Final Prison for this Week

Our day began early, we have much to do. Four of us headed to the bank to exchange money and then off to the market to purchase more humanitarian aid for Mzuzu Prison. A very generous donor provided funding to feed the entire prison of 1,083 inmates for probably about a week. We delivered 1,500 kilos (3,300 lbs) of corn for Nsima, Soya pieces for relish, sugar, salt, and a bar of soap for each prisoner.

We needed to top off the fuel tank before heading back to Lilongwe tomorrow but the lines have been terribly long at all filling stations due to the ongoing fuel shortage. By God’s grace we drove up to a station that had fuel and there was NOBODY in line. We topped up in five minutes and we were on our way. Apparently the fuel sits in tankers at the port because the money is so volatile and weak in Malawi that nobody wants to sell oil to them as they trade oil in US dollars and there is fear of a financial collapse.

Enough to feed the inmates for a week

After a photo with inmates and prison staff we were off to the hotel to get our other three teammates and head to Nkhata Bay for our final prison crusade of this campaign. It was a gorgeous drive over the mountains then down to the lake. Lake Malawi is the third-largest lake in Africa – 325 miles long and up to 45 miles wide. It looks like the ocean with crystal clear fresh water. It is the only lake in the world where Chambo (a type of fish) lives. Dyghton and Platwell ate Chambo whenever possible on this trip.

I discovered a new method for my staff to carry batteries

Arriving at Nkhata Bay we purchased sugar, salt, soap, Soya pieces, and one toothbrush for each prisoner. We delivered it to the prison an hour earlier than our scheduled visit and went to lunch at a local restaurant.

I enjoyed watching Greg struggle to eat the chicken in his Local Chicken Stew. It not quite what he was accustomed to. Several of us had a local type of fish and all seven of us ate lunch for about $24, including beverages.

Tough chicken

Half the team walked down the street to the prison while the others drove. The inmates pulled up in a truck, all of them seated in the back on top of a pile of corn. they will use this corn to grind into flour to make Nsima. They unloaded it onto the ground and then loaded it into burlap sacks.

Inmates unloading corn at Nkhata Bay Prison

There were 185 inmates living at Nkhata Bay prison this day, 9 convicted of murder and 16 remandees (not yet convicted- awaiting trial).

Prison Census

We had a very great service, everyone listening intently, all team members giving clear presentations of our testimonies and Bible messages, and very thankful prison staff.

The Officer in Charge thanked us for coming and encouraged us by quoting a couple of the scriptures we had referenced in our messages. He told us that nobody had done anything like this for them as long as he has been there. We have, of course, been to this prison in the past, but it was before he had been assigned there.

We had a PA system at this prison so Dyghton played and sang a song for them to which they all got to their feet and began dancing. It was wonderful to see the joy so many of these inmates have despite their terrible situation because of their faith in Christ – they have a hope that cannot be lost.

Presenting gifts

After the service we drove less than a mile to the bay and took some photos and purchased a few trinkets from some local vendors. The weather has been perfect this entire trip, a little cooler in the morning, warming up to about 80 degrees in the afternoon with abundant sunshine.

On the shores of Nkhata Bay

We went to dinner at an Indian restaurant when we returned home to Mzuzu. Dyghton’s wife and his nine-year-old daughter joined us. Don played some games with her while we waited for our food.

We visited Dyghton’s church and met his Senior Pastor. We visited for a few minutes and prayed for him before heading back to the hotel for the night. Paul played the best practical joke on Greg that I’ve seen in a long time. He told Greg that his correctly-buttoned shirt was buttoned incorrectly so Greg unbuttoned it and Paul held the shirt askew while Greg re-buttoned it incorrectly.

Patenting a new clothing trend

The next morning Greg came to breakfast with arrows drawn on each side of his shirt next to the buttons. We all had a good laugh and decided he would be wise to patent this invention.

