Earlier this year we had the privilege of reaching out to 738 prisoners in the Seychelles, a group of islands off the eastern coast of Africa. Set in the midst of truly spectacular beauty and relative stability, one may not recognize the pain and suffering experienced by many.
For many of the inmates their lives, until that point (before incarceration), had been more of a taste of hell than of the paradise tourists experience. Seychelles has one of the highest intravenous drug usage per capita globally, falls within a piracy as well as drug/human/weapons trafficking shipping route, and faces growing break-down of the family unit.
The Seychelles prison system recognizes the issues and are committed to rehabilitate not just punish inmates. I was so impressed by their openness to our visit and the commitment to transformation by the chaplain and other leadership.
Through the support of our partners, we got to tell Somalian pirates that God loves them and give them Joyce’s books in Somali. We also were able to talk to heroin addicts about healing and restoration…and with women about how God restored Joyce after sexual abuse and how He can do the same for them!
But we aren’t stopping with this one trip… in addition to the hygiene gift bags and books, we’ll be putting Joyce on their prison radio, and providing flash drives so they can receive her TV program. Our hope is to spread the Gospel and turn the tide against the works of the enemy.
Please pray for the inmates, and the officials, God is doing something special there.
Hand of Hope is the missions arm of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Our goal is simply to help as many hurting people as we possibly can, to alleviate human suffering and to help Christians grow in their faith.
