Bomet Prison Ministry

Let’s inform you about what came of the prison ministry event. As you know from previous blogs and emails we were scheduled to have a Christmas ministry event at the Bomet prison on December 23rd, which we did.
Saturday was a busy day of last minute preparations. We went with Carol Spears into town to gather a few last minute things. When we returned home we finished packing together items for the prisoner packets. I also called and talked with people to confirm that we were “a go” for Sunday, which we were.
Saturday afternoon I borrowed one of the missionaries vans to load up the gifts for the prisoners. Mike Ganey came down and helped me do this. We packed it so tight and saved the remainder for his car. We then drove up to the hospital dukas (shops) and picked up the cases of soda that we had ordered. We finished all this in time to get showers for the compound Christmas drop-in/party that evening. It was a very busy and tiring day.
Sunday AM I woke praying for the prisoners and the day ahead. Church ran long because it was a special Christmas service. After this Mike came down and we strapped the rest of the mattresses on top of his car. We were already a little behind schedule (We were doing this around 11:30AM and we were to meet at 1:30 to leave for the prison- about a 15 minute drive). As we finished loading we got a call that the food we ordered was ready at the restaurant. We finally got up there to pick up 2 roasted goats (they were in helper’s yard until Saturday!) and 200 samosas. When we arrived they asked where were our containers- which we were told would be provided. The owner cleaned out a bucket and milk container and found some bags to put things in. We finally got loaded and headed out. I looked behind me and Mike was gone. He ended up picking up some people at the main hospital gate and dropped them off along the way. We got to the prison and were pleased to see that the tents and chairs were all set up and ready to go. Some prisoners were allowed to come out and help us unload things so fortunately we were able to do that quickly and got back to Tenwek giving us just enough time to get back and help load everyone up. I exchanged vehicles and drove our neighbor, Ms. Faith’s, car so I could get her gas in town. Just pulling onto the main hill it stalled out, so we assumed it ran out of gas. I let it coast back into the lawn and went and borrowed another vehicle. All of us from here met, prayed, and loaded into cars and headed out.
At 2:10 we arrived at the prison (only 10 minutes late!) The team from the Mosop orphanage met us there. They did some cooking and helped contribute to the gifts. We quickly made some last minute preparations and the program began. As soon as it started it began to rain and drizzled the entire afternoon (which is a symbol of blessing in Kisigis culture). We had the meal first (goat, chipati, samosa, oranges and soda). After that we had several people speak, some from the prison and some from Tenwek. One of the head guards who was drunk spoke and finally had to be drug off. The prison choir danced and sang. Next a team from Tenwek did a few songs and Dr. Russ White delivered a dynamic sermon. Several people accepted Christ as their Savior. I was called up several times to speak because in this culture it is very important for the person leading an event to be recognized. I was presented by the prison with chipati making table that was made by the prisoners as a gift (the others were sold that day). After the program portion the prisoners made a semi-circle and we gave out the gifts to the prisoners (at this point the rain stopped). They each received a mattress, 2 blankets, sandals, and a personal hygiene kit. We also gave bags of flour to the workers. After this we said good-bye and we headed out.
It was a very good day. I found out yesterday that when we left at 5PM the prisoners requested to go to bed early and were locked in their cells at 5:30 to sleep on their new gifts.
Thanks for the prayers and support of you back home who were able to help with this project!