My usual day for sleeping in.
10am I am out of bed for stand-up bed-book count. Identifications are out and ready, and I am standing by my roommate waiting for the officers to make their round.
I prepare myself a small sandwich with a bread from the chapel that the Jewish community gifts to me after every service they have which includes the bread and juice. I slice the bread in half, and on it I spread gouda cheese, mayo, and some honey. I place a few pepperoni’s and some plantain chips, then crunch them down with the bun top and enjoy to the fullest.
Time for a Cafe Bustelo Instant Coffee, and as I wait for count to clear, I check my emails, send out my good morning messages to family, and when they call for lunch I can head to the chapel and prepare for the 1pm Christian service which will be given by our volunteer, Pastor Wilder.
CHOW is called and I am out the door and over to the chapel. The Jewish community begins arriving at the chapel after lunch, and start taking down their Sukkah tents. For Christian service, we sang two worship songs. First was “Jehovah”, and then “Amazing Grace”. Pastor Wilder was on his “game” today, and had the guys on the edge of their seats with his preaching. Move is called, and a few guys stay behind to help me putting the Sukkah tents into the attic space. I have to acknowledge them for their help and attention to detail as Mr. Boodman would hand the items to Mr. Carmona-Fonseca who would lift the parts into the attic space where I was to receive and accommodate everything. Once finished, we spent a few minutes chatting with Chaplain Hostler regarding the service and some upcoming chapel events for the Christian community.
Back in the unit, I visit Mr. Rivero’s room to check up on him. I knock on his door and enter his room, as he is putting away some papers he was organizing. I notice a bowl of food on the table under the wall-mounted lockers, and in my mind I already know that Mr. Campos made an early dinner for us. “Campos is already serving your food, go get it before it gets cold”, Mr. Rivero tells me. “Okay, bye, see you later”, I tell him and head over to the Glasshouse to see Mr. Campos. “You need to stop working so much. I almost didn’t serve you because I forgot you were going to eat here”, were his words to me as soon as he saw me. I look at him confused and respond by saying, “how could you forget about me, I told you this morning I wanted to eat what you were making, and you always save food for me anyway”. Thankfully I already know Mr. Campos well enough, have built enough patience to put up with him, and he just likes to complain all the time, but we love him. Today we ate chicken with yellow rice, and a side tomato salad. I added some Melinda Green Sauce, and some roasted salted peanuts, and down it went. Time to wash it down with some water, followed by a Bustelo “cafecito”. Now I wait for count to clear so I can present a list of guys who are of Christian faith, that will need to be let out at 6pm for service since our unit is still on a modified lockdown due to a few issues this past week. Thankfully I do not get involved with any contraband that could cause me any trouble, so things like this do not worry me. Count just cleared, time to call dad then head to work.
Thankfully I ate beforehand because the officer was looking for me, as I was being called over to the chapel being it was 30 minutes to 6pm. As we waited for the move to be called for religious services, I helped some of the guys make sure the sound was good for the service. The newly acquired volunteers arrived, and after welcoming them to FCI Miami, the chaplain asked if I could give them a quick tour of the chapel, and bring them up to speed on the procedures we have in place for the Spanish Christian service.
The volunteers were excellent and we had a total of 53 guys attend the service, which is a new record for me ever since I have been the clerk in the chapel. Hopefully they could return soon for another service, though they did mention they had over 10 other persons who are approved to visit us for service, which is awesome for everyone here. It seems to be a huge motivation for the guys here to want to attend and hear from different preachers every now and then.
Chaplain Estrin walks me back to my unit, and thankfully the door was unlocked as the officer was waiting for me to return. The unit is quiet, only the head orderly and two others are out and about replacing garbage bags, and finishing their daily cleaning before they shower and get locked in. Officer Jackson unlocks the Glasshouse for me and I head in, “Goodnight Miss Jackson, and thank you”, I tell her, as she locks the door behind me, replying, “You’re welcome, no problem”.
I wait by the phones to call mom, but there is a few guys waiting. I know who I am after, so I head to my room and prepare a quick ramen soup. Either I am hungry or just anxious, either way, it was delicious, with a few roasted salted peanuts in it for crunch. My turn on the phone, time to call mom. She is on her way to drop off my niece after a weekend with her, then I go grab my things to shower, before I am able to make another call.
I finished showering and was ready to make my next call, but still need to wait a few more minutes. I spoke with my favorite and only sister, (the dog) Maggie, and said hello to the hubby. They had an eventful weekend at home with some family visits. Oh how I can’t wait to be there as well someday. Now as I end my day, and head into a new week, I do it with God in my heart. I continuously ask God to guide me and thank Him for each and every day that He allows me to live and learn new things. Thank you Father God for my family, friends and loved ones. I pray for a safe and excellent week for us all. Thank you Lord for all you do. Amen.
Eduardo L. Valdes
02499-506
October 27, 2024
22:27
