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.