehow lacking.
However, the church people more than make up for that. Dozens of people have mourned with us personally and talked with us and assure us of their prayers. And all of that has been comforting as we learn to live with the idea that Josiah is no longer here on earth but is in a better place. But still we grieve..... Interesting to see how God is sending some new positive things into our family and this is a comfort. First of all, we got the announcement of Chris and Elizabeth's engagement. Then the following week we heard from Rachel that she and Josh are expecting a new addition to the family in six months. So we do go on living, but there is always that sad feeling that God has taken to be with him Josiah who was so precious to all of us. And we continue to mourn for his parents and sisters - and for all of us who were blessed to know him.
The night we got the sad news of Josiah's homegoing our pastor and his wife came over and prayed with us, and the Albrights were also here to weep with us. This was all a comfort to us, as we made plans to fly to Chicago for the funeral. Our tickets for the planned wedding in August had to be changed to tickets for a different destination and a funeral. What a sad change! We were gone just three days and those days were so full of family grieving together and receiving condolences from so many hundreds (literally) of people who were there for the visitation and then the funeral the next day. We marveled at how the Wheaton church took over all the physical aspects of such an occasion - food, lodging, everything was provided. We all cried together there in Wheaton, trying not to question why God had allowed this to happen.
When a young person dies, a whole life has been struck down - a planned lifetime of ministry, marriage, a family, the joys and pains of old age. It seems so contrary to nature, to the way things should be. And we question and wonder why...We just have to reassure ourselves that God does do all things well, and even though we as human beings do not understand all the "why's", we sorrowfully accept God's will.
Coming back to Toccoa after the funeral, we went through a continuation of the grieving process. Many people phoned us and talked to us at church and sent beautiful sympathy cards and emails. We are grateful to all who took time for this. That first Sunday back everyone expressed sympathy in the congregation at church. Tears were never far from falling as we returned home. But there did seem to be something lacking....... and I was not sure what it was.....
Until towards the end of that first week we had a visit from Ed and Sue Potoroff, former assistant pastor and his wife. They were in town only for a few hours and had business to take care of, but they stopped by to see us and to cry with us and pray for us and the whole family. And it dawned on me what was lacking in our church - we no longer had a pastor like Ed who has a big heart for the sick and grieving and who is a great visitation pastor. We have a terrific senior pastor (whose wife is a very caring person) and we have a great worship pastor and a great youth pastor. But the board has divided up the congregation under a group of elders. Each member is assigned alphabetically to an elder - all good people - and the comforting and/or visitation aspects of ministry are assigned to these men. Our elder is someone we know and we have seen him from a distance in church, but he has never come to see us, nor even expressed his sorrow to us at church. We miss that wonderful ministry of empathy and visitation that Ed and Sue did so naturally. Our pastoral staff is composed of wonderful people and we appreciate them, but real empathy is somehow lacking.
However, the church people more than make up for that. Dozens of people have mourned with us personally and talked with us and assure us of their prayers. And all of that has been comforting as we learn to live with the idea that Josiah is no longer here on earth but is in a better place. But still we grieve..... Interesting to see how God is sending some new positive things into our family and this is a comfort. First of all, we got the announcement of Chris and Elizabeth's engagement. Then the following week we heard from Rachel that she and Josh are expecting a new addition to the family in six months. So we do go on living, but there is always that sad feeling that God has taken to be with him Josiah who was so precious to all of us. And we continue to mourn for his parents and sisters - and for all of us who were blessed to know him.
Monday, July 9, 2012
AN EARTHLY FAREWELL TO JOSIAH
JOSIAH - so many memories overwhelm me tonight as we just received word that you are no longer with us here on earth. You have gone on ahead to Heaven where we will all be together again one day! God tells us to comfort each other with that thought! Heaven is FOREVER - earth is transitory!
