My main responsibility in working with the prisons is to provide Bible study for the inmates. Each week I visit 4 different prisons where we (I’m joined by 2-3 volunteers as part of a ministry called ‘friends of prisons’) conduct Bible Study, one-on-one counselling, and prayer for the various needs of the inmates. One of the obstacles for this ministry is the lack of Bibles. Due to the generosity of Presbyterians in Canada, this past month we were able to purchase 540 Bibles, 480 Hymnals and 500 Mlozos (a Chichewa daily Bible study guide), and distribute them among 11 Prisons.

A highlight for me occurred this past Wednesday. We decided to head out to a few more rural prisons in Malawi to see if there was a need for Bibles. We were told that they would likely have no Bible studies in place but we figured we’d give it a try.

Much to our amazement, when we met with the prison chaplain at Mikuyu Prison (Chaplains are government appointed guards to oversee the spiritual needs of the inmates – and some take this responsibility more seriously than others) we were ‘blown away’. This chaplain had received previous training and had started running ‘ALPHA’ (an evangelistic course which seeks to introduce the basics of the Christian faith through a series of talks and discussions. It is described by its organizers as “an opportunity to explore the meaning of life”.) with 150 inmates involved. Their greatest need??? Bibles! They only had 8!!!

We were more than happy to help out. We left 50 Bibles, 50 Hymnals and 50 Mlozo. But wait, it gets better! The chaplain told us of the neighbouring prison where he had trained the chaplain so they too had started a Bible study.. .so off we went.
This day was yet another reminder of how God is working in the prisons and I was thankful to have been given a glimpse.