Security was tight as we approached the first
gate with our nine children, singing equipment, and bags full
of costumes and props. The guards questioned us and relayed
our answers over the intercom. The official on the other end
was expecting us, and cleared us past that point. All our bags
were opened and carefully inspected by the guards, and our mobile
phone was deposited in a locker. After several more iron gates
were unlocked before us and securely locked behind us, we were
finally inside the local center for delinquent youth.
“This place doesn’t look so bad,” one of us said as we
looked at the well-kept sports grounds and modern, clean
buildings.
“Yes, just like a modern school,” agreed a friend who had
come with us.
Just then, we heard someone shout military commands, and
some guards led a group of boys with crew cuts and khaki
uniforms towards the auditorium where we would be performing.
One of the boys said something to the boy next to him, and was
immediately rebuked by one of the guards and made to squat on
the ground.
Later, one of the officers told us that they had to be so
strict to keep order among the 150 boys and 20 girls in this
institution, who range in age from 10 to 18 and are being
detained for crimes ranging from theft to murder.
These young inmates have heard a lot of sermons about how
bad they are, how sorry they should feel for their crimes, how
thankful they should be that society is giving them a chance
to reform, and so on. When we smiled and waved to them, they
looked relieved. And when our kids started their show with
some lively song and dance numbers, the inmates warmed up and
started to smile themselves. They also listened intently as
our older children told some uplifting and meaningful stories
in Chinese. The inmates really came to life when we performed
several folk songs in the southern Taiwanese dialect. Finally,
they all got quiet as 13-year-old Elisabeth sang “You Can
Become God’s Child” in Chinese. Then Esther, 17, led all the
boys and girls in a salvation prayer.
The friend who went with us had not yet received Jesus
herself, but she was so moved by everything she saw that she
prayed along with the young people. “My heart was filled with
such emotion after everything I heard and saw today,” she told
us later, “that for the first time in my life, I prayed.”
The director of the institution used the occasion to tell
the young inmates that today they had seen an example of a
warm, close-knit family—something that the majority of them
had never experienced personally—and he encouraged them that
this was something they could each strive for in their new
lives. Even though they came from broken homes and bad
situations, they could each give a better life to their future
families.
Because security was so tight, we were not allowed to talk
with the young people individually. We could only smile and
wave, but we could see that their spirits had been lifted.
Most of all we were thankful that they had found Jesus, and
that He will be their Friend and Counselor forever.