So many memories flood my mind as I think of your unbelievably short life! Papa and I saw you for the first time in Paris, a beautiful big baby boy with soft red hair. We returned to Burkina after spending Christmas with you and your Mom and Dad.
The next time we saw you we were together in Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire. You were such a sturdy boy - big for your age - and happily engaged in French chatter with the neighborhood kids, your friends. Bursting with energy - you were a delight to know!
My next memories of you are in Abidjan, when you lived across the street from Yves-Alain, your Ivoirien buddy. The two of you were inseparable. Again our conversations with you were in French, your language of choice, even though you did understand English.
Through the years I made many visits to Côte d'Ivoire because of my involvement in the FATEAC and other Christian education institutions of which I was a member in that city of Abidjan where you now lived. You loved to read in French and your language was so aretiuculate that I loved to listen to you. You also preferred reading French comic books, which you were allowed to do aftere you had done a certain amount of reading in English. Your parents were getting you ready for English language school.
I well remember the week I stayed with you and Elizabeth while your parents and Papa went to a Mission conference in Bouaké. You were in school in Abidjan, and I would sit and help you with your homework each night and at the same time listen to how you and your cousin argued with each other! You were both very articulate! That friendship between the two of you remained and I remember occasions when the two of you were college students and visiting in Georgia at Uncle Mark's and would talk together far into the night!
We did not see you often after you started attending Wheaton College. We did have a couple of visits with you and we were always proud of your accomplishments in studies and sports at that prestigious Christian College! You had by then grown into a wonderful adult - we were so proud of you!
I reember the last conversation we had - that was late at night a couple years ago when we were all at Phenicie's for Thanksgiving. Papa and everyone else had gone to bed, but we night owls - you and I - sat there in the living room and talked for a long time!
Then came your work with Samaritain's Purse in Japan - and your meeting Rebecca, the love of your life. We have been looking forward to being at your wedding in August and getting to know your beautiful bride - a new addition to our family. But God had other plans for you. The place in Heaven He had prepared for you was ready - and you are there with Him now!
What a tragedy for Rebecca - and for all of us who have loved you. But I know it is a delight for you to be with the Lord you love and served on earth. And Heaven is forever! Some day we will be together again. That is the hope we have as children of God. One day we too - as God's children - will be caught up to meet Jesus. There will be no separation - "we will all forever be with the Lord!" And so today we do as our Lord has told us to do - we "comfort one another with these words". Tonight, Josiah, as we mourn for our wonderful grandson, we have the hope of one day being together again.
Farewell from Earth, Josiah! We look forward to some day being with you in Heaven!
So many memories flood my mind as I think of your unbelievably short life! Papa and I saw you for the first time in Paris, a beautiful big baby boy with soft red hair. We returned to Burkina after spending Christmas with you and your Mom and Dad.
The next time we saw you we were together in Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire. You were such a sturdy boy - big for your age - and happily engaged in French chatter with the neighborhood kids, your friends. Bursting with energy - you were a delight to know!
My next memories of you are in Abidjan, when you lived across the street from Yves-Alain, your Ivoirien buddy. The two of you were inseparable. Again our conversations with you were in French, your language of choice, even though you did understand English.
Through the years I made many visits to Côte d'Ivoire because of my involvement in the FATEAC and other Christian education institutions of which I was a member in that city of Abidjan where you now lived. You loved to read in French and your language was so aretiuculate that I loved to listen to you. You also preferred reading French comic books, which you were allowed to do aftere you had done a certain amount of reading in English. Your parents were getting you ready for English language school.
I well remember the week I stayed with you and Elizabeth while your parents and Papa went to a Mission conference in Bouaké. You were in school in Abidjan, and I would sit and help you with your homework each night and at the same time listen to how you and your cousin argued with each other! You were both very articulate! That friendship between the two of you remained and I remember occasions when the two of you were college students and visiting in Georgia at Uncle Mark's and would talk together far into the night!
