Prison Counseling
Prison Counseling
“The most important principle in counseling is to treat prisoners from heart.” said Minister Huang. “Talk to them verily, not randomly. Or from the view of an outsider, listen to their words from their heart. During counseling, they inevitably feel thrilled or mad. But never be led by their emotions. I remember when Chen JinXin’s wife came to the prison to visit him, she talked a lot about their family, which affected his mood a lot. I had to comfort her and made him calm down to read the Bible. I think knowing your enemies makes victory. I have to understand their criminal background in order to counsel them. Teaching students according to their aptitude is also important. If you want to change them, you need to know their own stories.”
Minister Huang once said, “Difficulties happen naturally while counseling prisoners. For example, the McDonald bombing, the prisoner rejected me to counsel him because he was a Buddhist and didn’t believe in Christianity. His attitude was also very bad. One day, however, he left a message for me that he wished me to help him leave the prison because he felt it painful to stay in jail. I persuaded him to put down the hared in his heart and truly repent what he had done if he really wanted to leave this painful jail. After I counseled him several times, he started to read the Bible and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ gradually.”
Almost half the prisoners being counseled would truly repent. The Bible said, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” With constant care, we can see the light of the gospel shown on them. Minister Huang brought them hope, and they give themselves chances to repent. Only if they understand repent their mistakes, God will accept them. Ways of counseling prisoners include group interview and individual interview. Chen JinXin and Hong XiaoHue were individual interviews.