Women in Prison

One of our female pastors in the Synod has developed a heart for the women in prison. This came about when her sister was unjustly accused of mismanaging money at her place of work and was imprisoned until the matter was straightened out. The young pastor visited her sister regularly to encourage her, until she was acquitted and released. During those visits, she became aware of the difficult conditions of female prisoners.

The churches the pastor is currently serving are relatively close to the Zomba prison, which at present houses 51 women. The pastor went to visit the prisoners at the beginning of Lent. At that time she took 22 chitenje (the clothe wraps that the women of Malawi use for so many things) and promised to find more for the rest of the women. During Lent, she spoke to the women of her congregations about the project and prayed with them about how God might want to use them to minister to these women.  These congregations would be considered “poor” congregations. Most of the members are subsistence farmers and their families. None of the women had ever been to a prison for any reason, so even thinking about going was outside their comfort zones. The pastor was not hopeful of the response, but she committed it to prayer. She wrote to the prison officials and got permission for a group to visit on Easter Monday.  On Good Friday, 6 women were committed to go. She encouraged them and continued to pray. She determined that if only the 6 went, that would be a witness. Easter Sunday, she spoke about the need again during the worship services and then went home to prepare for the Monday morning visit. She was overwhelmed in the afternoon when several women came with some chitenje for her to take, and began to ask questions about the trip. She was encouraged.

Monday morning 60 women came to the manse for the trip. They had talked among themselves and decided that they needed to take seriously Jesus words about visiting those in prison being the same as visiting him (Matt. 25). They brought supplies to minister to the needs of the prisoners – 2 bundles of sugar, 4 cartons of soap, 7 bags of flour, 4 bundles of sugar cane, 3 bags of cassava, 1 large bag of peanuts, a basin of guava, 2 boxes of perfumed body gel, a large bundle of used clothing and 29 chitenje. All of this came from their homes as they shared what little they had with those who were in greater need than they themselves. The greatest surprise to the pastor was the number of chitenje. She had never mentioned how many were needed to provide for those she had not had enough for in the last visit. The number the women brought covered the need perfectly. She praised God.

They made arrangements with one of the men of the closest congregation who has a large truck to transport the women and all the supplies to the prison.  The women sang as they traveled, but when they stopped in front of the prison, all were quiet. Their fears seized them. They had heard horror stories of prison conditions. The pastor prayed with them and they silently entered the prison. The silence was broken by the women inmates who greeted them with singing as they entered the assigned room. The singing dispelled their fears and they joined in the singing and danced with the inmates. The pastor led a time of worship and preached of God’s forgiveness. Then they distributed their gifts. The prison chaplain asked if they might share some of the soap and body gel with the oldest inmates who were kept in a separate area of the prison because they suffered from skin diseases. Two cartons of soap and a box of body gel went to those with skin problems. The inmates were eager to share. They were getting so much more than they ever thought possible from strangers. Some of the inmates have family members who visit, but many are abandoned by their families who are ashamed of them. This outpouring of generosity spoke volumes to them of Christ’s love.

The church women were particularly touched by the 7 children who were in prison with their mothers, young ones who are still nursing. The youngest is 2 weeks old. She was born in the prison. The women have decided to collect clothing and blankets for the babies and take them as soon as they can arrange for another visit, before the cold weather arrives. They have overcome their fears and have embraced a new ministry, one that they never imagined possible – meeting Christ in prison.