“…that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you
out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9
What an amazing deliverance it is to be transferred from darkness into light! We were stumbling in our spiritual night of perpetual darkness and then,
“The true light that gives light to everyone
was coming into the world.”
John 1:9
And Jesus, the Son of God came and He shone and He conquered sin and with words of hope and deliverance He says,
“I am the Light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
This year has been different in how we have been able to 'shine the light of the gospel' to those in prison. Access into the institutions came to a complete standstill in mid-March along with huge changes as we entered this marathon. Initially, we enjoyed a rest and got caught up on some projects. We walked more and we learned how to be ‘zoomers’ with church and friends. And we were also privileged to enjoy happy connected times with family despite the restrictions.
But then as weeks turned into months we grieved the loss of contact with the many inmates we had spent so much time. Letter writing and telephone conversations increased and became the only means of connecting with men. We were thankful for these but how we missed the personal contact.
One afternoon, I received a call from John* in Alberta.
I had first met him when he was in one of the Kingston institutions. He had received Christ as his personal Saviour and began seeking to understand the Bible and how to live out his faith in Jesus Christ and we had kept in contact even after he was transferred to the western region.
After arriving there, he had begun the process of compiling support letters for his future release and one of these letters had been accidentally delivered to another inmate who had the same last name as John’s. The information in that letter had caused other inmates to so resent him that he began receiving death threats from them.
He feared for his life and had called me that afternoon to share his situation. (It's inmate protocol not to go to the staff or management with a situation such as this as it can often bring them greater danger).
I prayed with him for his protection and we read Psalm 27 together:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation: Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?...
When the wicked come against me….they stumbled and fell.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear….
For in the time of trouble… He shall hide me: He shall set me high upon a rock.”
We continued to pray.
When he called me a few weeks later, he was excited to inform me that soon after our phone call the tough guys threatening his life were moved off his range due to some illegal activity they had been engaged in. John* saw this as an amazing answer to prayer of God’s protection over his life and we praised God together!
God is always in control. He always has a plan. Our lives are secure with him. And despite this year of disruption and change we can trust His plan because we trust Him! Our days, our lives, our future is securely in His hands.
Returning to the institutions has been slow. I am now able to visit weekly in 3 institutions and conduct a chapel service once a month. The numbers are limited (they need to sign up to come) but we are grateful to be able to have this personal contact again. We pray access will return for the other institutions as well.
Thank you for your prayers for us and for this ministry. We long for the gospel to be effective and for Christian inmates to remain encouraged in their walk of faith. Thank you for all your emails over this year and for your faithful financial gifts. It is a huge encouragement and we thank the Lord for you.
We send greetings for a Merry Christmas and trust your celebrations will be full of peaceful joy and gratefulness for our Saviour.
“…Arise, shine, for your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you…” Isaiah 60:1
Christmas Blessings,
Robert and Susan
Our mailing address is:
Prison Minstry, Kingston
PO Box 20051
Kingston, ON K7P 2T6