Greg can dress himself now

We began our six-hour drive back to Lilongwe at 7:00am. We took a different route this time, a little further but faster because the road wasn’t full of potholes – also a much more comfortable drive with less jarring and bumping

Oops

Malawi is such a beautiful country, lush green and mountainous. There were incredible views as we drove over mountain passes and past Rocky spires. We stopped at a filling station to switch drivers where we ran into a couple guys pedaling fat bikes. Paul and I walked over to talk to them – one was Canadian and the other was from Germany. They have been pedaling for three months – they started in Cape Town, South Africa and are hoping to get to Nairobi before they have to return home. That continued a long conversation in the van about cycling and other adventures.

Upon return to the hotel we conducted our audit with Dyghton to learn more details about his ministry and his family and then retired to bed after dinner.

Dyghton Mbewe

Tomorrow we begin our 36-hour journey home. We have a four-hour flight to Addis Ababa followed by a 17 1/2 hour flight to Chicago with a stop in Dublin (but we stay on the plane) and then another five-hour flight to Seattle. Paul will separate from us in Chicago and fly to California. It’s been a great trip but I’m quite certain we are all looking forward to being home with our families. Personally, I look forward to giving my wife a big hug and to comfort each other after the loss of our dear Finian and then lying on the floor with Fergus, sucking up and doling out as much puppy-love as I can and playing with Harlow.

Fergus and Harlow

Mzuzu-Bound

We left the hotel at 5:10am for our six-hour drive to Mzuzu where we will stay two nights while we visit Central Prison and Nkhata Bay Prison, both of which I have visited in previous campaigns.

The sun rose at precisely 6:00am. Because we are so close to the equator the days are twelve hours year-round. We stopped to top off the tank because we don’t dare let it get below 1/2 tank due to the fuel shortage. The filling station was empty but one of the employees had a 20 liter jug at home – people are buying up fuel and then selling it at high prices when the stations run out. We paid the equivalent of about $9/gallon.

Speaking of money, the exchange rate is 1,450 Kwacha to the dollar. Pictured below is a stack of Kwacha the equivalent to about $300. We go to the bank to exchange ten 100 dollar bills and walk out with a wad of bills. The largest bill is worth about $3.44 and the smallest bill (20MK) is worth about a penny – less than the paper it’s printed on.

We arrived at the hotel in Mzuzu then Paul left with Dyghton and Platwell to get humanitarian aid. They returned after almost two hours and we all headed to the prison for our crusade.

Paul purchased 1,500 kilos (3,200 lbs) of Maize flour so the inmates can have Nsima. The prisons struggle to have enough food to feed the inmates. As at all Malawi prisons the inmate cook for themselves, often only with food brought by their families.

We met with the OC, who was very receptive and glad to have us there. He knows Dyghton well as this is the Prison Dyghton visits two or three times per month.

We entered the 1,100 inmate prison to a huge crowd gathered in the courtyard. We were able to take many photos and videos but I have to be very careful which ones I share, so if you want to see them you’ll have to ask me to come share at your small group or your church. I’d love to come share about prison ministry and bring awareness to the people of the U.S. about the need to share the love of Christ with prisoners.

We had a great response from the inmates. Several came forward for prayer.

Inmates Praying

The service went great. Paul, Greg and I went to the men with Dyghton while Carol and Don were accompanied by Platwell to visit the women.

We make a great team. We’ve done this so much that we’ve learned to read off each other and put together a seamless presentation/crusade on-the-go.

Carol, Don and Platwell finished earlier than us so they joined us in the men’s prison while we finished.

Platwell sang a couple songs afterward while the men danced around him.

Before heading to dinner at an Indian restaurant we took some photos with a couple of the local volunteers from Dyghton’s church and took some team photos.

Tomorrow we travel an hour to Nkhata Bay prison for our last crusade of this campaign. We are all at the hotel resting for the evening.

Finian Died Last Night

My beloved Finian, my best bud of over twelve years, went to sleep peacefully this morning at 7:15am Malawi time. I called Susan Sunday night before bed and she told me he wasn’t doing well. When I awoke and called her at 4:00am my time (7:00pm Finian time) she said he hadn’t gotten up all day. We had to make the call.