We did not see you often after you started attending Wheaton College. We did have a couple of visits with you and we were always proud of your accomplishments in studies and sports at that prestigious Christian College! You had by then grown into a wonderful adult - we were so proud of you!
I reember the last conversation we had - that was late at night a couple years ago when we were all at Phenicie's for Thanksgiving. Papa and everyone else had gone to bed, but we night owls - you and I - sat there in the living room and talked for a long time!
Then came your work with Samaritain's Purse in Japan - and your meeting Rebecca, the love of your life. We have been looking forward to being at your wedding in August and getting to know your beautiful bride - a new addition to our family. But God had other plans for you. The place in Heaven He had prepared for you was ready - and you are there with Him now!
What a tragedy for Rebecca - and for all of us who have loved you. But I know it is a delight for you to be with the Lord you love and served on earth. And Heaven is forever! Some day we will be together again. That is the hope we have as children of God. One day we too - as God's children - will be caught up to meet Jesus. There will be no separation - "we will all forever be with the Lord!" And so today we do as our Lord has told us to do - we "comfort one another with these words". Tonight, Josiah, as we mourn for our wonderful grandson, we have the hope of one day being together again.
Farewell from Earth, Josiah! We look forward to some day being with you in Heaven!
Friday, June 29, 2012
THE JAIL MINISTRY CONTINUED...........
TO CONTINUE ABOUT THE JAIL VISITS EACH WEEK...... We meet for prayer together in the entrance room when we arrive - after getting our official badges to wear for our visit. Men and women form a circle together and we give requests and someone prays. We also get frisked at that point. At first they went over us with a very careful search, but now that we are known, they just do a cursory search. You cannot have a pen which clicks in and out because the prisoners get hold of those and make weapons, so you have to have a straight pen. We can take in our Bibles and a note pad and can get permission to take in songsheets, helpful literature, etc.
A man officer leads the men down the long halls and a women officer leads the women and those guards stay with us in the pods while we are visiting. We are not supposed to make any noise in the halls, no talking, etc. We have a few guards who know us well and they seem to enjoy being with us for our services and visiting with the girls. First Alliance has more workers than any other church. We have a couple very nice Assemblies women also. The Jehovah Witnesses used to come each week and were very disturbing. They kept themselves apart and taught their doctine loudly to a couple of girls. But lately - especially after one girl left their class and joined us - those women do not come. A couple men also go in and they confuse the prisoners with their teaching. So we are always glad when none of their people come.
The guard opens the door of the pod where we visit and calls out "church!" and the girls put up what they are doing and appear out of their cells. There are two rows of cells in one pod, upstairs and down. The girls are very affectionate and all hug and kiss us and then start talking indiviually. They give us any in-prison news they have. And we give them a bit of news of the outside - the cells are totally sealed from the outisde, so they have no idea of what the weather is like or anything going on out in the community. They spend their days sleeping or playing cards or other games or fixing each other's hair or just chatting. Sometimes arguments break out and that causes problems for them with the guards. They can be put in solitary if they cause a serious problem.
After everyone spends a little time chatting, someone gathers us together in a circle around the pod, and we start to sing. The girls also have prayer needs. We have prayed for salvation with a number of women. Some give testimonies, some want to talk personally with one of us or present a serious personal need to the group and we gather around and pray. Last week one girl who had been let out - and had even attended church with us at our church - was contacted after a couple of days and told they had made a mistake and she was brought back in after being free two days. She was so angry, and asked us to pray for her to be delivered of her terrible anger. Last week just as we were about to begin our little service, a guard came in and called out for three girls to return to prison - after they thought they were going to be released. They had to run and pack up quickly - they own almost nothing, but have to strip their beds and bundle up their mattress and follow the guard. Everyone was hugging and crying and it started off our time together on a bad note. All the girls were crying! One was a girl very close to me.
