Today, I (Marcel) went to a large prison in Reynosa, T.F., México to do some outreach with others from RGBI. It was an eye opening experience. Most of the people in the prison are there for crimes of violence and drugs. It was nothing like a prison in Canada where the prisons are known as "Club Fed." I had to render photo ID, go through a frisk and then receive a series of stamps on my arms (temporary prison tattoos) that allowed me to go through different areas of security. The guards carried large semi-automatic AR type rifles which can be a little intimidating. When I got into the general population area of the prison where some, so I was told, 2,000 men live, I was surprised to see that it was like a small Mexican town. Scattered among the large prison housing complexes were taco stands, artisan shops, trade shops and even a few churches. Visitors, most of whom are spouses and their children, are all allowed to mingle freely in the complex. I went to one wood working shop where a very rough looking man was making children's highchairs. There was no problem for him to have a chisel that could have easily been taken into the population without an additional search. We handed out Gospels of John and gospel tracks. There are a sizable number of people that have become Christians in the prison there and they are making attempts to repent from drug and alcohol addiction. There were gang members as well, clearly seen by their large tattoos done in indigenous artistic designs. It's not somewhere anybody wants to go but it was an interesting experience. Sorry about the pictures but that was the closest I could go with my camera without potentially causing a stir. The other picture is of my temporary "prison tattoo", one of the three stamps I received on my forearms in order to enter the prison.
No comments:
Post a Comment