"Thank you for teaching me to know God and his Word."
"God will take care, and soon I will have my freedom."
"Now I feel peace and the hope of being at home."
"Pray for me. Here, I have no one."
These are some of the handwritten expressions on simple sheets of notebook or scrap paper that carry a lot of meaning.
Yésica, Catherine, Roxana, and Rosa are currently deprived of their freedom in the Chorrillos Women's Penitentiary Annex in Lima and are part of a group of 70 women who are studying the Bible, thanks to a team of volunteers from the Canadá Adventist Church, in alliance with Radio Nuevo Tiempo Perú.
Thursday, November 23, 2023, was an incredible day. A total of 35 of the 70 women never imagined wearing a cap and gown to participate in a graduation, much less in a prison, for having successfully completed the Bible course "Feelings, the science of existence." After that moment, seven women dressed in golden robes got ready to descend into the baptismal waters and seal their covenants with God.
On one side of the pool, leaders of the prison ministry and announcers with Radio Nuevo Tiempo gave them votes of applause as a symbol of victory. Tears were inevitable. The long hugs came as a result of enormous gratitude to God for the miracles being witnessed.
The women are visited weekly by Adventist volunteers who guide them in the study of courses while they strengthen their knowledge and faith in God daily with the programs offered by Radio Nuevo Tiempo. "Thanks, Radio Nuevo Tiempo. I don't want to change dials anymore because this radio changed my life," says one of the inmates.
That same day, the prison ministry of the Canadá Church and Radio Nuevo Tiempo established three classes in three wards so more inmates can continue to find true freedom through the study of the Bible. Each class has tables, chairs, a Bible, and, of course, a radio.
Yésica, Catherine, Roxana, and Rosa are free in Christ and look forward to soon embracing their loved ones and telling them about the One who transformed their lives. "God has allowed the radio to transform my life [and keeps] helping everyone. You are in my prayers," one concludes.
The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Spanish-language news site.