During our meeting, we do not have a speaker per se - although one week they had asked Valerie and me to dress in our national dress and speak about missions. But we all give Scriptural advice and whatever we feel led to give to the girls. We stop and pray with individuals for special needs. It is a very informal situation. We sing quite a bit also. Then we go into groups usually one visitor per table and spend time answering spiritual questions and listeing to them. The backgrounds some of these people have is unbelievable. Just yesterday Dad had a seventeen year old boy who came from a terrible home situaion - his thirteen year old sister is several months pg with HIS child. He has just so many problems and the only bright spot is when he sees Dad to talk with him. The men also go on Thursday evening and have a more formal meeting when they have preaching.
Just want to copy here something someone just wrote to Dad:
"Well, I just need to write to someone. I'm really depressed, the jail has charged me with some damage I did not do plus my girlfriend with whom I have two baby girls told me she was moving on. She wasn't waiting on me. With all this I'm depressed. I've been praying and reading my Bible. I hope things get better. I am going to prison and all (as opposed to jail) but I'm afraid I will never get out....I'm hurting deep inside. You know how physical pain is, well spiritual pain is much worse. It never goes away. I'd trade a broken arm right now for a little peace in my heart. I'm not a bad person, I just had a drug problem and that made me bad. My heart is so broke I pray it gets better soon. You help a lot. You really have made my faith stronger. I thought no one cares, but Jesus cares whether anyone else does or not and I hope he makes me feel better about life. Right now I don't like it!
Somewhere it says life is full of troubles but to put your trust in God. I believe that. I need some prayers though. I'm losing it, I'm about to snap but that will be more trouible for me. The thing is now that my girls are gone I'm starting to not care. I'm ready to give up, my spirit is so weak right now. Pray for me please, I need it. Well, with love I'm going to try and go to sleep."
As I have said before, this is a heavy ministry as well as being an opportunity to help some people who would never get help elsewhere.
The men stay longer in their Wednesday morning time than we women do, and often we women will go downtown and have coffee together and share prayer needs and have fun and plan for a future when there might be a halfway house within reach here to help some of these poor souls when they get out. One girl I have worked with a lot is totally homeless. She has a drinking problem and so her two older children were taken from her and no relative wants to take her in. When she gets out of jail, she walks around town and looks for an empty house where she can crawl in an unlocked window or just sleep on an open back porch, trying to keep warm all night.
The Bobos were easier to work with I think! They at least have an orgnized society and they take care of their own. But in Toccoa we find many people - men and women - who have no one who cares for them. It is very sad.
A man officer leads the men down the long halls and a women officer leads the women and those guards stay with us in the pods while we are visiting. We are not supposed to make any noise in the halls, no talking, etc. We have a few guards who know us well and they seem to enjoy being with us for our services and visiting with the girls. First Alliance has more workers than any other church. We have a couple very nice Assemblies women also. The Jehovah Witnesses used to come each week and were very disturbing. They kept themselves apart and taught their doctine loudly to a couple of girls. But lately - especially after one girl left their class and joined us - those women do not come. A couple men also go in and they confuse the prisoners with their teaching. So we are always glad when none of their people come.
The guard opens the door of the pod where we visit and calls out "church!" and the girls put up what they are doing and appear out of their cells. There are two rows of cells in one pod, upstairs and down. The girls are very affectionate and all hug and kiss us and then start talking indiviually. They give us any in-prison news they have. And we give them a bit of news of the outside - the cells are totally sealed from the outisde, so they have no idea of what the weather is like or anything going on out in the community. They spend their days sleeping or playing cards or other games or fixing each other's hair or just chatting. Sometimes arguments break out and that causes problems for them with the guards. They can be put in solitary if they cause a serious problem.
