October 29, 2010
Dear Friends,
The holidays are fast approaching us, and I want to encourage you to pray for the believers incarcerated at the Navy Brig at Miramar. Last week, we finished our study in Paul’s letter to the Romans, which we began in January of this year. The schedule will get a bit hectic between now and the beginning of the year—there will be no Bible study on Veterans’ Day or Thanksgiving, and usually for about three weeks around Christmas and New Year’s. Rather than start something new during this rather inconsistent time, we’re going to look at Messianic Psalms—Psalms that point to Jesus. We began this week with Psalm 45, which is quoted in Hebrews 1 as referring to Jesus.
As the holidays draw near, inmates will find themselves lonely and longing for their families. The younger ones will want to be with their parents and siblings; the older ones with their wives and children. Many of them are accustomed to military deployments that separate them, but prison is much different for them. The brig staff, for example, have a holiday “stand down,” which means there is only a small crew of guards. So the daily work that keeps inmates occupied on weekdays will not happen. There will be almost nothing for them to do except watch television or movies, play games, or just sit around. They are not permitted to sleep during the day.
So please keep them in your prayers over the next 8-10 weeks. Especially pray for Eric who has not heard from his wife and children since August 12. And for Bruce, who has been approved for parole, but has been unable to get a residence approved.
Next Spring, Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar will become Joint Regional Correctional Facility Southwest, the largest detention facility in the entire Department of Defense System. The facility has been under construction, and is nearing completion. All other detention facilities in the Southwest will be closed and the population of the Miramar facility will nearly double. This realignment includes Marines from the Camp Pendleton brig.
In my 12½ years at the Miramar facility, we’ve had two other “influxes” of prisoners, both times due to facilities being remodeled. There were 80 Marines in 2000 and about 100 soldiers in 2008. This realignment will probably be about the size of those two combined.
This is a major change at Miramar, and will probably result in a lot of tension and misunderstandings between staff and inmates. It will also probably mean a lot more men in our Thursday night Bible study. In 2000, the group went from about 18 people (including women at that time) to about 35. In 2008, the group grew from two or three men to about twenty.
As always, I am encouraged by your faithful prayers and donations. May you know God’s goodness moreso with each new day.
Grace and Peace,
Ben Conarroe
The holidays are fast approaching us, and I want to encourage you to pray for the believers incarcerated at the Navy Brig at Miramar. Last week, we finished our study in Paul’s letter to the Romans, which we began in January of this year. The schedule will get a bit hectic between now and the beginning of the year—there will be no Bible study on Veterans’ Day or Thanksgiving, and usually for about three weeks around Christmas and New Year’s. Rather than start something new during this rather inconsistent time, we’re going to look at Messianic Psalms—Psalms that point to Jesus. We began this week with Psalm 45, which is quoted in Hebrews 1 as referring to Jesus.
As the holidays draw near, inmates will find themselves lonely and longing for their families. The younger ones will want to be with their parents and siblings; the older ones with their wives and children. Many of them are accustomed to military deployments that separate them, but prison is much different for them. The brig staff, for example, have a holiday “stand down,” which means there is only a small crew of guards. So the daily work that keeps inmates occupied on weekdays will not happen. There will be almost nothing for them to do except watch television or movies, play games, or just sit around. They are not permitted to sleep during the day.
So please keep them in your prayers over the next 8-10 weeks. Especially pray for Eric who has not heard from his wife and children since August 12. And for Bruce, who has been approved for parole, but has been unable to get a residence approved.
Next Spring, Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar will become Joint Regional Correctional Facility Southwest, the largest detention facility in the entire Department of Defense System. The facility has been under construction, and is nearing completion. All other detention facilities in the Southwest will be closed and the population of the Miramar facility will nearly double. This realignment includes Marines from the Camp Pendleton brig.
In my 12½ years at the Miramar facility, we’ve had two other “influxes” of prisoners, both times due to facilities being remodeled. There were 80 Marines in 2000 and about 100 soldiers in 2008. This realignment will probably be about the size of those two combined.
This is a major change at Miramar, and will probably result in a lot of tension and misunderstandings between staff and inmates. It will also probably mean a lot more men in our Thursday night Bible study. In 2000, the group went from about 18 people (including women at that time) to about 35. In 2008, the group grew from two or three men to about twenty.
As always, I am encouraged by your faithful prayers and donations. May you know God’s goodness moreso with each new day.
Grace and Peace,
Ben Conarroe
