By Roger Oakland
Our day spent at the New Bilibid Prison, maximum security compound located in Muntinlupo City was an experience of a lifetime. We arrived at 9 am and took over an hour to go through registration, identification and screening. As this was my third time at this prison I was somewhat familiar with what to expect. However, it was obvious that since our last visit security had been upgraded.
Pastor Richard brought several friends who were involved with him in prison ministry. One of the brothers was an ex-convict himself who had been released December of 2010. We went immediately to the Calvary Chapel facility where we were to speak but discovered there had been a miscommunication regarding the time we were to begin. Instead of 10 am it was 1 pm. We had about three hours in the prison before our seminar.
The brother who was the ex-convict (Jo Jo by name) disappeared for a moment and came back saying he had contacted a warden that he knew and that we had been invited to speak within a cell block to prisoners who never attended church services and had little knowledge of the gospel. It was obvious by this time that this meeting had to be God ordained. Our group headed to the cell block, chairs were set up for about 30 prisoners and a podium was placed directly in front of them.
I have spoken in many places under many circumstances around the world but this situation was unique. Heavy clad steel doors that were unlocked during the day, lined both walls. Once we had started, prisoners popped out of the cells to see what was going on and joined the group. Click here to continue reading and for ongoing updates.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.