Angola Prison Trip
Reid Ferguson
Mission Trip to Angola Prison/Louisiana State Penitentiary –
March 13th-14th, 2018
What started as, or what I thought
was, a normal mission trip to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, ended up being
far from that. I told our team chaplain, Len Vanden Bos, that I wanted to go
into this trip with no expectations, no thoughts about what I “think” it should
be like. I wanted to go into this trip with an open mind and fully experience
all that God had in store. Little did I know that this trip to Angola Prison
would be somewhat life-altering in a sense… I decided to share this write-up to
show you how God is working in this prison and although it may not be easy to imagine
from the outside, it was crystal clear on the inside.
Last April, when we reported to
Orchard Park for our offseason program, I got the chance to meet the new
coaching staff, including our new team chaplain, Len Vanden Bos. I sensed right
away that Len is a special man. Shortly after our off-season program got
started, we began weekly Bible studies and that was when Len told us about his
yearly trips to Angola Prison with his Chicago-based church that he partners with,
Willow Creek Community Church. I was immediately intrigued about his prison
work at Angola, because of the time I spent in Louisiana at LSU. I knew that
this trip was something that would be special and that I would remember for a
long time, so I decided to stretch myself and embrace the opportunity.
Fast forward through our season to
Monday, March 12th. About fifty of us, including ten current and
former NFL players and other church members, met in St. Francisville, LA for
dinner on Monday night to brief everyone on scheduling and groupings for the
trip. We were energized and ready to go. The next morning, we arrived at Angola
and took a tour of the main prison base. Angola is the largest maximum-security
prison with about 6,300 inmates. About 80% of those inmates are serving life
sentences, but it certainly did not feel that way when we arrived. Some
friendly inmates met us, including one man nicknamed “Bossier,” nicknamed after
his hometown, Bossier City, LA. Bossier guided
our tour of the main prison and the first place we visited was their Catholic
Church that was built by the inmates in 38 days. 38 days! I couldn’t believe
it. All the paintings, stain glass windows, everything- 38 days. That’s when I got
a glimpse of how special this place is. Afterward, we spent time with other
inmates at their cells and workout gym, complete with a boxing ring and weight
room, and broke the ice by handing out hygiene packs to them. The guys loved
them! Then we spoke with a few of the guys and heard their stories and ministered
to them. Many of them had Bibles that were given to them, and it was touching
to see that others had scriptures written down on their notebooks that they
looked at everyday. It was truly incredible to see how God is working in the
lives of these men inside the prison.
We then went and visited their “toy
room,” essentially their version of “Santa’s workshop” where they made toy
cars, trucks, furniture, etc. to be sold at the semi-annual Angola Rodeo every
April and October. While walking through their workshop, Bossier told us that
almost none of the inmates come to the prison with any sort of carpentry talent
or woodworking experience. That was hard to believe because the attention to
detail was exquisite! From there, we had lunch, then went out to the yard to
watch some of their flag football league games. Once the games were over, Sam
Acho of the Chicago Bears, stood up and gave a short, but profound, message to the
inmates about what it means to be a Christian and how to be a light for hope in
a seemingly hopeless place. We then joined about 800 inmates for the first
church service Tuesday night. It just
felt so special when we walked in and took our seats, because I believe our
Christian faith is the true equalizer- we all seek redemption and forgiveness
through the blood of Christ, no matter how great our transgressions. We enjoyed
the worship music in which you could hear inmates’ deeply heartfelt singing and
praise, it was truly amazing! After the music stopped, Bossier brought up a player
panel to interview them on their daily life. One of the players was Steve
Smith, the former WR for the Ravens and Panthers, who was the most popular with
the inmates, as many of them grew up watching him play in the league and were
very fond of him and what he represents. Afterwards, Pastor Albert Tate, from
Fellowship Monrovia Church in Southern California, delivered his message. I
will never forget one of the main points he put across to us, using sports
metaphors to bridge the gap. Pastor Albert said, “If you give me a basketball,
I will shoot enough bricks to build a house. If you give a basketball to MJ,
you get the best basketball player to ever live. If you give me a tennis
racket, I’m going to hit the ball into a window, but if you give a racket to
Serena Williams, you get one of the best players in the world. If you give me
nails in my hands, I would just be a man on a wooden pole, but if you give God
nails in his hands, He will die on the cross for our sins!” And when I say the
roof almost erupted in the chapel, believe it. That is something that I will
never forget for the rest of my life.
On Wednesday morning, we were given
the opportunity to visit Death Row. I thought to myself, “I think I could
really do some good and possibly touch one of these guy’s lives. Even if I can
just make a difference in one mind, that would be a successful day.” So, I
decided to join the group and venture in. Once we got there, we were informed
that most inmates there are isolated in their room all but one hour per day.
That hit me hard, given how much I enjoy the freedom to communicate with people
daily.
Once they split us into groups, my
group went to the B block first; we made our way through the cellblocks one by
one, greeting the inmates. Once we got to the end, we joined Becky York from
Pro Athletes Outreach and Floyd Prescott, a pastor from Opelousas, Louisiana, and
stopped and spoke with a man named James. We sat and talked with him about his
story and his faith journey. He told us he had been in prison for almost 22
years, and the most shocking thing was that he didn’t know what Facebook was! This
trip kept taking my breath away and reminding me to never take my freedom for
granted. As we continued through the Death Row cellblocks, we met two men who
Pastor Floyd had gotten to know in the past few trips to Angola. The first man we met, Bobby, sang us such a
beautiful song, that we could only sit back and listen in awe. The second man,
Roger, seemed as if he had never frowned a day in his life! He reminded us that
you cannot rush God’s timing and you should always strive to live a full and
happy life. Our trip to Death Row was
very powerful and left a mark on my heart.
The final part of the trip was the
Wednesday church service. It was very similar to the service on Tuesday night,
chapel filled to the brim with worshipping inmates, singing as loud as their
lungs could handle. It was a very special atmosphere. After the worship part of
the service was done, Bossier called up a few more players, including myself,
for the second player panel of the trip. I think I can speak for Austin Carr (Saints)
and Deonte Thompson (Cowboys) and say that it was gratifying to get to answer
some of Bossier’s questions because we could tell that he, along with every
other inmate in the chapel, took a great interest in what we were able to share
with them about our lives.
As Wednesday activities ended, and
we all started to part ways, I couldn’t help but think about how great of an
opportunity this was for all of the people involved in the trip. I would like
to thank our team chaplain, Len Vanden Bos for giving all of us the chance to
be a part of something greater and experiencing this trip to Angola Prison.
Secondly, I would like to thank Pastor Steve Carter, my teammate Eric Wood, Austin
Carr of the Saints, and future HOF’er Steve Smith, and many more for making
this trip such a life-changing experience. I am already looking forward to next
year! I hope my short overview of my trip to Angola Prison encourages you to go
out and make a difference, regardless of your platform.
In Christ,
Reid Ferguson