Rice From Local Church Opens Door To Ukraine Prison Ministry
August 10, 2017 at 11:52 a.m.
By Mark [email protected]
Next month Lowe, senior pastor at Warsaw’s New Life Christian Church and World Outreach, will combine the two ministries. He’ll visit six prisons, four in Ukrainian territory, two others in a sort of no man’s land that’s not occupied by Russian or Ukrainian forces.
The prisons are in Pryluk, Mortusovka, Zhytomic, Kostyanynivik, Toretck, Selidovo and Kurahove.
What opened doors to go into the prisons is the church, along with World Compassion Network, sending two truckload containers of highly fortified rice to Ukraine when it was needed most.
“The rice is scientifically formulated so that, if you had nothing else to eat, you could not only survive, but thrive,” Lowe said.
On this trip, Lowe plans to take water purification systems and filters with him. He said while there are convicted criminals within those facilities, many are simply awaiting trial, and some are pre-teen kids.
“One of the things that makes corrections work is the inmates knowing there’s someone out there who cares about them,” Lowe said. “In the case of the Ukraine, most of the time the only food they’re getting is what’s being sent from home.
“Right now, there are guards working who aren’t getting paid, but are staying out of a sense of duty. In many cases they’re in the same boat as the prisoners, without food unless the family sends it to them.”
In the case of the facilities being fought over, the situation is dire.
“In the two prisons in unoccupied territory, the water systems have been bombed out, so they’re pumping water out of the ground and filtering it through their T-shirts to try and make it drinkable,” Lowe said.
“What we’re doing is taking filtration systems over, and we’ll acquire brand new barrels to put water in. The water only flows so fast. We’ll teach them to store water so when everyone wants some, like at meals, they won’t run out. We’ll also teach them to maintain the system and its filters so they will have water long after we leave.
“The guards will work with some of the more reliable prisoners — here in America we call them trusties — to make sure they all have water. We’ll have food to distribute as well, and we’ll teach them about the gospel while we’re there, of course.”
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, there’s been a revival in many former states of the USSR. In other trips to Ukraine, Lowe said he’s been a part of raising up others to minister the Word, making the people there spiritually self-sufficient.
With this trip Lowe wants the pastors there to be better equipped to minister to those in the greatest need.
“I have a heart for prison ministry because I have family and friends who have served time, and I have an idea of what it’s like, even though I’ve never had to go,” he said.
“But I do know how it feels when someone steps up and cares for and loves on someone I care about. And I’ve seen the difference it can make for those families on the outside. Imagine having a loved one in prison and wondering if they’re going to starve to death; people shouldn’t have to live with that.
“By going over there and not just doing, but teaching, they know we walk the walk, and not just talk the talk when the cameras are on.“
The water filtration systems cost about $600 each. People interested in donating toward the purchase price can contact the church at [email protected] or at 574-269-5851.
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Next month Lowe, senior pastor at Warsaw’s New Life Christian Church and World Outreach, will combine the two ministries. He’ll visit six prisons, four in Ukrainian territory, two others in a sort of no man’s land that’s not occupied by Russian or Ukrainian forces.
The prisons are in Pryluk, Mortusovka, Zhytomic, Kostyanynivik, Toretck, Selidovo and Kurahove.
What opened doors to go into the prisons is the church, along with World Compassion Network, sending two truckload containers of highly fortified rice to Ukraine when it was needed most.
“The rice is scientifically formulated so that, if you had nothing else to eat, you could not only survive, but thrive,” Lowe said.
On this trip, Lowe plans to take water purification systems and filters with him. He said while there are convicted criminals within those facilities, many are simply awaiting trial, and some are pre-teen kids.
“One of the things that makes corrections work is the inmates knowing there’s someone out there who cares about them,” Lowe said. “In the case of the Ukraine, most of the time the only food they’re getting is what’s being sent from home.
“Right now, there are guards working who aren’t getting paid, but are staying out of a sense of duty. In many cases they’re in the same boat as the prisoners, without food unless the family sends it to them.”
In the case of the facilities being fought over, the situation is dire.
“In the two prisons in unoccupied territory, the water systems have been bombed out, so they’re pumping water out of the ground and filtering it through their T-shirts to try and make it drinkable,” Lowe said.
“What we’re doing is taking filtration systems over, and we’ll acquire brand new barrels to put water in. The water only flows so fast. We’ll teach them to store water so when everyone wants some, like at meals, they won’t run out. We’ll also teach them to maintain the system and its filters so they will have water long after we leave.
“The guards will work with some of the more reliable prisoners — here in America we call them trusties — to make sure they all have water. We’ll have food to distribute as well, and we’ll teach them about the gospel while we’re there, of course.”
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, there’s been a revival in many former states of the USSR. In other trips to Ukraine, Lowe said he’s been a part of raising up others to minister the Word, making the people there spiritually self-sufficient.
With this trip Lowe wants the pastors there to be better equipped to minister to those in the greatest need.
“I have a heart for prison ministry because I have family and friends who have served time, and I have an idea of what it’s like, even though I’ve never had to go,” he said.
“But I do know how it feels when someone steps up and cares for and loves on someone I care about. And I’ve seen the difference it can make for those families on the outside. Imagine having a loved one in prison and wondering if they’re going to starve to death; people shouldn’t have to live with that.
“By going over there and not just doing, but teaching, they know we walk the walk, and not just talk the talk when the cameras are on.“
The water filtration systems cost about $600 each. People interested in donating toward the purchase price can contact the church at [email protected] or at 574-269-5851.
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