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When Hearts of Stone Turn Responsive

IN 1989, JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN POLAND were granted legal recognition as a religious organization. Witnesses who had been incarcerated for their Christian neutrality were gradually released, leaving behind in prison many inmates who longed to learn more about the Bible from them. Here is an account of how at one such prison, Jehovah’s Witnesses endeavor to help those who once had hearts of stone to respond to the power of God’s Word.

IN WOŁÓW, a town of 12,000 in southwestern Poland, is a 200-year-old penitentiary where some of Poland’s worst criminals are kept. Since the official recognition of their work, Jehovah’s Witnesses have endeavored to bring the Kingdom good news to the inmates there, and they do so with great enthusiasm.

What paved the way was a letter issued by the Ministry of Justice in February 1990 to all prison directors in Poland. The letter advised that they should “cause no difficulties” for any inmates who wanted to receive Watch Tower publications or to meet with Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Witnesses, some having spent long years in Wołów prison, knew well the many hardened convicts there. However, they looked to Jehovah to bless their efforts to let Bible truth soften the stony hearts of other inmates.

Getting the Work Started

“It was difficult to get the program started,” says Brother Czesław from the city of Wrocław, about 25 miles [40 km] away, who has been authorized to visit the prison in Wołów. “It took many long discussions with prison officials for them to be convinced that our ‛religious services’ are beneficial for the prisoners.”

To complicate matters, recalls Czesław’s partner Paweł, “a high-ranking officer insisted that the convicts were merely using the religious services as a pretext for material gains.” But when three once dangerous criminals presented themselves for baptism in 1991, the prison authorities changed their attitude, and cooperation improved.

“We started by witnessing to the convicts, to their families who came to visit them in prison, as well as to the penitentiary personnel,” explains Czesław. “Then we were allowed to preach the good news from ward to ward, a most unusual exception. Finally, when we found the first interested ones, we were given access to a small hall in which to conduct Bible studies and hold Christian meetings.” Yes, Jehovah opened the way to the stony hearts of prisoners.

Effective Educational Program

That little hall soon proved to be too small. Since both the baptized prisoners and the brothers coming from outside shared in the preaching work, as many as 50 convicts started to attend the meetings. “For over three years, we held all the meetings there, and the prisoners attended the weekly meetings regularly,” explains one of the local elders. So in May 1995 they were given the use of a larger hall.

How do the responsible brothers determine who can come to the meetings held in the prison? “We have a list of prisoners showing sincere interest in the truth,” explain Brothers Czesław and Zdzisław. “If a convict does not make progress or misses meetings without good reason, thus indicating a lack of appreciation for such provisions, we scratch his name from the list and inform the prison director.”

During their Bible studies, the brothers also teach the prisoners how to prepare well for the meetings and how to use our literature effectively. Thus, when inmates come to the meetings, they are well prepared and they participate freely. They give upbuilding comments, use their Bibles skillfully, and apply the counsel to themselves, often including in their comments observations like, ‘I see I must do this or that.’

“In all, 20 Bible studies are conducted in Wołów prison. Eight of them are conducted by three prisoner publishers,” says the secretary of the congregation. They have had good results also while preaching from ward to ward and during their walks in the prison compound. For example, in ten months, from September 1993 to June 1994, they distributed 235 books, almost 300 brochures, and 1,700 magazines. Recently, two of the prison officials asked for Bible studies.

Special Assemblies Bring Joy

In time, another element was added to the educational program in that prison, namely, special assemblies. Traveling overseers and other qualified brothers would present in the prison gym the principal parts of circuit assembly and one-day special assembly programs. The first special assembly was held in October 1993. Fifty inmates attended, and “entire families, including women and little children, have come from Wrocław,” reported the newspaper Słowo Polskie, for a total attendance of 139. The intermission in the assembly program afforded opportunity for a meal prepared by the sisters, as well as time for fine Christian association.

Seven other special assemblies have been held since then, and the benefits have reached not only those in the prison but also those on the outside. When a Witness sister called on a former Wołów prisoner now living in town, he was rather negative at first. But when he was told that a certain prisoner had become a Witness, the man burst out in disbelief: “That murderer is now a Witness?” As a result, the man accepted a Bible study.

Marvelous Transformation Effected

Has this large-scale educational program really softened the stony hearts of prisoners? Let them tell their stories.

“I have never known my parents because they abandoned me when I was small, and I came to miss most painfully the feeling of being loved,” confesses Zdzisław, a man reflective by nature. “Early in my life, I got involved in crime, eventually committing a murder. The feeling of guilt pushed me to consider committing suicide, and I was desperately looking for a real hope. Then, in 1987, I came across the Watchtower magazine. From it I learned of the hope of the resurrection and of everlasting life. Realizing that not everything had been lost, I put away the idea of suicide and began to study the Bible. Now I have learned the meaning of love from Jehovah and from the brothers.” Since 1993, this former murderer has been a ministerial servant and an auxiliary pioneer, and last year he became a regular pioneer.

Tomasz, on the other hand, readily accepted a Bible study. “That, however, was not a sincere step,” he confesses. “I was studying only because I liked to show off when explaining the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses to others. But I was not doing much about Bible truth. One day, I made up my mind and went to a Christian meeting. The baptized prisoners gave me a warm welcome. I realized that instead of trying to show off with knowledge, I had to soften my stony heart and transform my mind.” Tomasz began to put on the new Christian personality. (Ephesians 4:22-24) Today, he is a dedicated, baptized Witness and finds delight in preaching from ward to ward.

