“Man on a Journey”

 One at a Time!

It was the first prison visit of our trip and there I was looking out at the mass of dark sun baked faces staring back at me. Despair, hunger, illness and suffering were mirrored on each and every face but most of all there was the look of hopelessness. I wasn’t ready for the impact of that moment and it caught me completely off guard. It hit me like a bolt of lighting and was seared on my heart and in my mind forever. I wanted so much to immerse myself in the crowd, reach out and hug each one, hold them as I would a loved one and let them know it was alright, “God loves and cares for you”. When was the last time someone did that, just held them and comforted them; days, months, years? My heart ached and I felt so unprepared and inadequate at that moment, how could I possibly do that? There were over a thousand prisoners gathered under that roof.  “Oh yea of little faith” there I was putting my limitations on what God could do.  “Lord let me be your arms today!” Little did I know at that moment what He had planned and how He would answer that prayer. It would affect my outlook for the rest of the trip.

I started searching the crowd as I waited my turn to share; an old man with wrinkles etched deep in his face caught my eye. How lonely he looked.  “Lord bless him let him know You are the Great Comforter”. A young man way in the back who was craning his neck just trying to see us caught my eye next, “Lord bless him fill him with excitement for You”. A group of men standing off to the side of the crowd in tattered rags were the next ones to catch my attention, “Lord let them know You love them!” On and on it went one lighting bolt after another overwhelming my senses and filling me to overflowing with compassion. 

Leaning towards our interpreter I asked,” Is it visiting day for the prisoner’s families?” while motioning towards the large group of women and children in the front rows “Is that why they are here?” He looked at me with a questioning look on his face and I thought at first he didn’t understand what I had asked when he said, “visiting day? No they’re not visitors they’re prisoners.” I must have had a shocked look on my face from the expression reflected on his. 

 Again I started searching the mass of faces and as my eyes moved from person to person they fell on a small elderly lady buried in the crowd. She seemed so out of place amongst this large group of prisoners, yet there she was barley visible in the crowd. The lines and wrinkles on her face betrayed the harshness of the years of her life and as her eyes caught mine and we looked at each other, I saw the look of despair in them. She did not shy away from my look but had that sense of challenge, of hardness, of weary bitterness in her posture that I have seen before in prisons that look of survival which comes from years of hardship, hurt and hopelessness. There are times during prison ministry when you can’t help but wonder what circumstances in a particular persons life brought them to this point.  I couldn’t escape that thought. What had occurred in this woman’s life to bring her to this time and place?  How long had she been in this place? I continued to look at others in the crowd, but was constantly drawn back to her and our eyes would meet each time so I did the one thing I could, I prayed for her. I guess the man instinct in me came out and I wanted to just protect her. She was someone’s “Mom” someone’s “Grandma” what was she doing in here? It was one of those moments when the Lord truly impresses something so simple yet so profound on your heart that you draw just a little closer to understanding one more piece of God’s nature. This is a small sample of how God feels for each and every one of us and so much more.

 It was now my turn to share, and my message was God loves each and every one of us no matter who we are or where we are from or what we have done. He is the same God on both sides of the world. I was directing it to the prisoners, but specifically to that woman. My eyes gazed at where she was sitting, praying that she would hear this message and hold it close to her heart. It would be my simple message of greeting for the rest of the trip. As I finished and took my place once again, my eyes locked on her and her face almost had a scowl on it and I realized there was a battle going on in her, so I continued praying even harder for her.

The invitation to accept the Lord was given so our team, seven of us, went down amongst the prisoners to pray for them and lay hands on them. There were so many who came forward that we were overwhelmed by the crush of people and the desire to be prayed for. I did not see her, but there were so many people it was hard to tell if she had come forward or not.  It was as if the book of Acts had come to life. In all my life I had never witnessed such an intense desire to be prayed for. Praying for all those that accepted the Lord, it was now time to call forward those who wanted prayer for healing. The response was nothing short of miraculous. It seemed everyone there came forward and I could barely make my way through the crowd to lay hands on each person. I lost any sense of time and as each person was prayed for I would turn to another and start again. There were so many needs it was almost overwhelming, yet giving each person total attention in prayer knowing our God would hear each and every prayer and answer them. Turning to the next person a familiar set of eyes found mine; it was the elderly lady that I had been praying for during the service. Praise God! It is true that the eyes are the window to the soul and I could see clearly the despair, hurt, and anger in hers. I smiled at her while laying my hands lightly on her shoulders feeling her frailty through her toughness. Maybe it was the protective man in me coming out again, but I wanted so much to just reach around her and hug and protect her and take her out of that place, but I knew that was not possible so I closed my eyes and began to pray for her, knowing the Lord could do all that and more. The Lord filled my heart with her hurts and I offered them back to Him, which He gladly took. For a time no one else existed in that crush of people accept her and I.  When I finished I once again looked into her eyes and saw that  a transformation had occurred, the hardness was dissolving and there was a tiny sparkle in here eyes. I recognized it for what it was; the spark of hope! I could not help but hug this lady and then it happened, she looked up at me and smiled! WOW! Not just a little smile, but that big African smile, a smile that encompasses their whole being and lights up their whole face. “Thank You Lord for allowing me to be Your hands today!” Before I knew it, she had melted back into the crowd of people, unnamed but familiar just the same. She was quickly replaced by the next person needing God’s love to be real to them. The Lord showed me that though I could not physically hold and comfort every prisoner on our trip I could touch the heart of each one He would put in front of me at the moment.  Just one at a time!

 I have no idea what has become of that elderly lady, but whenever my thoughts wander to Africa she is always right there and I say a prayer. I will never forget what I learned on that day; love everyone one at a time!