Lecture in Mexican prison part 2

Cristina had envisioned from the beginning that the prison lecture would be a two part event. She wanted me to do a lecture and then come back and do a workshop. She didn’t have an agenda for what the workshop should be, but it was clear to her that there was need for a follow up where the inmates could interact with me a second time. I was fine with this. When the new administration came in, the workshop went out. They would permit only the lecture. Then McAllen came in and the dates had to be changed altogether and it looked like there was no time for a workshop or second visit. But just one week before I arrived divine Mind opened the way and Cristina got clearance for a workshop the morning after the lecture at 9am. This meant that I gave a lecture at 6:30-7:30pm talked with people until almost 9pm, went to dinner, and then had to be ready and at the prison for a 9am workshop. But it just seemed to be the right idea.

I had no idea what I was going to do at this workshop. I’d asked Cristina what she had in mind and all I got from her was the conviction that I needed to go back and talk with them a second time. Ok. Even at the beginning of this group of lectures while I was in CV, I asked again what she thought might be appropriate. Same answer. So I just prayed and what came to me was to take part of a lecture that I have in English on Christian Science theology and its Scriptural foundation, and do the first part of that lecture. Then God gave me the inspiration to read the Bible Lesson from their perspective and a host of inspiration came regarding some of the stories on this week's Bible lesson on Christ Jesus. In fact the inspirations were ideas that I’d never thought about before but were very appropriate for a prison population. So I put together an outline.

The lecture and workshop took place in a tin roof chapel with benches and some chairs at the back. Anyway, after a standing room only lecture I expected the chapel to be packed again. Not so. The women came and more women came with them. But the preacher type and the men who had questioned my not talking about repentance and confession being the first step, etc. were not back. The man who had sponsored the lecture with the prison administration, however, was there, and so was a woman prison worker who had helped at last night’s lecture but hadn’t attended.

There were maybe 50 people at the workshop. An incredibly noisy soccer game was taking place right outside the door with the soccer ball crashing into the chapel building numerous times, whistles blowing and raucous noise. But the sound worked perfectly. I gave what I came prepared to do and it took about half an hour. Then I opened it up for questions.

Turns out that it had ripped through the prison last night that I wasn’t using the Bible, since I wasn’t using Reina Valera translation (how typical; it sounds like these guys would fit right in with members in some of our Christian Science churches saying the same about KJV). Also that this was heresy because I didn’t hit them over the head with repent, repent, repent, and confess your sins. I was unconcerned and happy to answer the questions. Actually there were new people present who had heard the inmates rallying to keep people away from the workshop, so they had decided to come and see what it was all about. The people present got the fact that we were telling them about their real identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. They also clung to the fact that it didn’t matter what they had done, that God would never abandon them and that everyone was good enough to be saved.

I answered questions about whether one religion was the only one; if someone was a really bad person wouldn’t he go to hell eternally how could he be saved; idol worship; devil worship, etc.
I kept the talk including questions to an hour. The woman official was the one who asked questions saying, this is what the men who attended last night are saying and spreading through the prison. She just let me know what was going on and then gave me the opportunity to respond. She came because I think she wanted to check out the rumors. She obviously liked the answers because she stayed afterward and asked me to pray with her for her work with the prisoners. She also took two copies of S&H, one for her the other for a colleague. She also asked Cristina to come back and set up a Bible Lesson study group.

I don’t want to give the impression that the lecture wasn’t effective. It was extremely successful, just wanted to say that there was doctrinal opposition that was uncovered and needed to be addressed. Going back in the morning for the workshop turned out to be the key. If I hadn’t gone back, the opposition would have had the last word and all the fruitage and conversations after the lecture could have been lost. Instead, truth was given the last word and Christian Science is now established as a legitimate religion in this prison.

There was a man on crutches who knew Cristina and her husband. He had been kicked out of their school many years ago. He came to the lecture and talked quite a lot with Jose. When we arrived in the morning for the workshop, he had on a suit and tie. He’d shaved and obviously bathed. He looked like an usher at church. He prayed with me afterward for healing. He also volunteered to Cristina to organize a Bible study group and invite inmates to participate. He so wanted to be involved and have an opportunity to study more of the ideas of Christian Science. He walked us to the door of the prison. He was acting as an usher for us, rather than ushering in the inmates.

