Well, friends, it has been a while.
And I am anxious to get back into our gospel story.
But before we do, I want to take a moment and tell you how much I appreciated all the prayers so many of you petitioned to the Throne of Grace on our behalf. Those prayers were needed and felt, and they made a real difference in the work we did a half a continent away.
As I know is usually the case when one goes on a journey such as the one I have recently embarked upon, where the intention is to be a minister unto others less fortunate than yourself, I have discovered that in fact, I was the one ministered to. I thought that I was the one with much making an offering to those with little, and in the process discovered a paradox. My “much” was not necessarily more. In fact, I have learned that sometimes our material plenty often proves to be a hindrance, a distraction, and in a way, less.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. What we had to give was definitely a blessing to those on the receiving end. But what I was not prepared for was what I got in return. I did not anticipate the way the people we helped would respond with such love and humility. The physical needs we were able to meet were temporary, to be sure. I pray that the real gift they received from us was merely a physical expression of the eternal love of Jesus Christ. I know that was what they gave to me.
I found another paradox.
In going to the Belize Central Prison, I expected to encounter a very dark place. I was surprised to find that that was not the case at all.
I realized that the darkest place was the cities. The cities where gang membership provides masculine role models in families where the fathers are largely absent. Cities where their position and loyalty to the gang is made secure by their willingness to kill a rival gang member. Where money comes easy in a poverty inflicted society for anyone willing to traffic in drugs or sex. The city breeds the crime that feeds the prison population.
For some of these young men, finding their way to the BCP was the luckiest break they could get. And maybe, luck had nothing to do with it, but rather the Providence of God.
I went to a place where I expected to find tangible darkness and instead found penetrating Light. I went to a facility that houses over 1,000 prisoners, most of them convicted murderers, and I saw that some had found real hope there. I saw men who, while in prison had been introduced to the message of the gospel and because of it, experienced true freedom for the first time in their lives. The prison offers real reform to its inmates if they choose to accept it. It is truly a correctional facility in every sense of the word, and it offers that correction through a life changing relationship with Jesus.
I asked God to take me on this journey to teach and train me how to share the gospel.
He did so much more.
I got to actually see the gospel at work. The gospel of Jesus is the story of redemption, restoration and reconciliation. It is the story of forgiveness and grace. It is healing and hope and promise in places you least expect it. It is finding abundance where most see scarcity. It is experiencing the joy of giving to those who cannot reciprocate. It is about knowing your hope is in a Kingdom other than the one of this earth, no matter how desperate or glorious it may be.
And most of all, it is about discovering that “least of these” are not the least at all. They are instead beautiful, courageous and resilient. They have found strength in their weakness, riches in their poverty and freedom in their captivity.
And I saw that we loved the same God, worshiped the same Savior and surrendered to the same Spirit, and we did this without respect to the color of our skin, social position, or nationality. We did it as children who honored our Father in Heaven simply by loving each other in whatever way we could.
So again, from the depths of my soul I say “thank you” for the prayers and encouragement I received. I know without a doubt they played a crucial role in opening hearts and doors for us to do what we went there to do.
Please continue to remember Belize in your prayers. Remember the pastors and congregations there who remain faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ . Remember those who call the BCP home, and for those who work hard there to make a difference in the quality of their lives and their rehabilitation. Remember the people who struggle against every day challenges that most of us here in the US know very little about. Your prayers truly do make a difference in profound ways!
God bless you!