Another entry from Diane's Travel Journal

Below is one of the journal entries Diane sent from their last trip to Honduras. It gives us another glimpse into their activities when they are out of the country. At this moment, you are probably aware that they are in Medellin, Colombia. Please be praying for vision and direction as they take on a new role for OMS in that country.

Thursday

A visit to El Progresso prison and then return to Tegucigalpa to pack for the trip home tomorrow.

First some observations about El Progresso the town. It is very poor. We saw some of the worst conditions of any town. Much poverty and very sad conditions.

Before the prison we went to Sister Lillian's house. We did not know why. Then it was explained to us that  they were presenting her with the equipment necessary to run the The Prisoners Journey, or TPJ program, in the prison. They provided her with a TV, a DVD player, and the necessary things to run the program. This was given to her at the house so the prisoners did not misunderstand that it was for them. It is for them, but it is on loan from Prison Fellowship to run TPJ. This will be exciting to hear how many become involved by it's use.   Sister Lillian's house, while nicer than many in the area, is in disrepair and there are only rafters for a ceiling. And yet she spends many, many hours working in the prison and for the prisoners of El Progresso. She has been very dedicated for many years and had a wonderful group of T&M disciples. Many of them plan to be baptized in the coming months. We look forward to sharing in that with them. if not in person then on Facebook.

I have said before that El Progresso is the worst prison for conditions of all the ones we have seen here. But I realized today as we drove back the road to get there, that as the community goes, so goes the prison in that community. That had not struck me before. There is construction going on both inside and out of the prison. And  that adds to the turmoil of the place. It may make it better inside in the future, but now it is just a mess. Very difficult to even walk to the room where they meet. The floor is torn up and there are holes and trenches everywhere. You really had to be careful not to fall! Also, we got our feet all muddy and then tracked it all over the car. [Anyone who knows Diane will know that this must have driven her nuts to get that dirty and track it everywhere!! :)]

 But as I have stated before about El Progresso, the Lord is doing a mighty work there! These men are very dedicated to the program and to the Lord. They thanked us for coming and many wanted to shake our hands. The head man then spoke a few words and then Herasmo gave a short message. Gary also spoke and told them how happy we are about how well the program is doing. He said we bring blessings from the United States and prayers. While we were shaking hands with them, one man came up to us and was telling me something about his wife. (That was all I could understand of it). Then when he knew I was not immediately understanding, he went to get a man who could speak English to translate. The man said that this inmate had a wife who was pregnant and needed a test. He was asking for money from us because he had none for her to get the test.  It was sad. I told him I would pray that the Lord would provide the money for her to have the test. I guess that is one reason they don't want us to take money in. There is always a story, some may be true and some may not, but we would certainly be tempted to give them what they asked for.

It is a very sad place to visit but the spirit of the Lord is there and they are rich in love for Him. They really have to believe that this world is not their home. 

Diane also adds:

As always when we visit the prison, we are blessed to be a small part of what the Lord is doing in the prisons of Honduras.

From the pages of Diane's travel journal.......

Sometime during their last trip to Honduras, Diane writes.....

Today we got up early and the four of us went to the National Prison of Tamara. We were meeting Pastor Miguel who came on his motor cycle and one other pastor there who facilitated our entering the prison. They said they might not let me in being the only woman, as Nora did not go because of her knee. There was  a lot of walking to get to the chapel. 

The weather was dry, pleasant and sunny  but a little cool first thing in the morning. But at the prison, unlike most times when we visit, there was a nice breeze and very pleasant. We were in an open air room surrounded by much activity. Lots of laundry being hung out, people wandering about, roosters crowing and other noises from other parts of the prison. But in spite of all of these distractions the 10 men who were the volunteers participating were  very attentive and participated very well. Herasmo did the first half of the lesson(24), while Miguel did the second half. The men did an excellent job of reading the scripture passages and most stood when they read, showing respect. There were others who stopped by or sat down  but did not stay and they did not receive booklets. But they may be interested enough to participate in the next session of T&M. The potential is great in this prisoners because of the high number of inmates 2,000-2,500. Divided into 4 or 5 sections, we were only seeing one section today. It was wonderful to be present in the early stages, so we can see the growth when we return next time. All of the volunteers came and shook our hands and hugged us. Saying blessings to us. And we in turn blessed them. 

One inmate who was not part of the volunteers to be trained came and spoke to us in English. He had a sad story. He lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and married an American girl - he also had a daughter. Then something happened, he didn't tell us what, that they made home come back to Tegucigalpa to jail and he has been there ever since. It seems so sad. But we do not know the whole story.