A young man told me before the lecture that he wanted to be a lecturer like me. I immediately encouraged him and told him he certainly could. He sat in the front row of the workshop. After the workshop, he waited until I’d talked with most everyone, then he asked me if he could have my copy of Science & Health. We’d given everyone Bibles and had given a dozen Science & Healths to the prison library. McAllen had donated those books. He was the only one who asked me for a copy of Science & Health, and I just decided to give it to him. He asked me to sign it and then we talked about the chapter on prayer, and some of the references that I had given during the lecture and workshop. He took notes on a little piece of paper, and immediately began feeding back to me what I was telling him on how to pray and use Science & Health to pray for others. He instantly took the definition of man and grasped substituting his own name or that of another. He was humble, earnest. We talked about how one has to walk the walk and live what we preach or it has no substance. He asked if I was coming back, if I would come back next year if I came to Mexico. I told him I wouldn’t expect to see him again, that I would expect him to be released. He got the message, that I expected him to overcome his problems and make demonstrations for himself as well as others.

I have to say here that inmates in this prison are not like in the US. Jose, Cristina’s husband has worked with prison inmates here for years. A person can be put in prison and not be charged and stay there for years if they have no one to run the paperwork around to various offices for signatures to release them. Some people are in prison because they can’t pay $20 in fines. They can be in prison indefinitely for lack of the equivalent of $20. It sounds absurd, but I met some of these people. One beautiful young woman with uncontrollable tears asked that we pray together that she would find a way to get out of prison. She’d been there for 5 years because of not being able to pay her way out.

There are men there who are alcoholics and are in prison simply because they were on the street and someone reported them to the police. Then they can’t get out of the system. I talked with one man who told me a story like this and said that now he realizes he was put in prison so that he could hear this message, that he has a spiritual identity that can’t be taken from him. We talked for quite awhile. He really grasped the message of Christian Science and it was touching him deeply. He’s been there for 2 years, just picked up from the street like a stray dog without having committed any crime, violence, or even being disorderly. I need to pray about this entire prison picture and know that God governs and that red tape is subordinate to the government of divine Truth, Life and Love.

Another older man, obviously an alcoholic, we had a long talk together. Right in front of my eyes, he realized that he was worth something and had value. It was very moving. He realized he was loved by God. He said it was the first time he’d ever realized he had value, that he could even hope to be saved, or that he had an identity at all. This was the most moving experience of all the dozens of conversations I had. His eyes and the light of the Christ dawning will stay with me forever.

There are gang members here and more violent folks. Gang members came to the lecture. I’m not sure if any of them came back for the workshop. Although I think there might have been a couple young people in the workshop who might have been gang affiliated. None of them spoke to me after either event. They silently came and went.

There is also a devil/death worship cult very strong in this prison. I was told about it after the workshop, and told that several of the questions were related to this. I hadn’t grasped that while answering the questions or I would have answered differently. I’ll know next time. Apparently there is a worship of death and the devil that is very strong among the drug lords and drug culture. Basically it’s if you don’t worship death and sacrifice to it, then death will come and take you away. It’s a cult of fear and intimidation, as well as control. I was shown the symbols of the cult afterward and that it’s all over mexico now. This is something I will continue to pray about, and was grateful to have this explained and uncovered for me.

There were so many men and women that I prayed with, that were transformed by this message of spiritual identity which only Christian Science offers. The man who arranged for the lecture and workshop, and introduced me at the workshop, said to me over and over again that this was an incredible message, that this was a message that he had never heard before. He kept saying how important it was for him to realize that everyone has a spiritual identity, and has good qualities that they can’t lose. He said that the workshop (he hadn’t heard the lecture) was life transforming and was what everyone in the prison needed to hear. That it would change their thought about themselves and that this message was unlike any other and he was glad to hear it. He walked us to the car and invited Cristina to come back and start a study group. He and the woman official agreed to pave the way and help Cristina with the paperwork. Cristina’s comment was that at first he had helped her through the bureaucracy because she was Jose’s wife. But now he wanted to help her because of the message of Christian Science.

Being in this prison was very much like working with the homeless folks in Nashville. It’s a very similar population. I saw the same kind of instant results and transformation, as well as the deep sincere humility and willingness to adopt new ideas. At the same time, I was surprised by the intransigent, belligerent, and intolerant views of some of the Christian inmates who viewed the prison basically as their personal church turf and saw Christian Science and me as interlopers. I am encouraging Cristina to follow up with a Bible Lesson study group. Tremendous seeds were planted but they will be gobbled up by the birds of prey if we don’t nurture and protect them.