You read that right! Over November 14th and November 15th, I spent 22 hours locked up in the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center. This experience was offered to provide a glimpse into what our students experience while locked up. From sleeping on a thin mat on a cement slab to wearing the sweatsuit to eating the food, myself and 6 other YFC volunteers and staff had this experience.
I have been serving in Juvenile Justice Ministry for over 9 years now and I thought I had a pretty good idea of what it was like inside. We spend hours a week inside the facility meeting with students and hearing their stories, but these 22 hours opened my eyes to so much more. We had the opportunity to be treated like a student and I even found myself receiving a 5-minute time out for my behavior. Even that experience helped me understand more deeply what our students go through.
Because I did not get very much sleep, I had the opportunity to journal some of my thoughts while I was locked in my cell. A few of those thoughts were: “Sleeping on this cement slab alone would keep me from committing any crimes, but sometimes that cement slab is better than what students have at home”, “These facilities view Youth for Christ Juvenile Justice Ministry as part of their ‘team.’ We play a crucial role in bringing hope into this dark place – that actually is full of light because they can never fully turn off the lights, even when students are sleeping”, and “God, please continue to break my heart for what breaks yours. Allow me to continue to serve students and staff in these facilities.”
A moment that stuck out to me the most was when Jay**, a student who had been locked up for over a year, shared a song that he wrote with us. This song was about how he felt like he had spent a lot of time trying to be the dad to his sisters that they never had. He spoke about the struggle within his family and his desire to make a change. The first line of his song was, “Lord, please take my pain away.” Even if he did not realize it, he started his song off with a prayer to God to take his pain away. Jay** has made some poor decisions in his life, but he understands the role that his relationship with Jesus has begun to restore him.
I will leave you with this; these young people need to experience the hope of Jesus, even while they are locked up. Thank you for making this ministry possible through your support, prayers, and volunteering. We truly could not do this without you.
Karly Wymer
Community Ministries Director