“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.”-Psalm 107:13-16
I have been back from Mexico for a week now, and I still don’t fully think I can wrap my brain around all that God showed me while I was there. There is certainly more than I can write in a blog, but I want to share a few of the ministries I had the opportunity to be involved in while in Matamoros. On Wednesday I had the opportunity to go to the local prison to minister to some women there. I have never been to a prison before so I must say I was a little nervous since I wasn’t sure what to expect. For some reason I have always had a heart for those who are in the prison system. Those that most look at as outcasts and the “bad” of society, I have always felt the need to help. So, when I had the opportunity to go to the prison I jumped at the chance. I and four others arrived at the prison and immediately went through security. We handed in our licenses, got stamped twice and then waited to be searched. As we were walking in they were bringing in new prisoners, which apparently isn’t a regular occurrence, so we were all a little unsure of what was taking place. 
Matt went to the men’s side, and the rest of us went in on the women’s side. Except for high-security prisons, the prisons here are much different than in the U.S. There is a middle area that divides the men’s side from the women’s side. Many of the prisoners have their mate on the other side, so they can pay to meet them in the middle area. It is also somewhat odd because many of the women have children which are allowed to come and stay with them in their cells. They have a big open courtyard where they can spend their day and even shops, places to eat and a craft shop that are operated by the prisoners. There is also a church in the middle where they hold daily church services. The strangest thing though is that the prisoners are only locked up from 10pm until 7am. All the rest of the time they can roam anywhere within the fences.
I decided to spend most of my time with Lauren and a lady that she had been getting to know for the last 3 months. This lady was actually originally from Brownsville, Texas so she spoke English as her first language. This was a blessing because it allowed me to speak openly with her. She told me her story and all that is going on in her life. Just seeing her perspective on things and how God is working in her life despite her background was very eye opening and encouraging to me. We talked for about an hour, and I even saw her tear up as I spoke about my time in Africa. It was just so neat to get to spend time with her, see who she really was as a person and hopefully encourage her in the Lord and remind her that she is not alone even when she may feel otherwise. My heart wanted to go back to spend more time, but I knew I needed to spend time in some other areas, so I cherish the time I got to spend there even if it was only for a day.
Thursday afternoon I was able to go with the group who ministers in a local school to share a special Thanksgiving lunch with the kids. It was really exciting to see how all of the kids reacted when they saw all of us walk in the door and all the relationships that had been built within the classrooms. It was fun to get to spend time with all of the energetic youth at the school (most of which spoke English) and getting to share one of our holidays with them. We ate turkey, rice and bread with an interesting Mexican twist: ground meat on top of the turkey. It was a special treat! The next day we were able to walk with many of these same kids in the parade so it was great to get to see them and the school faculty once again! I was sad when they asked me if I was coming back next week and I had to say “no,” but I’m thankful for the time I got to spend with them. They definitely put a smile on my face!
Part 2 coming up…
For His Glory,
Caroline 🙂
Ps. 56:3
