Today was the day.
We were headed to prison.
I didn’t know what to expect. I had to lay everything down at my Father’s feet and trust the Holy Spirit to prompt me with what to say and do.
Before we knew it, we had arrived. I entered into to the admission office and handed over my passport. The security guard stamped me twice on my arm before letting me through. We were patted down and finally were let through a locked door.
What happened next I wasn’t prepared for.
I almost physically crouched down with my hands over my head to protect myself. I was in the middle of a battlefield. The sound of bullets was ringing everywhere and I was completely disoriented.
I quickly looked back and to my confusion, no one was reacting the way I was. It finally dawned on me what was happening.
I was feeling the spiritual warfare happening in the prison. The push and pull between light and darkness was so intense, words can’t truly describe what was happening.
When we were walking to the specific part of the prison that housed women, I could feel the oppression creeping slowly onto me. But, there were glimmers of hope everywhere.
I saw a butterfly flit by—yes, inside the prison—and heard God whisper, “I am here.” I saw beautiful, bright flowers sporadically, bringing life to this dark place. I got deeper, fuller breathes when I was praying. There is true power in prayer.
And of course, there were the women themselves.
It was a low-grade security prison (compared to others) so we were allowed to be with the women—able to hug them and hold hands with them. Just be with them.
Zara and Marquez, our hanai Mom and Dad in Peru, have been doing prison ministry for years, so they led our time together. Not to mention, they are incredible singers and so they led worship and shared the gospel.
Let me tell you, it was powerful. Out of the 150 women at this prison, 50 of them had already given their lives to Christ. To see them standing in the prison walls with arms stretched wide, praising our Lord, I was blown away. What better way to combat darkness than with worship?
At one point, we led Amazing Grace in English. The lyrics in the song never rang so true as they did in that moment. It brought all of us to tears.
“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”
Even though these women are physically in prison for what they’ve done in the past, we sometimes build prisons inside of ourselves. We are locked up in certain areas and are chained down from past experiences.
Just because our sins don’t get us locked up in a physical prison, it doesn’t mean our sins are any less worse than theirs.
Sin is sin.
But we’re NOT meant to live like that. Jesus died for our sins, and in doing so we are forgiven when we repent. Washed clean as snow.
These women, my sisters in Christ, have experienced forgiveness and freedom in Jesus.
It doesn’t matter how far we’ve fallen or how dark our world seems. We can choose to repent and hold on to hope. The light always wins.
Are you still locked up in an internal prison? Are you ready to be set free from it?
If you feel led this Christmas season, prayers for myself, my team, and my squad would be greatly appreciated, as well as financial help. I’m about $5,000 away from being fully funded! Thank you for all your encouragement and support thus far. I wouldn’t be here without you guys!
