Quick picture of the area outside the prison

Diane found this one photograph of El Progreso - the area outside the prison where they park - and thought she could share after the post on Friday.

Just to clarify, they are not permitted to take photographs inside the prison - at least not that prison. Others in their party have permission and they often get usable photographs later on. That's one of the reasons that you may see a lot of pictures of Gary and Diane's time with their hosts at lunches or downtime but much fewer pictures of the actual work they are doing inside the prisons.

We also don't get to see any photographic evidence of the difficult traveling that they do. A snapped photo here and there doesn't do much justice to the hours of road travel they do to reach these prisons. And don't be fooled. This is not like a few hours on the turnpike. This is Latin America and travel is much rougher. And my mom is rather famous for her car sickness. She brings a long plenty of motion sickness medicine but unfortunately has to leave the travel cushion at home. Maybe Gary can film some video next time to give us an idea of what travel is like.

Gary and Diane's comfort with their work does not in any way come from it's ease. It comes from a supernatural work that God is doing in them to give them what they need to do the work. Keep praying everyone. It's about to get pretty amazing.

A View into El Progreso Prison from Diane

I have said previously that El Progreso is the worst prison for conditions that we have seen so far. And that fact was still true on this last trip. But I realized as we drove back the dirt road to get there, that as the community goes, so goes the prison in that community. That had not been so apparent on previous trips. It was there but I did not make the connection. This city seems to be quite poverty stricken. Even the nicer homes were in much need of repair. Upon going into the prison we came on construction both inside and out. That adds to the turmoil that you feel before you even go in. The repairs may make things better inside in the future, but now it is just a mess. It was very difficult to even walk to the meeting room. We had to navigate holes and mud and trenches and loose grating. You had to be very careful where you walked for fear of falling.

But in spite of these awful conditions or maybe because of them, the Lord is doing a mighty work there! These men are very dedicated to the Train and Multiply Program and to spreading the Gospel. They thanked us for coming and wanted to shake our hands. The leader of their group spoke a few words then Herasmo gave a short message. Gary also spoke and told them how happy we were about how well they were doing with the program. He said we bring blessings from the United States and prayers. Then more hand shaking and blessings followed. While we were shaking hands, one man came up to us and was telling us something about his wife (wife was the only word we understood). Then when he knew were were not understanding anything else, he went to get another inmate who spoke English. The man told us that this inmate had a wife who was pregnant and needed a test. He was asking for money so that she could have the test. It was sad and a little frustrating. We told him we would pray that the Lord would provide the necessary money for the test. I guess that is the reason they don't want us to take money or anything else in with us. 

There is always a story, some may be true and some may not, but we certainly would be tempted to try to help in whatever way we could. It is a very discouraging place to visit - on the surface. But there is also the Spirit of the Lord working in these men and they are "rich" in love for Him. They really do believe this world is not their home. It is always a blessing for us to visit to witness what The Lord is doing in El Progreso.

Prayer Requested

Good morning everyone!

Mom and Dad are a little more than halfway through their trip to Honduras and I'm sure will have plenty of great inspiration to share when they return. In addition, they have loads of news to share about growth and changes in their ministry. They will be telling you all about that when they return. In the waiting, would you be willing to specifically pray for boldness and wisdom and discernment as they consider all these things and as they finish up their trip in Honduras?  Thank you so much for all the encouragement and support that you offer Gary and Diane. They are so grateful and so are the three of us, daughters as we share in this mission as well. All who love them and Jesus share in this call.

God Bless!
Dena

Sharing the Gospel in All the World AND in OUR BACKYARD

Happy New Year! Gary provided the following as installment one explaining some interesting developments the ministry in the last few months. 

One morning late last summer, I found myself asking why I thought it was important to take the Train & Multiply program to the prisons of Honduras, but not important enough to take it into the state prison where I went weekly in Trumbull County, Ohio.  It seemed a good question and I can only think it was provoked by God. 

There really was no good answer, so I immediately began preparing a proposal to present to Trumbull Correctional Institution.  Based upon my experience at the institution over the previous several years, I expected a lot of red tape and truly expected it would probably be 3-4 months before the proposal was either accepted or rejected.

After calling for an appointment with the chaplain to initiate the process regarding the approval, I got an appointment for the next day.  Chaplain Kostenko listened and asked a few questions and asked me when I could start.  When I seemed confused by the question he asked if I could start the next week.  I was almost speechless and I explained that I was going to be in Honduras doing prison ministry work there. He asked when I would return and when I told him he said then we can start that next Tuesday after I returned. 

We determined to have two separate classes, one on Tuesday evenings, the other on Wednesday mornings.  I thanked him and left his office stunned by how easy it had been to get to this approved.

