I’m amped to get in the little tuk tuk and travel down a bumpy road to see those guys again. My whole team arrived and were greeted with open arms. The guards and wardens were more than excited to have us back and bringing Bibles. We sat under the tree as the guys sat on the ground looking at us waiting for a message. Tres popped up and shared with them about the unshakeable kingdom they were receiving and encouraging them to water the seed of faith that was planted. They stood up proclaiming their new identity in Christ smiling and laughing. We told them we wanted to pray for them next and we were off and running.
My team disbursed among them in three big groups and prayed for each of them. That was one of the coolest things! I felt God’s presence so strong praying for these men. I prayed protection, God’s Spirit to fill them, joy, more love and a deeper revelation of His word. I’m thinking to myself, I’m praying for these guys, I’m really praying for these guys. These could be the same guys I hold my purse closer cause I fear they may steal from me. Yeah, I said it. I’ve held my own share of prejudices and to know that God can redeem someone right in front of your eyes, that makes those predjudices disappear. You just keep praying, and wanting them to see themselves the way God sees them. You stop thinking, this person did this bad thing, sinned against me or them, they would never come to God. All you think about is, God is changing them right in front of my eyes, really? Yeah..that’s definitely faith building and I am a firm believer that God is nearest to those we think are the farthest away. That’s why the God we serve is the freaking dopest. He has hope in us when no one else does. He believes in us when no one else does, he is rooting for us when even the truest of friends abandons us. I want more of Him, I want more of Him to reveal himself to those guys! The God we serve is all over this stuff. He’s all about us being who we were created to be and he will pursue us no matter what we’ve done. I had an opportunity to share with them my favorite passage of scripture in Luke 7. I shared about the sinful woman anointing and cleaning the feet of Jesus and how no matter what we’ve done, God forgives us. They listened intently and then Beth shared about their freedom in Christ. Even though they’re behind bars, they can be spiritually free.
I left feeling like I made a difference. I was on fire and so encouraged to see people’s lives changed. I pray that God continues to send more people to that prison to disciple, encourage and teach those men. I know the Bibles we gave them will be cherished and I look forward to seeing these men in heaven someday.
