wfn.org | College students get involved in prison ministries this summer

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3046 Edition

>July 12~July 18, 2010

College students get involved in prison ministries this summer

>Reported by Sam Lee

>Written by Lydia Ma

Armed with 300 copies of Heart Farmer, a weekly digest published  by Taiwan 
Church Press

detailing touching testimonies of lives changed by God, Taitung  County 
Christian Prison

Ministries Association and Hualien College Ministries entered  Tai-Yuan 
Penitentiary to share

>the gospel with inmates.

Taitung has the highest number of penitentiaries in Taiwan. It has  7 prisons 
and 4 of them,

including Tai-Yuan, used to house the most violent criminals in  the nation in 
the past.

According to the association, many inmates have repented of their  sins and put 
their faith in

Christ after reading “Heart Farmer” in the past few  years. Not only does Heart 
Farmer carry

prison wardens’ stamp of approval, it’s easy to carry  for those on the go, and 
offers new hope

to prisoners who’ve lost all hope by giving them courage to  face the future.

The association had invited Hualien College Ministries to visit  Tai-Yuan 
penitentiary and co-

host an evangelistic meeting and the latter recruited several  college students 
to lead worship

and share their personal testimonies. For many Christians  who’d accepted 
Christ while in

prison, the meeting was a much-needed encouragement and renewed  their hope.

According to Taitung County Christian Prison Ministries  Association, in the 
past, foreign

missionaries would often visit Tai-Yuan Penitentiary during  summers. It was a 
nice change

and a rare opportunity to see college students visit prisons and  share the 
gospel there.

The visit was part of a 2-week camp planned by Hualien College  Ministries for 
college

students and gave students an opportunity to help out at an  evangelistic 
meeting. For many

students, this was the first time they’d ever visited a  prison and the tour 
undoubtedly left a

>lasting impression.

Youth leaders hoped that through visiting prisons, remote  villages, and people 
from different

backgrounds or ethnicities in rural Taiwan, students would have a  chance to 
reflect on the

value of life as well as live out their faith through serving  others.

One youth commented that this was her first time visiting a  penitentiary and 
it wasn’t as scary

as she had originally envisioned. Instead, she saw plenty of  warmth and hope. 
She

encouraged inmates to open their hearts to the gospel because it  would bring 
them freedom and peace.

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