By the time of the first classes, I had 6 students for the Wednesday class and  8 for the evening class.  At the end of two weeks, the class size and attendance showed that we could condense the class to just the Tuesday evening and there would be 10 students.

From that point on, the attendance was almost perfect exce

pt for a few bureaucratic mix ups leaving students without passes to attend. The classes were well received and my decision to be a director and moderator instead of a lecturer resulted in some very good discussion at each class.

The depth of the familiarity and level of study of the scripture by these inmates was impressive.  They knew their Bibles and well and could quote chapter and verse with far more skill than me.  When I remarked on this to them, they explained, "All we have is time and what better way to spend it than reading, learning and memorizing God's word."

Keep a look out for the next segment of this amazing story of what God has been doing!

Celebrate the most precious gift

At this time of year, we take time to celebrate the anticipation of this manger filled with the most precious gift we can imagine. He gave his Son while we sat on earth a mess. Wounded, broken, hurting or self-righteous and not admitting our need for Him. Hard to grasp. I find myself buying gifts out of obligation many years. Buying just a little more to make things even. Ugh. But the most meaningful gifts should be those we consider making to those in need. Matthew 25:36 is the namesake of this blog and in it Jesus says, "I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."  The gifts I am giving this year that are out of THAT place that Jesus has created with that statement mean the most. As Gary and Diane continue to pursue the often forgotten and neglected in the prisons of both Latin America and in our own backyard in this country with the message of TRUE HOPE in Jesus Christ, would you consider a generous gift to their ministry? They won't tell you this but they are leaned into Him in a way they never thought possible because God is moving you to provide where they are not sufficient to do so. Hoping your giving in all areas brings hope to the world, joy to your heart and glory to our amazing God in Heaven. Merry Christmas.

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Reflecting on our time in Medellin, Columbia - Diane

We were so busy when we were in Columbia earlier this fall that there was very little time for writing or even reflecting about what was happening there. Now it has been awhile since we have been home and time has flown. As I look back, I realize what an immense privilege it was for us to be a part of those meetings. There were people from all over the world who are committed to prison ministry in their own countries. We were a part of the group sharing what the Lord is doing in each country to further His ministry. We learned a lot. But one of the special things that happened there was the friends we made in that short time. Naturally, when people of like faiths and like callings come together there was much that drew us together. We especially connected with a Pastor from Costa Rica who also does Kairos! We pray that the Lord allows us to cross paths again some day. Also we became friends with a lady from Puerto Rico who has a huge heart for prison ministry. These friendships are very encouraging to us, since many people do not understand our calling to prison ministry.
   

Another wonderful aspect of our trip was the visit to Pedregal Prison. It is a maximum security prison in Medellin. We had to go through three different security points and a drug sniffing dog! But once we did, it was an amazing visit. We learned about a program that the women of this prison are involved in called APAC. It is a structured program that prepares them for re-entering society. They are free to move around the area of prison where there are no guards. They are trained in things like sewing, that will help them to earn a living upon their release. This area of the prison was painted white and was very cheery and bright. The girls all wore uniforms that were also a cheerful yellow and white. They shared a small part of their stories and we had an interpreter with us so we did not miss a thing! They spoke about how important their faith is in their lives and their return to their families and homes.   They seemed happy and appreciative of the privilege of being in this program.

After the meeting they all came over and gave us hugs! That is the part that surpasses all language barriers! The love of Christ unites us.

As always, with every trip we are so blessed by what God has called us to do. We are humbled each and every time too. We are only able to do this in His strength and power. We thank Him for this calling on our lives.

DANGER!!!!

Usually when we are in Honduras we don't feel like we are in any particular danger. Except when we are on the road with the crazy driving and basically no rules (but we are getting used to that.) This trip, they informed us of another danger that was hidden and we had never thought about. That danger was in the mosquitoes. We have never seen many bugs of any kind there so we did not think of them at all. I had taken a small spray bottle of repellent, just in case! But to our surprise, they informed us when we arrived that there was a very real outbreak of fevers from the mosquitoes. The two fevers are dengue and chicamanga. We had heard of dengue but not the other one. Our wonderful host came prepared with extra repellent for us in case we didn't have any. They always are taking care of us. Not being very familiar with either of the fevers, we did some research. Apparently neither of these are deadly but can cause much discomfort and take many weeks to recover from. So immediately I Facebook messaged Dena, Emily and Carrie for prayers of protection. I hesitated a little not wanting to worry them. But I knew we needed the protection. And as usual, The Lord provided us with protection. We still put the spray on, but were no longer concerned. We knew we were protected.

We know that we are not immune from sickness and troubles, but in this instance we were protected. Much of the time we are in country we can feel the power of your prayers and support. We sleep fine. The aches and pains are minimal and so on. We are so very grateful for your prayers and support for us to participate in the ministry. We love being a part of God's work in the prisons and look forward to many more years of serving Him.