Picture of the actual flowers from the prisoners to me
Picture of the actual flowers from the prisoners to me
It’s been 4 months since my dad suddenly passed away and went to be with our Lord Jesus. I remember messaging the staff at the prison and letting them know of the situation and giving them permission to let all the inmates at the centre know what had happened.
After taking some leave, I returned to the prison not knowing what to expect.
To my surprise, the inmates in both wings had taken the initiative to ask the prison to take money out of their own prison accounts to pay for flowers and a card.
Sam Yip
Chaplain at Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre (CDTCC)
I remember walking into the prison that first morning back. I opened the main fence that led into the main prison yard, slowly strolled in, and stood right in the middle of the yard surrounded by two sides of a double story cell block. I really didn’t know what to do that morning but to simply be present and walk in.
As I stood there silently by myself, heard a few familiar voices call out from the cells ‘hey chappy!’ (that’s what they call me… short for ‘chaplain’). And within a few seconds several inmates came out of their cells and into the yard to meet me. All with gentle approach, one-by-one they shook my hand, said sorry, and even some hugged me.
That whole week was one where I was able to experience a total reversal of roles. I don’t think I did much that first week back but to simply just be around the inmates. They supported me in my grief, listened to me, and just be present.
I would say that pretty much every inmate in this prison had lost a loved one. Quite a few have had a parent pass away whilst they were still in prison. All of them have been around suffering and death all their lives. They know the feeling of loss and I think that’s why they knew exactly how to care for me during that week.
It was a great opportunity for me to share with them the sadness I felt for losing my dad, yet the profound joy of knowing that dad was in the safe arms of Jesus and the resurrection hope that is on offer for all of us.
I am thankful that God had created this opportunity for me to serve the inmates and for them to serve me.
I spoke to a one prison officer who was on duty that day. He said he felt quite emotional. I asked why. He said:
“I looked out at the prison yard and watched them come up to you... maybe they’re not animals after all…’
