“Until the voice that guides us declares our freedom, nothing and no one in the world can make us free. As long as the voice that defines who we are declares our freedom, no one and nothing can hold us captive” – Erwin McManus The Artisan Soul
Last Monday, a couple of us on our team went into Big Bend Prison for a couple hours for the first time. We get to partner with a local missionary named Leo who has been building relationships in the prison for 6 years now. A couple hours before going into the prison we spent some time with Leo and got prepped for the event. I am not sure what I was expecting, but Leo seemed really chill about the whole thing and honestly I was super excited.
We got to the prison and were greeted with a huge smile from the guard who appeared to be good friends with Leo. Turns out Leo is really friendly with a bunch of people at the prison, workers and inmates alike. Either that or everyone at the prison is just super friendly. I kinda think it might be a bit of both. We got escorted into the prison and signed our names on a sign-in sheet. Everything at the prison seemed way more relaxed than I expected. Other than the tall metal structure with the sign-in sheet and the front door we walked in, the rest of the prison looked like a courtyard surrounded by small brick buildings.
We were led into a small room by the smiling worker. This would be where we got to interact with all the people from the prison. I didn’t expect to do much other than scope out what kinda message Leo gave, and introduce myself alongside a couple of my teammates. Honestly, we didn’t actually end up doing much more than that, but it still managed to be one of my favorite days on the race so far. The vibe of our whole meeting was light-hearted and fun, but the people still seemed engaged and genuinely interested in what we had to say.
When we introduced ourselves we were asked to share why we decided to come on the race, so all of us decided to take that as a chance to share our hearts and a little bit of our testimonies. After that we listened to one of our new friends absolutely shred a couple of really beautiful songs on the guitar. My other friend, Jordan, also played a couple of songs on the guitar after that. We all helped him sing the second one. To end our time in the prison each of the guys we talked to lined up and shook our hand. Being able to look them all in the eye and tell them that I was so happy to meet them might’ve been the highlight of the whole thing.
The experience as a whole is really simple on the face of it. I think what made it so special is the atmosphere and the feeling of the whole place. It isn’t something that you can explain very well with just words, but these people gave me a feeling that made me excited to be there. It made me excited for how the culture of Swaziland can be changed by these guys. It also made me excited for the good things that are going to come to them because of their hearts now. Overall the prison was something that I was excited for going into it, but I came out of it even more excited to go back.
Hebrews 13:3 “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
A lot of these ‘prisoners’ were walking in more freedom than other people that I have met in Swaziland, Asia, or even back in America. These guys had something special about them, and I don’t think it’s all that complicated what it is. Leo has been investing in the prison for 6 years and he has consistently been sharing the story and love of Jesus with them. It reminds me that the groups most people won’t want to interact with are the people who need to be visited and loved on the most. I have a strong feeling that a lot of people all over the world would learn a lot more about Jesus, or freedom, or grace from visiting some prisons than visiting a church. I also have a strong feeling that a lot of people around the world think of or talk about people in prison as if they are inherently less than others, but I know the Bible talks about treating others as more significant than ourselves. I’m betting that Big Bend Prison is unique from most other prisons, but I still think that the lessons I learned from it are transferrable, if not then amplified, in almost any other prison.
This experience was a perspective change for me, and I think that the roots of that perspective can be changed to better reflect scripture and truth across societies all over the world.