We decided to give Pastor Miguel one of our Spanish Streams in the Desert books. Gary signed it and everything but we did not get to give it to him. We got there first, he was on his motorcycle and when he got there we had forgotten about the book. We had to leave before he did so we did not see him after at all.  Things get complicated sometimes.

After we left the prison, we went to a mall for lunch. We had Subway and they let Gary pay. With only a little grumbling. 

This is just a sample of one of our days when we are in country in Honduras. We love going and are blessed to be a part of this prison ministry. This was an account from our last trip in January of 2016.

Train & Multiply - Gary Tells Us How This is Just the Beginning

As I have explained to some of you, in addition to the work we are helping with in Latin American prisons, God has laid it on our hearts to take the same Train & Multiply material to the local prison in Leavittsburg, OH at Trumbull Correctional Institution.

I had explained last year that a class of 10-15 disciples were regularly meeting where they were provided instruction, materials and encouragement to go out in the prison compound among their fellow inmates and begin talking about Jesus and inviting them to begin participating in small Bible studies.

That Train & Multiply class finished up and we held a graduation ceremony in December of 2015.  These inmates had become brothers in Christ over the period of 4 months when we were studying together.  These gentlemen have been meeting together now for about eight months and asked to keep the group together discussing Biblical issues, life problems and how to walk a Godly life in the prison. 

We recently started another class.  This time around, the members of that first class are teaching the material to a second generation of “church planters” for the prison.  Eleven men are now being taught the same principles by the men they responded to when asked if they would like to learn about Jesus. 

Each graduate was asked to submit 1-2 names of individuals that they thought were good candidates for the leadership training and those gentlemen were issued invitations.  Thirty one men were invited and at the first meeting 15 responded.  The attendance has leveled off at 12-13 and the enthusiasm and interest of these men is even greater than that of the first class.  I believe they are responding so positively because they are being  taught by a fellow inmate - someone who has walked in their shoes and has the same life experience as they have.

It is a slow start, but we were talking on Tuesday evening about saturation ministry  - where you contact every single person and offer them the opportunity to come to know Jesus Christ.  With a population in that facility of approximately 1500 inmates, one of them quickly calculated that between the present class and those from the previous class that if each one talked to one new person every day and they talked to a new person every day and so on, they wouldn’t have anyone new or unreached to talk to by the second week.  He has grasped the concept of multiplication and how that is the only way to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

It makes me ask, what if each of us did that ev

ery day, what would the world look like.

CAN YOU PRAY TODAY?

Gary and Diane are at OMS headquarters this week in Greenwood, Indiana and had asked my sisters and I to be praying for them today as they have the majority of their training responsibilities today. Could you join Emily, Carrie, and our families in praying for my parents to train and lead with confidence that they are going where God is leading as they train other OMS folks? Thank you!

AMAZING NEWS and request for fervent prayer!

As we have explained over the last years, we have been blessed to be able to participate in this ministry to the prisons in Latin America.  The success is God’s and the major workers are the volunteers in each of prisons who are there week to week instructing and encouraging the inmates in their discipleship and growth who deserve the credit.  Our role is one of encouragement, counseling and coaching of the trainers and to a much lesser extent assisting in the actual training of the individuals.

The results that are being achieved in Honduras by the volunteers have been significant enough to draw the attention of the leadership of both Prison Fellowship International and One Mission Society.  Through a series of meetings and communications it was decided to work toward a co-operative program between PFI and One Mission Society to go to the prisons of the world in a broader but also a deeper level to make an impact on this people group.

 

Agreements have been reached and the development of this program is taking place even now for targeting 10-12 countries in the World for 2016. 

Training Coordinator for TPJ-T&M Project 

With that said, we have been approached with the suggestion that we consider a role as the training coordinator for the project for all non-Spanish speaking nations targeted.  At this time it looks like those nations might be Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, South Africa, Kenya, Bulgaria and Spain, Burkina Faso, Togo. 

As training coordinators, we would be expected to attend each of 2-3 Regional Training sessions to participate in the training of the First Generation of Trainers from each country in that region.  We expect to train at least 2 people from each country in this Generational Cycle.  Then subsequently, we would attend and assist in the training of the next generation of trainers, expected to be 10+ individuals that will then go throughout their nations sharing this program with both believers and un-believers that are interested. 