I went out on the deck of the hotel to sob and watched the beautiful sunrise, displaying the glory of God’s creation. I reflected upon how beautiful heaven will be, and the wonder of the. We earth when He makes all things new.

The veterinarian came to the house and confirmed he was dying and assured us the time was right. I was able to be with Susan and Finian on FaceTime when they helped him to sleep and die peacefully. I miss him so. I suspected that I may not see him again so I said my goodbyes before I left the house last week. That doesn’t make it any easier.

Finian peacefully sleeping as we said goodbye

I missed breakfast so they packaged it in styrofoam so I could eat it on the road. We headed out 30 minutes late for the prison, which we were told was an hour away. Lydia and Celline were able to stay at the hotel with Platwell last night (a real treat for them) and we dropped her off close to home as we left town.

Platwell, Lydia and Celline

By the time we arrived in the town and bought humanitarian aid and got to the prison it was 10:30am – we were scheduled to be there at 9:00. Fortunately, we weren’t the only ones who were late… the prison was vacant!!!

Mountains outside Zomba

This was, as we understand it, a rehabilitation center that was operated by Prison Fellowship Malawi. Apparently funding was no longer available so they turned over the facility to the government and they have pardoned all of the prisoners and shut the facility down. There were a couple staff members there in the office but there is no prison crusade to be held here today.

Oops, nobody’s here

Waiting to go to prison

Platwell called the government Prison office and they graciously gave us authorization to go to a different prison 45 minutes away – off we went.

Trouble and Mischief

We turned off the highway and drove through some residential areas on very rough roads, asking where the prison was, and eventually arrived at a small prison with about 300 inmates. When we arrived the officer at the gate said “We were told you were coming, welcome”.

A family sorting corn for Nsima (a staple food)

The gate was opened and we drove our van into the small parking area adjacent the offices and the prison entrance. The OC immediately welcomed us to come to his office. I introduced our ministry and our team and then explained our goals for ministry in Malawi and around the world – he was happy and encouraged. He asked if there were plans to open any IBIs (Bible Colleges) in Malawi, which Dyghton and Platwell confirmed.

I presented him with our customary gifts. His wife also came in, she works in the commissary and handles the rations. The chaplain also entered with her and then Don prayed for the OC and his prison.

Several inmates unloaded the van and stacked the sugar, salt, soap, lotion and Bibles in front of the prison entrance and we took a few photos with the prison officials.

We entered the prison to the cheers of about three hundred inmates seated in the small courtyard awaiting our entrance. I’m always overjoyed to find them so excited to see us. I suppose this is evidence of how rarely they see visitors and how needy they are of programs like ours. The world has forgotten the prisoners.

We held a great crusade. All of the inmates were engaged and listening intently. The eight ladies and their two children were, as usual, seated to the side of the courtyard in their own area, separated from the men. Everyone listened intently with little or no chattering in the crowd during the entire hour we were with them.

After a very clear gospel presentation about 100 men came forward to express a new-found faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing that it is only through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Son of God that we can receive forgiveness of our sins and be reconciled to Him.

Dyghton prayed for healing for all that came forward to receive such prayer and then Greg prayed for the inmate church leaders.

Greg presented gifts to the inmates including two soccer balls (one for the men and one for the women) and taught them the PFC handshake.

After saying our goodbyes Carol took the Days for Girls sanitary napkin packages to the ladies. One of the officers went with her but quickly left her alone with the ladies when he saw what she was presenting.

20 minutes after leaving the prison we stopped at a restaurant for chicken, rice and spinach lunch. Meals and beverages for seven was about $17 US (24,500 Kwacha). The Malawian Kwacha bills have so little value it’s like paying for a meal with nickels and dimes, but made of paper. When exchanging $1,000 (ten bills) we get four stacks/wads of paper money totaling 1,450,000 – the largest bill is worth 5,000 Kwacha ($3.44 US).

Return to Domasi Prison

Breakfast was at 6:30am, after loading the van for our five-hour trip to Zomba. Our meal was the same as previous days, which is quite adequate and well-prepared. It sure has been nice to stay in one place for three nights in a row.

