In a city in Thailand, there is a prison – 6,000 men, 1,000 women – and in that prison is a young woman who had a child behind bars, two months ago. Her name is Kiki, and her daughter’s name is Kauhum.
One aspect of our ministry here working with the YWAM base in Rachaburi is prison ministry. Unfortunately due to scheduling difficulties and government holidays, we were only able to visit the women’s prison once, and were unable to interact with the male prisoners at all. But our time and interaction with those women are two hours that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.
With our ministry hosts, we were able to go in and minister to the women by holding a church service, worshiping with them, praying for them, and speaking life to them.
(A few facts about the prisons here in Thailand…)
– If you get sent to prison regarding the selling/using of drugs, you are likely to receive a death sentence. It may be decreased to a life sentence if you plead guilty to the charge.
– If you murder someone, your sentence will most likely be less than that of a drug charge, 10-25 years.
– If you are a woman and have a child while in prison, you are allowed to keep your child with you until they are two years old.
Kiki’s daughter will spend her first two years of life behind the confines of a prison. She will be raised by her mother and many other women, her playmates will be those of other children being raised in prison. She will have restraints on her first two years of development, that other children don’t typically experience.
When Kiki walked with her daughter, my heart leaped to hold the small cute nugget in my arms. And her mother graciously let me, a complete stranger, snuggle her precious child. I loved this child hard while she was in my arms, I spoke life into her little being, and I prayed blessings over her life. God claimed Kauhum’s life since before birth, as well as the life of her mother, Kiki. Psalm 139. It was a precious gift that I was blessed to receive.
About 30 women came to spend time in fellowship with us and the Lord. For the first half hour we prayed and worshiped the Lord together. My friend and teammate Kristen shared a beautiful message about the love story between our Savior Jesus and us. God is romancing us, and desires us to fall more in love with Him each day. He loves us like no other ever could or would. He loves us as we are, wherever that may be. Even in prison.
After the message was shared, and we worshiped together more, we had the opportunity to pray over the women, and share whatever words/images/encouragement with them that we received from the Lord. And during this time, Kiki and another young woman, Joy, gave their lives to Christ. It was beautiful, and I am so blessed to have been with these young woman as they gave their hearts to God. Because my experience and belief tells me that once that happens, your life will never be the same. You can’t encounter God, truly encounter God, and then walk away unchanged. These women, loved by God a who’s bigger then their mistakes in life, and sovereign over their purpose and path, will never be the same.
When the time came for us to leave, I hugged Kiki (who spoke a little English) goodbye. She asked, “You come back here?” When I told her that unfortunately our team wouldn’t be able to, she replied gesturing to Kauhum, “When she older, I tell her about you, you were here.”
A moment, a memory, I’ll always carry with me. These women are a part of my story, and I a part of theirs. I will continue to lift their names up to the Lord in prayer, even after only one encounter. Kiki & Kauhum. Joy. New. Tawan.
As we walked out, I hugged another woman, Tawan (it means sun in Thai), who I had shared a word from the Lord with. My body shook with emotion, and with the power and knowledge that I was walking away from a spiritual encounter. The Holy Spirit was present in room of full of prisoners, and He was at work. And as much love as I shared with those women and those small children, I had received far more. I walked out of that prison with more head and heart knowledge of who God truly is. He frees us when the things of this world bind us. He is the lover of our souls, and He is our redeemer.
