So I went to California this past weekend with the Bill Glass Champions for Life Prison Ministry. I was scheduled to go in and see Charlie Manson, mastermind of the Sharon Tate/LaBianca murders), and I also hoped to speak to Sirhan Sirhan (the man who murdered Bobby Kennedy), and the serial killer who murdered all of those migrant workers on freight trains a few years back, but that entire high security cellblock was on total lockdown and they would not let me in to see any of them.
The reason for the lockdown was an escape attempt had occurred earlier in the week, (the prisoner was recaptured), and then the first day of our event there was a 70 person riot that occurred on the yard and an inmate was killed. They didn’t want us to even come to the prison the next day, but after much negotiation and pleading by the Bill Glass staff, they reluctantly agreed to allow us back in to conduct a half day event the next day.
When we arrived the ranking security officer briefed us and warned that tensions were still running high among some prisoners and they were expecting trouble and not to venture too far out into the yard. They wouldn’t allow us to move any of the motor cycles or sound equipment out on the yard and we were instructed to insert the microphones through the wire fence to use them.
We were warned that if trouble broke out that the prisoners would be ordered over the loudspeaker to immediately lie down and we were to back up against the fence. Any prisoner who refused to lie down ran the risk of being shot, and in case they had to shoot anyone they didn’t want any of us to accidentally get shot too. (That idea seemed like a particularly good one to me.)
Finally the prisoners were permitted into the yard and we were as well. A few began to approach us and I walked over to a guy and shook hands and introduced myself. We’d just begun to engage in conversation, when all of a sudden a blaring warning came over the loudspeaker; a fight had broken out. All of the prisoners hit the ground, including the guy with whom I’d been conversing, and I along with my teammates, backed up against the fence. The fight didn’t look like much to me, very few blows were actually landing, they were wildly swinging punches at each other and karate kicking, (but mostly missing). It looked more like they were dancing to me.
Even though it wasn’t a bloody, hard hitting fight, when the guards came, they were in no mood to mess around with these guys who did not hit the ground as ordered. Suddenly a loud explosion occurred and white smoke began to rise out in the yard in the vicinity of the prisoners. The advancing guards had thrown a stun grenade to break up the fight. It worked and both dropped to the ground, (stunned). An entire regiment of guards cautiously approached and handcuffed them individually and then escorted them out of the yard, first one and then the other, (no doubt heading for the “hole” and solitary confinement).
After a long period of time the all clear signal was given and the prisoners returned to their activities. In the meantime our program had yet to begin and we were trying to get the microphones setup and threaded through the chain link fence when the loudspeaker came on again, the prisoners hit the ground again, we backed up to the fence again, and the guards moved in again. I couldn’t see what the prisoners were up to this time from my vantage point, but the guards had had enough. They removed them all from the yard in groups of fifteen to twenty.
Sigh…Our team had barely been afforded the opportunity to speak to more than a handful. After several minutes of talk between the “powers that be”, we were granted permission to move to another yard where we joined forces with another Bill Glass team. There I addressed men with nothing else to lose. They call them “lifewops”, sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole; these are some bad boys for sure.
After I gave my testimony, I walked out into the yard and a young man approached me. He had prison “tats” all over his body and for all purposes looked as though he would cut my throat for a pack of cigarettes, but he had a huge radiant smile on his face. He excitedly said that hearing my story had given him tremendous hope.
It turns out that he had accepted Christ as his Savior some time ago and he told me that even though he was incarcerated in that violent place with dangerous men for the rest of his natural born life, he had hope and he was optimistic that Jesus had placed him in there for a purpose. His hope was not that somehow miraculously he would be freed, but that he could do the will of God within that murderous environment. He wasn’t worried about anything; he told me that Jesus Christ would walk with him until it was time for him to go to heaven for eternity. We talked at length about witnessing inside that place and he told me he was committed to doing just that.
I wish him Godspeed and I’m praying for him.
Initially I was deeply upset that I could not go into the high security area and witness to Manson and the others. I’d spoken ahead of time with Jack Murphy, (Murf the Surf), Dennis Rice, (the man who tried to break Charlie Manson out of prison), and others who knew him well and had received pointers and I was prepared for my mission of witnessing to him. It ended in keen disappointment and frustration. I was again disappointed when we could not speak to the guys in yard “A” because of the fights.
Well, well, well – upon reflection on it, I feel sure that God wanted me to talk with this young man in yard “B” instead, for His purpose and not the guys in high security or yard “A” for my purpose. I assume at least in part His motive was to encourage this guy to continue spreading the good news within those walls. Who knows who else might have heard our message and been moved by it or what other purpose God had in mind, but I feel certain that at least part of it was for that young man’s benefit.
When we were expelled from yard “A”, and old man who was one of my teammates and a volunteer, was walking along beside me as we moved to yard “B”, and instead of being disappointed, he optimistically mentioned that the Bible states that God’s word never returns void and though we might not be able to see around the corner and understand what God’s purpose is every time; nonetheless it is there and it’s the best course of action. He was encouraged by moving to the next yard to see what God had in store for us over there. Then I encountered the young inmate whose freedom was lost for the rest of his life, but was not depressed over it, rather was encouraged by being inside the prison whereby he could witness to a sea of lost tortured souls.
Hmmm…I wish I could say that had been my attitude instead of disappointment at being denied access to what I thought I wanted..
I think now I understand better…It is important to realize that sometimes what WE want is not the same thing that GOD wants. We should go with the flow and not question His decisions. Even though you might give it your all and try with all of your might, God just might say: Nope I’ve got a better idea”.
“Okay Father steer me in the right direction, you are after all God and me…well I’m merely a foot soldier doing the bidding of my Commander in Chief.
It will all work out for the good and God is most certainly in control and we should never doubt it.
Isaiah 55:11
It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.