After everyone spends a little time chatting, someone gathers us together in a circle around the pod, and we start to sing. The girls also have prayer needs. We have prayed for salvation with a number of women. Some give testimonies, some want to talk personally with one of us or present a serious personal need to the group and we gather around and pray. Last week one girl who had been let out - and had even attended church with us at our church - was contacted after a couple of days and told they had made a mistake and she was brought back in after being free two days. She was so angry, and asked us to pray for her to be delivered of her terrible anger. Last week just as we were about to begin our little service, a guard came in and called out for three girls to return to prison - after they thought they were going to be released. They had to run and pack up quickly - they own almost nothing, but have to strip their beds and bundle up their mattress and follow the guard. Everyone was hugging and crying and it started off our time together on a bad note. All the girls were crying! One was a girl very close to me.
During our meeting, we do not have a speaker per se - although one week they had asked Valerie and me to dress in our national dress and speak about missions. But we all give Scriptural advice and whatever we feel led to give to the girls. We stop and pray with individuals for special needs. It is a very informal situation. We sing quite a bit also. Then we go into groups usually one visitor per table and spend time answering spiritual questions and listeing to them. The backgrounds some of these people have is unbelievable. Just yesterday Dad had a seventeen year old boy who came from a terrible home situaion - his thirteen year old sister is several months pg with HIS child. He has just so many problems and the only bright spot is when he sees Dad to talk with him. The men also go on Thursday evening and have a more formal meeting when they have preaching.
Just want to copy here something someone just wrote to Dad:
"Well, I just need to write to someone. I'm really depressed, the jail has charged me with some damage I did not do plus my girlfriend with whom I have two baby girls told me she was moving on. She wasn't waiting on me. With all this I'm depressed. I've been praying and reading my Bible. I hope things get better. I am going to prison and all (as opposed to jail) but I'm afraid I will never get out....I'm hurting deep inside. You know how physical pain is, well spiritual pain is much worse. It never goes away. I'd trade a broken arm right now for a little peace in my heart. I'm not a bad person, I just had a drug problem and that made me bad. My heart is so broke I pray it gets better soon. You help a lot. You really have made my faith stronger. I thought no one cares, but Jesus cares whether anyone else does or not and I hope he makes me feel better about life. Right now I don't like it!
Somewhere it says life is full of troubles but to put your trust in God. I believe that. I need some prayers though. I'm losing it, I'm about to snap but that will be more trouible for me. The thing is now that my girls are gone I'm starting to not care. I'm ready to give up, my spirit is so weak right now. Pray for me please, I need it. Well, with love I'm going to try and go to sleep."
As I have said before, this is a heavy ministry as well as being an opportunity to help some people who would never get help elsewhere.
The men stay longer in their Wednesday morning time than we women do, and often we women will go downtown and have coffee together and share prayer needs and have fun and plan for a future when there might be a halfway house within reach here to help some of these poor souls when they get out. One girl I have worked with a lot is totally homeless. She has a drinking problem and so her two older children were taken from her and no relative wants to take her in. When she gets out of jail, she walks around town and looks for an empty house where she can crawl in an unlocked window or just sleep on an open back porch, trying to keep warm all night.
The Bobos were easier to work with I think! They at least have an orgnized society and they take care of their own. But in Toccoa we find many people - men and women - who have no one who cares for them. It is very sad.
Friday, June 22, 2012
JAIL VISITATION
Jail visitation occupies a great deal of our lives - not just the visits we make there every week - Wednesday mornings for both of us - and Thursday night as well for Dad. I will share with you a little bit about the process of being in jail ministry. First of all, these are very needy people. Many of them will never hear the true gospel from anyone else. Others have been in church most of their lives but have never had a real experience with the Lord. Still others have been scorned or disappointed by the organized church and are totaly turned off to Christianity.
There are about three times as many men as women in our county jail and so our visitation is different. There are three "pods" of men and only one pod of women. So each Wednesday morning when we visit the women, we have time to talk personally with prisoners, and in the women's pod we also have a little service - singing, testimonies, words of counsel - it is different each week. Dad changes pods every twenty minutes and talks and listens to the men on Wednesdays. Then on Thursday nights he goes to preach or back up someone else who goes along to preach. The TFC students love to go with him for this.
