Last Sabbath, I found
myself in jail.
Yes, in jail! What was I doing in jail? Keep reading…
Imagine living day
after day of your life behind closely guarded gates and high walls.
Imagine having no
electronic gadgets to communicate with the outside world.
Imagine not having the
freedom to go anywhere you wish at anytime.
Imagine what it would
be like to be an inmate in a jail.
How did I get to be in
a jail? No, it wasn’t because I had committed some crime that landed me there.
It was my desire to be a blessing and minister to the inmates inside the jail.
Here’s the story:
In April of this year,
I had the privilege of meeting a lady Doctor who goes once a month to the
ladies’ jail here in the area. During our conversation, she mentioned to me about
her mission project there at the jail and invited me to come and speak to the
ladies for a Sabbath worship service. I was unable to go at that time because
of my schedule, but always kept it in mind and determined that as soon as I
could, I would try to visit the jail she had spoken to me about.
And last Sabbath was
the day! I was really excited, since I had never before visited a jail
anywhere, let alone in a foreign country! The Adventists have been working in
this jail for more than 20 years and have raised up a church inside with around
50-70 members (if I remember correctly). Each Sabbath, one of the churches in
the area goes to the women’s jail and does the service for the ladies living
there.
To get inside, we had
to leave all our personal belongings in a locker, bringing only our Bibles with
us. After making sure who we were, why we were coming in and getting a stamp on
our hands, we passed through a huge iron gate and entered the women’s jail.
Inside was a community,
complete with small shops for buying beads, food, cloth, etc. After passing
several large buildings, we came to the small chapel that the Adventists use
each Sabbath. Already the service had started and the little church was full to
overflowing.
Many of the ladies came
to greet us and welcome us to their church. As I listened to the inmates
singing the same hymns we sing in our churches outside, it brought tears to my
eyes. They really sing with all their heart and soul and really mean what they
are singing about. So often when we are in church, it’s easy to just sing
because that’s the thing to do without really thinking about what the song is
really saying and whether we mean it or not.
But not in the jail.
Those ladies sang with such meaning and sincerity and it really touched my heart!
I had the privilege of speaking to them about God’s forgiveness and how He will
forgive us no matter what we’ve done or how evil we’ve been if we just ask. As
I looked out over the congregation, I noticed several ladies crying and
wondered to myself what their story was.
As I spoke, hearty
“amens” came from all parts of the congregation and I would see they were
really listening and understanding the message from God’s Word. The message ended with a solemn reminder that
when we receive forgiveness from God unconditionally, we must also forgive
others for what they’ve done to us. I was so blessed to share that simple
message with them and to see the joy and happiness they had found in Jesus!
After the program, all
the ladies were given laundry soap, bar soap and some food for their meal, for
which they were very grateful. Many thanked us for coming as they went back to
their respective places.
As we slowly made our
way back to the gate (and freedom), talking with different inmates along the
way, I mentioned to my friends, “We came here to encourage them and bless them,
but we end up being the ones who are encouraged ourselves!” Everyone agreed
this was the reason they kept coming back Sabbath after Sabbath to the women’s
jail.
Soon, we stepped
through the big gate, past the guards, collected our bags and realized how easy
it was for us to come and go with such freedom. But those inside are not so
fortunate. Some of them have stayed there for months and even years. Some will
spend the rest of the lives inside.
As we traveled back to
our respective homes, all I could say was, “It is more blessed to give than to
receive.” And yet, though we had gone to give, we had received a richer
blessing in return.
My friends, if you’ve
never visited a jail or done jail ministry before, I invite you to enter an
often-neglected mission field and you will be richly blessed for doing so!
Remember what Christ
says to us: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I
was sick, and ye visited me: I was in
prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee
drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed
thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto
them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least
of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Wherever it might be,
God wants you to work for Him! :)
I would love to share with
you some pictures of the time we spent there, but no cameras or cell phones
were allowed inside.
