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 PFC Newsletters!
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Bars & Stripes, Winter 2009
Me t h Co o ke r s To So ap Co o ke r s
by Greg Von Tobel
Von Tobel, what on God’s green earth
possessed you to teach convicts how to make
soap? Do you have Jell-O for brains? Look at
these guys. They are totally not engaged.
These thoughts raced through my mind as I
gathered the six men at our clean and sober house
around a table to teach them to make soap.
What
was I thinking? These were not just any men. These were ex-cons; big burly,
tattoo-covered guys that had led rough lives and were now trying to draw
closer to God through our recovery program at Standing Stones.
For all practical purposes, the orchard shuts down from November
through February. It’s cold in the Yakima Valley, and with the thermometer
dipping into single digits, we were developing cabin fever. We had finished
all the cleaning and remodeling the house needed, and it was only January.
I was running out of ideas to keep them busy. It would be another six
weeks before we could get out into the orchard and begin prepping our fruit
trees for the growing season.
With the gloomy economy, a down turn in donations, and no winter cash
crop, I needed to make some money and keep the men busy. Oh, Lord, give
me an idea!
“Soap.”
That single word popped into my mind. I questioned the impression and
prayed for clarity.
“Call Kevin.”
I recognized these prompting as coming from God and immediately
called my friend and co-laborer in prison ministry, Kevin.“Brother Kevin, are you still making soap? How about coming to the
orchard and teaching our men to
make soap?”
I wanted to keep the soapmaking
experiment a secret because
I anticipated a negative response
from the men if they found out.
Somehow, word got out and sure
enough, the men were cold and
indifferent.
So, without further fanfare, the
day of the big soap-making came
upon us. And yes, the results were
predictable. The men were bored.
Their body language was a stiff
combination of folded hands, eyes staring at their shoes, sideways glances
and casual but noticeable clearing of their throats.
With eight guys huddled around our kitchen island-counter, my voice
wavered but I was resolved. “Today, we are going to learn how to make
soap. Kevin came from the other side of the mountains to teach us.”
As Kevin started his training, the men reluctantly began to show respect.
He unpacked a variety of scents and opened them for each man to smell. I
could hardly believe the oohs and ahs as the men smelled the jars of lavender,
pineapple, rosemary and bergamot.
Kevin showed our residents how to combine the powders to achieve
different scents. They became fully
engaged in the project as they create their
own unique blend of soap
mixtures.
Each man is given
a mold and a recipe to concoct their own bars of soap. Some like one scent,
others like another.
While melting down the wax base, Kevin brings out the last ingredient:
the color. Three canisters contained yellow, purple and green powder with a
metallic glint. The colors were beautiful, and even I was impressed.
The men are assigned a color and some scents. They are instructed to
personalize their own designer soap bars. As the project began, there was
more chatter than I ever imagined. “Add some more of this. Yeah, and add this. Okay, more of that too.”
Everyone was totally caught up in the experiment, mixing colors, adding
scents, laughing and jabbering like children, taken back to an innocent time in
life. Many addicts and alcoholics don’t understand that normal activities can
be fun. On that day, I knew they were having fun. I am so thankful to God.
Hallelujah, Lord. Amen. In the height of this precious moment, I said:“Instead of cooking meth, you’re now cooking soap.”
With laughter and a multitude of spontaneous responses someone replied,“You don’t know how accurate that statement is.”
That soap making experience reinforces our motto at Standing Stones.
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
We are committed to teaching those God entrusts to our care at the
recovery center to renew their minds. The men who come to Standing Stones
have a checkered past. Renewing their minds takes time. It doesn’t happen
over night; not for our residents; or for any Christian
committed to the process of becoming more like Jesus.
At Standing Stones, part of the daily curriculum is a study of the Bible.
We see huge strides in each man as they grow spiritually. We teach them
how to journal in the morning and how to hear from God. Balanced and
constructive conversational skills are also part of their training as they learn
to interact with each other. And most importantly, we teach them to have a
deep and intimate relationship with God.
In a world that has gone sideways, Standing Stones is a safe refuge where
the broken can come and be healed, where the downtrodden can draw near
to the Lord.
There are no dope dealers on our corner since we have no street corners
here at the end of the earth. It’s a remote and isolated setting, out on the
edge of nowhere. We’re in the middle of 40 acres of fruit trees. Instead
of sirens and honking horns, we
hear howling coyotes. Instead of
choking smog, our sky is dotted
with the silhouettes of soaring
falcons and eagles.
It’s a healthy atmosphere
for spiritual growth, where our
primary harvest is measured by the
fruit in men’s lives. Several of our
residents have already graduated
from the program. We are justly
proud and humbled by the work
God has done in these men.
With a new year before us,
Rhonda and I, and the staff of Prisoners for Christ look forward to a rich and
fruitful season of ministry with each of you. May the Lord’s care and mercy
go before you and guide your steps into many blessings throughout 2009.
Much love in Jesus, Greg Von Tobel
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