On Tuesday I was so pumped to have the opportunity to go with our team to La Casa de Amnistad. La Casa is a school for children whose parents are in prison. We walked in and I have to say I was nervous for what we were going to encounter. The old chipped tile and chunks of paint missing from the walls did not offer much comfort. After a quick orientation Anna and I ended up in the ¨Pre-Kinder¨class aka the 3-old class. They are ADORABLE. As soon as we walked in we were met by 15 3-year olds screaming ¨Tia, Tia¨ (which means Aunt for those of you who don´t speak Spanish!) I ended up working mostly with these two boys named Juan Pablo and Fernando, I like to call them the two amigos! They are hilarious! They were both wearing home-made wool sweaters, tobogans and pants. As I was working with them on their coloring books I asked Juan Pablo where he lived? Let me preface this statement by reminding you that I do not speak fluent Spanish and am trying to have a conversation with a 3-year old. So the majority of the things that he said to me and I did not catch… but when I asked him where he lived I understood and his answer peirced me to my heart. I asked Juan Pablo and he responded ¨en el carcel.¨
¨En el carcel?¨ I was searching my brain for the translation… Jail?
Apparently in Bolivia inmates are allowed to have their families live with them in prison. Are you kidding me? These children call prison their home? My heart broke for them. As I learned more I learned that the majority of the kids live with their parents in prison. Some of the children even in the maximun security prison.
As I tryed to wrap my mind around what these children encounter on a daily basis in their homes I realized that these kids are a perfect metaphor for humanity. Aren´t we all (without Jesus) prisoners of sin. Longing desperately to be loved, taught, cherished and cared for? None of us asked to be borin into a world of sin and bondage, nor did these kids ask to be born into a prison. Thankfully we have a God who is mighty to save. A God who longs to pull us out of the prisons and chains we put ourselves in. As His word proclaims in Psalm 146:7
¨He (God) upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.¨
My God is mighty to save. He desires freedom and wholeness for all of His children. My prayer is He would use me to love these children who are so unloved and reveal Himself in a powerful way to them. Save them from the prison they find themselves in and make them whole.
