Nov. 23 - Mud was everywhere

Ministry Partners,

Just so you know, because fb took down my ........ post I will be careful of the title of each post and of the photo I use.

Another rainy night and more rain this morning. The storm last night was so violent that it kept setting off the van alarm.

Alfred did not get home until 10:30, he spent 7 hours at the shop. They had to repair the silencer on the exhaust and the injector nozzles. The exhaust was damaged by the rough roads we have been on. Alfred talked them down from $800 to $200. The company we rent from picked up $600, Praise Jesus!!! 

I was awake early before breakfast so I packed most of our supplies into the van and then met the guys for breakfast. We were off to the first prison by 8:45 but discovered when we got there at 10:45 that they were not ready for us and they asked us to return in the afternoon when more prisoners would be there. So, off we went for a 45 minute drive to the second prison. The drive was so muddy and steep that the guys both said it was a good thing that we had a 4-wheel drive as a regular vehicle would never have made it.

That prison had a small room for the prisoners and us so we did not have to be in the rain. When we finished the woman guard said she appreciated my preaching and it was not just for the prisoners but also for the staff. They had brought in two women so I was able to give each of them a donated scarf.

Then we returned to the original prison we were scheduled to visit. We had a bit of a delay getting in and when we did I happened to touch a wall......it had gold colored wet paint which had no sign. I had put my hand up to steady myself and got paint all over me. They gave me a piece of a soap bar and I went outside to try and wash it off. It was like no paint I have ever seen. Even though I had just touched it, it did not want to come off and as I was leaving my long black jacket touched the wall as we walked out though the narrow space. I again took the soap and went outside where a woman prisoner poured some water on my coat as I scrubbed with the soap piece. It would not come out of my black jacket. So, I rubbed hard with the soap, drenched the area with water and waded it up to wash thoroughly when we get back to the hotel.

There were about 125 men there and they brought in 8 women and 1 child. When we finished one woman wanted to share her testimony.  She said she had hated herself and had considered committing suicide but now she understood that she did not understand correctly but after hearing me preach she understood her current position in Christ.

When we finished I gave the women a package of 12 panties (they were part of the supplies the Commissioner selected for us to purchase) and the child received one of the crochet caps.

My right hip has returned to being very painful so after standing and preaching two crusades I finally relented and took some prescription medication.

It was a long day filled with prisoners making good choices for their lives. Their faces become so bright as they realized that they had value and by receiving Christ as their Savior they had now been adopted by God and become His child.

After traveling about an hour we stopped at a restaurant owned by a friend of Alfred's and I had my second good meal, a BBQ hamburger with potato wedges, yummy!!! It was so good. The guys had "local foods" and said theirs was also the best they had had. 

When we left the restaurant we were about a hour from our hotel but at least it was not raining.

Tomorrow I preach at a church, the only one this trip.

Please continue to pray for the details of this trip. The Holy Spirit is doing a tremendous work in the hearts of the prisoners.

That none would be lost,

Arlene