We left the hotel a few minutes later than planned at 7:15am. We drove slowly through the center of Lilongwe and then onto the highways for our long journey. Paul had shared from Numbers 14, speaking of the faith of Caleb and Joshua, and referring to the call for all of us to live in faith and without doubt or grumbling. I took the opportunity of much time in the car to read through the book of Numbers.

We stopped along the way for a rest break and there was a tanker at the filling station – Platwell decided it would not be good to wait as it could be a couple hours. Fortunately we stumbled by a filling station an hour later that had fuel and no line because it is far outside the cities. We filled the tank at a reasonable price and continued on our way to Zomba.

We stopped along the way to buy humanitarian aid at a grocery market – we couldn’t exchange money because today is Sunday so we had to find a store that would accept a credit card. We bought sugar, salt, soap and lotion. We came out well under budget with plenty of gifts for all of the inmates at Domasi Prison.

An hour later we arrived at the prison and waited in the warm sun for about ten minutes while Platwell talked with the guards at the gate, apparently waiting for confirmation that we were expected. The gate was opened and we drove to the front door of the prison.

The OC greeted us outside and ordered a few of the inmates to unload all of the humanitarian aid from the van. They stacked it on the stairs for a photo op. We were welcomed inside and he led us down a very dark hallway to a very small room which, I believe, served as his office. This was the strangest place I have ever experienced meeting with an Officer in Charge.

Carol explained who we are and described our ministry and then gave the OC our usual array of gifts. We prayed for him and then he led us in to the prison courtyard where 300 inmates were gathered to greet us.

293 Men and 21 Women

I remember this prison well, I was here in 2015 with Greg and Nathan Schaefer on his first PFC mission trip. The courtyard was warm from a heavy sun and all of the men were seated on the ground. They all began cheering when we entered, the excitement was intense. A few minutes later the ladies entered the courtyard and were seated to the side, away from the men.

Don Preaching

Don opened our service with the IGL message and he served as Emcee. He turned it over to Paul to give his testimony and then Don gave a short sermon. Platwell finished the service with the long sermon and then Carol gave the altar call.

Carol’s Altar Call

Women and their babies

Greg then offered a healing prayer and prayed for the inmate church leaders before handing the afternoon over to Paul who presented gifts and shared the PFC handshake. The crowd erupted with a roar when Paul threw them a new soccer ball.

Carol and I gave the Days for Girls products to the ladies.

The entire service was full of excitement, the men and women were very happy to have us their, the church leaders were glad to receive Bibles and to have us pray for them.

Officer in Charge

Throughout the service I was able to walk around and take photos and record video on our GoPro. The men were cooking Nsima in the center, covered area and many men were lingering around in the cooking room and restrooms/shower area.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0111.JPG

When the service ended they were going to put the men back in their cells but they let us leave while they were all still outside with us.

After exiting we grabbed another soccer ball from the van and gave it to the ladies, who were gathered outside with the female officer.

Watching Don Preach

The drive back to town was only about 20 minutes. We stopped for pizza for about 90 minutes and then drove a long dirt road up the hill to tonight’s hotel.

Platwell’s wife, Lydia, was there with their 4 month old baby, Celline. I forgot to get a photo. We visited for a little while and then we all went our ways for the evening. Tomorrow is another early day… 6:15 breakfast, hitting the road at 7:00am and driving one hour to the prison after buying humanitarian aid. We then have another five hour drive back to Lilongwe where we will stay one night before heading north to Mzuzu and Nkatha Bay Prisons for two nights.

Signing off, it’s late and I’m exhausted.

Lilongwe Conference

Today was conference day. After a solid six hours sleep I awoke early again at about 4:00pm. I created my blog post from yesterday, read the gospel of Mark, and enjoyed some time outside after sunrise.

We left for the conference at 8:30 and arrived to find a wedding ceremony being completed at the church. This was a couple renewing their vows after 25 years at 6:00am. There was a full wedding party there, everyone dressed to the T and a full celebration. Apparently they did it this early in the morning because we were scheduled to use the church at 9:00am. I tried to take a picture OF them but they had me stand in the photo WITH them.

