Lecture in Mexican prison

This was an incredible experience. Words will never do it justice.

The first healing was having the lecture. Cristina had made several contacts with government and prison officials, with no result. But she felt convinced that it was important to present Christian Science to the prison community. Her husband overheard her talking one day and recommended an official with whom he had worked. As a favor to the husband, the official spoke to the head of the prison and a lecture was set up. However, while Cristina was out of town just 2 weeks before the lectures, there was a change in prison administration. All the work had to be done all over again. But through prayer and confidence that this was a right idea, all the paperwork and details were worked out and the new administration agreed to permit me to give a lecture.

This was a unique experience. When we went into the prison, people were milling everywhere. Men and women are mixed together. There are women with infants and children up to the age of 5 living in the prison. They have little ramshackle booths where prisoners have set up little businesses like selling gum and sundry items, food items, fixing tacos, etc. If you have money you don’t have to eat the prison food you can buy your own or have relatives bring food into you. There was a huge soccer field with people playing until 6:30 when it was dark and the lecture finally started. The place appears chaotic and completely unsecure. But I think that’s an illusion. At 6pm everyone disappeared for a role call type event. Lines formed, people checked and lists were made of who was going to attend the lecture. We started at 6:30 although people continued to come in after that.

Women with babies sat in chairs at the back. But most of the seating was just crude benches. Some people stood at the door at the back but most everyone sat.

Then we find out that they had all expected me three weeks earlier! And had sat for an hour or more waiting for me. Somehow a mistake had been made with some paperwork and that incorrect date had been given to the inmates. This had caused a lot of bad feelings about me and the lecture, that I had stood them up. As soon as I heard this from the men, I began praying about opposition to Christian Science. I let them know that I was never scheduled for that date but always for this date.

There was a prisoner there who basically was trying to take over the event, or at least the beginning of the event. He sang and played a keyboard while the men were gathering. He obviously considers himself a preacher and was letting everyone know that he was in charge. I had another person have him tone it down, turn down the volume, and then moved him off the stage when the lecture started. But I had sound problems in the middle of the lecture and I’m convinced it was because he had fiddled with the sound to cause problems. He was on and off the stage several times while I was speaking. Then the sound started feedback and hissing and quit. I turned it off. He’d set up a standing mike right in front of me, in the middle of the lecture while I was talking and before the sound started really acting up. I refused to use the mike. I wasn’t going to be limited nor was I going to participate in this distractive behavior. It didn’t bother me. I went right on and none of the Christian Science folks even paid any attention to this behind the scenes stuff going on. I turned the mike and sound system off completely and just used my Southern preacher voice. God gave me plenty of voice to fill the room for the rest of the talk. Error silenced. The man quit coming onto the stage. He sort of stormed out immediately after the lecture.

We had a lot of amens and verbal participation other than the usual reading and participation that I have in my normal lectures. It was clear that evangelical preaching takes place in this prison.

After the lecture, several of the men were pretty upset. They believed that repentance had to come first. They didn’t like the new bible in simple Spanish language which the Ciudad Victoria people had purchased from the American Bible Society and given free to everyone. It is the simple language new translation of the New Testament and Psalms. But it wasn’t Reina Valera and some of the men were offended. They were also offended that I wasn't preaching fire and brimstone, talking about guilt and repentance, etc.

At the same time, after the lecture I stayed for over an hour praying with inmates, talking with them individually. I can’t even remember all the people I talked with. So this was a very successful event.