Wednesday mornings are either hit or miss. Staff meetings can fluctuate for any organization, but I feel that Faith Alive has even more loud personalities that make it a lively event. Today’s meeting was much more quiet than normal. Shegan sharing his thoughts on unity (taken from Philippians 2:1-11) and Dan gave everyone the quick overview of Saturday’s football match. No one had anything to argue about so our gathering ended early and with people in good spirits. I’m glad we have learned our past lessons about proper toilet care, electricity saving, and addressing people by their correct names. Onward and upward!
I thought I was working back in the pharmacy today but Greg came and got me right after our meeting to tell me I was needed back at the prison. He drove me across town and I had the task of trying to get inside with no Nigerian aid. The five burly uniformed men in front of the locked entrance gave me a bit of a tough time when they found out why I was there (“Will you take my blood, bature?”) but thankfully let me in without any further questioning. I didn’t even need to sign in with the official. I was warmly greeted by Simon, Esther, and Emmanuel setting up for testing but even more excited to see me were my registration friends. Nigerians have a tendency to do things at the last minute so we were worried about having a mad rush today, but those who hadn’t been tested earlier this week came in a nicely timed stream. Things died down considerably around ten and I found myself sitting with Prince, Ogolu, Lawrence, and Godspower with nothing else to do. We spent the next three hours in conversation and I realized exactly why God brought me back for another day.
Most Nigerians want to talk about America, but this group of men wanted to talk about Nigeria! Thank the Lord! I got a detailed history lesson and was able to hear much more about the three main tribal groups of this country; the Ibo, Yoruba, and Hausa. I was told that in the North there is constant battling over oil (something I hear in the news quite frequently) but a suppressed native tribe is causing even more tension. They explained to me how their justice system works and I filled them in on how the American government punishes criminal offenders. Admittedly I have not spent much time in prison, but I can clearly see the differences in the Jos Main Prison and the tall cement building in downtown Fresno. I was too shy to ask any of the men why they were in Jos Prison but was surprised when Prince opened up about his story:
Prince is from a northern state of Nigeria and trained in school to be a government official. He moved into a nice job after the required year of service and was serving with the peacekeeping forces of the police system in his community. As a young man, he admits, he was not terribly sensible and wanted more power. He became wrapped up in a plot with four other men from his unit to get another police officer fired. I didn’t quite understand all the intricate details, but the police officer was killed because of their scheme. None of the five men were the murderer, but when word leaked of their original plan all five were tried. Prince looked me square in the eye and said, “I have been here eight years so far. But eight years out of a lifelong sentence is not very long.” So there was the system at work. All five men were sentenced to life in prison for government conspiracy. And the craziest part? I have met all five of them. They all got sent to Jos Main Prison. Ogolu jumped in at this point and revealed he is part of that story, but his case is still in trial. He has a better chance of getting out before the other men because of the role he played.
I had a lot of questions for the men but didn’t need to ask any of them, they seemed to pick up on what I wanted to know. They told me about how God is using them in prison. “Life comes in stages,” Ogolu told me, “and what matters is how we handle the stage God puts us in.” They all are involved in the Prison Fellowship Ministry and are growing in the Lord in a strange secluded place of life. All acknowledged that they deserve being in prison, but all shared an equal desire to someday be let out. “Everyone makes mistakes,” Prince said, “but some of us choose to make mistakes that rob us of the rest of our normal lives.” He spoke a lot about hoping the judges who continue to evaluate their case and their sentence realize that people can change over time. It was quite an experience for me, a fairly well-behaved young white woman from California to be sharing life with four Nigerian convicts. I’m glad God brings us to places we never thought we would be. I was sad to leave but was extended an invitation to share in Sunday morning fellowship from Ezekiel, the prison’s pastor. I told him I wasn’t sure how that would work out, me being a foreign visitor to a group of inmates, but we’ll see what the Lord does with that.
I got back for lunch a little before 2:45 so I was hungry, exhausted, but very glad to have been blessed with the morning I did. Baba kept some food ready for me and after eating I made the wise decision of taking time for a short nap. After a bit of drooling on my pillow I woke up to head down to the Clinic with Adrie to check e-mails and say Hi to the people we had missed all day (Adrie is beating down Das Book). Dinner came shortly after we got back to the flat and the five of us decided we were too tired to try and do anything together tonight. Jon and Kristen went to bed and the three of us upstairs enjoyed some pilates before calling it a day. A very good day.
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