We feel that God has led us to work among the Mapuche of Chile but He has also opened other doors for ministry. Here is a look into one of them:
As Daniel and I (Chad) walk through the iron gate, we pass our IDs to the guard at the entrance. We enter the building and ask for senor guard Hernan. We check in our cell phones and they inspect our bags. Then we walk down the prison hallway, passing through 2 guarded doors and turn to the left to enter a door with a padlock. We have just entered the wood workshop where they have an isolated break room. It is here, that we hold our Monday Bible Studies, one in the morning and the other after lunch.
We started our work within the men's prison of Temuco in July of 2010. Within this time God has done many incredible things and I want to briefly share the transformation of 4 inmates.
Eduardo: Eduardo has been the prison system for over 10 years. He had been participating with the weekly christian services within the prison system but he wanted more. Eduardo is a confident man but with a gentle and humble spirit. But more than this, he is a man willing to submit his life and time to obeying God's word. One day we were studying the passage about "Where is your treasure?" Eduardo works in the wood workshop and had decided that his treasure was his wood. Therefore, he gifted all his extra wood to those who had none, in obedience to this passage. For a person in prison where resources are very limited, that was a powerful act of obedience and compassion. Recently, Eduardo has started to direct our Bible Studies in the morning.
Jorge: Leadership is not produced by showing up but by being obedient to God's word. With this definition, Jorge was an obvious choice for the person to lead our afternoon Bible Studies. Jorge is soft spoken but unashamed to tell others about his faith in Christ Jesus. More than sharing, he shows his faith in action to others and to us by completing the Bible Study every week. If fact he completes the Bible study even when he is prevented from meeting with us. His self-motivation has challenged my walk and is an example for all to followed.
Juan: Juan is one of the newest members to our study. The first time I saw him, he looked too young to be in a men's prison. Unfortunately for him, he just had his 18th birthday. He entered uneasily with his head tilted down. He looked lost with his eyes never making contact. As he spoke, he used religious jargon but will little understanding. As the weeks passed, I witnessed a timid boy willing to apply God's word to his life. One day we asked him, "How did you feel the presence of God this week?" He answered, " I didn't feel God's presence this week but it is strange, I have a lot more peace in my life." We explained, "That is God's presence". I love to hear Juan's commitments to obey God's word and watch his life being transformed.
Alexis: Alexis has been with us the longest. The transformation we have seen in the last year has been incredible. He transformed from a timid, bitter and non-confident person to a self-disciplined, confident leader of men. One could always find Alexis discipling others or meeting their needs. In time he become the "Joseph" of his prison module, where everyone comes to Alexis if they need help. Recently, Alexis has gone through a crisis of faith. Previously Alexis was waiting for his sentence and two months ago he received a conviction of 15 years. With this heavy news, we got to see the true strength of his faith. I am glad to state, that as of last week, Alexis is involved with the study once again. His statement to us was, "If God wants to use me here in the prison, I am ready."
God is still opening doors for us with the prison system. Next week we will be training a team directed by the Chaplain of the Temuco prison system. This will hopefully open doors into some of the modules in which we do not have access. In addition, the Chaplain is the regional Chaplain which could possible open the doors to 9 other prisons. Please pray that we have wisdom as we progress within the Chilean Prison System.
Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support.
Blessings,
Chad and Ruthanne Lynch
