Order of Malta Helps Naples Jail Answer the Call for Bibles and Prayer Books

“If you’re listening for God to speak to you, the way you will hear him is by reading his Word.”

That is the advice that Donna Hausler frequently gives to inmates at the Naples Jail in Naples, Florida. As the Naples Chaplain Office Administrator, Donna’s primary role is to make sure resources like Bibles get placed in the hands of inmates who have requested them. The availability of the Order of Malta Bibles and Prayer Books plays an important role in her ability to meet that need. “Many people who enter the jail have turned away from their faith, have hit rock bottom,” she said. “Getting a Bible in their hands is such an important first step toward helping them find their way back to the Lord and helping them realize He never left them, even if they feel that they left Him.”

In addition to her administrative duties, Donna serves as one of the staff chaplains, which allows her to see and experience firsthand the heartfelt responses to receiving the Order of Malta Bibles and Prayer Books. “The inmates that I speak with who are reading the books tell me what they’re learning and how they’re growing in the spirit of God’s love,” she said. “They come back with questions and ask for more reading materials.”

Donna said the fact that the Order of Malta Bibles are also available in Spanish is important in serving the inmates of Mexican and Guatemalan origin. “People need to be able to read God’s word in their heart language,” she said. Heart language is a common term used to refer to an individual’s native language. “It lets the Word of God touch their hearts and their souls in a way that does not happen if they’re translating the entire time they’re reading.”

Whether in English or Spanish, the Order of Malta Bibles and Prayer Books are given to the inmates outright, not loaned to them as other materials provided by her office usually are. “We pray that they will take the books out the door when they leave here and keep them as important resources,” she said. “So, it is very important to be able to answer the constant call for Bibles and prayer books with help from the Prison Ministry Committee within the Order of Malta, American Association!”

If you would like to learn more about the American Association’s Prison Ministry programs, please email Craig Gibson, Chair of the Prison Ministry Committee at cbgibson@comcast.net.