Who doesn’t love the classic 80s pop song, ” Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper? I know that I LOOOVE LOOVE LOVE that song! It’s catchy. It’s fun. By far one of my fave top 5. I can’t help but think about nights when I may or may not have drank too much alcohol and next thing I know I find myself belting the song up on stage attempting to master the art of karaoke. Today I sang the classic pop tune without any influence but of God’s- surrounded by about 10 prisoners in the Rizal Provincial Jail. (I made sure that even if they weren’t there, the 200-ish people in that building would hear me at least..hehe) As I was singing I thought “Wow, how do I get to do this?”
The women we have been building relationships with are all amazing. Meet Beth. She’s soo wonderful…she’ll be getting her own blog real soon. The inmates in general are all wonderful. They fear God, they have an immeasurable amount of joy that is a blessing to experience and they love without holding back. I feel that they are more of a benefit to us than we might be to them. They are all so eager to share their lives with us and so eager to have new friends. When we leave for the day, they ask if we are coming back to see them at least 10 times each. Their joy is so contagious and one can’t help but bask in HIS glory because HIS presence is so apparent there. These men and women walk in FREEDOM!
The day typically starts off with an amazing praise and worship session-meaning that they are yelling at the top of their lungs, clapping off beat, dancing and no one has shame or a single care but to praise our Lord! After undignified worship, women and men split up for a devotion. Today I spoke about Beauty and God’s Beauty. (Pretty much when you are living for the Lord, serving him and pouring into him, one begins to see herself the way God sees her and that’s real beauty.)
Last week our new friends showed off their dance ability and performed at least 7 dance routines. Ever see the Cebu Prison do Thriller? Yeah.. Our new friends are trying to compete with them but here is just a snippet. Today we karaoked. So of course I sang my go to song!
Who would have ever thought that I would be so blessed enough to meet brothers and sisters from across the world that pour into me so much without even realizing it? Who would have thought I would be singing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Respect” in the middle of a prison in the Philippines? Who would have thought I would want to hang out with prisoners? Who would ever thought that you could experience being the body of Christ with people that have been ‘banned’ from society? Who would have ever thought I would experience real joy with a bunch of strangers turned friends real quick? Who would have thought that those imprisoned could teach me about Freedom? How did I get so blessed?
Living. And for the first time really living and experiencing what God is offering me beyond my wildest dreams. This is my life. 😉
