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.