HOPE & FREEDOM PRISON OUTREACH

Walking into a prison, I’m never certain what to expect. How many people will be there? How will they respond? But what happened on this day was something truly special.

In June 2026, I led my first-ever international prison ministry trip - returning to Mexico, the very place where, 25 years earlier, I had lived as an alcoholic, drug-addicted fugitive with a meth lab in my bathroom. This time, I returned carrying 300 copies of the Spanish edition of my testimony, Toda Mi Esperanza: Una Prisionera No Más. Only Jesus can rewrite stories like this: The woman who once hid from the law in Mexico was now returning to walk boldly into its prisons, carrying her story of redemption and the freedom and hope found in Jesus Christ.

As we approached the prison chapel, we heard clapping. Staff had told us that usually only 40-50 women attended the services, but that day was anything but usual: 170 WOMEN SHOWED UP! They didn’t have to come - they wanted to come. They were waiting for us, and when we stepped inside, we were greeted with smiles, hugs, and women eager to express their gratitude because we had come. One woman even made a point to embrace every member of our team.

I began sharing my testimony. At one point, I asked, “How many of you have children?” Almost every hand went up.

Then I asked, “How many of you feel like prison saved your life?” Again, hands went up across the room.

I wasn’t surprised, because that is MY story too. God used prison to stop the destruction and bring me to Jesus. These women had come to the same realization I had years ago: If God had not intervened, they might not be alive today.

I continued sharing about the addiction, brokenness, shame, and failure I had been living in, and their faces said it all: “You’re telling my story.”

And then something shifted.

When we began talking about restoration - about how God can put broken lives back together - the tears began to flow. Suddenly they were no longer focused on where they had been. They were beginning to see where God could take them.

One of our team members said, “They already knew the broken part. What moved them was realizing that there is hope.”

Then we gave the invitation - and I don’t think I will ever forget what happened next.

As we invited the women to come forward and accept Jesus, they poured out of their seats and flooded the front of the room. It was like watching a wave roll in from the ocean. One of our team members later described it as though heaven had opened right there in the chapel. Even the staff were completely surprised by the response.

Right there at the prison altar, the women stood weeping, praying, and surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ.

Our team began praying over the 145 WOMEN WHO HAD SURRENDERED THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST. It was beautiful. Language barriers disappeared as the Holy Spirit moved in ways only He can.

There were women with 800-year sentences, young women who were pregnant, and one woman who felt called to carry the gospel beyond the prison walls someday. They were mothers, daughters, and grandmothers who had nearly given up hope.

Women cried. Women worshipped. Women encountered the presence of God. Women discovered how deeply God sees and loves them.

Not as inmates.

Not as numbers.

But as His beloved daughters.

Hope returned that day to the women behind the prison walls of Ciudad Juárez. And this was only our first stop! In the coming weeks, I’ll share more of the powerful ways God moved throughout Mexico - opening doors, breaking chains, and restoring lives through the hope of Jesus.

None of this would have been possible without your faithful prayers and support. Because you stand with us, the hope of Jesus is reaching people in places many will never see - but places He has never forgotten.

Thank you for helping us carry His hope behind prison walls and across international borders.