We have to remember the rules of the jail when we go in each week. You have to have personal ID (I use my driver's license) and a simple pen, none of these which click in and out. The prisoners can use those to make weapons! You have to have a patdown, usually in the large bathroom - female guards for the women and men guards for the men. Then the first door to the cells is clicked open by the lead guard and we follow behind, being quiet in the halls. We go through four locked doors before we get to the women's pod. As we enter, the guard calls out "church" and everyone who wants to join us comes down out of their cells. One thing we have been able to do is to require that all prisoners are free to come to talk with us. It used to be that the upper tier of cells was on lockdown one day and the lower tier on lockdown the next and so on...even on our visitation days. But we asked that that be changed and they complied so now everyone is free to come to church, unless they are on lockdown for misbehviour.
Just about everyone in there comes and hugs us as they greet us and then follows a time of chatting with the girls (women). There are about twelve steel tables in a pod, with little steel stools around the tables, all stationery and VERY uncomfortable! And that is where we sit and talk. For many, it is a high point in their week. These prisoners have no contact with the outside world - they have no light from outside in their cells, there is no newspaper or TV. They do have visitation rights one day in the week when they are called out to visit through a glass with their family. There is also a row of phones where they can talk with their family, if they have the money to do so. They have no idea what the weather is like outside. They live in complete isolation. We have found that the majority of the guards are kind to the girls and many of them are even Christians. When there are no visitors, the girls either stay in their rooms or else put together puzzles on the steel tables, play cards, etc.
There is a certain camraderie that builds up among the girls, and if one girl is sick, the other girls will take care of her needs. Each cell has a toilet, one girl to a cell. They are not allowed to cover up, so wear sweaters or whatever they have which is warm when sleeping. Each one does have a pillow. The uniforms are for the most part, faded (sometimes even ragged) and very unbecoming! The girls do each other's hair to pass the time and they are required to be hygienically clean. Often girls come into jail pregnant and usually the other girls take care of these prenant girls. Several times we have been there when a girl had just lost a baby and the others all try to comfort her and take care of her in her physical pain and mental anguish. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of lesbian activity tht goes on in the cells and homoseuxality in the men's side.
Several women volunteer to be on kitchen duty and so they are dismissed early from our meeting with them. If they have personl money from their families, they are allowed to order available snacks, plus special prison Bibles for a reduced price. Many of us who are involved in jail ministry put money on the prisoners' acounts so they can buy a Bible. For a long time, we had some Jehovah's Witness women who also came in and had couple of prisoners whom they were indoctrinating. They went in with us, but stayed apart from us. One of the girls saw the light and left the JW's and after tht the JW women did not come back again, so now we are all one big group.
Our Alliance church has also been instrumental in starting a good library for these in the prison. We have given money for bookshelves and a cart to take books around to the pods. The women spend hours now reading good books of all kinds. And people in our church continue to donate good books to this cause.
Being in jail work is a whole new culture for us! Our church has more people who come for visitation than any other church in town and so there is a ccertain camraderie among those of us who go each week. Our pastor's wife is one of them. There are also some AG ladies with whom we have gotten close, and after jail time we often all go out for coffee or lunch together. More later on jail... but suffice it to say this is a whole new culture that we have entered! It is certainly a very needy world. The housekeeping lady whom you kids have provided for us came yesterday as we were on our way to the court. She hugged me and said how happy she is for people like us who care enough about those incarcerated to spend time with them. She herself was in jail because of drugs when she was younger, and she shared about how she looked forward each week to the church people coming to meet with them. She is now living a drug free life and very involved in an evangelical church. It is good to know we are making a difference in the lives of these unfortunate people! (to be continued)
There are about three times as many men as women in our county jail and so our visitation is different. There are three "pods" of men and only one pod of women. So each Wednesday morning when we visit the women, we have time to talk personally with prisoners, and in the women's pod we also have a little service - singing, testimonies, words of counsel - it is different each week. Dad changes pods every twenty minutes and talks and listens to the men on Wednesdays. Then on Thursday nights he goes to preach or back up someone else who goes along to preach. The TFC students love to go with him for this.
