Week 4! Wow, this is flying by. I’m growing to
love these boys more and more each day and their stories are just beginning to unfold.
Today, we’ll call Minor #3 “Chris”.
Chris looks to be
one of the most confident boys in the cell. He has no problem with the lessons we are teaching them and
is constantly turning flips or other acrobatic moves in between his turns for
the days’ lessons. Whenever we
have our competitions or play games, Chris stands out above the rest as a
natural competitor and athlete.
Chris’ story is similar
to the rest of the boys: some prior gang activity that led to one too many
crimes and a sentence in the county jail.
The only difference seems to be that he is one of a few that almost
takes pride in his past. It’s obvious
that when he was outside of the prison, he was a leader, or at least well
respected. I decided to probe a
little more into his story and search for where this confidence was rooted, and
it wasn’t long until I found my answer in cell 2.
Chris’ older
brother is one of the guys that I have been preaching to for the last several
weeks in cell 2. Unlike many of
the eager men in the cell, his brother mostly hangs out in the back and tries
to get as far away from me as possible.
He’s proud of his younger brother.
Chris has lived a hard life and has still come out on “top” in his eyes,
but now both of them are living in the county jail. Of course he wants his brother to be out of the jail, but in
a twisted way, he takes pride in the fact that they can share this bond.
The last couple
of days have shown a change in the lives of these brothers, as slight as it may
be. Chris has really taken even
more steps in speaking English and even keeps attentive during our time of
Bible study. Also, when I spoke to
cell 2 yesterday for their Bible study, I noticed his brother not only sitting
out in the open with everyone else, but also following along with his
neighbor’s Bible. These brothers
are both on a transformational journey and have no idea that they’re both on a
path to redemption.
I told this story
to Jodi yesterday and her response was, “Oh that’s cute, he doesn’t stand a
chance against the Holy Spirit.” I
just smiled in agreement. Just
like Saul before he became Paul, these boys are on a collision course with the
God of the universe and they don’t stand a chance…
