 |
||||||
Home Ministries in |
In 1993, Set Free Prison Ministries began providing humanitarian relief to prisoners in Russia and that first experience led to continued work with several prisons there over the following years. Through positive relationships with prison administration officials in Russia and over a decade of committed service to prisoners there, the opportunity arose for Set Free Prison Ministries to also work in Almaty, the leading city of Kazakhstan in Central Asia. Beginning in 2002, we have had the privilege of assisting prisoners in practical ways at two prisons: a women's prison with over a thousand women and also one for teen men. |
|||||
 |
||||||
______________ |
||||||
Spring feature |
||||||
Building and Sending |
||||||
 |
Relationships take time to build. Sometimes they start overnight and last for a lifetime. Others take great effort, toil and tears to keep established it seems. The particular uniqueness of relationship-building inside prisons makes it especially difficult to continue long-term relationships once prisoners are released. |
|||||
______________ |
||||||
 |
||||||
Because ministering to individuals released from prison is a large part of Set Free's ministry each month throughout the year in Kazakhstan, we are greatly encouraged when we see folks going on and growing in the Lord both inside prison and after released. |
||||||
While our entire Discipling Center ministry in Almaty takes place with believers after they regain their freedom and is devoted to seeing believers built up into mature followers of Christ who then will disciple others, another large portion of our discipling work takes place within prisons. In Kazakhstan during the course of the past six months we have had the joy of seeing how one believer, Gulshat, at the women's prison, reached out and began teaching others to follow Christ. Gulshat lost everything in her life...family, finances and freedom after becoming addicted to drugs. She had a steady stable life until turning to an illicit relationship and narcotics. However she found the Lord Jesus in prison and she was radically changed. While incarcerated in the adult women's area of the prison that we serve in each week, we encouraged Gulshat to begin doing the Bible courses that are an integral part of our ministry. Well, she not only began the courses, she completed all 40 and then started to invite her fellow inmates to begin doing them. Several responded and gave their lives to Christ and Gulshat met with them regularly to encourage them in their Bible studies. She led them at the prayer meetings that she also organized during free times that they had each week. This was in addition to their attendance at the Set Free chaplaincy staff's regular weekly services. The time that our Kazakh staff poured into Gulshat's life in building her up in the Lord in turn resulted in her own outreach for the Savior to those closest to her. Recently, Gulshat was set free from prison and set out to continue her new life in Christ outside the prison walls. The Lord worked in her life during its lowest point, built her up and sent her out to the world again to share His love with others. We had the privilege of speaking with Gulshat on the day of her release and provide her with some useful gifts and pray with her as she headed into the next phase of her life. We pray for her continued growth and faithfulness to the Lord. We look forward to how the Lord uses her to greatly build His kingdom reaching souls in Kazakhstan and for other women like her who remain within the prison walls. The Set Free team in Kazakhstan |
||||||
______________ |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||