Feed My Lambs “in Prison”
Prison at the best of times is never a good place to be in. Here in the third world it is even worse since the conditions are very Spartan and full of discomfort and unbelievably poor hygiene and conditions. Although the government allows a small daily budget for meals the food is often very little and very poor. Family and friends are expected to bear the cost of most prisoners needs like soap, toiletries and even some essential food items. Boredom, heat, isolation and depression are par for the course for most prisoners in Philippine jails. People are put into to prison for small crimes and must wait there till their court hearing which could take several months or years. Even young teens are put into jail for minor crimes or just having no place to live in or anyone responsible for them.
Near our house is a minimum security prison with over four hundred inmates. It is located in a rice field with dirt roads and lots of dust all around. The warden has seen our feeding efforts in the areas around us and also our program and so he asked us to present a feeding meal and a program in the prison which was a real challenge to us. Many of these inmates are only in for a short time and so there is ample opportunity to witness and share God’s Word to them. We have also been invited to hold some regular dialect Bible Studies and prayer times with the prisoners.
So we decided to obey our Lord’s instruction to visit those in prison and show them the Love of Jesus by our actions and presence. Noemi and her husband organized the food along with Carol. Darryl worked on the program and some of the details. We, ourselves could not go in to the prison at this time since we are foreigners and it will take a bit more security effort in the future if we attend. This is to avoid any possible hostage threats. The prisoners are only able to come out in several large groups for the program as security is still a challenge because of the ratio of guards to inmates. Noemi’s brother Lemuel from Cebu who is an experienced preacher was visiting here and so agreed to do the service for us. The service went very well and the prisoners were just as thankful for the visit as they were the good food that Noemi had prepared as part of our feeding and outreach ministry for Jesus. There were songs, and lively exchanges as well as the Word of God. You can see by the photos that the inmates stood respectfully during the program and were very friendly and want Carol and I to come to the next program as many see us around the community and their families have shared what we have been doing with them particularly the help we were able to give after the typhoon for the special gifts our supporters sent us.
This was our last feeding effort for a while as our funding has ended for this program and we must now seek additional funds for these outreach efforts. Please pray for us as we do this so that we can continue to reach some of the “Lost Sheep of Jesus” living in the Pacific Rim!
We also want to Praise God that we now have access to the internet through a Pocket Wi-Fi and this means we can write more often and send and receive email quicker since we do not have to travel to another location as we have had to in the past.
Thank you again for your help and Prayers and once again for your faithful support as we strive to follow the directions of Jesus and Feed and Reach out to the lost sheep of Jesus with this message of hope and salvation.
Serving Christ in the Philippines,
Darryl & Carol Krause
Darryl & Carol Krause
Pacific Rim Ministries
P.O. Box 282
Iloilo City 5000
Philippines
