On December 8, 2012 I went to prison in Conakry. No, I did not do anything wrong! I was a volunteer to join with other men from Mercy Ships to visit the local prison as part of the Prison Fellowship ministry in Guinea. Prison Fellowship built a chapel which comfortably holds 100 people. There are benches and a roof above which keeps out the hot sun. (For those not familiar with Prison Fellowship, it was started by Chuck Colson after he served time for his involvement in Watergate. It is an international mission to bring the transforming gospel to prisoners. Since there were Canadian flags on two walls inside the prison, The Canadian organization might have been part of working with the African branch of Prison Fellowship to build the facility here).
We started with a time of African style worship. Drums, singing and dancing. We also had a guitarist from Ghana. After a while the men started coming in to join us. There was a message and challenge. Some other men also got up to speak to those gathered.
We introduced ourselves and where we were from. We wanted to offer hope to these men who have little to look forward to. We wanted them to know that God had a purpose for them being in prison.
About half of the men spoke English (those from Nigeria, or Sierra Leone). They were so happy to have us come and visit with them. We talked with them individually for a while. After a couple hours we left.
There were also a group of women from Mercy Ships who met with the women prisoners. They come to teach literacy and crocheting, or some other life skills.
I got to know one of our Mercy Ships crew who first learned about mercy ships as a patient with a large facial tumor. Doctor Gary Parker operated on him. Today he's working on board as a licensed motorman with a desire to get more training and certification in marine engineering. So here is an example of some of the fruit of Mercy Ships. A young man with little hope, come to Mercy Ships, receives a new face, is given hope, but also finds Jesus. He's transformed in the process, and now is seeking to serve the Lord while here. He even goes to visit prisoners and shares his story. Quite an inspiring story!
On December 9, 2012 I went to church and was the preacher for the day. I spoke of God's holiness from Isaiah 6: 1-8. One of my favorite subjects is the Holiness of God and what difference that makes in how we live. It's a difficult subject in English, but I also had to work with a French translator. I don't know how it came out in French, but I did challenge the translator. I felt honored to be able to serve in this way.
Later in the week, we were attending some training on Guinea culture. One thing interesting in this culture is that trust must be earned. It is never assumed (as it is in the West). I asked the speaker why was I invited to speak in a church if trust has to be earned? I only had a few conversations with the local pastor. In my country, I would not have invited someone to speak so quickly. He answered because I was a Christian missionary to Guinea it was assumed I could be trusted to bring God's word to the church there. Well I hope I was able to communicate in spite of my Western culture and understanding. It was a honor, and I was thankful to be able to use my gifts in a way to serve the church here. We have certainly felt welcomed by our fellow believers in Guinea. We have a lot to learn.
Chuck
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