(no subject)
ok everynight i read a little devotional that i got when i was in youth group and i never read it so i've been reading them and the other night i read a story that i thought was really neat so i thought i'd share it w/ you:
Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, tells a remarkable story of the power of grace being manifested in a prison near the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. With the exception of two full-time staff, inmates do all the work. Families outsidethe prison adopt an inmate to work with during and after the term of imprisonment. Colson heard about the prison and one day visited it. He reported, "When I visited Humaita i found the inmates smiling particularly the murderer who held the keys, opened the gates, and let me in. Wherever I walked, I saw men at peace. I saw clean living areas, people working industriously. The walls were decorated w/ biblical sayings from Psalms and Proverbs. My guide escorted me to the notorious prison [block] once used for torture. Today, he told me, that block houses only a single inmate.
"As we reached the end of the long concrete corridor and he put the key in the lock, he paused and asked, 'Are you sure you want to go in?' 'Of course' I replied impatiently, 'I've been in isolation cells all over the world.' Slowly he swung open the massive door, and I saw the prisoner in that punishment cell: a crucifix, beautifully carved by the Humaita inmates the prisoner Jesus, hanging on a cross. ' He's doing time for the rest of us,' my guide said softly."
Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, tells a remarkable story of the power of grace being manifested in a prison near the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. With the exception of two full-time staff, inmates do all the work. Families outsidethe prison adopt an inmate to work with during and after the term of imprisonment. Colson heard about the prison and one day visited it. He reported, "When I visited Humaita i found the inmates smiling particularly the murderer who held the keys, opened the gates, and let me in. Wherever I walked, I saw men at peace. I saw clean living areas, people working industriously. The walls were decorated w/ biblical sayings from Psalms and Proverbs. My guide escorted me to the notorious prison [block] once used for torture. Today, he told me, that block houses only a single inmate.
"As we reached the end of the long concrete corridor and he put the key in the lock, he paused and asked, 'Are you sure you want to go in?' 'Of course' I replied impatiently, 'I've been in isolation cells all over the world.' Slowly he swung open the massive door, and I saw the prisoner in that punishment cell: a crucifix, beautifully carved by the Humaita inmates the prisoner Jesus, hanging on a cross. ' He's doing time for the rest of us,' my guide said softly."