Hello again! It is Tuesday night here in Jinja, Uganda and I wanted to share with you what happened earlier today. I was able to go with the women of this church to a women's prison called Kirinya. We are able to visit these women for two hours once a week. I had never experienced anything like this before, and it definitely impacted me greatly. When we arrived, the women started coming in, and I saw how loving and friendly these Ugandan women truly are. They all greeted us very kindly with a handshake or a huge hug.
A woman named Danielle heads up this ministry, and before we got started she was explaining to me about how these women ended up in Kirinya. The one story that impacted me the most was that of a girl, who was declared "half mad" by her village. They did not want to put up with her, and so when she stole two pieces of fruit they sent her to this prison because they simply did not want her. Having heard this, I did not know what to think. Could people really do that to another human being? Our culture is such a dark place. And so our goal with this ministry is to share with these women about the Light that can be found amongst all of this darkness.
Today we finished the movie "The Passion" by Mel Gibson. They had started it last week, and we started it up again with the scene of Jesus carrying His cross to be crucified. As I was sitting among all of these women, I was noticing some were crying and some were just staring at the TV. wondering if this story had actually happened. After it had finished, Danielle and her interpreter began sharing the Gospel with these women. God loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for us. And since He rose again, He is now knocking on the door of our hearts wanting to be invited in. After Danielle had finished her message, we prayed together and asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ into their life. One woman raised her hand, and wanted Jesus to come into her life! Praise God! We told her the angels in heaven were rejoicing because of her decision. One woman left today anew in Christ, and I cannot begin to share how much joy that brought me! My prayer is for her to stay strong in her new faith and not let her environment bring her down. That she would continue to grow and seek counsel as a new believer.
I left the prison today feeling a since of sorrow for these women because of the environment they are in, but I also was feeling overjoyed because Jesus' love overpowered that dark place and another daughter has returned home to her heavenly Father. I ask for prayer for these women in Kirinya and that they find their hope in Jesus Christ.
I hope everyone is well and I look forward to sharing more with you very soon!

God bless!
~Erin