Short Term at a Prison
By Rommel Raudales – Nicaragua
“And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NKJV).
After launching our reconstructed website in 2021, in April of 2022, I received an email from the international partnership development officer from “Prisoners for Christ” (PFC), who had found us through our website, looking to partner with devoted people doing Prison Ministry in Nicaragua. I was hesitant to respond, but after reading the email, I replied and then had an online meeting with some of their leaders and President, Gregory E Von Tobel. Then, filled out forms and entered their free International Prison Worker School (CPW). They had other people they were talking to in Nicaragua, but they decided to go with us. Still, they said we inspired trust from the beginning.
In March of 2023, seven team members from Prisoners for Christ in the U.S. came to Nicaragua for nine days, including the founder and President Greg Tobel. I was humbled to be part of this experience. I was able to plan the conferences, workshops, and prison visits they desired because of the work of Quien Soy Yo in the prisons and our approval from the Nicaraguan government. PFC held seminars and workshops at our home church in Granada and invited pastors, leaders, and laymen from many denominations. With the approval of Nicaraguan authorities, we visited three prisons. PFC was able to deliver hygiene kits, Bibles, and literature and held three services in each prison.
Trust is something you genuinely learn. You develop ethically in your own life and professional life through your genuine relationship with Christ and others. You build trust as opportunities arise. These are authentic manifestations of the Christian life on a personal and professional level of our everyday transparent and coherent pilgrimage Christian life.
Our relationship with Prisoners for Christ is solid and robust. During their visit, we connected well with the PFC team. Today, I serve as their regional director in Nicaragua. This extraordinary visit also helped us form new relationships within Nicaragua with government officials, pastors, and people interested in doing prison ministry. Their visit to Nicaragua was a success and a blessing to many. As we grow in whatever ministry God has called us to, God is the orchestrator of everything; we put the pieces together and work with others for his greater purpose. McNeal writes, “The call is personal but bigger than the person, and it involves a relationship at its core, not just a function or task.”
Please know that some Christian organizations that constantly travel abroad always have a written document explaining their expectations, budget, conference planning, transport cost, location, food, ministry expenses, etc. In this case, they had a document for us, making it much more manageable. In other cases, you would help others plan from scratch; asking probing questions helps a lot.
We were incredibly blessed by the short-term visit of these Christian brothers and sisters. We give God the glory for what they could do as they visited men they would never otherwise have seen or come to know.
