Dear Friends Thank you for your prayer and support for our Ministry on the Seychelles. We can hardly believe that 10 days have passed since we left home. We attach our itinerary for those who would like to follow our programme and cover us with much needed prayer. PRAISE GOD FOR: 1. His Provision so that our daughters could join us for the first 10 days. They went home today, and we stay for a further two busy weeks. 2. For amazing welcome and support from the Seychelles Prison Management, Chaplain, Officers, Ministers Advisor and the British High Commission. 3. For meaningful sessions with our former (2013) Restorative Justice clients/inmates. They were so excited to see us and found the follow up sessions very meaningful for their ongoing restoration. 4. For fruitful meetings with our Restorative Justice Workers who we trained in 2013 (Officers and Spiritual Workers). They are keen to take the baton and run with RJ on the Seychelles, but they still want/need more training and encouragement. 5. For amazing FREE accommodation at Eden Island (a little paradise) where our daughters could feel safe and have sufficient entertainment right on the doorstep with the beaches, pool, gym, shopping mall, etc. … while we were at work. Also very therapeutic for us when we return from prison in the evenings. 6. For a very powerful presentation by Amy and Cara to our 2013 group of clients, which had many of them in tears. 7. We visited the victim with whom we did the Victim Offender Dialogue last year and it was amazing to see the healing that has taken place in her. She was full of smiles and very happy to see us again. She said she told the Seychelles Welfare Department that we had to come from South Africa to help her, while she had been asking them for 9 years to see the offender, but they were too scared to bring them together. Praise God!! 8. For an overwhelming response to the Word of God at the Cathedral this morning. 80% or more responded for prayer to recommit their lives to God and/or FAMILY (The latter was the focus of the message). 9. For a brilliant TV production (documentary) done by the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation on the Restorative Justice work we do in Cape Town and the work done on the Seychelles in 2013/14 It included feedback from several of the role-players including clients/inmates, family members, victim and RJ workers. It played on TV shortly after we left and was repeated a week before we arrived to announce our return with Restorative Justice to Seychelles. It was so funny when one of the workers at Eden Eiland said, I saw you on TV, you work in the Prison. PRAY FOR: 1. The two Restorative Justice Courses that we will run with the men and the women this week. It will be the first time that we will run 2 courses per day, as they wanted us to cover the men and women separately. We could not run the two at the same time (in the mornings) as we need to give each other the practical backup support. While the one presents the other has to sort out and guide the workers, have the work sheets in order, etc. (As other helpers from CT are not with us, and the local workers are not adequately trained yet). Pray most of all for Gods anointing upon us and in the room daily. It is the anointing that breaks the yoke of sin and bondage. 2. Pray also for the 2 Family Programmes on Saturday. First time also to run 2 of these on the same day. We know God is able to give us the strength and capacity that we need for this week. 3. Pray also for the VOD (Victim Offender Dialogue) that we will be doing on Sunday 20 July at 8am (6am your time) with the same offender as last time. She faced the mother of her (deceased) victim last time, now the brother is ready to face her. Please pray much for this brother who was 6 and present when his sister died (at age 11) in a passion crime (not intended to harm the girl). Since then he has carried a lot of anger. He is now 16 but dropped out of school at 14 already because he was getting into fights with other learners all the time. He cannot even hold down a job as he gets into arguments and fights with colleagues. He seem to have lost hope. We are trusting God that by him sharing his pain with the person that caused it, can be the beginning of a healing process for him. Pray for the offender, J, who has a life sentence, and is nervous and fearful for the session. Pray for Gods guidance, wisdom, protection and peace over all of us. 4. Pray also for Js son, who was only two and a half when she came to prison with a life sentence. He is now 13 and recently started missing classes at school and got himself into trouble with the law. We are hoping to have a session with J and her son, which we hope could help both of them. 5. Pray for the RJ we will do on the Coetivy Island (on request from the Head of Prison). This Island is a day and a half by boat (not an option for me) or a nearly 2 hour flight from the main Island where we are now working. The clients here never (cannot) receive any visits from their family so we wont be able to have a Family Programme. We are hoping however to pre-record the Families and then play it to the men in a special Focus on the Family session. Also a first for us to do it this way. Pray that it would be effective and that the men would respond with conviction and sincerity. 6. Please pray as we take RJ and VOD to the Community on Sat 26 July. The President is not willing to consider pardon for any offenders yet, as he feels the victims may have forgiven but the Community might still be angry. This is quite hard on the inmates as there is NO PAROLE on the Seychelles. Their sentence is their sentence, no matter how much they are restored and transformed, and their sentences are very harsh. You could get 15 years for stealing a cell phone. This is a recipe for breeding a lot more criminals, with the children left behind for years without their parent/s who are in prison, many of them for life. Pray for guidance as we set the programme for the Community and for the victim and others who will share at the programme. We are hoping that the offender would be allowed to also go, but not sure at this stage. Please pray that professionals from Justice, Police and Social Welfare would attend and realise the importance of also focussing on Restoration and not only on Punishment. Pray also for Amy and Cara as they continue with life without Mom and Dad for the next two weeks. Thank you for praying for us and for our RJ clients and workers. Every blessing Jonathan and Jenny
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 18:31:44 +0000