Um, just relaxing, sipping on a cup of Chai tea while snuggled under a blanket (no central heating), nursing a cold and listening to the pitter patter of the rain. The heavy rain fall is a sign of an early wet winter. It is a great day to be inside writing this letter as I take time to reflect and remember the events of this past month.
Sunday October 3 Silvia (Prison Ministry team member) and I waited patiently outside the prison gates for SJ (a name we will call her as she desires to remain anonymous) to walk through the doors of the Ensenada Prison. You see, SJ had spent 10 years confined behind prison bars. This particular day we were with her to celebrate her first day of freedom after serving her time in the prison.
There she is! From far away we could see the smile on SJ’s face as she saw us waiting for her. As she walked our direction it was plain to see that mixed emotions grasped her as she began to weep. OK, to be honest with you, all of us had tears running down our faces. Tears of joy!
As we drove away from Ensenada along the coastal highway, SJ reminded me of a small child seeing things for the first time in many years. She joyfully pointed out the beauty of the ocean, the palm trees, the boats… Wish you could have been there to see her eating her fist meal outside the prison in a local restaurant. She had not tasted Coke in ten years and thought the food was out of this world!
SJ had become one of our prize students with the Celebrate Recovery program within the Ensenada Prison. She allowed herself to be transformed and set free from the hurts, habits and hang ups that kept her in bondage. By surrendering her life to Jesus and applying the biblical concepts of the CR program in her life SJ found the healing which in turn brought the serenity and peace she had longed for.
The Prison Ministry has become so much more than just preparing for the weekly CR program. As we have learned to love and interact with the female inmates many more needs have surfaced. Most of the women do not have family living near by to help so prison officials have asked for our help in meeting some of the needs such as purchasing medications, tennis shoes, and the list goes on and on.
Recently 40 couples were married within the prison and we had the honor of baking the cakes for the large wedding fiesta! One of the women went to the hospital and we were asked to purchase the medications she needed. Another woman has a thyroid problem and we regularly pay for lab fees and medications for her.
Many thanks, to each of you, our partners in ministry for your generosity and prayers. It is an honor to go into the prison on your behalf and reach out to the women. Please pray more funds will come in for Prison Ministry so we can continue to help meet some the needs within the prison.
Recently I found out around 30 of the 1,800 men in the Ensenada Prison do not have shoes so they remain confined to their cells bare footed. If you would like top help with Prison Ministry projects please feel free to contact us.
