Transcripts: Organizational Accomplishments

Transcript: Organizational Accomplishments. Prison Witnessing
[A white line runs across a black screen then expands into a banner of six circular images featuring theocratic activities]
[Service Committee Report. Prison Witnessing]
(Text: Anthony Griffin. Helper to the Service Committee)
Anthony: Jesus was the perfect example of kindness and understanding. The prophet Isaiah wrote about him:
[42 verse 3]
“No crushed reed will he break, and no smoldering wick will he extinguish.” He showed love to all who were broken in spirit and in search of compassion. Similarly, we aim to show compassion to all, including those in prisons. Their accounts show why our prison ministry is so needed. It is a pleasure to share the accomplishments made in this essential work.
(Text: Scott Pifer. United States Branch Committee)
Scott: As far back as 1918, there were Bible studies being conducted in prison. In recent times, there is great emphasis on being proactive, really reaching out, trying to speak to prison officials so that we can help ones that are in prison that want to have a relationship with the Creator.
(Text: Carmine Boscaino. Italy Branch Committee)
Carmine: We recognize that those in prison are serving a sentence for a crime committed.
[Italy]
However, Jehovah wants all sorts of people to come to know him. The Service Department organizes the work of contact congregations that oversee and support prison ministers.
(Text: Caleb Loyola. Colombia Branch Committee)
Caleb: A congregation is assigned as the contact congregation,
[Colombia]
and they obtain the required permits and organize the preaching work in the prison. They also select the publishers who will participate in this preaching activity.
Scott: We receive letters from ones in prison. They express their appreciation for ones visiting them and sharing the good news of the Kingdom. And we see ones responding to it and becoming our brothers and sisters.
(Text: Joel T Grim. Ghana Branch Committee)
Joel:Those who have accepted the truth and have gotten baptized in prison have had a powerful influence on others.
They see this individual changing in his actions, his speech, and his thinking. And so they’re curious, what is motivating this change? So often they take an interest, and then they too may request Bible studies.
Anthony: Prison systems are different in each country. Let’s see how our brothers have adapted.
Scott: Flexibility is needed. It’s actually required because all these correctional facilities have different requirements. They don’t always allow brothers and sisters to visit in the prison. So then you have to look for other ways.
Carmine: Special campaigns are arranged where our prison ministers meet with prison officials to have specific Watchtower articles distributed to the inmates.
Joel: In some of our prisons, we’ve been able to make arrangements to show the recordings of the regional conventions and the assemblies and this has had a tremendous effect, with many being invited and enjoying those programs.
Anthony: About 11.5 million people around the world are incarcerated and need to learn about God’s love for them.
(Text: Renzo Rodriguez. Prison Ministry Local Contact Colombia)
Renzo: Although many brothers and sisters in local congregations help us, it’s not always easy. The reason is that we have to organize our secular work and our family responsibilities, and sometimes we have to travel long distances. We feel built up and comforted because we see that they value all of the efforts that we make.
[A brother conducts a group study]
We value those who volunteer to support this arrangement.
[Another, a meeting]
If you live in an area where such a facility is located, can you have a share? If so, depending on the gender of those assigned to such a facility, could you offer your time and efforts to assist? We can all pray for the prisoners who respond favorably to the message and for those who teach them.
[At a meeting, female prisoners share a Watchtower]
Anthony: Our brothers and sisters work hard to find and help truth-seekers in this unique setting. What have been the results?
[Interviews.]
(Text: Italy)
Brother 1: Living in such a dangerous and controlled environment is not easy.
(Text: United States)
Brother 2: There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t regret who I was, what I was, and where I was at. It was very painful to just look at myself in the mirror. It’s one of the hardest things, being in prison that you can’t afford to show love. And you can’t expect to get it either.
(Text: United States)
Sister 1: When you’re incarcerated, the isolation is just overwhelmingly, just indescribable.
(Text: Ghana)
Brother 3: You feel like death is even better than living.
Brother 1: I was introduced to the truth at a very dark and critical time in my life, at the beginning of my incarceration.
Brother 3: I was introduced to the Bible by a fellow inmate.
Sister 1: I first came in contact with the truth when I was in the county jail.
Brother 2: It was after coming out of solitary confinement that I was moved to a cell, and I noticed there were some books on the table. Some of those books were Bibles.
Brother 1: I was finally moved to a penitentiary where I could speak to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and there I got to know the truth.
Brother 2: We would have meetings there in the prison. And we started studying the Bible.
Sister 1: And learning about Jehovah in a group setting like that with the volunteers was absolutely so wonderful. It became the highlight of my week.
Brother 2: Those brothers who would come in faithfully every week and study the Bible with me, they showed me love.
Sister 1: I had never seen anyone as kind and loving and caring as they were.
Brother 3: It was a source of encouragement to us anytime that they came.
Brother 1: Studying the Bible had an impact on me right from the start. I felt calmer and more at peace with myself.
Brother 2: When the truth became real to me, the bars disappeared, the guards disappeared, the concrete. None of those things mattered anymore. Because to me, I had purpose in life now and I was happy.
Brother 1: I could really trust God and be a free man, even if I was still in prison.
Sister 1: I went from wanting to just die to wanting to be there in God’s new world. And then to realize that he had made that way, even for me, was just incredible.
Anthony: First Timothy 2:4 says that Jehovah wants “all sorts of people . . . [to] come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” So we see the ‘crushed reeds and smoldering wicks’ of this world as Jehovah and Jesus see them: full of potential,
[Ghana, Baptized in 95]
potential to change,
[US, Baptized in 99]
potential to grow,
[Italy, Baptized in 09]
potential to become friends of Jehovah.
[US, Baptized in 03]
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