Brian and Ruth Christine Newsletter
October 2003 Newsletter
(Hand-written letters and some printed sheets received October 17, 2003)
October 12, 2003
Hi, this is Ruth Christine. Brian couldn't write last month's newsletter. I started it out and then our computer teacher left so I didn't get to finish it. Anyhow, I'm sending what I wrote (if you could) put it on your computer that would be great. Please could you send a copy to Brian too? Thanks (smiley face).
Thank you for doing this.
Neither Brian or I currently have access to a computer so we'll see how the next newsletters go. Thanks for you time.
Ruth Christine.
September Letter
"How little people know who think that holiness is dull... When one meets the real thing, it's irresistible." C.S. Lewis.
(quote from a letter I wrote) "Things are kind of hard here, just weathering the storm, thankful for God's grace to get me through. The things we go through are hard, and yet how hard it would be to go through them without the knowledge that God is with us. I think of people in here facing ten or more years and so very resistant to God, angry and bitter, and I can only thank God that is not my lot."
Last month we had an art class, the first that he have had here. It was also the first time I had painted in quite a while. We studied some art history, focusing on the Impressionist, Post Impressionist, Fauvist and Cubist periods. Then we had to choose one of these styles to paint a picture in. I choose to paint a still life of coffee cups on a table, by a window, in the style of Matisse. then we did a number of group paintings of scenery and a painting of a funny looking jazz band. It was definitely a learning experience, and a positive way to spend some time. Which is an encouragement for people to do something positive instead of just complaining or getting into fights.
It was neat to get to take part in a video that our art teacher made for his are class, on us, and our work. It was fun. I talked for one and 1/2 hours just about life in prison! He will probably only use a few minutes of it, but I enjoyed it. And I got the sense that God was doing something through it.
Life in the bakery continues on as usual.
This week I received a huge stack of books from a missionary friend name Dette who just flew back to Cameroon after a year's furlough here. It was just like Christmas! She even sent me a book for me to read to our kids on the Christmas video, that hopefully I will get to make for them. Please pray for them, they are going back to Cameroon to continue their work, creating a written alphabet for a tribal group there.
Okay, so who is Dette? She is a lady I met at the church we used to attend in Indiana, their family was on furlough and visiting our church. We didn't have much to offer but we invited them to dinner at our house. In fact we were doing so bad financially that we were eating deer meat and pasta for every cooked meal, along with eating the vegetables our garden was producing. But we were told that offering people hospitality was something that God honored so we invited this family over. It was a pleasant visit, and that was that...Until one day five years later when that same family was flying back to the U.S. from Africa and saw a news paper with our case plastered on the front page. Dette made some inquiries and ended up writing to me and asking if she could come visit me, as they just happened to be spending their furlough in Portland, Oregon (where her husband's family lives).
Now if God doesn't just work in mysterious ways? Because we gave what little we had to some strangers (who were His children) years ago, He has repaid to us a measure, shaken down, and overflowing. It brings tears to my eyes as I write this, for He is so good to me!
I have been keeping busy. A few months back I took part in a writer's class here, and re-discovered a joy for writing that I had when I was a kid. At first, I was terrified to read anything I wrote aloud, but through perseverance I over came that fear, and by the end of the class I wanted to read what I had written. It was a powerful experience, to hear about other people's lives and the things they care about and to share in some of their joys and sorrow.
Wow, what a couple of weeks. Brian wound up in segregation over something silly.
This has left me doing the writing here, but I'm having fun with it. His time in segregation has turned out to be eye opening to us all. I have received two letters from "the hole" as we call it. It is the disciplinary section in prison. Normally in prison you get a certain measure of freedom, you have a job where you can earn some money. You can purchase personal hygiene products, snack foods, or meal replacements such as freeze-dried beans and rice, so that you can make your own meals etc... you have some property of your own such as books and personal letters, and you keep these in you cell or bunk area. You also have the freedom to go to classes or to church and receive visits, and to go outside to the yard. If you are taken to segregation these things are temporarily taken away. You are locked in a cell in a separate section of the prison, you are given a set of scrubs (like the ones doctors wear). You are taken out of that cell only to shower every couple of days or to have one hour of yard time in a caged area once every two days.
Also if you have people near by to visit you, you can get a limited number of visits a week, through glass. When the officers take you out of the cell they handcuff you through the slot in the door before you even get taken out. The only possessions my husband currently has are a toothbrush, some baking powder to clean his teeth with, a small bar of soap, a small pen and a few sheets of paper to write on. He was given two envelopes but has already used them up. He requested for a Bible and has that with him. So he has been doing lots of Bible study and having lots of prayer time.
This whole situation has been hard on us both, but it got worse.
Segregation in a men's prison can be like Hell on earth. The guys in segregation like to try to cause fights between one cellmate and another. Men are routinely beaten, or worse. It is hard to write this knowing that Brian is in the midst of all this. If the guys in segregation decide that they don't like you (for whatever reason( they yell at you and threaten you, that when you get out of segregation they will have you beaten up. Brian didn't have to wait that long, a guy who he considered his friend gave in to pressure from the other guys and attacked Brian. Brian survived (thanks to some Divine intervention) and is now okay. However he still has a few weeks of seg time to do, and then some time on OOP (loss of Privileges) where he will be confined to his cell except for work or meals, and unable to purchase envelopes etc.
Initially I had a rough time with all this, but I am doing much better now. It's hard just knowing that the person you love is in danger, and being unable to do anything about it. But we have God, who is our strength and shield, and carries us through the days when we don't have the strength to walk.
*Quote* "We seldom pass one of God's tests with a perfect score"
Isaiah 51:4 leapt off the page at me the other day. As I saw that it applied to Brian and the things that have happened. "The cowering prisoners will soon be set free. They will not die in their dungeon, no will they lack bread."
The good news is that on November 25 (God willing) there will be an oral hearing for our appeals case. Our prayer is that the hearing will not be postponed- as often happens with these hearings. Hopefully, both I and Brian will be present at the hearing, which of course would be a blessing to us both. I really miss my husband, that is one of the hardest things to deal with, just the fact that I can't even talk to him on the phone, or hear his voice and yet he is my best friend.
Oct 9th
Well, this letter has been delayed because our computer lab has been closed. But the positive news is that Brian is safely out of segregation and almost off of LOP. He has his things back, including his radio which he missed a lot. God has been busy on us both, teaching us so much, revealing areas where we have failed or are weak and drawing us closer to Him and to each other.
Brian and I have started studying some books and in formation to help us grow in our marriage, and it really has helped a lot. I praise God for the things I have seen him do in my husband's life Hallelujah!
I recently researched scriptures about being in prison and found some good ones. Here's one of them Psalms 102: 19 and 20-
"The Lord looked down from His sanctuary on high, From heaven He views the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to die"
Here is a scripture to close with: Hebrews 10:24
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds"
Your Sister in Christ
Ruth Christine
God Bless You