Prison

Today we went to prison.

It was kind of like a theme park trip. We got off the metro and got in these little tiny moped car things and got carted off to the prison. It was seriously the most Egyptian I have felt since I have gotten here. We were swerving in and out of cars, racing down the street with the wind in your face, and Egyptian music in your ears. It might be the greatest experience of my life. Or, atleast, really close.

Once we got there we had to wait in segregated lines for forever. And then wait again once we got through security to take this tractor thing down to wait again to see the prisoners.

But, all the waiting was worth it. We went in to this cage thing (6 interns, the prison ministry guy and all the other visitors) and the prisoners came in. The ones that we went to see were mostly Nigerian and had been in there around 15 years.

They were all Christians and their lives had been transformed in jail. I spoke to one man for quite a while and he was one of the small group pastoral leaders in prison. He had been in prison for 16 years and he was so joyful. He knew that they had been brought to jail for a purpose to really transform his life to service. I asked him what his favorite verse was, and he laughed and said there are so many, but, appropriately so, he finally answered Matthew 5:3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He said it was really encouraging to all the guys that were in there to really know that they were finally in possession of what they really needed.

They were fantastic men and so encouraged just from our visit to see them. They loved being able to know that they were part of a greater body. They gave us these little trinkets that they made.

All these visits to see all these people who are struggling really put a new perspective on the meanings of joy and hope for me. I mean these people literally have nothing but Christ and they are provided for. They hope in the Lord, and they find joy. If you ever have an ‘I hate humanity day,’ I’d really encourage you to go to jail. You'd be surprised where you can find Jesus and see the purest forms of joy. I know they have some similar ministries over in the states.

And, if you’re reading this and are like wow Katie’s gone off the deep end, ha. I know everyone is not like these people. But, there are people that are. And those are the ones that are inspiring. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder. They’re diamonds in the ruff. Go watch Aladdin, you’ll understand.