Have you ever approached a table of four male inmates who could probably crush you with their pinky finger to ask if they want to play Connect 4 with you? Well before today I hadn’t either.
Today was our first day of prison ministry here in Albania. We had done prison ministry in Thailand last month but this was quite different. The prison was built on the side of the mountains here. The view from the prison was quite beautiful! When the car stopped I did not even realize we were at the prison. We stood outside the gate waiting to be allowed entry. After getting the usual airport-like pat down, we entered the prison.
This was movie-typical prison. We were led up a flight of stairs and through a set of bar doors with a guard who opened them for us. We then walked down a long, narrow hallway. All down the hallway were prison cells. The doors were made of heavy metal and each had bars over the small square windows that were in each door. As we walked through, I tried to resist looking into each cell, mostly because there were usually four shirtless men on the other side either lying in their bunk or watching us walk past. The rooms did have personal items of the men in them. I could not see much except pops of color of their belongings as we walked past. Our host said the men did not stay at this prison for longer than 3 years. This was more of a holding prison while the men waited for their trials.
As we walked down the one hallway, we were let through another set of bars to another hallway with more cells. In the hallway there were two phones that some of the men were using. They glanced our way with curious faces. At the end of that hallway, we came to a somewhat small room with five small tables that had four chairs around each. Our host told us that we should each sit one person at each table. My teammates filled the empty tables which left me at the table with 4 men I had described earlier. One was wearing a pineapple tank top while the other had on a form fitting t-shirt with a cool triangle design on it. This was very different from Thailand where all the inmates had to wear the same clothes in the same color.
As I approached, I mustered up my courage and gave them my biggest smile with a “Hi guys! Want to play Connect 4?” Thankfully two of the four spoke very good English and we were able to communicate well. They, however, did not want to play Connect 4 so I grabbed some cards from a teammate and taught the men Egyptian Rat Race. They weren’t a huge fan of it so they taught me a different game. I don’t remember the name but you had to get pairs of cards and not get stuck with the king of spades.
After we had played two rounds of that game (I won the first, lost the second), they asked me to teach them another card game. My mind was scrambling as I tried to think of something better than War or Go Fish. I told them I knew how to play Hearts but that only needs four people (there were currently five people at our table including me). They were taken aback that I knew how to play and were very happy to kick one of their people out to play with me. Their rules were a bit different than I was used to but it wasn’t too hard to catch on.
While we played we talked a bit as they tried to get to know me better and vice versa. They thought I was 18…as most people do. But I told them I had finished college two years ago. The two men who spoke English had also both finished college, one of them spoke four languages! These men were so intelligent so I was very sad to see them behind bars when they could be doing so much with their lives. The conversation got more relaxed and turned a bit so I felt comfortable enough to ask what had landed them in prison. One said he had been found with a gram of cocaine on him and would be released in just a few days. The other said he had murdered two people….and then burst out laughing. Okay, I see what you did there. I guess it’s only fair that he could make a joke like that. But in reality he was in for something involving planting a bomb at a bus station. He was the one that spoke four languages. It was sad to see that their lives had taken such a downward turn. They so desperately needed Jesus. I was able to share about the trip we are on and why our team was in Albania – to tell people about Jesus! I shared that I was a Christian and they were very accepting of me.
I did not win at Hearts but I did enjoy the hour that I got to spend with these men. They very desperately need Jesus and I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring a little bit of His light into that dark place. I will continue praying for these men that they may encounter more Christians in their future and come to understand who Jesus truly is.
