So today I went to jail. Okay okay don’t freak
out.
But I was taken to jail.
Okay okay, the truth is I
voluntarily visited the local jail.
You can breathe safely now
Mom.
Our ministry contact told us
this morning that we would be visiting the local jail and should prepare songs,
testimonies, and possibly a message.
We of course asked the
important questions like, “What kind of criminals are in this jail?”
She replied, “Well
murderers, thieves, sex traffickers, children traffickers, and drug dealers.”
Basically
the people my Mom would tell me to avoid on this 11-month missions trip.
But hey, they’ll be behind
glass windows and bars right?
WRONG
They are out in the
open. Face to face. You can touch them. They can touch you.
Normally I would freak out and
feel unsafe. But I have almost
reached the place where nothing seems out of the ordinary. We did pray for
protection before we left, just in case.
We walked into the jail…some
of the prisoners were separated by gates.
All their eyes were on the five white American girls walking in the
door.
We finally came to a small
shack in the middle of the prison where five prisoners were being taught
English. We were introduced and it was our turn to share.
I began by leading them in
worship with “How Great is Our God”, “How He Loves Us”, and “Amazing
Grace”. We taught them the chorus
to “How Great is Our God” and “How He Loves Us”.
So here I was in a prison in
Cambodia, surrounded by murderers, thieves, and drug dealers who were singing,
“He Loves us, Oh How He Loves us, Oh How He loves Us, Oh How He Loves“.
My lovely teammate, Beth, came
up after we finished singing and shared about God’s grace. How we are undeserving of God’s love
and grace, but He freely pours it out on us.
While she was sharing, I felt
a nudge in my spirit to share. “But God I have no clue what I am going to
share!” “Daughter, I will give you the words to speak.”
Right before walking up, I
remembered a story that I knew I was supposed to share. It goes like this:
Pretend you are in a courtroom. There is a
judge and a prosecutor. The prosecutor is the Devil. They are naming off all
the wrong things you have done. They have a whole list of all your wrongs. And
finally the judge makes a decision and says that your penalty is death. But right before they take you away in
chains, a man stands up. He ends
up taking your place in the chains and even takes your place in death. The
man’s name is Jesus.
Then I read Romans 5:8-11
“But God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more
then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His
son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not
only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
While we were still in our sin and an enemy
of God, He sent His Son in our place to die for our wrongs. Our wrongs
separated us from God and we could not have a relationship with Him. But God
desires that relationship with us, so He sent His Son to die for our wrongs.
Now we can have a relationship with God if we accept Jesus’ death for our
wrongs.
“I was in prison
and you came to Me.” “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:32-46
***Update: After three days of ministry in the prison, 30 Prisoners gave their lives to Christ!!
