Isaiah 61 has become the theme verse for my life. I love it. I memorized it. The Holy Spirit is upon me and God has anointed me to bring the Gospel (good news) to the poor. He has called me to bind up the broken hearted. I find myself letting my mind wander as I consider the part about binding up the broken-hearted. I imagine myself as some sort of modern day heroine sweeping in and fixing all of the problems in the lives of the people I meet by sharing the truth that Jesus loves them. “Proclaim freedom to the captives” – this part of the verse to me was in more of a figurative sense, not a literal sense. I have never been to a prison, I’ve never been to jail.
That is until this month…
I never thought I would actually be able to proclaim freedom to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. Now don’t worry, we’re not literally releasing people from prison, although many here in this corrupt nation have probably been jailed for no reason. This month we are working with Prison Fellowship International by visiting the prisoners at a juvenile detention center. The boys range from age 16-21 and I have such hope for their lives. These young men are the leaders of this broken nation and if we can reach them with the light of the Gospel, Mozambique will be given much hope for the future.
Our ministry includes sharing our testimonys, sharing messages and praying for these young men who have made poor decisions in their lives. None of the crimes has been serious thus far, and Team Rooted is determined to bring the light of Christ into the darkest place in order to restore Joy to their lives again. After all, it was for freedom that Christ set us free.
