Morning at the Women’s Prison
Our morning started out with the sobering realities of the women’s prison in Quito. The picture above is the entrance. and it is the only picture we were able to take.
We were met at the prison by Sharon Smith.
Sharon and her husband Jim are 30 year missionaries to Ecuador. Among other things, she heads up SOUL (Shine On Us Lord) Prison Ministry. She told us that this prison is set up to hold 300 but it now holds 600 women plus children. Most of these women are expatriates from around the world. Many are guilty of drug crimes but there are some who were set up and are serving time with very limited legal recourse. They live under dreadful conditions.
After some discussion and signing of papers, our bags of crafts for the children were checked; we were patted down and had our arms stamped before we were allowed to enter.
Walking down the hall, we looked up and saw three stories of cells with clothes hanging out to dry from many of them. We were led to a room where we organized our crafts and then went out to a courtyard to play with the children.
I am not sure what the total was but I think we saw about 150 kids. We had a Bible story and song area — a balloon area —- a craft area for crosses with cutout hand prints — and a craft area with cross necklaces. The children had a great time.
We were assisted by some of the women in the prison who are a part of Sharon’s Bible study.
After we finished playing with the children, we gathered back into the room for a time of singing and sharing with some of these women. The first song we sang was the old country standard, “I’ll Fly Away” Their joyful singing brought us all to tears. And think about the significance of singing those words in prison — in a foreign country — with limited legal support.
Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away;
To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.
I’ll fly away, Oh Glory
I’ll fly away;
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I’ll fly away.
When the shadows of this life have gone, I’ll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away.
I’ll fly away, Oh Glory
I’ll fly away:
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I’ll fly away.
Just a few more weary days and then, I’ll fly away;
To a land where joy shall never end, I’ll fly away (I’ll fly away).
I’ll fly away, Oh Glory
I’ll fly away:
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I’ll fly away.
But that was not all, they continued by singing some of the songs we sing at Hope:
“Breathe”
“Heart of Worship”
“You are My All in All”
Their stories were stories of pain and suffering AND redemption. There was regret and remorse along with repentance and hope.
A woman from Germany shared of her mistakes that landed her in this prison — she is up for getting out for a couple of days a week starting in September.
A woman from Nigeria and most recently Canada spoke of a violent past which has been replaced with an infectious joy for the Lord.
There were at least two Americans. I spoke with one — a woman from New Jersey who found herself in prison after some bad choices. She is hopeful of her return to the states.
We were able to hold hands with these women and pray for their courage and their safety and eventual release from this difficult place.
One thing they do to make some money and build some pride and self esteem is to make note cards. Of course we bought a bunch of these to help our new friends.
This was not an easy ministry morning for us —- we are still processing what we experienced there.
Afternoon at Carmen Bajo
Okay, Carmen Bajo is a very impoverished community but compared to what we had experienced at the prison, this was like going from rags to riches.
We spent the afternoon there playing with the kids. Laurie led a training session with the teachers on how to tell stories with flannel graph (which we left with them). And probably the most fun part of the day came when Laurie led the kitchen crew in a cake decorating class. It was a blast as I think the pictures show. i was able to speak to this crew about the importance of their ministry there at Carmen Bajo and the joys we find in reflecting the image of God in our lives through community and creativity.
The Sisters — Priscilla who works for our in-country coordinator and Patty, one of our translators
Let the cake decorating begin!!!
Perfecting the Rose!
Some happy decorators.
Gary with one of the Carmen guys.
Keep the prayers coming. Although we had a really fun time with the folks in the afternoon, we are still trying to process the realities of prison. Pray that we focus on the light that is shining through Sharon and these women and for wisdom in what we can do to help them out.
