Jail Visit - Part 4
Continuation of Jail Visit story
As Dave was finishing the reading, the inmate who had just arrived, listened very intently with nodding and other physical gestures that indicated that he was very engaged in the story. After finishing the story, Dave turned to the group and asked them to share some of the disappointments in their lives. The new inmate immediately jumped in and began speaking very passionately. He spoke about his spiritual life, how the other inmates should lead their spiritual lives, what some of his challenges were and how he was dealing with them on a spiritual level. He spoke with a lot of energy and physical gestures. During his talk, he would quote various passages in the Bible. This went on for several minutes. As I mentioned earlier, I had no idea what to expect of these meetings, so I looked around the room to see other's reactions to the new inmate. No one seemed to be reacting very strongly. Some watched him with interest, some watched with a disinterested look. Some kind of acted like "there he goes again."
Up to this point, the Polynesian inmate had acted largely disinterested. He was a large man who quietly kept to himself with very little interaction with anyone else. He would watch what was going on with no interaction. He was the last person who I expected to contribute to the discussion. So of course, he began to speak in a quiet and earnest fashion. I am not quite sure how to describe it; he did not use physical gestures, yet you could tell that he felt as strongly about what he was talking about as the previous inmate. He discussed his spirituality and some of his frustrations.
After the Polynesian inmate spoke, Dave wrapped up this portion of the meeting and announced that he would hold communion. All except one inmate participated and everyone else seemed engaged in this activity. After the communion, the Polynesian inmate said that the new inmate wanted to know if he could have the leftover bread. Everyone chuckled. Dave chuckled as well and answered "Yes, the leftover bread will be available after the meeting, but remember that Jesus shared the bread and we would need to share it among the group as well." Next, the keyboard player led us in a closing song. Once again, Dave thankfully led us with a clear and booming voice. This concluded the meeting.
We mingled for a few minutes, while we were waiting for the guard to usher the inmates back to their wing. The Polynesian inmate approached Dave and I and asked what church we were from and where it was located. Dave gave directions and invited to him to attend after he got out of jail. I shared some of my impressions of the church. He listened closely and seemed very interested in attending the church in the future. Some of the other inmates helped clean up the room. Then the guard entered and left with the inmates.
After the inmates left, we finished cleaning up the room. As I was working, I was reflecting on the meeting. A lot had happened that was all new to me. I felt kind of numb. After a minute or so, Dave exhales loudly "Wow, that was different! That was really intense!" I was taken aback; I assumed that this was a normal meeting. I looked at Dave and asked what was different with this meeting. He replied that this group of inmates was mostly new to him. They must have come from a different wing than previous meetings. Dave pointed out that some inmates were very engaged while others were not engaged at all. Generally, everyone at the meeting is somewhere in-between. We finished cleaning up the room and walked out to exit door. A guard let us out.
As Dave was finishing the reading, the inmate who had just arrived, listened very intently with nodding and other physical gestures that indicated that he was very engaged in the story. After finishing the story, Dave turned to the group and asked them to share some of the disappointments in their lives. The new inmate immediately jumped in and began speaking very passionately. He spoke about his spiritual life, how the other inmates should lead their spiritual lives, what some of his challenges were and how he was dealing with them on a spiritual level. He spoke with a lot of energy and physical gestures. During his talk, he would quote various passages in the Bible. This went on for several minutes. As I mentioned earlier, I had no idea what to expect of these meetings, so I looked around the room to see other's reactions to the new inmate. No one seemed to be reacting very strongly. Some watched him with interest, some watched with a disinterested look. Some kind of acted like "there he goes again."
Up to this point, the Polynesian inmate had acted largely disinterested. He was a large man who quietly kept to himself with very little interaction with anyone else. He would watch what was going on with no interaction. He was the last person who I expected to contribute to the discussion. So of course, he began to speak in a quiet and earnest fashion. I am not quite sure how to describe it; he did not use physical gestures, yet you could tell that he felt as strongly about what he was talking about as the previous inmate. He discussed his spirituality and some of his frustrations.
After the Polynesian inmate spoke, Dave wrapped up this portion of the meeting and announced that he would hold communion. All except one inmate participated and everyone else seemed engaged in this activity. After the communion, the Polynesian inmate said that the new inmate wanted to know if he could have the leftover bread. Everyone chuckled. Dave chuckled as well and answered "Yes, the leftover bread will be available after the meeting, but remember that Jesus shared the bread and we would need to share it among the group as well." Next, the keyboard player led us in a closing song. Once again, Dave thankfully led us with a clear and booming voice. This concluded the meeting.
We mingled for a few minutes, while we were waiting for the guard to usher the inmates back to their wing. The Polynesian inmate approached Dave and I and asked what church we were from and where it was located. Dave gave directions and invited to him to attend after he got out of jail. I shared some of my impressions of the church. He listened closely and seemed very interested in attending the church in the future. Some of the other inmates helped clean up the room. Then the guard entered and left with the inmates.
After the inmates left, we finished cleaning up the room. As I was working, I was reflecting on the meeting. A lot had happened that was all new to me. I felt kind of numb. After a minute or so, Dave exhales loudly "Wow, that was different! That was really intense!" I was taken aback; I assumed that this was a normal meeting. I looked at Dave and asked what was different with this meeting. He replied that this group of inmates was mostly new to him. They must have come from a different wing than previous meetings. Dave pointed out that some inmates were very engaged while others were not engaged at all. Generally, everyone at the meeting is somewhere in-between. We finished cleaning up the room and walked out to exit door. A guard let us out.
posted by Steve @ 7:04 AM
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