Angola

Is there anything worse than harming a child?

“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” - Matthew 18:10-20

Yesterday, we visited Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, 18,000 acres surrounded by levies and woods along the banks of the Mississippi River.

What one person sees as a good thing, another sees as evil, and so it is with the state of prisons in America, even with the most progressive maximum security one which we visited on our tour.

In explaining to other passengers on our cruise, what we saw and experienced talking with some of the "offenders" as they are called in the prison, I should not have been surprised at the questions and responses I received.

The prison used to be the deadliest and bloodiest in the country fifty years ago, and today it has programs in education, on-the-job training, religion and pastoral care, not to mention a rodeo that attracts people from all over twice a year and every Sunday in October.  The rodeo has not operated since COVID, but the crafts fair that accompanies it did take place this year, showing and selling the art and crafts made by the men and women housed there.  And they get to keep the money they make.

Of course, it is a prison, and a maximum security one at that, with most serving life sentences, so it is rare that someone gets to leave.  One did this past week, after serving 57 years, convicted as a juvenile.

We visited with 6 men who volunteer to train rescue dogs for veterans in a program called PAWS, Prisoners Assisting Warriors in Service.

Over the course of 14 months, they train the dog assigned to them to understand 40 voice commands, which they teach to the veteran the dog chooses.  Yes, the dogs get to choose who they want to work with and for.

These men are doing amazing work in their spare time.  They work regular jobs at the prison and get paid, though at a fraction of what the jobs would pay in the world outside, and that is where people find fault with the system.

It is easy to criticize what is without having a better solution for what could be, and we are all guilty of that from time to time.  After having a chance to speak with several of the men about the work they are doing I couldn't help but come away with a good feeling.  They were honestly joyful about the work they did, whether that was tending to the horses, making caskets for the dead, offering self help programs for their fellow offenders, providing pastoral care for those who mourned the loss of a family member, or teaching service dogs to help wounded warriors.

But I also felt sad when I left, wishing they could step outside the gate like we did.

On the way back to our boat, we watched a video about the rodeo, and one thing shocked me.  The guards were asked about the weapons they seized from the cars of guests entering the prison for the rodeo, and they said one out of three cars carry guns, knives or other weapons.

That is a stark reminder of what Jesus is talking about here.  

Sometimes the influences form the outside are worse than those on the inside.  Maybe we should take a lesson from those who have spent a lifetime within, and focus on doing what we can to make our lives and the lives of others better.

Perhaps those who brought the weapons should stay inside, and those who turned their lives around should be able to leave.

More to come...