Pressures From Former Friends

Those who learned Bible truth in prison came under heavy pressures from former friends in the ward and from prison officials. One of them recalls: “I was constantly being derided and scoffed at. But I kept in mind the encouraging words of the brothers. ‛Keep praying to Jehovah,’ they told me. ‘Read your Bible and you will feel the inner peace.’ That really helped.”

“My fellow prisoners were unsparing in the bitter remarks that they directed against me,” says Ryszard, a robust baptized brother. “‛You can go to your meetings, but do not try to stand out and pretend you are better, OK?’ they would warn me. When I made changes in my life because of applying Bible principles, I had to suffer for it. They overturned my bed, threw my Bible literature around, and made a mess in my part of the ward. I prayed to Jehovah for strength to control myself and then went about straightening things up quietly. After a while, the attacks stopped.”

“When fellow prisoners see that we have made a firm decision to serve Jehovah,” relate some other baptized prisoners, “the pressure takes on another form. They are likely to say, ‛Remember, you are not supposed to drink, smoke, or lie anymore.’ That kind of pressure helps one control one’s body, quickly getting rid of any vices or addictions. It also helps one to cultivate the fruits of the spirit.”—Galatians 5:22, 23.

Becoming Dedicated Servants of God

With the prison authorities’ permission, the first baptism took place in the gym in the spring of 1991. Zdzisław was the happy candidate. Twelve inmates attended, and 21 brothers and sisters from outside came for the occasion. The meeting had an encouraging effect on the prisoners. A number of them made such remarkable progress that two other convicts were immersed later that year. Two years later, in 1993, baptisms were held twice, and seven more convicts symbolized their dedication to Jehovah!

Reporting on the baptism held in December, the local daily, Wieczór Wrocławia, observed: “People keep streaming into the gym hall, greeting all and shaking hands with them. Nobody is a stranger here. They form one big family, united in thinking, in their way of life, and in serving one God, Jehovah.” That “one big family” then consisted of 135 persons, including 50 convicts. Let us meet some of them.

Jerzy, baptized in June, relates: “Though I had some contact with Bible truth years ago, what was in me was truly a heart of stone. Fraud, divorce from my first wife, illicit relations with Krystyna, a child out of wedlock, and frequently returning to prison—that is what my life was like.” Seeing how other hardened criminals became Witnesses while in prison, he began asking himself, ‘Could I not become a better man too?’ He requested a Bible study and started coming to meetings. However, the real turning point came when he learned from the public prosecutor that Krystyna had become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses three years earlier. “I was completely surprised!” says Jerzy. “I thought, ‘What about me? What am I doing?’ I realized that to be approved by Jehovah, I had to get my life in order.” As a result, a happy reunion took place in the prison—with Krystyna and their 11-year-old daughter, Marzena. Before long, they legalized their marriage. Though still in prison and having his ups and downs, Jerzy recently taught himself sign language and is able to help prisoners who are deaf.

Mirosław was already involved in criminal activities when he was in primary school. He greatly admired what his friends were doing, and soon he started doing the same. Many were the ones that he robbed or beat up. Then he landed in prison. “When I found myself in prison, I turned to the priest for help,” Mirosław confesses. “But I was bitterly disappointed. So I decided that I would kill myself by taking poison.” On the very day that he planned to take his life, he was transferred to another ward. There he found a copy of The Watchtower that talked about the purpose of life. “The simple and clear information proved to be just what I needed,” he adds. “Now I wanted to live! So I prayed to Jehovah and asked the Witnesses for a Bible study.” He made rapid progress in his Bible study and was baptized in 1991. Now he serves as an auxiliary pioneer in prison, having the privilege to preach from ward to ward.

A total of 15 prisoners have been baptized thus far. Their combined sentences amount to almost 260 years. Some were released before completing their sentences. One prisoner had his 25-year sentence reduced by 10 years. And several who showed interest while in prison became baptized Witnesses after being released. Additionally, there are four more inmates in the prison who are preparing for baptism.

Acknowledgment by Prison Authorities

“The change in the convicts’ attitude has been particularly noticeable,” states a prison report. “Many give up smoking, and they keep their wards clean. Such changes in conduct are evident with many convicts.”

The newspaper Życie Warszawy reports that the management of the penitentiary in Wołów acknowledged that “the converts are disciplined; they pose no problems to the prison guards.” The article further notes that those released before completing their sentences are well integrated into the circle of Jehovah’s Witnesses and do not return to the path of crime.

And what is the opinion of the prison’s director? “The work of Jehovah’s Witnesses in this penitentiary is most desirable and helpful,” he says. The director acknowledges that “in the course of their Bible study [with the Witnesses], the convicts’ values and standards change, giving them a new guiding force in their lives. Their conduct is very tactful and polite. They are diligent workers, causing almost no problems.” Such favorable comments by the authorities are, of course, gratifying to the Witnesses who work with the inmates in Wołów prison.

The visiting Witnesses fully appreciate Jesus’ words: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me. . . . They will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:14, 16) Not even prison walls can prevent the Fine Shepherd, Jesus Christ, from gathering sheeplike ones. The Witnesses in Wołów are grateful that they have the privilege of sharing in this joyful service. And they look to Jehovah for his continued blessing in helping many more hearts of stone to respond to the Kingdom good news before the end comes.—Matthew 24:14.

[Box on page 27]

“Big Child” Problem

“After being in prison for some time, an inmate often loses sense of what it means to live in freedom, or on one’s own,” the Witnesses working in Wołów penitentiary observe. “What we have is essentially a ‘big child’ problem, a person who on being released from prison does not know how to care for himself. That is why the role of the congregation goes beyond just teaching him Bible truth. We have to prepare him to become a part of the community, warning him of new dangers and temptations that he might face. Though being careful not to be overly protective, we must help him to make a new start in life.”