Behind Them Bars

Behind Them Bars Gospel encounters in prison Copyright Doug Blair, Waterloo ON, 2019

Light at Tunnel’s End

Nine left to go Had tried my best At least these last three

1

Fears all fought out Night screams and intrusions Run their course.

Had graduated in a way.

“Don’t mess with him Scored three nickels For nastiest homicide Howsoever bumped down To second degree We can’t figure it out.”

So relative peace For one slightly lucky.

Lucky and in here ?

Yep. Chief programmer

2

Nicky and I old buds Since I helped him Calm down gang rioting Five years back.

He woulda been sliced up Pretty bad but for my fists.

But now rumbles and all Pushed way back.

And Bible become my Biggest advantage.

My biggest clout For those hurting and scared.

How does one fight long With forgiveness, peace A good report

3

A listening ear Or helping hand?

And that’s what He did All the time and With everyone.

My Boss, My Breath My Big Brothah My Captain in Chief.

Forget all the little lords Around here…staff included.

Pearl of great Price Gonna have me out Five years from now.

And Christ’s man On the job hereafter.

4

Turning on jailhouse light.

Thankya Jesus!

(Lead illustration by Ron Di Cianni)

Church Behind Chain-Link June 19, 2009

I’ll have to think about it.

Something is happening here.

This morning, H Block’s exercise period,

5

East-side fitness yard.

Usual pick-up basketball, Games of catch, Half-hearted aerobics.

Twenty minutes out.

Kipper got into trouble.

Dealer Kipper, old-timer, The Joint’s entrepreneur.

Smokes, bandages, magazines, canned treats.

(No rumours of hard stuff.)

Went long for a pass.

Still pretty fit.

Lost track of where he was;

6

Barreled into Dutch’s corner.

Hands on the abdomen.

“Doc, get over here, now!”

Call me Doc.Dutch, the Man. Protection boss. Double-lifer.

Hand in every trick in the Joint.

Favours, payments, or else.

No love lost between the two.

(Something about a disputed “tariff”.)

Dutch’s corporals, Lonzo, Turk and Kruger Slammed him against the chainlink.

7

Flurry of arms, feet and Shimmering steel.

Kipper, down, motionless, Twisted in frightening posture.

Bleeding from the nose, throat, shoulder.

(Short stint as a para-medic In Philadelphia.

Before the armed robbery career.)

The scene, heavy: Guts spilled, shoulder perforated.

Expert shiv work.

Tower guards not moving.

8

Kipper, unresponsive to my efforts.

Five terrible minutes.

Buddy pressing torn jacket against open wounds.

No vital signs; plodding C.P.R. Somewhere behind me Voices- the guards?

Sounds like praying.

Parson Eddy on the scene With his hallelujah bunch.

Bible class-“born-againers”.

I step back.

Circle of prayer moves in: “We rebuke death.

9

Devil, Kipper will not be taken!

Bring him back. ”Raise him, Lord, raise him.

For your glory.”

Variations on this rap continue.

Hands on our fallen friend.

Three guards, Ed, Nelson and Donny At the periphery, With the stretcher, Watching.

“Devil, you have already lost.

Our Lord whipped you at Calvary.

10

We rebuke you, in Jesus’ name.

We plead the blood of Jesus.

Lord, now, like Lazarus.

And then it happened.

I swear it.

Kipper inhaled.

Long and beautiful.

A smile graced the bloody lips.

The rascal-eyes blinked open.

Alive! Jesus!

Had to be thirty-five men around, Between us and Dutch’s

11

Dark corner.

Bible class will never be the same.

Stretcher work underway.

Eddy’s hand placed on my shoulder: “Check out John Chapter Eleven, Doc, John Chapter Eleven.”

Challenging Novokuznetsk November 15, 2009

12

This morning at a local pentecostal church we heard the moving testimony of Ilya Bantseev, an ordained pastor representing Teen Challenge in the community of Novokuznetsk in Siberia.

Born in that city; receiving ministry credentials in North America; back in his home town these past sixteen years, and shouldering a charge with Teen Challenge for the rehabilitation of young drug addicts and disillusioned youth.

Together with his wife Janet, he is presently a life-line to two hundred young men and thirty young women from the community. This is the approximate ratio of males and females, suffering the bondage and hopelessness of drugs in his country and province. Death from this addiction takes its toll of 100,000 young lives each year.

But Ilya is there with his Christ-given passion and a mandate of strict and constructive discipline, a growing local church and a youth group on fire with the energy to hit the streets with food, gifts and the message that "Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus baptizes in the Holy Ghost, Jesus is coming again."

He says that he is often reminded of Jesus' words, "I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work." There is presently disturbing legislation under consideration in Russia to prohibit gospel churches from evangelizing publicly the youth, from distributing Bibles and helpful literature, and even from

13

welcoming the youth inside their walls! It is as if the "honeymoon" of Gospel opportunity so apparent in the nineties is drawing to a close.

"Catch the imagination and ardour of the youth and you have the entire country!" We saw this before in the Germany of the thirties and forties.

We see it presently in our own "Hollywood continent".

Ilya shared an ongoing burden concerning a neighbour next door to the church. Sergei is a proud and godless man of business with Mafia connections. He constantly objects to the local authorities and council regarding church program, numbers, traffic, schedules and much desired renovations. But Ilya is undaunted. He states that he has told Sergei face to face that the masterful Jesus has plans for him, and that people as far away as Canada have been praying for God to show mercy to Sergei. The "self-made" man smirks and replies, "Canada. That's interesting."

14

Meanwhile the work goes on with Teen Challenge. The story was told of one youth whose mother brought a prayer request to Ilya's church. Her son had gone to prison on a thirty month sentence for robbery to support his costly habit in heroin. He had no use for the church and at one point told his mother to stop soliciting prayer. He was never going to change.

Repeatedly he dreamed of getting out of prison and hooking up immediately with his old source.

But then a significant new development. A Bible-carrying new inmate with a straight- forward expression made the offer to talk and to lend the scriptures at any time the youth wanted. What followed, up on the third bunk in his cell (in an effort to avoid the mockery of his mates), was a genuine gifting of repentance, insight and a transfer of allegiance to Jesus. His mother's prayer was answered. His unchurched father eventually came to the cross as well, acknowledging that only a merciful God could have reversed his son's fate.

So the work continues in Novokuznetsk. Pray for Ilya and Janet. Pray for the youth being set free.

See our New Google Site on the fabulous Fourth Gospel: https://sites.google.com/view/jesus-becomes-you/home?fbclid=IwAR1 RPzclIm5LuIV39-ZyzdE7gIgHApc9NsbvcK1Xoc-YJOaA100LxekX-bg

15

16