Home at Last

There is always something incredible about taking an inmate home on the day of his release.

It's a bit like biting into a ripe mango - you know it is going to be good but how good is always the surprise not discovered until after the first bite. Taking a prisoner home has echo's of the same surprise and goodness for each homecoming for a prisoner is different, each reception unique.

This morning I took a young man home from prison. It was only a 5 minute drive and we were at his uncle's home. The greeting made us immediately comfortable, there was no awkwardness as we sat together and began the formalities of the traditional sevusevu.

I left after an hour or so with confidence that this young man was received by an embracing family.

Chains of Shame

Over the past days I've been walking closely with a newly released inmate. His journey of the first hours and days have been fascinating and full of adventure.

What stands out is that there is not standard template for an inmate's transition back to family and community. For this man the joy, fears, anxiety and emotions have been magnified to the extent that some small tasks have been like mountains.

Today's mountain of fear to climb is the trip into town to do some basic shopping. He attempted it yesterday so today we pray for victory.

Jesus Christ came to free prisoners from their chains of captivity - in this case the chains are named shame.

Baptist Womens World Day of Prayer

Over a hundred Baptist women from all over Fiji came together at our church - Central Baptist Church for the Baptist Women World Day of Prayer.
It was a time of great prayer and celebration. Each church represented a different country in the south pacific and great effort was put into the dress and presentation of each delegation. Each group participated in dance and musical items before leading the ladies in specific prayer for that country and the people of that country.

The fellowship extended into the afternoon with a lunch.

Sunday Afternoon

We seated ourselves on a few rickety wooden benches as one by one the men of Naboro Minimum prison filed and sat on the floor in front of us. This was not my first time into a prison with Peter however it was my first time with him for a Sunday afternoon concert.

As we opened with prayer and the team began to fill the prison with music I noticed the tightness and tiredness and tension on most of the faces. The music team from the Lami SPEF Church are incredible and when the music started suddenly more prisoners were coming and so with no space left on the floor every window was filled with faces. The prison has 143 prisoners and we had 140 around us.

Pastor Ken Cairns shared a short and powerful message of the cross of Christ and Peter presented a challenge of making the purpose of our life to please God. What I could see was the men's hunger as they shared and found myself reduced to tears. The music continued in loud songs of praise and slowly I saw in some the change in faces, the expression of joy, the lifting of voices. Other faces remained stilted, haunted, deeply troubled.

My own heart was filled with so many emotions and overwhelmed and excited at opportunities such as this. Jesus came to heal the broken-hearted and set the captives free - My own prayer life has become shaped by the faces of Sunday afternoon.

Yellow Ribbon Day

The 11th of October will be remembered as a significant day for Fiji's prisoners. It was the launch of the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Suva to show their support of giving prisoners a real 'Second Chance'.

Sukuna Park became the focus for the activities with prisoners from the various prisons participating in a range of activities including traditional dance and song.

The day was a great success and is the beginning of new public awareness campaign that is encouraging the understanding that a successful reintegration is valuable to all.

The Commissioner of Prisons is to be applauded for the initiative. The Staff and Officers of Fiji Prison and Correctional Service are providing great ongoing support.