Freedom in prison

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”  2 Corinthians 3:17

It seems odd to think that one can be free while one is in prison. Almost like the ultimate oxymoron. The amazing thing about God’s grace though, is that even while your body is being held captive – your spirit can still be free.

 On the 27^th of September, YWAM Ratchaburi, in conjuction with the Ratchaburi Central Prison and the Siam Dream Center, held a concert for one thousand prisoners. There has been an incredible openness to the Gospel amongst the inmates from the very first time that we began visiting the prison and on this day, while the numbers were much larger than we have ever had the chance to meet with, the level of openness was the same.

Inside the prison, there is very little opportunity for the prisoners to express themselves. Music, dancing, sharing, laughing – those are things that they may remember from their lives outside. Things that were taken away when they lost their freedom to the walls of the prison for whatever crime it was that they committed. The concert gave them the chance to have a small taste of those things once again –to remember some of the joys of living.

During the concert, a friend of ours shared a message about the value of life. Another shared his testimony about how God set him free from a life of drugs and then another shared the message of hope that is in Christ Jesus. He invited the people to close their eyes and place their hands on their heart and ask Jesus to come and live in them and change their lives. As we watched more than half of the thousand people did as he directed them to do. 

We don’t know where most of them are at, and what they will do with the knowledge that they gained about the God who loves them – but we do know that on that day hearts were visibly touched as tears flowed from the eyes of many of the prisoners while they prayed. They may not be free to walk outside of the prison walls, but where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom – freedom of spirit, freedom to hope, freedom to be a new creation, freedom to be a child of God no matter what you have done.

To be free whilst in prison – perhaps it’s an oxymoron, a contradiction of terms – but that’s what the God of grace is all about. We rejoice that none of us deserve grace, but that through Christ Jesus, God has made it available to each of us, if only we would believe. Amazing grace indeed!

Our fellowship of one hundred men in the men’s zone of the prison will continue, and we will start a fellowship in the women’s zone this November. Please pray for us as we seek God for guidance as to how to best meet the spiritual needs of those inside the prison. If you are interested in supporting or coming to join the prison ministry in Ratchaburi, please contact us.

Prison ministry - anti-drug campaign

In the local prison in Ratchaburi, the prison warden tells us that around 50% of the prisoners who are released from prison, commit further crimes and return to the prison. For some of them, after having been in prison, they are unable to function in regular society and purposely commit crimes in order to return to what they have known inside the prison. For many more, nothing life changing occurred in the prison and they are still the same person, with the same problems and the same way of dealing with them as they were when they went into the prison. A group of men in the Ratchaburi prison however have found hope - hope in Jesus Christ who has made them a new creation. The old has passed away and they have been made new.

We have been teaching the Bible to around 100 men in the prison for almost a year now. One hundred men that come to study the Bible - they want to change - they do not want to leave the prison the same as when then entered it. They have seen the light and they no longer want to live in the darkness.

While a hundred men in a prison studying the Bible is an amazing story, we have felt for some time that this is not all that God wants us to do there. There are 4000 prisoners in this particular prison and we want to bring the message of the Gospel to as many of them as we can.

Along with some friends of ours from the Siam Dream Center in Bangkok, we will be running a Christian anti drug campaign in the form of a concert inside the prison on the 27th of September. The prison is allowing 1000 prisoners to attend - 500 men and 500 women. We are thrilled at the opportunity and excited about what God is going to do on that day.

The event will cost us around 10 000Baht (US$330). If you would like to have a part in helping us bring the Gospel to these men and women, please contact us. If you would like to make a donation online you can do so here. Please make sure to specify that the money is for "prison ministry".

We know that this is a significant event that could change the lives of many of the prisoners forever. God loves each one of them no matter what they have done - His grace is enough for them.

Forever changed by His love

"I will never be the same again

I can never return

I've closed the door

I will walk the path

I will run the race

And I will never be the same again."

This morning I watched six men give their lives to the Lord in the local prison. My heart rejoiced with them as they made the choice which will ultimately help them to find what it is that they have been striving for - the only thing that can fill that empty place in their hearts.

We had the chance to speak to some of the men who have been believers for some time. They spoke from their hearts of what God was doing in them  and it was truly beautiful to hear.

Often when people think about a prison they have preconceived ideas of what kind of people they will find there. It's easy to say that they are sinners, because their sin just happened to be punishable with a prison sentence. My sin however, while usually not against the law,  and often not even visible to other people, is still sin. And that's where God's amazing grace blows me away - He loves me, and each person that I met in the prison today, no matter what we have done. And His arms are wide open just waiting for each and every one of us to say "I am a sinner. I need You in my life."

