Daughters of the King. Princesses among princesses. In a fortress, a castle.
As the truck pulled up to the prison, it was just like out of a movie. High cement walls, barrels of barbed wire lining the top, nothing but dusty ground and a couple make-shift shacks, one of which was a snack stand/”office” where I was to keep my team phone (World Race, for ya haha).
As we surrendered our passports, our arms were stamped twice and we had a number written with black marker on our left arm. We passed through the security gates, metal detector, and a screening with a woman. The sun was shining as we made our way through the cement courtyard and another security room to meet with the women of the prison. We were escorted to the prison by our new friends, Zara and Marquez, an incredible married couple who has opened their home to us and made us family. They brought along a guitar, drum, and some tambourines.
Women were invited to join in but no one had to be there, as many were doing their own thing along the sides of the courtyard. We gathered around and started by singing two worship songs in Spanish. Then, on the spot, Marquez asked a few of us to share some things with the crowd of women. I am so proud of my team. Cass shared intimately about her family and many women nodded their head, understanding exactly what she meant. Relating. Caroline was doing so well at translating (and thank goodness for the Holy Spirit who is the best translator out there!).Then Shannon spoke. She shared about how God recently healed her peanut allergy (check out her blog, if you haven’t. Her name and picture should be on the side bar of my blog post or it’s posted on my Facebook wall). Mouths were slightly gapped and wonder danced in some eyes as Shannon spoke with such confidence of what had happened. Then Margot. Margot’s words moved some to tears as she shared about the true joy she sees in these women as they were worshipping Jesus. She told of back home, how the people there have a great deal of wealth, beautiful clothes, and fancy things but she doesn’t see happiness in their lives. She explained how she saw more joy and happiness in the women here who are away from their families and don’t have all the finest things in life. They were lifted so high by her words.
The night before, we had met as a team just to talk about what we might do should there be no real structure set up for our time in the prison. We had a mini think tank of songs we all knew, that we could sing acapella, as we couldn’t bring our ipods/speakers/instruments with us. Someone suggested Amazing Grace. (I encourage you to pull up the song on YouTube as you continue to read or maybe after. See how if/how it moves you today…). Thanks, Holy Spirit, for giving them that because what happened when we sang that song, I’ll never forget and truly wish I could go back to that moment right now, as I type this.
Several women were crying in the crowd. Several of us were crying. Tristiana sat at the feet of one woman who was silently sobbing, resting her hand on her knee. Understanding. It was as if both sets of princesses were just completely enamored by how great, how loving, how forgiving, how beautiful our King is. How He loves us and overwhelms us with peace despite failing Him, and others, in so many ways. Grace levels any playing field. None of us deserve it. My sins may not have landed me in a physical prison, but sins create a fortress around each of our spirits and hearts over time. Only our King has the power to break down the spiritual fortress walls and build us a beautiful castle to dwell in with Him. And that’s what I saw yesterday. I saw God’s, The King’s, sweet daughters, sweet princesses, worshiping Him in their castle. Not defined by the fortress walls of that prison but by the ornate structure of a castle He built for each of them.
Marquez shared Romans 8:35-39.
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all of these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing can separate us from His love. Not physical prisons. Not the spiritual ones we trap ourselves in. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Amen.
Women gave their lives to their King yesterday. They traded in fortresses of shame and regret for castles of hope of dignity.
We closed our time hugging, really hugging, these women and kissing their cheeks and calling them “hermana (sister)”. We meant it and so did they.
Thanks for sharing this journey with us.
Hug for you princesses and princes out there,
Lisa
