Day nineteen of the world race! To be completely honest…it feels like I’ve been gone for several months. Things at KIM are going pretty well–the soccer field was leveled off last week. The remaining time here will be spent (outside of our responsibiities at the orphanage)cutting and planting grass patches throughout the field. Please pray that the soil accepts the grass and that in a few months, this entire field will be transformed into a land where kids can come to play and encounter their Father. There’s a bug going around the squad as well. Several of us–myself included–have been sick for the last couple of days. Prayers of healing and rest would be greatly appreciated (thank you!).
Last week we had a prison ministry opportunity. The thought of spending several hours at a jail in a foreign country scared me a little, and I was hesitant to sign up. God put my name on the list anyway, and before I knew it…I was writing my name on the jail sign-in book at the front gate. A few minutes later, I found myself standing at the door of the women’s cell. We each introduced ourselves; they did the same. We sang a few worship songs with the women. I was starting to get frustrated.There were 5-6 world race girls standing beside me, and 8 women in the cell, all crammed up against the small door. Rain was pounding hard against the tin roof, which made it almost impossible to hear anyone speak. In a loud and crowded entryway, how are you supposed to start up a meaningful conversation? We can’t just stand here and sing for four hours, can we? So…I prayed, “God, if You need to speak, speak.” He did. God told us to go outside. Soon after that, we asked the guards to let the women out. They told us that because it was raining, the women had to stay inside. I’ll give you three guesses as to who stopped the rain 🙂 [God is so great]
Once the rain cleared out and the women were let outside, we spread out in the courtyard. My first conversation was with an older woman named Isabellita. Her real name is Isabelle; she added the “lita” to the end because she liked the way it sounded. I liked her instantly 🙂 I asked her for her story, tho listening to her proved to be difficult (she was missing most of her teeth). From what I gathered, she carries with her memories of murder, kidnapping, robbery, pain and confusion. Her story was hard to listen to. Each sentence she spoke was more painful than the last. I asked her if she knew who Job was. Turns out…she’d never opened a Bible. Ever. So…we spent several minutes going over “once upon a time, there was a man named Job…” and by sharing that story of suffering, and emphasizing God’s restoration over Job and his fortunes at the end, we were able to worship God together. She let me hold her hands and pray over her when we were done speaking.
We regrouped and headed to the van. Time to go home. On the ride back, it occured to me that I had just experienced first-hand how God works in our lives. We’re in prison. God comes to our cell door, and we can get up and greet Him from the other side. We can sing with Him. We can speak generally with Him. We can introduce ourselves. But at the end of it all, the rain is too loud to hear anything. There are too many people crammed around you to get too personal. Visiting hours do not allow enough time to get to know Him completely. So…He asks the guard to let us out of the cell. The guard says to Him, “It’ll cost you your only son’s life”. Because He loves us, without hesitation God agrees.
Because of Jesus, we are FREE. Free to RUN out to the courtyard where God is standing. Free to hold His hands. Free to talk to Him. Free to hug Him. Free to tell Him our stories. Free to ask Him questions. Free to listen to Him speak. Free to encounter Him fully. If you find yourself sitting in your jail cell, miserable and frustrated….if you’re sick of hearing the rain pounding, if you’re tired of shallow relationships, if you want more than just a song, if you want to REALLY know the God that keeps coming to visit you….walk up to your cell door. Push on the bars. You’ll find that it’s no longer locked. You are free to walk out to the courtyard. He’s waiting for you. Will you meet Him there?
