The sight that opened before me as I walked through the gate was not one I expected. From the outside, high fences topped with row upon row of barbed wire, guards with machine guns, men peering through barred windows...this is what I expected, and these things I did see...but once inside the prison called Pavon all expectations fled.
The interior of Guatemala City's prison was unlike anything I've seen...stalls selling food, men making hammocks and purses, basketball courts, actual streets, men everywhere-just milling around...am I really in jail? One glance at the razor wire and towering fences told me yes, but the life led within was unique to what I thought of as "an inmates life".
We made our way though the prison complex toward a building that was bursting with sound. Joyous singing spilled out of every door and window letting the rest of the world know without a doubt that this was the house of God, and that even here in the center of hopelessness, there were followers of Christ...who IS hope.
Inside the building there was gathered a core group of convicts; men in a physical prison whose spirits had been set free through the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Their faces turned upwards, their hands raised- lifting their voices to their Savior...a ray of light in a dark place.
The words of their Pastor echo in my mind, spoken in sweet broken English: "Remember...how blessed you are."
To be ministered to in a prison church was not expected...but it was incredible. These men know God. They know Him in a way I never may- they have such a real appreciation for Jesus' saving power. Their love is real, their faith is real, their thankfulness is real.
"Remember how blessed you are."
I was so blessed to meet these dear brothers. Another aspect of God revealed to me today--I saw God, I MET God today...in Prison.
Que la Gloria sea para Dios
(I could continue to write about what we did today...lunch, shopping, our evening session...all of which was amazing, fun, and a learning experience...but really, this is what is in my heart. This is how I saw God today...how is He showing Himself to you?)
Nomes Kallberg
The interior of Guatemala City's prison was unlike anything I've seen...stalls selling food, men making hammocks and purses, basketball courts, actual streets, men everywhere-just milling around...am I really in jail? One glance at the razor wire and towering fences told me yes, but the life led within was unique to what I thought of as "an inmates life".
We made our way though the prison complex toward a building that was bursting with sound. Joyous singing spilled out of every door and window letting the rest of the world know without a doubt that this was the house of God, and that even here in the center of hopelessness, there were followers of Christ...who IS hope.
Inside the building there was gathered a core group of convicts; men in a physical prison whose spirits had been set free through the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Their faces turned upwards, their hands raised- lifting their voices to their Savior...a ray of light in a dark place.
The words of their Pastor echo in my mind, spoken in sweet broken English: "Remember...how blessed you are."
To be ministered to in a prison church was not expected...but it was incredible. These men know God. They know Him in a way I never may- they have such a real appreciation for Jesus' saving power. Their love is real, their faith is real, their thankfulness is real.
"Remember how blessed you are."
I was so blessed to meet these dear brothers. Another aspect of God revealed to me today--I saw God, I MET God today...in Prison.
Que la Gloria sea para Dios
(I could continue to write about what we did today...lunch, shopping, our evening session...all of which was amazing, fun, and a learning experience...but really, this is what is in my heart. This is how I saw God today...how is He showing Himself to you?)
Nomes Kallberg
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1 comment:
The light is the brightest in the darkest place. God' love and grace is most appreciated in the heart of a repented sinner -
As your beautiful writing lead me into the prison, this old hymn came to my mind.
"Only a sinner, saved by grace, only a sinner, saved by grace. This is my story, to God be the glory, I'm only a sinner, saved by grace"
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