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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17
Another beautiful morning in Eldorate, the countdown has begun, only two more days of ministry after today. Even as I type those words, I am trying not to think about it.
An unexpected blessing at the prison today
Because our time at today’s prison is in the afternoon when the inmates have returned to the prison and had lunch, our breakfast was later at 8:30. We had another buffet breakfast and I must admit some things offered are so new and different, today it was liver and corn on the cobb (field corn not sweet), Pork and beans (no pork), chicken wings, cauliflower mixed vegetables and crepes called pancakes are just a few of the now “familiar” breakfast offerings.
I keep remembering the tear covered face of the inmate yesterday as he looked into my eyes and shared about his wife and daughter sending him to prison all while holding up his hand to expose the wedding band he still wore and saying he chose to forgive them.
At breakfast, Edward shared some of the comments he received from the guards and inmates about yesterday’s crusade. Although he said African men do not cry, he commented on how many, many men prisoners were crying as well as the many women inmates. And that prisoners and guards were relaying how God set them free with salvation and their “hearts” were free after forgiving. He said I needed to understand that “I am a gift to the people of Africa and especially to the prisoners because of what I teach and my age.”
Then Aaron shared, “In Africa you will never be forgotten because as you have shared the Gospel and Forgiveness message. Because of you, the Holy Spirit is changing the lives of the prisoners and other people here. You have brought change to me because I was able to forgive my abusive deceased father and my marriage has improved.”
At that point, I was setting at our breakfast table with tears running down my face. For a lot of my life I have believed and been treated as though I had no value and nothing I did or said had much value either. So, actually hearing about how the prisoners and guards feel about me personally, as well as what I have to say, really touched my heart. When I was a child and had to live with an Aunt because my mother had her leg cut off in an accident I believed a lie from Satan (it was told to me twice by the time I was one year old) that I had no value and was not worth loving because I had been given away! That lie that has echoed in the back of my mind all these years was diminished some today. To tell me that what I do has value is one thing but to tell me that I have value is another, I have value due to God’s redemptive work in me.
When I ask prisoners if they have heard, in their head, that they have no value and no one will ever love them, the number of hands that go up tells me that Satan continues to use that ugly lie. But John 3:16 tells everyone how valuable and loved we are and that is why God sent Jesus to earth, the depth of God’s love is unfathomable!
The drive to Ngeria Farm Prison was only 40 min but we arrived at 1:30 and the 590 prisoners were still in the field but we watched them walking back from the fields. We spent some time with the O.C. who informed us that he was actually a high-ranking Commissioner when I asked him about the fancy silver embellishment that was on his collar points. Then for whatever reason he said to me if I liked horses. I laughed and told him I owned 29 at one time and that I did all the training and breaking and that I was a real cowgirl. With that we went outside and took a short walk because he wanted to show me the four horses that the prison had for going after inmates that might try to escape.
When some guards brought the horses in to the corral they quickly turned and ran back to the small fired but the guards opened the stall area and chased them in again. Two stalls were open but the other two were closed so I walked up to the two horses that could not enter their stalls and started petting/rubbing its head, neck and back of the blackish horse close to me. But when I turned to walk away the second horse, a bay, pushed past the first horse and began to follow me. I turned and petted him just as I had the first horse; no one else entered the area where I was with the horses but Alfred as he took photos.
We waited for them to eat and then come to hear us but I found out later that they were told to clean up and then come to hear us, and that they would eat AFTER the crusade. It was such a powerful thing to hear them praying the salvation and forgiveness prayers and when they apologized, the guards and inmates had great fun and they later stated that their hearts were peaceful. I was glad I did not know they had not eaten as I was preaching. After the crusade, there were four inmates and a Chaplain who shared their testimony about the work the Holy Spirit had done in their hearts.
Alfred and I drove back to the hotel while Edward and Aaron came back together bringing with them the tree seedling given to us by the O.C.. Alfred and I were already eating dinner when Edward and Aaron arrived and ordered their dinner.
Please continue to pray.
That none would be lost,
Arlene
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