In Peru, our squad had the opportunity to be involved in multiple different ministries. Although I enjoyed many of them, there is one that stands out to me…the prison ministry. First we went to the men’s prison where there lines and lines of women waiting outside to take goods into their loved ones. We found on open area where we preformed dances and skits for them. Then we spread out into the women to pray for them. Me and my teammate Adri started to talk to these women who had so many struggles. Some had health problems while others were just pleading for their family members. It was heartbreaking to see and hear the frustrations they were going through, and they were desperate for hope.
The most amazing parts was how hungry these women were to hear from God. After praying for them, Adri and I talked about what we had prayed for each one and without even knowing it, we had prayed the same prayers. Her prayer in Spanish, and mine in English. God was using us as vessels. And it didn’t stop at the men’s prison. A few day later, several of the girls of the squad got the chance to go inside the women’s prison. We did our usually dances and skits, and then we shared a message with how much our Father loves them. Around 100 women raised their hands to accept Christ as their Savior that day. Then we had the chance to pray with them.
I prayed with a few women just I had done so many times before. Then I had another more quiet women come up to me for prayer. There were tears already forming in her asked as I ask with my broken Spanish what I could pray specially about for her. She told me to prayer for her children. This women who is locked in a jail for mostly drugs, is desperate for prayers for her family. I’m not much of a crier and am usually good at keeping it together while I’m in ministry. But as I started to pray for her, I see the tears rolling down her face. I was speaking in English, but Hod was speaking to her in Spanish for me. When I got done with the prayer, we hugged each other for what seemed like five minutes. When I pulled back, I noticed that I too had tears streaming down my face. God was working in ways that I couldn’t even understand.
Even though I didn’t get to mean my teammate Anastasia Sloan before she passed out, she taught me such a powerful message… LOVE NEEDS NO TRANSLATION.
This is at the women’s prison with one of the guards, and Laure. Beside me has her “love needs no translations t-shirt of Anastasia.