The conference started late, at 10:00, because the attendance was very low at the scheduled start time. This also pushed the finish time back and forced us to skip a couple teaching topics at the end of the day, but by the end of the day there were 62 in attendance.

Chillin’ and Waitin’ in my new couch for the conference to start.

The conference went very well. Everyone taught their topics well, the class participation was top notch, and the breakout sessions gave the attendees a concept of how to serve in prison ministry.

We ate lunch with a few of the pastors, a lunch consisting of chicken (all parts), rice, coleslaw, beans with carrots, and bananas. I think most of us on the American team ate lightly.

Paul taught the session on strategic expansion using a map and flags – the Malawian nationals caught the vision and were intently listening and participating.

Paul also presented Dyghton and Platwell with our new PFC flag.

Carol presented the globe and explained that there is a sin problem in all 196 countries of the world and, therefore, there are prisons in every country of the world. The class held up the globe and prayed over the prisons of the world.

We returned to the hotel around 5:00pm and met for dinner at 6:30pm before retiring for the night. Tomorrow we head out very early to Zomba to preach at Domasi Prison and we will spend the night at a hotel in Zomba.

Maula and the Boys

After a solid six hour sleep that ended at 3am I retreated to the hotel lobby for a long quiet time reading through the gospel of Mark. A very kind hotel employee brought me a French press of hot coffee at about 5:00 and then I enjoyed the sunrise while walking the hotel grounds.

The team assembled for breakfast at 7:15am for a tasty meal of omelettes, sausage, beans, potatoes, avocado and, of course, Nali (“Africa’s hottest Peri-Peri hot sauce”) – no Malawian meal would be complete without it. Carol shared today’s devotional and we redesigned our program for the day because it turned out we would not be visiting the women at prison today (they’ve been temporarily moved to a different facility).

The van was all loaded with the humanitarian aid that Dyghton and Platwell purchased last night – they were out until 9:00pm making all the purchases. We left the hotel promptly at 8:30 and arrived at the prison by 9:00am.

We met with the second-in-command, a Christian man who welcomed us warmly and was very pleased to learn more about our IBI (International Bible Institute) that we are planting in prisons around the world. Currently we have three active IBIs around the world. He told us that he had already been introduced to the concept by Platwell and he is excited to see it begin. The institutions that have adopted the IBI are seeing changed lives in the men that are diving deep into the word with a structured teaching. This strengthens the church in the institution and prepares men and women to be prepared to walk with the Lord when released from prison.

After praying for the Officer in Charge and the prisons of Malawi a few inmates were summoned to unload the humanitarian aid for a photo opportunity and presentation of the gifts. Because of the generosity of my friends and supporters we are able to triple the humanitarian aid budget for this trip. The photo below shows the large amount of corn, salt, sugar, soap, Soya and other items we were able to provide for this 4,000 inmate prison.

Presenting our gifts

This is my second or third time to this prison, although I didn’t recognize it until we reached the gate. We weren’t permitted any cameras or phones but we have many wonderful people implanted in our memories from this service.

Inmates unloading humanitarian aid

Everyone did a great job in their part of this crusade. There were approximately 500 inmates seated on the ground in the area where we were gathered. After Greg introduced PFC to the inmates I served as Emcee and introduced the team and then invited Dyghton to share his testimony. Paul then shared a message on the wide and narrow gates and I then preached about the rich young ruler followed by Greg giving an altar call. Several hundred men came forward and we all prayed over them. Carol then offered a prayer for healing for which about 50 men came forward. I presented our gifts and humanitarian aid to the inmates and then we closed our service.

Before leaving Platwell introduced us to a 73 year-old man named Henry who had served in Parliament for twenty years and was falsely accused of something for which he is serving a five-year sentence. He is a devout Christian man who says “my conscience is clear”. The charges were raised for purely political reasons.

