I'm so blessed!!
I'm so blessed!!
I'm thankful for every Saturday when I get to go into the Prison and be with them during their chapel sessions. I always return with much more than I have been prepared to give. I'm blessed much more by them than what I have bless them with.
Just today through the conversation with some of them, I've been reminded about how blessed I am and how thankful I should be ...
- I was asking one inmate how her week has been and she said, "as usual, nothing eventful ... but yet, nothing eventful is actually a good thing. Here in this place, you wouldn't want anything eventful to happen."
When we had a short time of breaking into small groups for sharing, I was with 3 of the girls and what they shared again opened my eyes and my perspective towards things ...
- One of them was sharing about her work of attending to incoming calls at the Call Centre and how she needed to be extremely patient to deal with difficult callers. She commented that no matter how difficult the other party may be, or how some days when feelings are just not right from the start, she just needed to ensure that the job is well done. It is not her call to react according to her moods.
- In the prison itself, the inmates had no choice with regard to things. When they are asked to do something, they had to obey - simply discipline and obedience, otherwise they will be deemed as misbehaving and be deprived of privileges such as chapel, or face the possibility of being segregated from the rest. In fact, chapel is such a privilege that only those who have cleared Phase T1 (served 10% of the total period of sentence, in segregation from the others) gets the chance to attend.
- Their time is not controlled by them, and they don't even have the "right" to control light switches!! Light switches are outside the cell, and when the officers turn on the light in the morning, they wake up ... when the lights are turn off at night, they retire for the day. One of them said, "I haven't even touch light switches for a long time ..."
Many of them look forward to being given tagging - where they could be released and be with their family, though they are monitored by their tags. Nothing beats being with family and in close proximity with them.
I'm thankful that Pastor P allowed me to continue in this Field Education attachment for another semester, and also thankful to Pastor B (my FE supervisor) for creating a greater opportunity for me to get to know the inmates. Beginning next Saturday, both Pastor B and myself will take a group of 3 girls in Bible Study. At least that kind of arrangment offers longer time of sharing and opportunity to get to know the girls. I'm excited and truly look forward to be used by the Lord to minister to them. But I know that I always leave the place feeling more ministered by them than they by me.
I'm thankful for every Saturday when I get to go into the Prison and be with them during their chapel sessions. I always return with much more than I have been prepared to give. I'm blessed much more by them than what I have bless them with.
Just today through the conversation with some of them, I've been reminded about how blessed I am and how thankful I should be ...
- I was asking one inmate how her week has been and she said, "as usual, nothing eventful ... but yet, nothing eventful is actually a good thing. Here in this place, you wouldn't want anything eventful to happen."
When we had a short time of breaking into small groups for sharing, I was with 3 of the girls and what they shared again opened my eyes and my perspective towards things ...
- One of them was sharing about her work of attending to incoming calls at the Call Centre and how she needed to be extremely patient to deal with difficult callers. She commented that no matter how difficult the other party may be, or how some days when feelings are just not right from the start, she just needed to ensure that the job is well done. It is not her call to react according to her moods.
- In the prison itself, the inmates had no choice with regard to things. When they are asked to do something, they had to obey - simply discipline and obedience, otherwise they will be deemed as misbehaving and be deprived of privileges such as chapel, or face the possibility of being segregated from the rest. In fact, chapel is such a privilege that only those who have cleared Phase T1 (served 10% of the total period of sentence, in segregation from the others) gets the chance to attend.
- Their time is not controlled by them, and they don't even have the "right" to control light switches!! Light switches are outside the cell, and when the officers turn on the light in the morning, they wake up ... when the lights are turn off at night, they retire for the day. One of them said, "I haven't even touch light switches for a long time ..."
Many of them look forward to being given tagging - where they could be released and be with their family, though they are monitored by their tags. Nothing beats being with family and in close proximity with them.
I'm thankful that Pastor P allowed me to continue in this Field Education attachment for another semester, and also thankful to Pastor B (my FE supervisor) for creating a greater opportunity for me to get to know the inmates. Beginning next Saturday, both Pastor B and myself will take a group of 3 girls in Bible Study. At least that kind of arrangment offers longer time of sharing and opportunity to get to know the girls. I'm excited and truly look forward to be used by the Lord to minister to them. But I know that I always leave the place feeling more ministered by them than they by me.
Comments