A testimony from one of "Our Girls on the Inside": Esther

My name is Esther and I am a believer in recovery who struggles with negativity, sadness, pain, fear, doubt and lack of faith.

I would like my testimony to reach other people who are going through the same things as I am and tell them they are not alone.  Before my relationship with God was different, I knew him but he was not in my heart.

My lowest point was when I did drugs, prostitution, stealing, and abandoned my children.  Because of these decisions I ended up in prison, I have been incarcerated for 12 years and it was in here where I was introduced to the Celebrate Recovery Program.  I have learned a lot about myself through this program but most of all I have learned that God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me on the cross so my sins would be forgiven.  Today my life is different and day by day I rise to the challenge of changing my attitude.  Today I have a relationship with God my Father.

The Celebrate Recovery Steps I like the most are Steps 3 and 9. Step 3 says: We need to make a decision to turn our life and our will over to the care of God. And Step 9 says: We need to make amends with people from our past whenever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others.

The changes I can see are the love and mercy I have toward other people.  I have worked day by day with the hurts, hang ups and bad habits I struggled with.  I do not live with guilt, fear, or lack of forgiveness and I have learned this through the Celebrate Recovery Program.  Even though I have participated in the program for many years, each time I attend the program God shows me something new I need to work with.  I have changed thanks to God's mercy and love.

I thank God because today I have the opportunity to be a mentor to my fellow inmates.  I am so thankful to God for bringing the program into the prison.

God bless you and thank you for letting me share.

A testimony from "One of Our Girls on the Inside": Alli

My name is Alli and I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ in recovery of drugs, resentment, revenge and rejection.

I suffered rejection by my father and other family members so I chose to isolate myself from people. I was very quiet, scared, and had low self-esteem. I felt ugly.  My grandmother raised me because my parents didn’t take care of me.  At the age of 15 I met the man who I married and we had 2 children together.  Our marriage was good until one day my husband started to use drugs and he started cheating on me.  When I found out I didn’t know how to react; we didn’t have God in our lives so I decided to use drugs with him just like his lover so he would not leave me. And instead of me helping him out of his addiction I sank with him.  What started as revenge ended up destroying my life. My husband tried to help but he didn’t know how, by then drugs controlled my life.  All I wanted was to get high and didn’t care how I achieve it, if it was by stealing or by prostituting myself. I began selling drugs and got involved with people I never imagined having in my life.  I saw and did horrible things; I cared for nobody. My lowest point was when I got my kids involved in selling drugs. 

I am in prison because I was charged with homicide. When I arrived here I thought my life had come to end but I was wrong, it was just beginning.  I was invited to a group called Celebrate Recovery. God is restoring my life through this program.  I have discovered God’s love. I have been able to feel freedom even behind these bars because I have a God-given joy. Through Celebrate Recovery I have learned to give God my hate, resentment and pain. I am no longer a slave to sin; in my heart there is peace and joy.  

God bless you and thank you for letting me share.

*all names have been changed to protect their identity.

Christmas in Review

Christmas was just around the corner and God was faithful in sending us people with servant hearts, ready to serve.  Our Christmas event in the Ensenada Prison with "Our Girls on the Inside" was filled with fun and laughter.  Dancing to some of the traditional Mexican Christmas carols was definitely a highlight of the day.  Thank you to Josefina and Magdalena for serving along-side our Prison Ministry team.

Christmas is much more than parties and materials gifts.  This Christmas we saw God answer prayers in restoring relationships, bringing home a prodigal daughter, a marriage restored and the list goes on.  Thank you each and every one for your continued prayers.  God is making a difference in the lives of his people here in Mexico.