Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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(9.19.10)
 
(my team… Pam, Heidi, Ashley, Chris, Joni, me)
 
I hate wasted days. Today? Not one of them.
 
Woke up at 4:00 am, packed up, said goodbyes to some Q squaders, (shout out to Cody Nelms), and climbed on the bus headed to the Manila airport. 8:00 am, our team along with three other teams, boarded a flight to Mindanao…. Followed by a two hour bus ride between beautiful Filipino coast and adjacent mountains, arriving in the rural province of Malaybalay. Upon entrance of the ministry here, we were immediately asked if we would like to head out with a team for prison ministry. I could hear the Lord whispering, “Go, be uncomfortable for My sake.� So four of us racers and some locals pile into a little van and head to the prison. Many of the men there have been waiting years for their trial.
 
(BJMP prison stamps)
 

Usually when we think of prison ministry, we think of us going in and making a difference. Well here I am going through the security check thinking to myself, what possibly am I going to do? I don’t even speak their language. I know one word, “sa-lah-ma,� which means, “thank you.�

I make my way through the entrance. Cement wall to my left, red iron bars to my right. I couldn’t count the number of faces staring at me. To say like sardines would be a gross understatement. The sight was overwhelming. Bunk beds, about two men deep, lined the walls within the cell. The floor was standing room only. We were then led to the second cell. There was something special about this cell. The pastor that brought us in says with a heavy accent, “These are my best students… they would like to sing you a song, okay?�

I am standing there, my eyes looking back and forth across the room, trying to return the eye contact of the several prisoners. Each one so excited to see us! And then they began worshipping, and the Holy Spirit filled the room. The whole cell, led by one man and his guitar, began singing praises to Jesus. Singing of hope, redemption, restoration. The tension was too much for my heart to bear.

I’m looking through red-iron bars, at a group of men, and by world’s standards, they are prisoners. Today I saw a group of men that were truly free. With great sincerity, they sang, “Lord I’ve come to know the weaknesses I see in me will be stripped away by the power of Your love. Hold me close, let Your love surround me. Bring me near, draw me to Your side. And as I wait, I’ll rise up like an eagle, and I will sore with You, Your Spirit leads me on, in the power of Your love.â€�

I broke.

I worshipped.

We worshipped.

The iron bars lost their power to divide. If even just for a moment, there were no outsiders… there were no prisoners… there was only family. It was beautiful.

After visiting three other cells, we made our way to see the jouvenile kids. They were awesome!! We hung out for a few hours, building relationships with them. They became incredible teachers for me to learn the Filipino dialect, and I became an instant comedian as I tried my best to pronounce the language. We also played some basketball… first time I’ve ever played on a fenced in court with twisted barb wire and armed soldiers around me. It didn’t matter. We all shared lots of laughs and smiles!! And got to finish with one of the boys leading us in a prayer.

As I left the prison, even though I had greatly expanded my vocabulary, the only proper response I had for everyone was, “Sa-lah-ma!