David Banda from Mozambique

Upon leaving the prison we headed directly to our next prison, a juvenile institution housing 38 youth. We were introduced to the Officer in Charge (OC), a young man who looked to me like he could be one of the youth (an indication of my age, I suppose). We have him our usual gifts and then he had all of the inmates arranged in the area where we were seated. After Don introduced us to the boys I gave my testimony, attempting to connect with them by telling them of my struggles as a young man and my past life. Paul then shared a brief massage with them followed by Carol speaking to them about her boys and grandsons and sharing the gospel with them. It was a wonderful time with the boys in which, I believe, they listened intently and several May have surrendered their lives to Christ.

We presented them with some gifts, the most appreciated being the soccer ball. all the boys really appreciated our presence with them. I suspect they get few visitors, like most prisoners.

Listening intently

People tend to think of prisoners as the least of society. They are often forgotten people whom the world has written off as hopeless and unworthy of our love and attention. Although most are guilty of the crimes for which they are charged they are, nonetheless, created in the image of God and equally (un)deserving of his forgiveness and redemption. Matthew 25:39-40: Jesus said “‘And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’”.

Paul preaching

Praying for the boys

We said our goodbyes to the boys and headed up the long, bumpy dirt road to the highway and returned to Lilongwe. We stopped at a shopping mall for “Chips Chicken”, as Dyghton calls it, before returning to our hotel at 6:00pm, completely wiped out and falling asleep on our feet.

I slept for 1 1/2 hours and then woke to take time to Sue my Treasurer duties before retiring for the night.

Arrival in Lilongwe

After long travel we have safely arrived at a beautiful and comfortable hotel.

Our team of five for this campaign is comprised of Don Chase (Team Leader), Carol Hoiosen, Paul Frank’s, Greg Von Tobel, and me. This is. Team of veteran PFC missionaries, we have all traveled to many places around the world together. We met at the airport at 9:00pm Tuesday and departed Seattle for Dulles (Washington DC) at 11:15pm. I was asleep before we left the gate and awoke just before we landed.

Nate, Don, Carol, Paul and Greg

Arriving in DC I napped for about an hour on my sleeping pad on the floor of the airport. We then boarded our 13 1/2 hour flight to Addis Ababa, no sleep on this flight.

Greg managed to get a (forced) hug out of Paul

We had Ethiopian coffee at the airport served the traditional way – brewed in a small pot and served in small espresso cups. This essentially is espresso at the strength it is brewed. After another three hour layover we departed for Lilongwe, arriving at approximately 1:00pm. It was 32 hours from the time we met in Seattle until we touched the ground in Malawi.

We went through customs quickly because Jill had worked so diligently with the pre-trip planning (as she always does) and our e-Visas took us through the process without any trouble. All bags arrived quickly and we were out of the airport within an hour of landing.

We were met by Platwell and Dyghton as soon as we walked out of the secure area – they were the first people I saw and I was so excited to give each of my brothers a big hug. These guys have been my friends for 11 years.

Our 45 minute drive to the hotel was a wonderful time to reconnect with Dyghton, my brother in Christ and fellow servant of the Lord that I met during my first trip to Malawi in 2012. I returned again in 2015 but have not seen him in eight years.

We are staying in a very nice hotel that is vacant, as far as I can tell, other than our team of seven. We all settled in to our rooms, had a brief meeting, and then retired to rest for a couple hours before dinner. Dyghton and Platwell left at 3:30pm to get humanitarian aid for tomorrow’s prison crusades and fuel for the vans. There is a fuel shortage here in Malawi, people are waiting in line for hours to get petrol – some are even sleeping overnight in their cars in hopes of a tanker showing up overnight.

I even have a bathtub in my room with piping-hot water – I took a nice bath before napping for about an hour. We met for dinner at 6:30pm. Don was late coming down because he didn’t wake up. When he came to the table he was surprised to find dinner menus – he thought he had slept through the night and was looking forward to breakfast – he was showered and ready for the day. We all had fun joking about that for a while.

I was in bed by 9:00pm and slept solid until 3:00am.

See ya, guys!

The rest of the team went home today. Paul and I are staying for three days. We had thought about some big excursions (hikes and such), but that’s not going to work out.

Heading to the airport

We spent a few hours sightseeing while Rommel took the rest of the team to the airport in Mangua. This is a very beautiful city with colorful buildings, each with a courtyard hidden behind the doors. Every home and building is an open concept.

