I'm exhausted!
It has been a busy few days as my congregation had our first of two special Family Day events in the prison's large recreation yard.
Usually we'd have one Family Day event annually, and always on the first Saturday in August. But this year, however, the prison authorities allowed us to have two. So today was the first of two gatherings, with the second one scheduled for August 4th.
There were about 135 people present who attended today's event. The weather was nearly perfect aside from a strong wind. And while we didn't get as many to attend as we'd normally have for a summer outing, this was still a good amount. It was enjoyable for me to see men with their wives, some who had their kids in tow.
Today's event lasted from 9 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. Then, when it was over, our guests had to be escorted out of the yard by guards while the inmates had to line ourselves up in a single file, each to await our turn to go into a nearby building to be "strip-searched."
For most of Friday, however, I was part of a fifteen-man set-up crew. We worked hard the day before the event. Our crew had to pitch several heavy canvas tents, securing each one into the ground with ropes and large iron stakes that the guys took turns hammering into the dirt with a sledgehammer. We also had dozens of tables and more than one hundred chairs to carry out to the yard, as well as a heavy wooden stage which had to be assembled for our choir to place their equipment on. Our choir has a big sound system as well as a selection of instruments.
When our event was finally over, I rejoined the work crew, and we began to disassemble everything as well as clean up all the garbage. We carried the sound equipment back into the chapel, which was a distance away. We took down the tents and stage, and then cleaned the tables and returned the tables and chairs to their respective places. I dripped with sweat under a warm sun as I helped to lug our furniture and equipment back into storage. And in the end, I was able to enjoy a hot shower when I returned to my cell block. So it was a blessed day. But it will now take a while for me to fully recuperate.
D.B.
Usually we'd have one Family Day event annually, and always on the first Saturday in August. But this year, however, the prison authorities allowed us to have two. So today was the first of two gatherings, with the second one scheduled for August 4th.
There were about 135 people present who attended today's event. The weather was nearly perfect aside from a strong wind. And while we didn't get as many to attend as we'd normally have for a summer outing, this was still a good amount. It was enjoyable for me to see men with their wives, some who had their kids in tow.
Today's event lasted from 9 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. Then, when it was over, our guests had to be escorted out of the yard by guards while the inmates had to line ourselves up in a single file, each to await our turn to go into a nearby building to be "strip-searched."
For most of Friday, however, I was part of a fifteen-man set-up crew. We worked hard the day before the event. Our crew had to pitch several heavy canvas tents, securing each one into the ground with ropes and large iron stakes that the guys took turns hammering into the dirt with a sledgehammer. We also had dozens of tables and more than one hundred chairs to carry out to the yard, as well as a heavy wooden stage which had to be assembled for our choir to place their equipment on. Our choir has a big sound system as well as a selection of instruments.
When our event was finally over, I rejoined the work crew, and we began to disassemble everything as well as clean up all the garbage. We carried the sound equipment back into the chapel, which was a distance away. We took down the tents and stage, and then cleaned the tables and returned the tables and chairs to their respective places. I dripped with sweat under a warm sun as I helped to lug our furniture and equipment back into storage. And in the end, I was able to enjoy a hot shower when I returned to my cell block. So it was a blessed day. But it will now take a while for me to fully recuperate.
D.B.
