Christ For the City International

From our fabulous missionaries, Mickey & Marielos McKinney, in Costa Rica. Their ministry areas in CR include nursing homes, home Bible studies, and prisons. They have a weekly Bible study in the prison. Here's a great account of a recent visit there.

When I had finished the lesson and as I was walking toward Marielos (who was counseling a guy who renewed his relationship with Jesus that day), I saw a young man who looked as if he should belong in juvenile jail.  His name is Marco, and he was just standing there staring down at his Bible where he had a picture of two small baby girls.

I asked him about them, and he explained that the girls were his children.  So I asked how old he and the children were (thinking that he was barely 18), and it turns out that Marco is 24 and the girls are 3 and 1.  Marco said that he had prayed to receive Jesus before being arrested and that he was in church and because of his young marriage and two small girls, he had turned to God for direction and received forgiveness, peace, and salvation. 

He was indeed following God, yet his past had caught up with him.  Marco said, "I really deserve to be here for all the things I'd done before I met my wife and started a family.  I just didn't think God would allow this to happen to me since everything was going so well for me out there ever since I gave my life to Jesus.  However, I do deserve this and for five years I'll serve my time, I just don't want my children to be disappointed in me while I miss out on so much of their lives." 

What could I tell Marco?  I just simply told him to keep Jesus first in his life and maintain a good attitude, trust in Jesus and continue to stay in contact with his family as much as possible.  Maybe the courts will have mercy on him and reduce his sentence time. 

Most of the guys we see in the Bible study group arrive to jail blaming God for their capture, then we have to counsel them until they realize that their own actions got them thrown into prison.  However, Marco already knew that his past actions is what got him in prison.  He was just a bit discouraged that God would allow his past to catch up to him.

Please pray for him that this discouragement in him will not grow, rather that he would be a living example for the other men of God's grace and transforming power.