Prison Ministry - 3

After lots of prayer to be covered by the blood of Christ, we decided to go as a family. When we would all go, I would bake cakes or other goodies and our kids would go cell to cell passing out the homemade "treasures". They were used to eating watered-down, bean soup with little or no flavor and other stuff that does not resemble or taste like food. There were no chairs to sit on during the meeting. Usually they found one, a broken-up and tied-up plastic one for me to sit on or a log with a blanket on top. Everyone else stood, squatted down or sat on the (very dirty, wet, urine-smelling) floor. Trying to find a decent bathroom was another dilemma.
But, putting all the ugliness of the place aside, the days we spent visiting these brothers in Christ were filled with love, friendship, freedom in Christ, testimonies, and praises. God was changing their hearts, their history, and their future...and our's, too. They became soul-buddies and best friends. Each week we were able to practice the gift of giving. Our boys loved it.
We took the speakers, musical instruments, and a group from church once a month to have a “real” service. Even though they were saved, they were always moved to repentance and just simply grateful for their new lives in Christ. With tears running down their faces they would tell their stories… “It all started when I was six years old…”, or, “nobody wanted me and I was being passed around from family to family until finally, I left to live on the streets…” or, “I rummaged through the trash bins behind the mall to find something to eat....” “I started sniffing shoe glue so I wouldn’t feel cold at night, then, got in the habit of doing stronger drugs. I started stealing so I could use stronger stuff…”
Now I understood why Oscar had such strong convictions to continue working here. They weren’t even given a chance at life! We were blessed to be able to share the Word with them.