Yetta GK Prison Visit

Yesterday the Mission & Evangelism committee and church leadership visited Yetta GK Prison. Around 210 prisoners are kept at this facility. Most of the inmates are serving time for theft which is a major problem around here. They are allowed to wear their civilian clothes and probably won't be in prison for more than a few years each. Inmates serving time for capital offenses wear black and white striped jumpsuits to distinguish them from the other prisoners. The two categories have separate sleeping quarters but pretty much do everything else together. They do carpentry and work the chamba to help the prison pay for itself. Unlike American jails which often have cells to keep inmates, in Kenya prisoners are kept in big groups together pretty much all the time. Guards surround the facility and heavily guard the fence as well. From what I could tell, there was a reasonable amount of respect between those who guard and those who are being guarded. We traveled nearly three hours to get there. Since most American prisons are in big buildings, I mistakenly assumed the same would be the case in Kenya. Little did I know we would be worshiping in a field and standing in direct sunlight all afternoon. So, now I officially have extra rosy cheeks and a well-defined farmers tan. Despite the unusually warm (for this season) weather conditions, we had a wonderful time. We began by leading worship. The structure was similar to all other PCEA services. We began with singing choruses (mostly in Swahili). Then there were presentations from the inmates and from assorted Sukari people. Later, Pastor George preached a sermon and did an alter call. Over 30 people were saved and given Bibles at the end of the service.  

After the conclusion of the service, we passed out bread and milk to the inmates and guards. Each person got a loaf of bread and a packet of milk to drink. We knew the prisoners would be hungry, but every last one of them finished each morsel we gave them. After passing out the milk and bread we passed out other hygiene items as well. Each prisoner got a new pair of shoes, Vaseline, soap, toilet paper, and tooth paste. They were grateful for each of these items, but we saved the best surprise for last. The church bought over 200 mattresses for the jail. Previously, there were about 50 mattresses split between the inmate quarters. Most of them sleep on the concrete floors with no blankets. When the prison chaplain announced that the church had donated mattresses, all the prisoners cheered loudly. Hopefully they all had a better night's sleep last night.  

As we were preparing to leave, one inmate was escorted by a guard to talk to the Minister. He had just been saved a few hours earlier and decided to donate a plot of land so that PCEA can build a church on it. We were floored and he was overjoyed to tell us. He gave several people his contact information and is excited to proceed with this when he is released in a few months. Bwana Asifewe! ~ Nell in Nairobi  

PS: Sorry for the late post! I spent the evening with the family of one of our Elders and his family. I was exhausted and didn’t have time to write until today. 

*photos are courtesy of Evangelist Steven Kamau*