Sun, 24 Jul 2005

Please hold us in a special prayer. (This will be 10 a.m. their time and 7 p.m. Sunday night for us) Tomorrow we are going back to a prison we visited last week where a guy has been put there because a lady paid the police and told them he stole a cell phone. The prisoners have to paid to even get a drink of water or anything to eat. It is really really bad. They sleep on the dirty floor and have to pay to have a mat to sleep on. We were able to talk with him in the prison. I had brought the Portuguese bible I had brought with me to Africa and was able to give it to him with some bread we brought with us.

We asked the guards of the prison if we could come back and bring a guitar with us the next time. They were hesitant but when we told them we were from "Iris" they were very open. We are going to bring back some more food for the prisoners and a mat for the one guy we had visited to sleep on.

The guards ask us to bring bibles for them also and they would bring all the prisoners out to listen to us. Approximately 200 people are in the prison. The Lord has opened the door for us to bring bread and preach the word. It is not known what will happen but God has opened the way I am really excited. This is an area that "Iris" has not been able to get into.

It seems crazy to having this going through my mind but I really want to go into one of the prisons. To see how they must live and feel what they must be feeling. The place smelled really bad. As the only white girl among the group visiting there they watch me closely but I feel God's wonderful peace. The guards searched the guys but not the girls.

We will be visiting the hospital tomorrow. Please keep us in prayer. We were able to go there the other day. There is nothing there. It is such a poor nation. Mothers sitting holding their sick little children in their laps. IVs hanging off of poles next to them. No medicines as we know it.

Some of the children here have scabies so on Monday we went searching through the village to find medicine. The hospital has nothing. It took us all day but we were able to find some of the medicine needed.

It has been incredible awesome! The people come and sit around on the sidewalks outside. They kept asking why all these white people are here. Now we are telling them. This school has been able to be a part of the first in many things. We were the first to bring in the people from the village. Many are beggers. They beg for money and for food. They have been coming! Heidi has been opening the gates and the people come and we just love on them. We are going to start feeding them during the lunch on Sundays. Before we didn't have enough food but now we have. Today we started to feed them after church. There were hundreds of kids! All lined us to eat beans and rice. So many. It was so precious to be able to feed them for both physically and spiritually.

To go to school the family has to pay but most are too poor here. Some will be in their twenties and only be in the second year of school because they can't afford to pay. They work and save a little money and go as they are able. Heidi is going to start a school for the children and not charge for it. I told the lady and her family that we went to see on Friday. Their eyes were wide and they were amazed! This will mean so much to the people.

Malaria is like the common cold here except you can die from it. One of the pastors here has it. We were able to pray with him. He was very weak.

Friday night I went back to this ladies house. She made a cake! It was amazing! I don't know how she made it. We were so blown away! The way they have to cook it is amazing but yet she made us a cake!

If anyone wants to seed into what is going on here it would be so wonderful. It is really here. It is not just preaching to them but loving them. Filling their hungry bellies, putting roofs over their heads and now being able to educate them. Real life things.

I have been asked about the living conditions a little more in regards to our water. The conditions here makes it so all have to pump water. I have been able to take one shower since being here. The water just is not here. If it just happens to be running then you get a shower, but usually it is only a trickle. Usually we take bucket baths. Since we are so close to the Indian Ocean the water from the well is salty so we are able to buy bottled water. The school has been able to bring in a tank of water for our use also.

I have been asked if you can mail things here. Yes, but it is very expensive and it takes a long time and there is no guarantee we will get it. The best way to donate is to bring it if you are coming or given in money through Iris' website.

Blessings to all of you,

Ashlee