For the Sins of Their Father

No one believed that Reny had really changed. When he requested permission to bring a Bible into his prison cell the prison authorities suspected it was just another ploy, his prison-mates were cynical and questioned his judgment, and even his family found no reason to trust him. Their reactions were not surprising, for Reny was a hardcore drug addict imprisoned for brutally killing an elderly couple while robbing their home.

He had already served six years of a 14 year sentence, much of it in solitary confinement for smuggling drugs into prison, breaking rules and resisting the guards. Reluctantly, Reny found himself participating in a few Christian meetings and talking with PF India volunteers.  On one memorable occasion he even heard and met Chuck Colson who had come to speak in the prison. Something began changing inside Reny during that time and he vividly remembers the 15th of August, which happens to be India‘s Independence Day. “It was my Independence Day too,” he says, for it was the day he turned to Jesus Christ. “I was 33 years old and I was finally free from the bondage of Satan and sin.” 

From then on things began to change for Reny. He began leading in-prison Bible studies and prayer groups, his attitude and behaviour changed, and soon he was granted permission to leave the prison for short periods of time.  He was even allowed to marry a young woman named Teena three years before his release. 

Upon his release from prison, Reny joined Prison Fellowship India and became responsible for the ministry in Bangalore. As an ex-prisoner, Reny felt the stigma of his own imprisonment, and he became especially concerned about how that stigma was affecting the children of prisoners. In India, the children of prisoners are often labelled “kallara makkalu,” meaning “thief‘s child,” and they are not encouraged to do anything other than follow the path of their incarcerated parent. Often, the children of prisoners are not even permitted to attend public school.

Seeing this tragedy of how the sins of the parents can crush the hope of their children, Reny and his wife Teena began their ministry with PF by taking 15 children of prisoners into their own home. This was the beginning of what has become PF India‘s sixth “Precious Children‘s Home.” The need was great and the home has subsequently expanded into a much larger facility that is home to more than 60 children for whom Reny and his wife Teena are “Mummy and Daddy.” But they are just scratching the surface of the problem.  Unfortunately, many children must be turned away due to limitations of space and funding.  As a result, Reny travels frequently both in and out of India trying to raise funds to support the children and to provide space for others. 

Coming from tragic and violent backgrounds, the children of prisoners are in desperate need of the hope and love they find at PF India‘s Precious Children‘s Homes.  One ten-year old boy was deserted when his mother committed suicide shortly after his father was sent to prison. A three-year old abandoned girl is too young to understand that her father is in prison and her mother has disappeared. Another young boy wanted only to “kick and fight” when he first arrived at the home, but complained that such behaviour only made him feel worse. 

Reny and Teena work hard to make each of the children feel secure and loved in their new home and to help them overcome the hurts and pain they experienced. They reach out to create happy new memories for them, celebrating their birthdays and special occasions and participating in community festivals and at-home events. 

Many of the children Reny and Teena care for are beginning to dream of becoming policemen or lawyers when they grow up, since these have been their role models during their parents‘ courtroom trials. During the ten years that Reny and Teena have been caring for the children; many have “graduated” from the home to pursue vocational training and even college. However they have not forgotten “Mummy” and “Daddy.”  Often the grown children return home for a visit and to encourage the younger children. These older children, and Reny himself, serve as inspiration to all the kids at the Precious Children‘s Home. Knowing that Reny experienced such a dramatic change in his life gives them hope for their own parents who are imprisoned. 

One look at the faces of the children who live with Reny and Teena in the “Precious Children‘s Home” will surely allay any doubts that anyone might have had about the incorrigibility of Reny George.