Ensenada Prison!
Isn’t God amazing!! He sees who we were in our past and who we will become in the future. I love how He sees us and every one of “Our Girls” on the inside of the Ensenada Prison.
"Our Girls" on the Inside
June marked our 13th anniversary of bringing Celebrate Recovery into the Ensenada Prison. In the early years we had Comandante (warden) Alicia overseeing the women’s area of the prison. She was a hard woman that was feared by many. Week after week Comandante Alicia would supervise our group and hear the gospel message. She began to soften. We developed a beautiful relationship. I remember bargaining with her to give us more women. I started high asking for 50, she countered with 35, again I went to bat and asked for 45 she settled on 35. Until recently, that was our maximum number of inmates that could join us weekly for Celebrate Recovery.
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| Warden Alicia & Cheryl |
God parted the Red Sea!!! Due to continued COVID restrictions our Prison Ministry team are now able to share the gospel to the entire female population of the Ensenada Prison. How did this happen? For sanitary reasons, our team is placed in the middle of a patio surrounded by the cells of all the female inmates. 115 female inmates are hearing the gospel shared through the Celebrate Recovery materials. This is a dream come true for our Prison Ministry team! COVID has not stopped ministry but has increased the opportunity to reach more people.
Let me share with you Victoria’s story (name changed to protect her identity)
"My name is Victoria and I am a faithful believer in Jesus Christ. My struggles are with my mind, old habits and other character defects. My life prior to starting the Celebrate Recovery program was miserable. I was in denial. I refused to recognize shameful sins that I was committing. I was rebellious, rude and very disrespectful. I could not relate to people in a healthy way. Others were wrong and I was always right. Before coming to prison, the lowest point in my life was when I started prostituting myself, drinking and using drugs. I was disobedient and very hurtful. Through Celebrate Recovery, God opened my eyes and my heart. He gave me the opportunity to know Him. I NEEDED to be incarcerated in prison to find Him. I came to prison wounded and defeated, but here in prison is where I found the hope I needed for my life, and my heart. My life has changed greatly because of the growing relationship I have with Jesus, my way of thinking and speaking has changed. Thanks to the Celebrate Recovery program I have learned to put God’s Word into practice in my life. I know with certainty that God loves me, cares for me, and has forgiven me. Today I can say that I love God with all of my heart, I trust Him and I delight in worshipping Him. My desire is to be with Him and to do His will. Celebrate Recovery has taught me how to confess my sins. I am very aware of the presence of God in my life and I am excited to share this good news in my group, in my cell and wherever and whenever I can."
Thank you for being our partners in ministry. Together we are bringing the Good News to the lost and broken. Maybe you have no idea what Celebrate Recovery is all about, check out the movie “Home Run” on Netflix. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Blessings,Cheryl & Francisco.
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