November, 2024
Hello my Beloved,
November has been a time of darkness and of thanksgiving for me. They moved the remaining members of my class out of my dorm this month, including Jo, Ray, Sam, Red, and others. They replaced them with even more heavy drug users and dealers. This means more gang activity, including more violence, extortions, threats, stealing, noise, and chaos. The levels continue to skyrocket.
Before you ask, no, no one has even looked at me mean. I think there are multiple reasons for that. I continue to let is leak out to a few select individuals about my background as a self-defense instructor. I always keep it vague. This is usually followed by a small demonstration of a joint lock or pressure point manipulation. I want them to feel their bones bend (not break 😊) and a moderate amount of numbness and pain. I know the people I engage this way won’t attack and will tell certain groups about their experience while amplifying it, just like Ghost did earlier in the year when he offered to make me the richest man at St. Brides if I trained his gang.
I think another reason no one messes with me is how I act and how I treat others. Regardless of the person, or how they act, they are still created in the image of God and should be treated as such. It’s very hard to remember that fact when people do what they do sometimes.
Some of the new gang members immediately tried to extort Adam. He told them no but now is living under a threat of violence from the guys. Though they haven’t touched him yet, the did steal his TV antenna which is quite expensive. It’s so frustrating not being able to help him. You don’t dare go to the guards to report the incident because
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you are constantly being watched in a situation like that. On top of that there are many guards that cover for the gangs. There is always a risk that a guard may not report what you say to the investigator but will instead report it to the gang. In those cases, you could be marked as a ‘snitch.’ Depending on the circumstances, you could find yourself beaten on a regular basis in order to set an example to other potential snitches. Moving to another prison rarely helps. The gangs have a pretty vast communication network set up outside that keep members in different prisons connected. Not only could the violence follow you but the stealings, extortions, threats, and general ostracization could as well.
We spent over a week on lockdown this month. It appears that some high-level drugs were found and that a guard was caught bringing it in. Things came to a head around day 8 or so when the bigger drug guys decided that they were no longer going to ‘allow’ the prison to put our dorm on lock down for using and dealing drugs. So, they announced that the whole dorm was going on a hunger strike until they took us off lockdown. What that really meant was that they would live off of their $100 plus a week commissary food and everyone else would have to ‘tough’ it out by going hungry. During breakfast one of the gang guys had to be restrained by his buddies because he went to beat up 70yo Catholic Mike for daring to go to the door to get breakfast. In the commotion the guards took it away and we missed breakfast.
When lunch time came and they brought the trays to the door, all the gangs start screaming that no one better get up to get a tray. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I got up and calmly walked to the door for a tray. The room was silent. The funny thing is, I heard a few lower-level gang guys weakly say “#@! this, I’m hungry.” As I got my tray and began to walk back, around a dozen lower-level guys were walking up to get their trays. When I sat down at my bunk,
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my gang leader neighbor asked my politely, “Mr. David, why did you get a tray and not show them who is boss?” I smiled and told him I had not only heard the guards talking about taking us off of lockdown today before this happened. I knew of another level 2-3 that was still on lockdown, even after many weeks.” He just smiled and said, “oh”. He then went up and got a tray. They ended the lockdown that evening.
They moved little Sam at the beginning of the month. He still is his own worst enemy, though. Sam is always trying to go through the chow line several times to get extra trays. He got caught recently and was asked to step out of line and return to his dorm. He refused and told the guard he was going to get an extra tray anyway. Evidently it escalated when Sam got physical which led to him going to the Hole in handcuffs. Please continue to pray for him.
The Bible has a lot to say about respecting authority. Both Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17 command Christians to respect and be subject to every human authority. Of course, this comes with the caveat that they do not require you to obey a sinful command. But even in this case we must be respectful as we decline to obey. In Acts 23:105 Paul is before the Chief Priests and their council when the High Priest orders him punched in the mouth at the beginning of his defense. Paul goes off on the High Priest calling him names. When the other priests point out that Paul is addressing the High Priest Ananias, he is immediately repentant. Like Paul, I understand the difficulty in not repaying evil for evil, especially when it comes from someone in authority. Whether it’s a snide or belittling comment, an immoral order, or an unjust judgement, as Christians, we cannot lower ourselves to the world’s standards, no matter how good it might feel. One of the greatest powers that we have is the ability to do things that others cannot, things like loving our enemy.
