I was involved in three separate ministries this month (I told you there was lots to do…and thus my lame excuse for my lack of blogs). Trumpets of One went to the Rizal Provincial Jail every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12-3. Myself and Team 91 reached out to some of the local street kids, and then I always tried to make it over to the orphanage as much as I could. Here’s a rundown on everything we did this month, plus a few prayer requests.
First off, the jail experience was completely different then anything you would expect. We assumed it would be like a State Penitentiary back home, but it’s honestly probably closer to visiting an orphanage of exited kids. It turns out that some type of Christian group leads a devotional everyday at this prison. God has used this mightily and most of the prisoners have truly repented of their sins and trusted in Christ! They led us in singing worship and praise songs, we told our testimonies, and then we finished each day with a Bible study. These people are so joyful and happy. They are experiencing more freedom in prison then so many of those on the outside. Most of the time our team leaves feeling way more ministered to than the prisioners ever could be! We left for the last time two Mondays ago. We shared hugs, pictures, and even a few tears. We never imagined how much these men and women would touch our lives.
The plans that God had for us were very different than I anticipated. I assumed we would be showing them Christ’s love for the first time and then explaining to them what it means to know God. In reality, our purpose there was to build up the existing body and prepare them to be sent out into the world. God has given me a vision for this prison. These men and women are removed from society with limited things to do, and thus are in their version of the wilderness. Everything they know has been taken away from them and thus are left with nothing but God. He truly has become their one satisfaction and are being built up more and more in Him each day. I truly do believe that God is raising up a generation of John the Baptists who have forsaken all things for the Lord Jesus. I truly believe that when God’s timing has come, He will send them out from this prison to be pastors, missionaries, and evangelists. These will be some of the men and women who help fulfill the Great Commission!
Pray that this would come to pass. Pray that the Spirit of God would rest upon them, anoint them to take the Good News to the whole world!
About a year ago, a local Philippino named Den initiated an outreach to the teenagers in the community we lived in this month. He meets with them every Saturday for games, lunch, and a Bible study. Den has a full time job and thus can only meet up with the kids on the weekends. So we partnered with Den and hung out with the kids during the week as well as on Saturdays.
It’s difficult to truly describe these kids to you…they are anywhere from 15-18 years old and many of them are involved in a local gang (they even have the initiation scars to prove it). They clearly do not have the best influences around them, some of them have dropped out of school, and I know they occasionally partake in drugs and alcohol. However, they are the sweetest gang members I’ve ever met (or imagined since I probably haven’t met very many). They love to sing sappy American songs and encourage us to sing along. They love “America’s Best Dance Crew” and are an aspiring crew themselves. They even desire the physical contact that so many of the orphans crave. Along with all these things, they faithfully come to Bible Studies on Saturdays and truly know the Gospel. When we hung out, I could see the Light in them, as they do profess Christ to be their Savior. Unfortunately, they admittedly only trust Jesus “very little.” They understand that they need Him, yet the pull of their environment is so strong. An even worse problem is the lack of Godly male role models in their lives. Our last night, I observed the male Philippino “tradition” of taking shots of vodka and drinking beer. There is truly an epidemic of the males in this culture where they work hard to bring in money, but then check out as soon as they get home.
Regardless, I absolutely loved getting to know them, play basketball with them (Philippino’s LOVE basketball), and sit on the curb and listen to music with them. God has again given me a picture of them, where they are completely devoted to Christ and the impact they would make in this community. If they could truly be infected with all of the power of the Gospel, they could absolutely change this community. I was reminded of a scripture I read the other day…
“But there was found in the city a poor wise man, and by his wisdom delivered the city”
~ Ecclesiastes 9:15
