Face 2 Face

Bridging Society through Evangelism, Compassion, and Advocacy for the Urban Poor

Will and Joanie Feuerstein

FACE-2-FACE
CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN
Christmas Party - December 2007

Kingdom Seekers is the name of our Bible Study Fellowship of 50 female inmates at CIW, the national women's prison in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila Philippines. If the ladies hadn't been wearing their regular orange and blue prison attire, an observer would never realize that this festive Christmas party was Behind the Bars.

THE WORD and TRUTH
We began by singing songs including Silent Night in Chinese, led by Vangie, one of my church mates who has caught the vision of ministering to prisoners. I am discipling Hazel, who is preparing to be sent out as a career missionary, carrying The Message to Muslims. I had asked her to share in Tagalog our theme verse from Isaiah 9:6.

The portrait of our Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace was especially significant to our ladies, who live in this confined environment, facing constant oppression. Their minds are a battle field for mental torture as they struggle with being "mom" to their children on the outside, as well as feeling abandoned by families who have deserted them or whom they feel they have shamed by their crimes. I, Joanie, then asked the question, "Why Mary?" Considering her poverty, lack of status and heritage, young and unmarried, Mary was an unlikely candidate to be the mother of Jesus. But God chose her; He knew her heart and character. I feel some of the women could relate to Mary and I wanted to subtly illustrate Mary as a common young woman, since she is often worshipped in this country. I shared how Mary had both stress and joys in her life, all at the same time, just like us. I presented the Gospel and referred to 1Samuel and how God looks at our hearts and not at our outside appearance, and emphasizing relationship, rather than religion. I encouraged them to read the Bible and pray daily and be FAT...Faithful to the Word, Available to serve others and Transparent, take off our masks. In jail, they need to wear so many masks and when they get out, they don't even know who they are anymore.

I was surprised that the inmates had prepared a dramatic presentation of Jonah and the whale, which was very good, especially considering their lack of resources and lack of men for the parts :-). As far as food, we went over budget. As I discussed the menu, the women confessed that they were up to their noses with noodles and pancit. So the special treat for our party was Yum burgers and fries from Jolibee with ice cream cones topping it off. I am glad our relationship has developed to a level of honesty and transparency in sharing 'real feelings' with me. This transfers beyond just food menus, and for that I praise God.

BIYAYA
The word used in jail for "handouts or giveaways" but defined as "blessings" in Tagalog
Our personal gifts to each inmate were toiletries and daily pocket calendars that explained the Gospel. The government only issues a bar of soap, less than one a month, so inmates are dependent on family and groups to meet their basic needs, even for toilet paper. Those without family and without money are desperate with the lack of provision by the government. Some families don't visit but instead send their "transportation" money to help their loved one. Many religious groups are involved in the prison and meet these physical needs. All kinds of theology and religion prevail, confusing the women's belief systems, while at the same time "hooking" them in to receive gift-in-kind donations. It's a complicated system through which to navigate with integrity of word and action.

BAMBOO BRIDGES BUILT
In meeting some physical, emotional, mental, social, and paralegal needs, we at FACE-2-FACE build bamboo-bridges upon which the Word of God travels. This party introduced 3 visitors to prison ministry and provided face-2-face personal interaction with the inmates, thus encouraging both visitors and inmates and bringing such a joy in surroundings of desperation and volatile spiritual warfare. Thru this party we were able to minister to an often rejected and forgotten people in our society, thus fulfilling the commands of Jesus found in James and Matthew 25. In obedience to Him and out of Love for our Savior, we were able to minister the compassionate care of Christ and present the plan of salvation both verbally and in writing, because ACTION partners wanted to get involved and took action to make this party a reality. The 6 leaders will follow up within their own small groups comprised of the participants in this gathering.

We thank God for multiple blessings in this event with fruit continuing to mature and sweeten.

We'd like to thank ACTION and ACTION partners for providing funds for this party. We couldn't have had the party otherwise, since we didn't build it into our budget.
Thanks for LOVE IN ACTION!