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‘Leftovers’ from Down Under move hearts behind bars in Zambia
ZAMBIA — When the Bible Society in Australia launched the Selection called Brekky at the Lake, nobody would have believed that, one day, this publication would be distributed to prisoners in a country as distant as Zambia. What began as a request from one prisoner, though, has now turned into ministry to several thousand. Pastor Kwacha Mvula, Co-ordinator of Prison Fellowship Zambia, remembers very clearly the pain he felt when, after preaching to a group of condemned prisoners, one of them asked if he could have the Bible to read on his own.
Aware that there were other prisoners who wanted to read the same Bible,
Pastor Mvula reluctantly had to turn down the request. However, he assured
the prisoner that he would return “some time later” with a
Bible for him.
But deep in his heart he knew that he had no spare Bibles – not
a single one – to give to a heart that was searching for salvation.
The day came, though, when he was forced to take action. He was on
a visit to a prison in Lusaka when a prisoner who had come across a
copy of Brekky at the Lake asked him to write to the address
on it so that “maybe” they could send them some copies to
“keep them busy”.
He quickly wrote to the Bible Society in Australia
which, despite the stock having run out, reprinted some more specially
for the prisoners.
When, via the Bible Society of Zambia,
he finally received copies of Brekky at the Lake, Bibles and
other literature to be shared among the more than 6,000 prisoners to
which the Prison Fellowship ministers, Pastor Mvula could not hide his
excitement.
He knew that, because they have little else to take up their time,
prisoners spend many hours reading and that, if they have access to
a Bible, they can read it from cover to cover within three months. After
they have done so, many show clear signs of being reformed. He also
knew that, if prisoners continue to receive pastoral care after their
release, 30 per cent of them continue to practise Christianity.
Handing over the Bibles, the Society’s Jane Kapembwa asked Prison
Fellowship to ensure that prisoners in remote rural areas, where there
is a severe shortage of reading matter, were included in the distribution.
With 75 per cent of prisoners able to read independently, the new
stocks will allow more of them to find hope and consolation in reading
God’s Word, to lead better lives and even to preach the Word when
they finish serving their terms. (WR 392/2 - 04/5.05) [2 photos]
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