Odyssey Sojourners' Assignments
Selected assignments by the Odyssey sojourners are featured bi-weekly...
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Enable Others to act
Jeannette Castillo
Staff member with PF Costa Rica
Odyssey Sojourner
One of our main goals this year was to have a teacher volunteer to teach the kids English. So one volunteer helped me to look for someone and he did. This is a Belgium person who lives in our country and was looking for some place to help kids, and my volunteer friend spoke to him about “Seeds of Love” Programme. So, I met him last January and we spoke about the English course and he started last Tuesday with 6 or our kids from 7-11 years old. The thing I want to share with you is that we have a cleaning lady, María, who has been working with Prison Fellowship Costa Rica since 2006, but she was working at our homeless programme and since August 2011 she was transferred to our programme because they are reconstructing the place where the homeless go to have their meals and bath. So, she is struggling and I thought that a great opportunity for her would be to learn English so she can be good with herself, and because for me she´s been a very loyal person to Prison Fellowship Costa Rica. So as we are growing as persons I also want her to grow in Prison Fellowship, so I told her that we were going to have this English course and that she was more than welcome to be part or of it so she can learn English and she was happy, she agreed, and she told me how great was this opportunity for her, because otherwise she would never had the opportunity to pay for an English course. So, last Tuesday she began taking the course.
I think she deserves it as I or my others co-workers deserve any type of training or course working in Prison Fellowship, so I´m really happy I did a good thing for her.
Dorestela Medina
6th Odyssey Sojourner
PF Nicaragua
Personal Life Physical-Wellness
Exercises
Since November 3, I started doing exercises 3 days per week, at 5 in the morning for 45 minutes in the Gym. I have the goal to improve doing exercise 5 days in the week the next month.
Every day after exercises I did 20 minutes of relax and some asanas of yoga method to feel and love my body and get calm it, before I do my daily devotional.
Food Healthy
I organized my daily menu of the month eating mostly salads, vegetables, meat, especially chicken (but not fried), fruits. I tried to eat on time.
Fast
I did one water-fast in the month, I just drank water for 24 hours.
I did one fruit-day in the month, just eating fruits the whole day.
I did one salad-day in the month, just eating salad the whole day.
Water
I have been drinking 3 bottles of water.
Fresh air and nature
I spent ten minutes in my garden every day, breathing slow and contemplating the sky, trees, birds, all the creation, I have felt a lot of joy and happiness about God.
Rest
Often I went to bed between 10:00-10:30 at night and I had a very good rest.
Note:
Additionally I have programmed appointments with the doctor in the next two months, November and December.
Udsy de Luque
2nd Odyssey Sojourner
PF Panama
Statement on Integrity
I never read before such an interesting and instructive article as the one concerning integrity written by Dr. Paul Wong.
I was impressed by the details of the habits and attitudes of a person of integrity, compared to a house made out of blocks that is built placing one at a time.
To my judgment, truth is always better and I observe that within the portrait of integrity that the author presents, honesty has a very important value not only in the attitudes but also in what you say.
In the practice of my profession as a lawyer, even though we are justice assistants (which is nothing but giving everyone what they deserve), it is very usual that lies are said, either black or white, they are lies. Yes, for example, the evidences are circumstantial and they can easily be refuted, the defense advises the accused person to say that he is not guilty knowing that he is. This will give him an opportunity to gamble with the elements that are incriminating him and convince the Judge or the Jury that he did not committed the crime he has being charged with.
The consequences of this procedure are fatal, since, even though the person would be at liberty, he will not stop thinking that the lawyer is excellent, but deep inside his conscience will also value that with such a help, he can continue to commit a crime and get away with it unpunished. But even deeper in his mind he will also know that such a defender is as criminal as he is because he knows how to lie, defend lies, play with real circumstances of the event and achieves a final objective which is the liberty of someone who does not deserve it.
On the other hand, the victim is defenseless, sad, wary and with a real sensation that justice was not made. Besides, the society will be at the mercy of an unscrupulous person who will continue on the road of crime. There will be neither payment nor restoration for anyone.
It is possible that the lawyer would be a hero within this world, that he earns lots of money, that his reputation will reach an outstanding place in his profession and between the criminals as well and he will never have a shortage of cases in the Court of Justice, what will make him full of vain pride damaging his personality because of the lack of modesty in front of the people.
He could get material wealth like a luxurious house, a state of the art car, a bulky bank account, extravagant pleasures, etc., but he will not be living according to the plans of his Creator. And that is dangerous because his desire to accumulate earthy treasures will limit his vision of a future and eternal life that you cannot buy, but only earn through good habits and attitudes centered in integrity.
I see in the article written by Dr. Wong that integrity implies rectitude in all ways: how you move, how you talk, how you say and how you do; how you live in every respect of your existence. There is no deceitfulness: I am or I am not honorable.
It touches my conscience the fact that I have also fallen in the trap of injustice because I failed to the truth in a penal process for attacking with a weapon where I defended the offender knowing that he was guilty and I took him out of jail through a special circumstance. The police said that the attacker had fired two times and according to the expert exam, the weapon only showed one detonation, so it did not square with the facts. Beside the weapon used was not in the hands of my client, it was found in a nearby land close to the food store where the frustrated attack took place. I was aware that he had thrown the weapon in that place.
Briefly, the young criminal was guilty and I knew it, but the evidence could not sustain the prosecution, so he was immediately set free.
I was recently starting my career and truly it is not until now, that I ask myself if I acted according to the integrity that should rule a Christian, on the contrary, I was proud of my success.
Today, at the light of the instruction of Dr. Wong’s article, I can see clearly the reason why God allowed that a young primary criminal man who I defended with such fieriness in Court did not honored my fees. I did not use the law to charge him, but I did call him several times, without any answer until one day I told him, You owe me nothing. I remitted the debt. Well, I think this was the payment for judging with circumstantial facts and hide the truth.
