Let me tell you about the time I served in Peru! It was my first prison ministry ever! At first I was a bit nervous seeing as how we would be surrounded people who had committed serious crimes and even taken other peoples lives. That all quickly changed when we started making our way down the long corridor to maximum security, which btw there was no security in there at all lol. Just a bunch of guys in a concrete courtyard. Immediately we go into worship and the few guys that were participating were going nuts for Christ! We got to lay hands and really help cultivate the presence of God in that first section of the prison. It was incredible. Jan decided to sit down in the middle of all of them and tell them about Christ. He was totally fearless. The men gathered around him the same way the children did in Ecuador in the English classes we taught.
The next stop was, “The Pit.” Which is what some would consider an extreme form of time out, prison style. The Pit is basically a concrete hallway about 40 yards long with about 8 to maybe 10 4 man cells with about 20 men in each of them. This was probably where the most dangerous criminals were. At first when we lead worship it was tough for me to keep the beat on the regulation size djembe they let me play because of all the echoing and off beat playing by the prisoners playing drumbs that were allowed to accompany us. I’m not sure if they were used to the more modern songs we play in the U.S. We gave testimonies and a couple folks gave sermons then we ended with worship again. The last song we playd was one of there own, and I was finally able to keep a beat with it! Man, the Holy Spirit went off in The Pit that day. God let me go off on that drum, earlier I had prayed that the Holy Spirit would flow through my hands so maybe that what that was! Regardless the Holy Spirit was moving in that place, and it is something I hope I never forget.
Be Blessed,
Steven Buffington