We have to remember the rules of the jail when we go in each week. You have to have personal ID (I use my driver's license) and a simple pen, none of these which click in and out. The prisoners can use those to make weapons! You have to have a patdown, usually in the large bathroom - female guards for the women and men guards for the men. Then the first door to the cells is clicked open by the lead guard and we follow behind, being quiet in the halls. We go through four locked doors before we get to the women's pod. As we enter, the guard calls out "church" and everyone who wants to join us comes down out of their cells. One thing we have been able to do is to require that all prisoners are free to come to talk with us. It used to be that the upper tier of cells was on lockdown one day and the lower tier on lockdown the next and so on...even on our visitation days. But we asked that that be changed and they complied so now everyone is free to come to church, unless they are on lockdown for misbehviour.
Just about everyone in there comes and hugs us as they greet us and then follows a time of chatting with the girls (women). There are about twelve steel tables in a pod, with little steel stools around the tables, all stationery and VERY uncomfortable! And that is where we sit and talk. For many, it is a high point in their week. These prisoners have no contact with the outside world - they have no light from outside in their cells, there is no newspaper or TV. They do have visitation rights one day in the week when they are called out to visit through a glass with their family. There is also a row of phones where they can talk with their family, if they have the money to do so. They have no idea what the weather is like outside. They live in complete isolation. We have found that the majority of the guards are kind to the girls and many of them are even Christians. When there are no visitors, the girls either stay in their rooms or else put together puzzles on the steel tables, play cards, etc.
There is a certain camraderie that builds up among the girls, and if one girl is sick, the other girls will take care of her needs. Each cell has a toilet, one girl to a cell. They are not allowed to cover up, so wear sweaters or whatever they have which is warm when sleeping. Each one does have a pillow. The uniforms are for the most part, faded (sometimes even ragged) and very unbecoming! The girls do each other's hair to pass the time and they are required to be hygienically clean. Often girls come into jail pregnant and usually the other girls take care of these prenant girls. Several times we have been there when a girl had just lost a baby and the others all try to comfort her and take care of her in her physical pain and mental anguish. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of lesbian activity tht goes on in the cells and homoseuxality in the men's side.
Several women volunteer to be on kitchen duty and so they are dismissed early from our meeting with them. If they have personl money from their families, they are allowed to order available snacks, plus special prison Bibles for a reduced price. Many of us who are involved in jail ministry put money on the prisoners' acounts so they can buy a Bible. For a long time, we had some Jehovah's Witness women who also came in and had couple of prisoners whom they were indoctrinating. They went in with us, but stayed apart from us. One of the girls saw the light and left the JW's and after tht the JW women did not come back again, so now we are all one big group.
Our Alliance church has also been instrumental in starting a good library for these in the prison. We have given money for bookshelves and a cart to take books around to the pods. The women spend hours now reading good books of all kinds. And people in our church continue to donate good books to this cause.
Being in jail work is a whole new culture for us! Our church has more people who come for visitation than any other church in town and so there is a ccertain camraderie among those of us who go each week. Our pastor's wife is one of them. There are also some AG ladies with whom we have gotten close, and after jail time we often all go out for coffee or lunch together. More later on jail... but suffice it to say this is a whole new culture that we have entered! It is certainly a very needy world. The housekeeping lady whom you kids have provided for us came yesterday as we were on our way to the court. She hugged me and said how happy she is for people like us who care enough about those incarcerated to spend time with them. She herself was in jail because of drugs when she was younger, and she shared about how she looked forward each week to the church people coming to meet with them. She is now living a drug free life and very involved in an evangelical church. It is good to know we are making a difference in the lives of these unfortunate people! (to be continued)
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