crimes from infidelity, to murder. The men and women are separated, and the
women live in 2 main cells connected by one common area. On Tuesday, March 9th
we were told we would be heading to the jail for ministry right before leaving.
Prayers were said in the car.
we were going to the jail a few minutes before leaving.
arrived, signed in, and walked down a small concrete hallway that led
us to a small common area. Women immediately stopped what they were
doing and
stared with smiles on their faces towards Kristi, Kathryn, Katie and I.
These
ladies didn’t know why we were there but they looked excited. Roley, a
man
assisting us with the prison ministry, explained in Tagalog why we were
there.
Within 5 minutes the common area was rearranged with 4 benches one in
the
middle and one on each side of the room. We were given a microphone,
told to
sit on the bench in the center of the room, and to start. Women
gathered around us on the
floor and looked up at us with anticipation and excitement. I think the
women
had more confidence in us than we did at that very moment.
“God, please meet us here and speak through us”.
and they asked us to sing a few songs. To encourage them to get involved, we had
them sing a few of their songs and we followed their lead. It was awesome!!
truth. The Lord was telling us to speak. The microphone was handed off to our
team…Were we willing to speak out about who God is and why we
were there? Were we willing to share our stories with these women?
Kathryn, Kristi, Katie and I took turns speaking a little about our stories and then we split off into smaller groups. Reality hit me in the small groups.
As a big group these women are easily seen as inmates but in smaller groups it
was easy to see that these women are God’s beautiful children that are in need of
His strength and joy.
These women had made some poor decisions in the
past and
this country doesn’t mess around when it comes to breaking the law BUT
that
doesn’t mean these women stop being relatable people….who are
mothers, sisters,
and daughters to those outside of the steel bars. God gave us the same
emotions to be able to connect. Different stories…different
testimonies…but relatable emotions.
God created these women for a
purpose and a plan. The women have joy on their faces but some of them
are SO BROKEN. Some haven’t had visitors in years. Some haven’t seen or
even
spoke to their children in years. Some have no idea where their
children are
because the courts won’t tell them.
One thing is for sure….God IS MOVING in the hearts of the women!
At the end of our first day of ministry in prison we were
given another opportunity to connect with the women. SINGING KAROKE! The women in
Katie’s group were so intrigued by Katie and really wanted her to sing karaoke
so Kathryn, Kristi and I became her backup singers and dancers. We stood in the
common area singing “This I Promise You” by NSYNC.
If you had asked me a year ago where I would be on March 9,
2010… I know I wouldn’t have said “the Antipolo City Jail…being used by God…talking to the women
about Jesus and singing karaoke with them”.
This is my journey with the Lord and He always surprises me…**Please continue to lift up the women in the Antipolo city jail. They are God’s children. God created them to bare His
fruit….just like you and I.
