Empty pockets and empty hands. Given the pat down like going through airport security. Stern faces of the guards. We go through the first gate and then through a metal detector. We walk along the bars and come to a room on the other side. We are in.
The prisoners wear tan, green, and blue. Green means they are still going through withdrawal from drugs and are in rehab. Tan means they have not yet received their prison sentence. Blue means they have received their sentence and are currently serving it.
I did not take this photo but got it from Google. These are what the uniforms look like.
This is the nicest prison in Khon Kaen. The entrance does not even look like a prison. The king and queen are largely displayed on the outside as they are highly respected in this country (the king, however, recently passed away in October and the whole country is still in mourning). As you walk through the metal gate, the other side is actually quite beautiful. There are grass plots and a little shrine off to the side. Many buildings line the walkway that are painted beautiful, bright colors. I could not take any pictures inside as we were not allowed to bring anything in but our Bible.
There are roughly 5,000 men in the prison and 551 women. Out of those numbers, there are 100 men and 30 women who are Christians.
We partnered with two men and two women (Elissa from Uruguay and Mint from Thailand) who come each week to disciple the prisoners who have accepted Jesus.
Today, only 7 women prisoners were able to meet with us, but Elissa said that was still a small miracle and we were grateful for the opportunity to meet with them.
Our host played the guitar as we worshipped together. They sang in Thai while we sang in English.
Our team performed the skit of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). One of the women, Mia (not her real name), cried during the skit because it reminded her of her own life. She then told us her story.
RAW EMOTION.
At first our translator was translating for us as Mia told us her story. But then she stopped translating. And we didn’t mind. She cried as she told her story – her family, taking her mother to church, finding Jesus, finding drugs, needing Jesus even more… Mia was so swept up in her story that there was no need for interruption for translation. As tears poured down her face, tears poured down ours as well, even though we did not know what she said. Truly, it didn’t matter. It was amazing that she was sharing her story not only with us but her fellow prison mates. She may be in prison but her story brings hope. God never left her and He still loves her – and she knows it.
One of my team mates and I had the opportunity to share our stories with the ladies. We have similar stories and through our similarities we were able to connect with them in such a beautiful way. This month God has been showing me and my team mate how He can use our stories and the importance of stepping into vulnerability. I know that the women at the prison appreciated our honesty with them. This sparked more of the women to share their stories with us and tell us how God has shown up in their lives.
Even in a place like this prison we could feel the Holy Spirit moving through our time here. As I sat there listing to there stories God gave me two words for them STRONG & COURAGEOUS. These women are strong and courageous women of God. More then us sharing our stories with them I believe God wanted to show them the importance of sharing there stories with each other and how the “Me too” makes such a big difference.
There were 7 of us and 7 women who came to see us that day. We each got to pray over a woman before we left. The woman I prayed for is getting ready to be released. She was beautiful and had a big smile on her face the entire time we were there. I prayed that even after she got out of prison that she would not forget about what God has done for her while in prison and that she would find a good community outside.
God is moving. God is everywhere. Danny Gokey said it best “You always think I’m somewhere on a mountaintop, but never think behind bars”. Thank you Jesus for being behind bars! This was an amazing ministry that we were able to take part in. It’s also amazing because we just discovered that next month in Albania we will be doing prison ministry! This was just a small taste here in Thailand and I love to know God is moving in prisons all across the world, on every continent. Please continue to pray for these women and men in prison and the wonderful people ministering to them each week.
