Tattooed by an Ex- Assassin

Tattooed by an Ex-Assassin

 

During our time in Thailand, we had the opportunity to work with, minister to, and enjoy the company of four ministry staff who were previously prisoners. They were all imprisoned for different reasons, and were sentenced for different lengths of time. But during their time served behind bars, God brought them out of darkness into light and they surrendered their lives to Christ.Their story is a beautiful story of God's grace and unconditional love. Theirs is a story of true transformation. Theirs is a story of complete redemption. 

 

*For reasons of protection and respect, their actual names will not be used.

 

**Pi (a term used out of respect for those older than you)…

 

Pi MK – A man full of joy, reaching out to others with a ministry vision to help others coming out of prison who seek a better life and have a desire to live for the Lord. 

 

Pi K – A young man, transformed from an angry violent youth into a loving man with a heart to worship and serve the Lord in all he does. A young man who is tender in spirit and has a true servant's heart.

 

Pi S – A woman who was a former drug dealer who had it all – material possessions – who now has nothing according to the world, but has gained everything in Christ who has redeemed her and filled her wholly with the peace that only God can give. A woman who's mere presence is anointed with strength, peace, and joy. She is a sweet gentle spirit that is strongly felt just being around her.

 

Pi M – A man whose former path in life was living as an assassin, who spent over 10 years in prison, and who walked out of prison into a new life with Christ. A man who is now nothing but gentle and sweet, seeking and yearning to live a life worthy of the calling he has received by God. 

 

 

 

 Truth #1: You don't need language to connect with the heart of someone.

 

Truth #2: Loving someone when they least deserve it is when they need it the most, and is a catalyst for true transformation.

 

Truth #3: God is bigger than any sin you've committed.

 

Truth #4: Those that God has called, those that God has redeemed, nothing can separate them from the love of God.

 

Truth #5: You are a new creation in Christ, the old has gone, the new has come; true transformation. 

 

 

 

  Pi M's body is covered in tattoos, most of which were done while he was in prison – a physical pain to distract him from the mental/emotion pain inside his head and heart. Typically in Thailand, those that are marked with tattoos are members of gangs or ex-prisoners; tattoos are viewed in a negative light.

 

My teammate Alexis and I were interested in getting tattoos while in Thailand, and this is where the story begins…

 

I was on a mission to get a tattoo and started asking around even went  to the capital to look around. Every where was to expensive and wasn't working out. God had something else in store. I started talking to Pi M he said he does tattoos and would not mind doing them after hesitating because Christians don't get tattoos in Thailand. We explained it is different in the US and he took great honor and pride in doing it. 

 

Living as a marked man, Pi M is not always treated well. He is seen and treated as less than, because of his tattoos, and even more so because of his criminal/prison past. His own uncle, a Catholic priest, won't have anything to do with him. Living a new life for Christ in the 'outside' world has been difficult for Pi M. Living with a past is hard in the real world…but the good news is, in Christ we are a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come. While the world would condemn Pi M, the Lord convicts, saves, and redeems. Once Christ frees you, the world, Satan, can no longer bind you in chains, their voice has no lasting power over your life. 

 

It was traditional Thailand tattoo. Done with a stick and 4 needles in the end. (He made it him self) He used real black ink and for the color he squeezed out the ink from pens. I did a lot of praying through the 10 hr process. It was a great time to meditate on God and his goodness. This process took place on the ground between the living room area and kitchen. It made it great for eating dinner. The whole process was a beautiful picture. There was times where Pi K was playing guitar, my teammate Kayla was making dinner and I was getting tattooed. While all of us where singing out in worship. Hands down one of my favorite worship moments on the race. 

 

The night he finished my tattoo, we asked him to play a song he had written on the guitar. So he sang it to us, and it was like a beautiful lullaby. The song that he shared was close to his heart is called, "Freedom in God". 

 

"I am in the darkness I don't know where I am 

I kept my self and my heart how painful it is but I have to be strong 

God is up in the sky help me to get out 

from the very far place my life it belongs to you from now on 

To serve you only 

My life sacrifice for the righteousness 

In your way I follow 

The will of God"

 

Today, Pi M is a free man, literally and figuratively. He stands truly transformed under God's miraculous hand. When I look at Pi M, I don't see an ex-assassin, I see a man of God, a disciple of Christ. A brother, a friend. 

 

OUR GOD REDEEMS. He meets you where you're at and loves you completely, but He doesn't leave you there. He picks you up in His mighty arms and brings you forth out of deep waters, holding you up in His righteous right hand. He calls out the greatness in every one of us, and guides us in His perfect design for us. 

 

Pi M's story is a beautiful story of redemption, and I am blessed to have had him share his story with our team. I am so grateful that God placed us in his life so shortly after being released from prison – that we could be shining lights of God's unconditional love and grace in his life. 

 

God loves YOU, just as you are. His love, His grace, will transform your life if you only allow Him. 

 

*** Love is the word I have Tatted and the world is the O. Saying how I should love this world as God loves. The heart rate EKG, shows that Gods love never fails. 

  “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus love saved Pi M life and Jesus love will change and save your life too.