I never expected to be in Kenya. I never expected to be in a city named Kabernet. Lastly, I never expected to be in a prison.
No worries, mom and dad, they let me go. Haha
Yesterday, ten of us drove out to Kabernet Prison in Kenya where we would greet the inmates and share the love of God with them. Windows down, we coasted on winding roads past herds of cattle and goats. I am still amazed at how green Kenya is. Take a look at some of the amazing views:
When we arrived the officials let us right in! It was easier to get into prison than across a border. We unloaded and were shuffled into the ward where we found the prisoners singing worship. They were divided into two groups, men who had received their sentences and men who were still waiting for trial. (Here in Kenya men may wait months, even years before hearing their sentence so most of the men are awaiting trial.)
We were then introduced and each given the chance to share what God placed on our hearts with them. For me this is always difficult because I don’t want to be seen as thinking I’m “better” or more “righteous” so I can share a word from God to some “needy” people. Anyway, I decided to share what God is walking me through currently. I wanted to be relatable and honest and not hold myself up above them. So, I shared on inner healing.
Inner healing is a process where you lay all your past and present wounds at the feet of Jesus, completely exposed, and walk through them. Processing how you have hurt others and how others have hurt you is not fun in the least but it allows room to trust God and allow forgiveness to come into your heart.
As my team members, our leaders and I spoke, God aligned our messages beautifully. Forgiveness was shown, love was expressed, God was there, and afterward 20 men accepted Jesus into their hearts for the first time.
We then were blessed with the opportunity to pray with several of the inmates needing prayer. I had literal goose bumps with how strong the presence of the Holy Spirit was in the prison. (Side note: I have not experienced the Holy Spirit before like the way I have on the race. It is crazy to literally have chills and be filled with so much joy you want to explode when the spirit makes itself known to me.)
After loving on these men we walked to the prison chapel where we slept for the night. I can for sure say, I never felt safer than I did there surrounded by guards with rifles. As I lay there that night, kept awake by the constant buzzing of mosquitos in my ears, I thought to myself… Now I can check off spending the night in a prison off my bucket list!