Even though Paul may have struggled the one time in front of Ananias,
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he still reminds us in Romans 12:14-21, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those that weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” This passage has been very difficult to adhere to in here. It has also been one of the core passages that keeps me relatively safe and effective while serving God in such a dark place.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” It’s difficult not to respond in kind when people say the most vile things about you or a defenseless person nearby. But ‘Repay no one evil for evil.’ And ‘Never avenge yourselves’ is pretty clear. Also, Proverbs 12:16 says that the prudent (wise) ignore in insult and 29:11 says that while a fool gives full vent to his spirit, a wise man quietly holds his back. When faced with a verbal antagonist, especially in public, often times a type of game is being played. The insult is meant to provoke a particular response, either from the one being insulted or those hearing the person being insulted. For the person being insulted the expectation is that they will lash out in anger or they will cower, thus bolstering the superiority of the person hurling the insult. This is especially true if his ‘homies’ are listening. It will (in his mind) give him a boost in his status. Instead, we must “give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” De-escalation is an important tool here. Learn to answer not from the way you feel at
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the moment instead, ask yourself what must be said to bring the encounter to a place where rational conversation is possible. Because the ‘law of God’ is written on the hearts of men (Romans 2:14-16), you may be surprised by who sees you as the stronger one in the encounter.
The Thanksgiving meal here was okay. No where near what its like at home, but I am still thankful for it. I made sure our group remained focused on the many things God has given us in prison, rather than what we left behind on the outside.
One of the many things I am thankful for is the gift of friendship and laughter. The temperature has been pretty cold for several days this month. Not nearly cold enough for me to wear my coat though. People are getting used to me in short sleeves when it’s below freezing. Richard and Mullins saw me coming a few days ago and said, “Oh look, it’s Dave, he’s so cool he has to eat ice cubes just to warm up.” The image made me laugh out loud.
Towards the end of the month, I got to have supper with Richard, Mullins, and MJ. It was really awesome to sit there and listen to them get so excited about the integration of Theology, Apologetics, and Philosophy. As a farmer, I love to watch things grow. As a mentor, I love to watch people grow. So, I get double the pleasure as I see these 3 young men blossom as God’s servants. It’s humbling and honoring to be used by God to play a part in that process.
I continue to be very proud of Richard especially. He continues to engage the pastor that is the head of the church here. Being in the same dorm provides plenty of chances for engagement with him. In his latest engagement with the pastor, it was reiterated that I was forever banned from preaching here because of my focus on the intellect. No where does the Bible ever mention the intellect. Furthermore, God doesn’t care about our intellect, only our spirit.
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This is such a sad statement coming from the leader of a Church. There are 2 Greek words used for the intellect in the New Testament. The first one is ‘dianoia.’ It’s the word used in Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; and Luke 10:27 where God commands all Christians to love Him with all of our ‘mind.’ The word dianoia is translated as ‘thoughts’ in Luke 1:51. In 1 John 5:20, it’s translated as understanding.
The second word used is ‘nous.’ In Revelation 17:9, ‘nous’ is translated as mind. The passage calls for a ‘mind’ with wisdom. Take a moment and grab an exhaustive concordance and see how many times the words mind, knowledge, wisdom, intelligent, truth, lie, and any other word that has to do with the intellect occurs. You will quickly find that God cares a great deal about the intellect.
Finally, I am very thankful that I was able to call you guys this Thanksgiving. It was so good hearing yours’ and the kids’ voices. It continues to remind me of how rich I truly am. Please tell everyone back home how truly thankful I am for them and their day-to-day service to God. We all have so much to be thankful for. I love you so much my Beloved. I am ever thankful for your love for God and your love for me. Love you!!!
Love,
Me
SCRAP!
GELPOY!
LAAF!
ILYSOOOM!