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Prisoners Set Free

Angela Shuff, Editor

At the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Manila, Philippines, nearly a thousand inmates gathered for the annual Christmas party put on by members of Freedom in Christ Baptist Church, a congregation of born-again prisoners started by missionary Sophie Jenista and her assistant, Deb Anat. The church leadership team wore shirts emblazoned with “ABWE—Freedom in Christ Baptist Church—CIW,” and they led in singing Christmas carols and arranged for the presentation of nine mini-Christmas dramas, complete with décor and costumes.

The crowd was mostly made up of the 800 faithful attendees of Sophie’s Tuesday Bible studies, where prisoners are given a clear introductory presentation of the gospel. Nearly every woman who attends makes a profession of faith, usually with tears flowing. In 2006, there were over 800 registered conversions and hundreds more came to Christ through personal counseling provided during medical outreaches that offered dental, optical, bone scan, and Pap smear services.

The inmates call their white-haired teacher “Nanay” Sophie (“mom” Sophie), a title of honor in light of the fact that Filipino culture regards mothers and grandmothers with high reverence. Mom Sophie greets her “daughters” with hugs and kisses. She has been described as a modern-day Corrie Ten Boom or Mother Theresa.

Sophie and her late husband, Frank, served with ABWE in China, the Philippines, Australia, and Papua New Guinea until Frank’s death in 1984. Sophie then made repeated trips to the Far East, often speaking fifty times a month to pastors’ wives, counselors, seminary students, Sunday school teachers, and leadership training groups.

Seven years ago, she went to the CIW in Manila to visit one inmate. From that visit, a spark ignited and a ministry was born. Today, this prison ministry, with revival-like qualities, is retired Sophie’s full-time work. However, you cannot talk to Sophie without hearing praise for her assistant, Deb, who is an experienced soul-winner and church planter, a highly organized planner, and the daughter of a Filipino missionary.

There are several smaller prisons in the area surrounding Manila, but the CIW houses serious offenders. Women here bear the charges of murder, kidnapping, drug pushing, robbery, and embezzlement. Some have been wrongly accused but still face long years in prison without much hope of appeal. One acre of property houses 1,500 women, and one-third of this population attends Sophie and Deb’s Bible study meetings on any given Tuesday. One day, 480 women came to hear Sophie teach the Bible even though a senator was speaking at the same time.

Sophie and Deb are known for keeping order during their meetings, and this reputation has provided them great freedom at the prison. Officials and guards are impressed, as a few of the most violent inmates have been tamed and bullying has decreased. Other religious groups are allowed to enter the prison, but they can only come for two-and-a-half hours. Sophie holds church activities every day, and she and Deb are welcome anytime. The directress of the prison appreciates the change in atmosphere over the last two years. “Soon this will be a Baptist prison!” she says.

The leadership team of Freedom in Christ Baptist Church is made up of inmates who are committed disciples. In their dorms, in the cafeteria, and in the courtyard, these inmates are spreading the gospel, reaching out to the shunned, and using their bunk beds as counseling centers for those who want to hear about Christ.

Inside these prison walls, women face huge challenges of overcoming their pasts. Therefore, the ministry at CIW has not been without its struggles. Inmates face the temptation to return to a life of scamming, stealing, and lesbianism. But God has honored the teaching of His Word, and many women are finding genuine freedom and renewal in Christ.

One of these changed lives is Helen, confined in CIW on charges of kidnapping. She is the mother of two girls who have been raised by their grandmother, and for fourteen years she was not able to hear from them. The girls’ grandmother constantly told them how bad their mother was. Since Helen found salvation in Christ, she began to take this matter to the Lord in fervent prayer.

Recently, Helen was able to talk to her daughters on the phone and was elated when they showed up at the prison to visit her. She even met her beautiful grandchild. During a later visit, both daughters received Christ as their Lord and Savior. At a recent Bible study meeting, Helen shared this testimony of how God is working in her family, and the audience of inmates clapped in celebration. Helen currently has about twenty disciples who she is training in the ways of the Lord.

Around Christmastime, “mom” Sophie was separated from her daughters during a brief visit to the United States. During this time she turned eighty-four years old. Even in her absence, a group of church members and volunteer assistants gathered for a birthday party in her honor. One birthday candle was lit at the front of the room, and from it the prisoners formed a line. Each woman held a piece of paper on which she wrote down her weaknesses to give up to the Lord. One by one, each inmate reached the front, burned her list in the fire of the candle, and gave testimony about her growth goals for the New Year. Many of the women proclaimed, “I accepted Christ through ABWE,” and they wished Sophie special birthday blessings. While Sophie was home for Christmas, these young disciples prayed for her several times a day, hoping that the eighty-four-year-old woman will live until she is at least 100, so she can keep coming back to CIW—to her daughters in the Lord.

In this eightieth anniversary year of ABWE, we celebrate God’s grace in the lives of our missionaries around the world—missionaries, like Sophie, who have surrendered their entire lives for the Savior’s use. Here in ABWE’s first mission field, we see God’s sustaining grace in the life of Sophie Jenista as the Holy Spirit is stirring among the forgotten prisoners of the Philippines. Remember these inmates in prayer as they grow in Christ and share their newfound freedom in their mission field behind bars and with their families and friends beyond the prison walls.