I will preface this next blog by saying that this was the best ministry day thus far. There, that’s the preface…
On November 13th, 9 world racers left for Klong Prem and Lard Yao prisons on the opposite side of Bangkok, Thailand. Our contacts were Lordes and Charley Holmes. They were very sweet people who felt like grandparents for the day, it was a pleasant feeling. They have been operating a prison ministry for over 26 years at these two prisons. When I spoke with Lordes to set up this opportunity, she simply said, “You just have to come and experience it for yourselves.” So we did.
My first thought upon seeing the visiting area reminded me of the movie Brokedown Palace. It was a wall lined with glass that extended several meters and then continued even further around the corner. On one side, the prisoners. On the other, us. We spoke through these grates and you could barely see the lines and structure of their faces.
At Klong Prem prison, there are 8 buildings. In each one, Mr. Holmes has been working to establish a church within each block. There are many Christians behind those bars, and the majority of them are foreigners. Foreigners who made one mistake and ended up with super long prison sentences. Fortunately, God is in the prison business too. In fact, he’s all about setting them free!
The conversations with the men were amazing, it was wonderful to see them wanting to make the most of their time there. But where the Lord really spoke to me, was at Lard Yao…the women’s correctional institution.
Two women. Rosa and Marita. They come from Peru and they each have 3 children at home. They both come from “el campo” or the countryside. They were poor and they were in need of money for survival. They made a choice. And now they are serving 15 years apiece for drug trafficking. Their families cannot afford to come and see them. Their only hope is that they receive amnesty and continue to have their sentences reduced. One more thing…they don’t speak english much at all! So, door open? I think yes.
The Lord brought me to that prison for that reason. We spoke for over 30 minutes only in spanish! I encouraged them with Scripture from my spanish-english Bible. We prayed together. They were more thankful and appreciative just to hear their native tongue. How much difference can that make? The world! Thank you Lord for that opportunity.
I continued to speak with several other women at the prison. The joy in their circumstances blew me away. It was a wonderful reminder of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
“Be joyful ALWAYS, pray CONTINUALLY, give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Sometimes, I think my life sucks. I’ll be honest. When things don’t go my way, or this or that. But joy, choosing joy. That surpasses all things, even prison bars. It can change the sad or somber attitude of another because its contagious. That is what I felt. I felt the joy of the Lord.
At the end, the ladies wanted to sing a few songs to us. The words moved me in a way that I’ve never known. They sang the song “Refiner’s Fire”. There is a line that says “I choose to be holy, set apart for you my master, ready to do your will”. My heart ached and yearned for that. These women are choosing to be a light in the darkness. There are 360 Christians in a prison with over 5000 inmates. They have a church and everything. They choose to be holy. They choose to serve one master and not another. They are ready to do His will in that prison. Even prison guards are coming to Christ on account of them! Its insane! I didn’t want to leave.
After we left, I was elated about being set apart. I hope and pray that God brings me back to that prison to visit those women. They felt encouraged, but importantly for me, they lifted my spirits. God used them to reveal his purpose in me….I, Aaron Bruner, choose to be holy.
Be blessed.