A local Catholic Church

We toured a couple churches and walked through a very beautiful hotel with only four rooms. We talked to a few people on the street and distributed some gospel tracts. We had a nice lunch at a street side cafe for about $6 each before heading back to the hotel to meet Rommel.

Kids playing baseball

A wild horse on the baseball field

Granada is a beautiful city

Rommel and Milady drove us to San Juan del Sur, a quaint Oceanside city on a bahía. On the way we stopped at the lake to view a couple volcanoes. These spectacles are in the middle of the lake.

In San Juan de Sur we ate Ceviche and walked on the beach while Rommel bought fish for tonight’s dinner. We stayed about another hour while Milady played in the ocean. She is a very bright ten-year-old girl that loves the Lord and her daddy.

We were back in Granada around 6:45pm and then went to Rommel’s home for Red Snapper dinner and fellowship. It was a wonderful evening and the food was excellent. We stayed until 10:00pm and walked back to the hotel.

I treated my sunburn and it was straight to bed.

Farewells

Today was an administrative day. We all ate breakfast at Kathy’s Waffle House again today.

Four of the team met with Rommel for the audit, a meeting in which we learn more details about the ministry in the area, learn about the national host, and plan strategy for the future. The rest of the team (Dave, Jed and I) went for a long walk through town, did some sightseeing and street witnessing (distributing tracts).

A children‘s field trip

Kids making chocolate

We walked through the tourist district and down to the lake. Lake Nicaragua is enormous, it goes all what way to the Costa Rica border. Jed bought some souvenirs and we returned to the hotel around 12:30 so we could all go to lunch. We ate small because we were scheduled to have a farewell dinner at Rommel’s home this evening.

Jeremías (Gamaliel) was our host this morning. He took us to the open-air market to meet his mother and brothers.

Jeremías (right), his mom and brothers

Rommel made a huge barbecue with beef, ribs, chicken, potato salad and fresh pico de gallo. Ana Julia’s friend, Glenda, is an expert tortilla chef – she made all of the tortillas. The pastor and another lady that attended our conferences were there, as well, and Rommel asked me to entertain them since they speak no English. I served as translator for the rest of the team while Rommel cooked dinner.

Master chef Rommel

The spread

Señora

Pastor

Rommel

Rommel, Ana Julia and Milady

We all said some trip-closing words from our heart and we returned to the hotel around 10:00pm.

Feed the Hungry

Feed them with spiritual food and material food, that’s what we do and today we were able to do both.

The day began with a later-than-usual breakfast because we were going to the prison at 10:00am. We ate at Claudia’s, a small cafe around the corner from our hotel. We’ve been eating the same thing every morning with the free breakfast included with our hotel.

Huevos Rancheros

Eddie led our devotional time by opening up discussion about Jesus’ encounter with the woman in Matthew 15:26-27. Breakfast was delicious and the fellowship sweet.

We left for the prison at 11:00am. The team was split in two – Dave, Eddie and Paul went to the men’s penitentiary with Rommel. Greg, Jed, Grace and I went to the women’s prison. We had no interpreter when we arrived so I spoke with the OC and the nurses that received our donated medications. We waited alone in the room for about 30 minutes before the nurses came in to count the medications and have us sign to confirm we had donated them. I’m pleased to know they are accounted for so we can be reasonably sure they will be used for the inmates.

La Esperanza Women’s Penitentiary

The officer in charge was not available to introduce our ministry but Rommel had already done that prior to our arrival. We were then told to wash our hands and put masks on before entering the prison.

Medicine donated to the women’s prison

We were then escorted around a couple buildings until we arrived at the general purpose room where 28 female inmates were seated and waiting for our arrival. We were all pleased to find that there was a female inmate that used to be a guide that assisted other pastors that came to Nicaragua (as I understood it). She served as our translator and she did a great job.

