SOUTH RHope By Sara Shelton T


he road to McPherson Prison is covered in dirt. And life inside is not much different.


There is little color beyond the starch white of the walls, little noise but slamming gates and buzzing alarms, and little life as the women shuffle sol- emnly down the halls in straight, supervised lines. The hopelessness is palpable.


Chaplain Stacey Smith walks down the hallway greeting a group


of new arrivals. “I’m not going to say I’m glad you’re here, but I am


glad you are alive,” she tells the women. “I know you may not see it now, but this could end up being the best thing that ever happened to you. And I want to help you if you’ll let me.” She is there to offer them hope. In the McPherson Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, hope lives tucked away in the back cor-


19 Winter 2013 • onmission.com


eleased


Redemption comes to women’s prison through ministry of former inmate turned chaplain


ner of the unit in a pod known as the Principles and Ap- plication for Life (PAL) program. The walls are covered in hand-painted murals depicting biblical scenes and bordered with encouraging words. The women move freely about the unit, greeting visitors with smiles and easily drawing them into conversation. Here, there is life. “There is just a different countenance in the PAL pod,” explains prison chaplain Ken Dewitt. “You can feel it as soon as you walk in the door. These women aren’t what you’d expect to find in a prison.” PAL is a faith-based program centered on teaching


the enrolled women biblical truth and encouraging them to walk in the freedom of Christ. Women come to the program on a voluntary basis, recognizing that in choos- ing PAL they commit to 6-12 months of classes, training and service all centered on their personal growth. “The PAL program is helping them really understand


and live out the truth of God’s Word,” says chaplain Stacey Smith. “Everything about the program is life-changing.” And if anyone would know, it would be Stacey. She came to faith in Christ through her participation in PAL when she came to the McPherson Unit as an inmate


PHOTOS COURTESY PAL PROGRAM


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