When I Was In Prison

On Wednesday, I went to prison. I’ve never been to a prison even in the United States, but I bet it wasn’t like this one. 

“In American prison, people have it easy,” one African said to me. “They cook for the prisoners and bring them something to eat everyday. And don’t they have beds?” 

At the prison that I visited here in Togo, they don’t have beds. They sleep on a plastic mat on the concrete floor, and they would consider having a bed a luxury. And all they get to eat is what their relatives bring them. What if they don’t have relatives who care enough to bring them food everyday? I actually don’t know; I didn’t ask. 

I walked into the prison with one of the female chaplains at the hospital, as this is her normal Wednesday morning activity. She reminded me of Jesus words, “When I was in prison, you came and visited me.” 

She was in prison once herself, accused of something she did not do. “God sent me to prison so I would find him,” she says with absolute calmness and resolution in her voice. She was saved while in prison, which is why studying the Bible with women in prison is not something she feels she must do every Wednesday morning out of obligation; it’s a passion of her heart. She believes God will use her to lead others to Christ while in prison, just like someone did for her. 

So we sat on the floor on plastic mats on the cold floor of a stale prison, but the women were neither cold nor stale because we had come with the Word of God, which brings life and light wherever it goes. One woman in particular had a glow about her as we studied John 5 and talked about all the things, people, and circumstances in our lives and in times past that testify to Jesus as the son of God and the source of life.

I never thought I’d say this, but I really enjoyed prison, and I think I’d like to go back next week. I’m not downplaying the difficulties and suffering they face there, for I saw, smelled, and felt all that up close when I went inside the prison. But I also saw hope. I heard the truth about Jesus spoken in a damp place. And I saw God working through one former prisoner to lead others to faith in his son. That’s a stark contrast, one worth going back for.