Greg introduced our ministry and then I served as emcee to introduce Jed, who gave his testimony and then Grace, who shared a message about the Prodigal Son. I then shared a message followed by an altar call – five ladies came forward, some with genuine tears in their eyes. Greg then prayed for any ladies with ailments or physical needs and then we distributed the gifts.

We brought a bag for each lady that had Days-for-Girls washable feminine hygiene pads and liners, two toothbrushes, a tube of toothpaste, a bar of soap, deodorant and some candy. We gave 24 Bibles to the prison church and left a soccer ball for the ladies. They told us that because they are ladies they don’t play soccer as much as volleyball. We will consider bringing volleyballs for the ladies in the future.

The ladies then sang a worship song for us that seemed like it lasted ten minutes – we all stood and clapped along with them while they sang – I could understand very little of what they were singing. We then shared some pastries and soda with them – they lined up, took a pastry and a cup of soda, and returned to their cells. We were then left alone – we each had a snack and then left the prison. We walked to the front gate, retrieved our passports, and walked across the street to a small street vendor to wait for the rest of our team to get back from the men’s prison.

Jeremias, our driver, and Rosa, the street vendor

While waiting we bought some sodas and sat down under a shaded seating area. There was a man and a ten-year-old daughter that began talking to me. I shared a gospel tract with him and offered to buy the little girl something to drink. I also got her a bag of chips and asked here to order for her father, too. We, as a team, then began praying for the rest of our team – shortly thereafter the elderly lady that owns the little shop/kiosk asked us to pray for her. We prayed for her and her granddaughters that were helping her tend the store. We then chatted with them for a while in Spanish until the rest of our team arrived, we then returned to the hotel.

Antonia, Maria, Rosa and Jed

We had an early dinner tonight because Rommel had a “cultural experience” planned for us. We ate at a nice restaurant two blocks away and had fellowship for about an hour and a half. We met Rommel back at the hotel and began our evening. A few of us knew what we were doing but it was a surprise for most of the team.

Feeding the Hungry

We drove about four blocks from the hotel and parked on the side of the road where about thirty people were waiting – Rommel had told them to be there to get a free meal. These were homeless or poor people, some probably addicted, some had graduated from Rommel’s recovery program, and several children. Rommel had worship music playing in the van and we prayed for each of the people as we gave them a plate of food, a beef stick, a bag of chilled fruit, and a gospel tract. There was enough for everyone and some left over, which we distributed to a few more people later in the evening.

Praying and Loving

Poverty doesn’t mean you can’t have joy.
Poverty doesn’t mean you don’t have value.

We then walked through the central plaza. Jed and I distributed gospel tracts and gave some snacks to some of the street kids. We then decided to go get ice cream but, since the whole team wasn’t in one place, I took a few minutes to share the gospel with a group of four British “kids” in their early-to-mid twenties. They were baffled by the curved illusion cards and then we had a good, fruitful conversation about eternity and the reality of heaven, hell, a just God and the meaning of the sacrificial death of Jesus.

All of them engaged in the conversation at some level – I saw smiles, heard chuckles, observed internal reflection, and watched some rather uncomfortable body language. One of the girls said that that was the best conversation she had ever had about religion. As I reflected later I thought about how different people react when confronted with uncomfortable truth. We can’t judge their laughs or their smiles – I believe, due to the nature of the situation and the way the conversation proceeded, that these were perhaps ways of dealing with their recognition of the reality of one day facing their creator. More on that another time.

We walked down the tourist street which is blocked off from traffic, there are many street vendors, beggars, and trinket peddlers. We handed out gospel tracts and found a few of the street people we had met Monday night. We met a man that cannot talk, he only makes sounds. He was “talking” to Rommel, and Rommel told us that he was upset because they city had closed this street and now it is more difficult for him to make money. There used to be street performers here which would draw much larger crowds, providing him with more people to sell his little trinkets and jewelry.

Grace and a Street Family – they live on the street with mom and dad. Neither is on drugs – both are looking for work, but there is none to be found.

We found an ice cream parlor, got some cones, and sat at a street side table for a while. It was a very touching and nice night. The weather has been hot all week but this was a very pleasant night. We all returned to the hotel with humbled, changed, and blessed hearts.