One of the young men stood up at the end of the meeting to share something that was on his heart. He had had a friend's name on his heart. Someone that he wanted to share the Gospel with, but who happened to be in another zone of the prison. For days he had wanted to go and share of God's love with this man, but was not allowed to. Then, last night, that man took his own life. He encouraged the other men in the group to share of God's love while they still had time to - that we never know when our last chance will be. 

And we really don't know, but may we live each day sharing His love as if it were our last chance to do so.

Walking the path. Running the race. Never again to be the same - forever changed by His

love.

Burmese Community Pics

Some Great new pictures of the Burmese community that we work in. Pictures courtesy of Clifton Jang and Brian Lew.

Soccer Outreach

At the beginning of June a team of young guys from Baan Jai Diaw (a ministry reaching out to university students in Bangkok) came to join us for a sports outreach. We have been reaching out to the young men in the Burmese community near where we live for quite some time now and this was just another way for us to grow closer in relationship to them and for them to see Jesus through the lives of some other young men.

Every evening for four days, the BJD team and the young Burmese men headed down to the soccer fields for a few solid hours of fun. On the last evening, they all ate together and some of the young BJD guys had a chance to share their testimonies with the Burmese men. 

We hope to host a another similar outreach in September.

Rice Seeds New school year

The school year in Thailand opens again this month and we are very disappointed that we will be losing a few of the children from our sponsorship program. Two of the boys have moved elsewhere with their families (they have found construction work with better pay elsewhere), and we are not certain whether they will be allowed to continue on with their education. One of the other boys has been taken out of school and has started working on the construction site here full time. 

 

On the other hand, we have had a lot of progress with some of the girls families - 2 of which are starting 10th Grade this month.(The highest so far that anyone in the community has ever studied). Their parents even seem eager to allow them to continue on to university should they so wish. We are thrilled and are praying for Wanlee (top left) and Tuway (bottom left) and their families as they continue on in their studies.

Beginning to break the cycle of poverty in Asian culture we have discovered starts largely in the minds of the parents. We have spent many hours encouraging the children to dream, but ultimately, it is up to their parents whether they will be allowed to reach for those dreams or not. For the two girls whose parent's mindsets seem to have begun to change, we hope that they will see their dreams come true. For those whose parents do not allow them to pursue the desires of their heart, we hope that they will not give up dreaming - and that they will encourage others, especially those younger than them, to do the same. For those entering our sponsorship program for the first time this year (the young children in the community who have just reached school going age), our prayer is that in the years that their children are at school, that the minds of the parents will be changed and that the parents will be willing to make that extra sacrifice of a few more years of financial struggle to allow their children to try to reach for their dreams.

God knows the hearts and the dreams of each of the children that we work with. It is from Him that they gain the courage to look beyond their own community and ask what their purpose is. It is also to Him that they turn to when they are disappointed and discouraged by what may seem like an end to their formal education. Our prayer for each of them is that no matter how high they study, that they may grow close enough to the Lord to know His comfort, and His encouragement - and to know that with a strong Christlike character, sometimes what may appear to be the end, is really only the beginning of a different journey - perhaps not the one that they imagined, but certainly one that He will walk with them.

April 2011

In January this year we opened a small library for the Burmese community that we work with. There aren’t many books or toys there – but most of the children in the community had never owned a book of their own. With the help of a YWAM Montana DTS team, we decorated one of the small rooms in the community for the kids and set up the library for them. We are looking for more books, toys and board games for the kids, but for now we are just pleased that the kids have a safe place to learn and play. Noiy now also has a place where he can always have his Friday afternoon Bible class with the kids, instead of having to have it in front of someone else’s house.

It’s summer vacation now, but the new school term starts in May and we will be continuing on with our Rice Seeds Child Sponsorship Program. Please pray for us during this period of time as for some of the kids, their parents now consider them old enough (around 12-13) to begin working.  We would like to see the children be allowed to study higher, but ultimately the decision lies in the hands of their parents.  If you would like to pray for them by name, here are some pictures of the children:

If you would like to be a part of our Rice Seeds Library project or our Rice Seeds Child sponsorship Program, please contact us, or you can donate online at: http://www.ywamthai.org/donate/?to=Ratchaburi

In February and March, our family travelled to South Africa to spend some much overdue time with family and friends there. It was such fun to watch Daniel and Naomi grow closer to their South African family. While there, we were able to share in a number of different places about what God is doing in Thailand. It was wonderful to be able to share the blessings of being involved in what God is doing here.  Noiy even had a chance to cook for a Thai evening that was hosted at the YWAM base in Muizenberg – for around 130 people!

Our children did really well with all the moving around that we did in South Africa, and it seems like they got some good practice in for the increase in travelling that we will be doing this year.  We sold our family vehicle at the end of last year and are praying for the finances to be able to purchase another one that will help us with the amount of travelling that we will be doing.  Please pray with us for the vehicle and also for travelling mercies, while we travel together as a family, and during the times when Noiy has to travel alone

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