Assisting in the training of both the first and second generation of teachers would be probably two to three other trainers from OMS.  The suggestion is that I would –co-ordinate the training and Diane would be the Facilitator/Coordinator to handle the logistics for the program in the first generation training sessions.

A few other projects have been mentioned for our attention and consideration as well:

1)      Training Data Base Development Coordinator – OMS has trainers worldwide with many ministry partners for a multitude of different Church Multiplication Programs.  There has never been an established data base that could be accessed to find resources regarding the availability of trainers and materials based upon location (geography), languages for teaching, languages spoken, possible availability for teaching a week long class as well as by program, like T4T (Training for Trainers), VCP (Village Church Planting) and T&M (Train & Multiply.) We were asked to serve as coordinators for this project offering a “big picture” and “user friendly” oversight to keep the project focused on usability of those accessing the program.

2)     Interim Church Multiplication Facilitator to Colombia for the Prison Ministry – Working with Lacides Hernandez and his staff at Confraternidad de Carcelaria de Colombia  (PFI-Colombia),  In the absence of the present CMF due to health concerns, we have been asked to fill in for the next 6-9 months at a minimum to assist this co-operative ministry to achieve long and short term goals with regard to their work in the Prisons of Colombia.

3)     Continuing responsibilities as Church Multiplication Facilitator to Honduras – Existing roles

These represent a very large scope of projects that have not 

been totally firmed up yet but should be within the next 60 

days.  We are asking for prayers for wisdom to assist us in 

evaluating these projects and our capabilities to meet the needs 

of the project.

Miguel - A Man and His Ministry

Miguel (left), Erasmo Ramirez (center left), Herasmo Ramirez (center right), Gary  (right)

During our January 2016 visit to Honduras, we had the privilege of meeting Miguel C. who was a recent graduate of the Train & Multiply Program that Herasmo Ramirez, our National Coordinator, had trained in Tegucigalpa.  Miguel heads up the volunteer organization for prison ministry. not only in the church he attends, but for the entire denomination of the Nazarene Church in Honduras. 

Miguel told us his story. which began in Honduras where he was born.  When he was ten years old, his entire family moved to the United States.  They settled down in Southern California and not long after, Miguel said he got mixed up in the gangs in Los Angeles and all over Southern California.  His parents divorced, his father had deserted them, and it was the natural progression of things that as a teen he joined his friends in the gangs.

 

Miguel said he became a very ruthless, very bad man and said there is little you could imagine him doing that he wasn’t doing.  He said, “I was a very, very bad man.”  He acknowledged he had done many horrible things and really placed no value on life.  The burden of guilt that he was carrying for all the evil he had done weighed heavily on him. He said he remembered often playing Russian Roulette, spinning the cylinder of the gun and not really caring if he lived or died. 

He was eventually arrested and convicted, and was sentenced for a very long time to the prisons of California.

Miguel said he merely existed in the prisons for a number of years when a lady visited the prison and talked to him and others about Jesus Christ.  He said the Gospel resonated for him and before he had really come to know a lot about the Bible he had come to know Jesus through prayer and experience.  He said everyone thought he had gone crazy because he was preaching Jesus throughout the prison. 

Eventually, as his lifestyle demonstrated to others in the prison that something significant had happened to him, his efforts to evangelize in the prison started showing results.  He participated in the Christian worship services and became recognized as a leader of the Christian prison population not only by the other inmates, but by the prison authorities. All of this eventually led to him being paroled after only serving 15 years of his 30 years to life sentence. 

Miguel said he felt led by the Lord to return to Honduras to serve the communities where he started out, trying to reach them with Jesus before they made the mistakes that he had made. That eventually led him into the prisons in Honduras where he serves in full time ministry for the Nazarene Church.

After taking the Train & Multiply course, Miguel recognized that this was something that he could use and work with in the prisons.  He was excited to see how he could “train and multiply” the disciples inside the prison.

During our week-long visit, we were privileged to be there and participate in the first class for Train & Multiply in a new prison, the National Men’s Prison in Tamara Honduras.  This prison has approximately 2,500 inmates.  The prison authorities gave him permission to begin teaching in the Casa Blanca Cell Block, one of ten blocks in the prison.  They also asked for a commitment from him to go into each cell block and do the training so the program can grow throughout the entire prison.  

Ten men began the training and an additional six individuals listened from the periphery of the open classroom area and were offered the opportunity to join the class if they wanted.  It will be exciting to see how God grows the body of believers in the prison.

We are so blessed to be able to participate in this ministry to the lost.

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.