Can’t Have a Message without a Mess!

Here’s to the future Message!

The struggle COVID creates in Angola is very real and challenging. Our journey started in December 2019, but it was completely shut down in March 2020 due to COVID. Fast forward 9 months and we are back in Angola and the students are adjusting to our new schedule. 

We have a reduced class and we meet twice a month instead of every week. I am meeting in two locations. I refuse to see these as obstacles to stop or delay this program. I see this situation as the cornerstone for a great message. One day when I look back and reflect on my journey, I want to remember all aspects even ones considered negative. I can only imagine the message I will be able to share.

The inspiration for this blog came from my first visit back to Camp C after being off for 9 months. G.C and S.W. pinned a letter on 12/21/20 asking when the program would start again and their desire to continue. This letter will be a souvenir and a reminder of the importance of this program for the men involved. 

This is the first visit back since COVID canceled the class. As we began getting caught up, I made the comment that everything has been a mess since COVID. G.C. says, “You know Mrs. Robin, you can’t have a message without first making a mess.” WOW! I’ve let those words sink in these last couple of days. I think about how that statement works for our situation in Angola and how that statement could work for many of our lives. I know I’ve messed up things in my personnel journey and I have friends and family that have sometimes made messes in their lives. In the end, we all have a powerful, positive message if we allow ourselves the opportunity to persevere and overcome. 

I want to leave you with this thought: Have you made a mess of the circumstances in your life? There’s good news. You will have a powerful message to share one day. Remember “You can’t have a message without first making a mess.”

“You can’t have a message without first having a mess.”

G.C. Angola Prison Offender