Andres and I went to see our wayward son in prison last week. It's a terrible place. I've been to the prison a few times over the years, so that feeling of being overwhelmed as you walk through the huge gate isn't as strong, but the sadness of the place still hits you.
After standing in various lines to pay, get searched, get our arm stamped...and then pay some more we were into the main area. There are no prisoners in this part, just offices and parking and all that. You have to find the specific section the person you're visiting is in.
Our friend was in an area we were unfamiliar with, so we wandered around and did a little tour of the various prison blocks before we found PC 2. The guard at that gate took our ID and asked who we were there to see. We got another stamp (the guards were having a problem finding a non-tattooed part of Andres' arm to stamp. They jokingly told him he might just have to stay) and then eventually they called our friend out.
He looked ok. He was pretty clean and had warm clothes on (in was pretty cold that day). We went into another large, locked area were prisoners could see their visitors. It was open but walled in with a roof over part of it. You could rent chairs and buy food, so we sat down and ordered a big plate of food for our friend.
We later saw that the prison food wasn't as terrible as I thought it might be, but it's just flavourless and a lot of rice. So our friend was happy to eat something tasty and different.
As he ate, we asked questions about how he was and what life was like in jail. The area he's in is for people that can't pay to get into the general lock up area (everything costs money). I've been sending him enough to get him by where he is, but we can't afford the main lockup area.
There are two large room in his block, with around 75 guys in each room. They sit in rows, shoulder to shoulder, on the cement floor with their knees pulled up in front of them. The guys in the rows in frond of them lean back on their knees and they lean on the knees of the guys behind them.
That's how they spend their days and how they sleep at night. Once a day they go in groups of five to the bathroom to shower and wash their clothes and whatever. They can get up to get their food at meal times (and then they go back to sit to eat) and if they have to go to the bathroom. But there's not movement at all after 10 pm.
He said it's really bad if it's hot out. The wall are just bare bricks and the roof is tin, so it gets very hot in there. He said you get covered in each other's sweat.
He asked when he was going to be able to get out and he started to cry. We told him we have his paperwork submitted for his release, but everything takes time. We just assured him that we hadn't forgotten him.
Yeah, it pretty much broke my heart.
After a few hours, we said our goodbyes and got up to leave. We walked over to the gate and were told that they didn't open the gate for another hour and a half, so we had to wait. It was kind of a weird feeling...it was cold and we were hungry but we couldn't get out.
Finally, someone shouted something and all the prisoners got up and went into the back area. Our friend asked for 20 bs more to pay for us to leave. I was like, "Seriously?" We paid twice to get in, plus renting chairs and the table, plus the plate of food for our friend....I was out of cash. I didn't realize we would have to pay so much and I hadn't brought at lot.
Thankfully Andres had his last 20 bs tucked away in his wallet and we were able to pay our exit fee. Part of me wonders what they would have done if we didn't have it.
We said another goodbye and headed out. Brayan had to sit there for another 4 and half hours before he would be returned to his area. But he didn't mind at all I'm sure.
When this fellow lived with us, he was one of my favourites. He was a bit goofy and he wasn't the deepest thinker in the house...but he always had a smile on his face. When he decided to leave, it was a sad day for all of us. I tried to tell him that it wasn't going to go well for him, but it definitely went worse than even I expected.
Just a couple of months ago, we met with him to see how he was doing. His face was angry and you could tell his heart was cold. He'd taken to carrying a knife around with him all the time as well. He'd always been clean from drugs and alcohol in the house, but since then he'd developed a bad addiction to both.
After he left that meeting at the house, I turned to Andres and said that, sadly, I was fairly sure he was going to end up in prison the way things were going.
And here we are...
BUT...as I'm fond of saying...it's never the end of the story. No matter how dark things might look, God is not finished with us. This whole experience has been a reset for our friend hopefully. His "girlfriend" and drug friends and whoever else were there partying with him are all gone and no one else showed up to visit him. That was a sad wakeup call for him.
We've been paying for him to stay in this area (the next level down is significantly worse) and staying connected to him. We've paid for his lawyer and to get his papers moving. With no one on the outside, he could end up in there for an indefinite time...ten or fifteen years.
So it was encouraging to see his heart soft and to see our old friend we used to know. He sees that too. But I assured him in no nonsense terms, that if he doesn't make some changes in his life, he'll end up back right where he is. I told him I'll visit, but I won't pay to get him out twice.
The good news is that when he gets out, he's agreed to go to a drug rehab home we know of. It's a great place with a good staff and is run by a friend of ours. This place will give him a Christian atmosphere, help with his relationship with God and with his addictions. He needs a stable place to go, so he's not forced back into the life he was in before.
Please pray for this young man! His day to day life in prison is obviously complicated and I imagine it's hard to even stay sane in that type of situation. We encouraged him to spend his time praying.
When he does get out, there will be a difficult road ahead of him, getting free from all the choices he's made in the past few years. But God is good and He's a God of grace and forgiveness and second chances.
The guys all want to go see him this week, so we'll how that goes. Hopefully he'll be out soon!
Up until now, I've just been paying out of pocket for his expenses and for his lawyer. If you would like to make a gift towards helping him, we would appreciate it. This gift wouldn't go through La Jornada or be tax deductible, it would just come straight here and help with his expenses. You can message me privately if you're interested and would like more information. I'm hesitant to use our friend's name, but many of you do know him.
Thanks everyone! Next time I'm sure we'll have better news about this situation. Until then, thanks for praying and for walking with us! Enjoy those beautiful sunny August afternoon!
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