THE GANGSTER MEETS GOD

By Brenda Kiš

What does the fact that Jesus bore your sins and died for you mean to you personally? Find out how this precious truth impacted Meng.

“When my fellow inmate hanged himself, it was a wake-up call for me. He had only one year left to serve, but Thai prison life was too miserable for him. Until now, I had spent seven years of my 46-year sentence unrepentant for my gangster life and a subsequent murder. I hadn’t cared if my actions hurt anyone or not, even when the prison guards nearly beat me to death, but now I spiraled into despair. Deep sadness and regret overwhelmed me. I, too, wanted to die.”

Meng describes his journey into darkness with candor. As a Buddhist young man, he believed his experience in prison was karma for all the bad things he’d done in his short life. After his friend’s suicide, Meng was transferred to a larger prison where God had arranged a personal encounter with him.

At the time these events were taking place in prison, Pastor Sone Faraimo, ASAP’s field su pervisor in Thailand, was pondering Christ’s words “I was in prison and you came to Me.” Prison ministries were basically non-existent in Thailand, but Pastor Sone could not shake the thought that prisoners needed to hear the good news, too. He himself had been a prisoner once and he knew the needs in the hearts of shackled men and women.

Approaching the non-Christian prison officials, he was met with skepticism and resistance. Inmates with whom Pr. Sone and his wife Suwadee attempted to share Bible studies reacted similarly. At first, only Christian inmates of other faiths expressed interest in these studies, but eventually Buddhists started to join the group as well. Soon they had a crowd of 50-60 prisoners in regular attendance.

The scene was set for Meng to meet Jesus. One day he was looking for a quiet place to write a letter home. Leaving the noisy areas of the prison, he headed for an upstairs room near the cafeteria. A small group of Christians quietly chatted near a fan blowing cool air. This was the perfect place, Meng thought as he sat down to write.

Soon their conversation drifted his way. They were discussing Isaiah 1:18 about God’s ability and desire to wash away our sins, making our lives white as snow and wool. How can this be? Meng murmured to himself. Can my sins be washed away? Who is this God who can do such a thing? He voiced his question aloud to the Bible teacher. “What happens to my sin of murder when I become a Christian?” The teacher’s answer amazed him. God will bear the consequences of my sins? He will give me a new life and I’ll have hope to go to Heaven? His mind reeled with the news that he wasn’t doomed. That was the day Meng met and accepted Jesus as his per sonal Savior.

From then on, he was part of the Bible study group, growing bit by bit in his spiritual walk. But there was more excitement to come. Now that he had met Christ and learned what true love is, God arranged for him to be released from his long sentence! On July 5, 2017, Meng walked out the prison doors a new man with a new mission: to share God’s love with his friends still incarcerated.

Even though he cannot enter the prison to encourage them, he can write letters . And his letters have been a source of great encouragement, because Meng knows what it means to be on the inside. He understands what prisoners need to hear and how they need to hear it. Meng’s past now serves his present because this gangster met God!

YOUR SUPPORT FOR ASAP MISSIONARIES AND PROJECTS CHANGES LIVES.

Watch “The Transformation of Tany Village” to see the dramatic impact of ASAP donors’ prayers and generous gifts on an entire village in rural Cambodia.