I was brought up to attend Church, but Church was never in me. From a young age I went through all the normal Church activities from Sunday school to the Boys' Brigade. To be honest back then I had no interest in the things of God. I found it hard to attend each week and could not wait for the service to be over. Even when l was in Sunday school I would be longing to be out as soon as possible.

Despite all of this, seeds were obviously being sown in my life. It was in the summer of 1982 aged 15, when I returned home from a school football trip in the U.S. At this time our Lord's conviction started to fall upon me. After nearly 4 weeks away, I was to find out that one of my father's friends had been killed in an aviation accident. His plane had crashed resulting in his death. I knew this person also and it was the first time that I really thought about what faced us after death. To me when everyone died they went straight to Heaven - how wrong I was. This whole incident played on my mind, I was very troubled by this and knew of no answer. One night while I was attending the Boys' Brigade I thought I would seek some help and asked our Minister about this situation. He told me that unless this person had accepted Christ into their life and received forgiveness from their sins, then they would not be in Heaven but in hell. This made me feel worse; I was heavily under conviction. I can only describe it like I carrying a rug sack around my back and every time I was convicted it was as if a heavy rock was being placed in this rug sack. I found it hard to concentrate or even sleep. To make things worse for me, the Lord sent me a dream which frightened me immensely. This dream involved a nuclear warhead striking the city of Belfast and in only minutes I would be swept into eternity. I remembered watching the shock waves of this explosion and houses being flattened by the force, then the glass came in on my face. I awoke and was deeply troubled.

Then on the 7th November 1982, only a few days after my dream I attended Church once again. I was broken and lost but on this morning in particular I found that I wanted to go for the first time in my life. As I sat through the service I could sense something within me (God's presence). After the service, when we were going home I stopped and noticed a pile of cards on the table in the hallway. These cards were called decision cards and explained the way of salvation and how Christ came into this world to die for sinners like me. For the first time in my life I understood (my eyes were opened). When I returned home that day I went into my bedroom and fell to my knees and prayed the sinner's prayer, which was on the decision card. In an instant the peace, rest and joy of Christ filled my heart and soul. That day I was born into the Kingdom of God, my burdens rolled away. All fear left and I knew that Christ was real. 21 years later I can truly testify to the saving grace and mercy of Christ. Even though I have tripped up along the way, he has been with me. Time is short; this world we live in is a sinful and fallen place. Today the Lord continues to move in my life and has called me to those incarcerated men and women within the darkness of the prison cell. I pray that you will indeed come to know Christ in your own lives, for I am a living testimony to his grace, mercy, love and wonderful forgiveness.

My name is Somboon Kwangee, this is my testimony to all. When I first came to prison, I did not have any one to visit me. My family had forsaken me and would not visit or take care of me. In this prison I came to Christ, I felt that I had done wrong and I needed to confess my sins to Christ. I prayed to God, now all of my burdens have been taken away. I am filled with the spirit of God and his power and hope. I do not worry any more, he has provided everything I need. I thank Jesus Christ for forgiving me all of my sins and for giving me a new life.

My name is Wichia Saelee; I was born at a village of Burma. Here there were only a few people who were Christians. At this time my family worshipped idols. They put their faith in Christ when I was ten years old. I had no understanding of the Gospel and who Christ was. I was expelled at the age of 14 to work at the capital town of Burma and I used to worship any creature I felt I believed. After some time I travelled to Thailand in search of my fortune to support my family. There I started male prostitution, drugs and all kinds of filthy things to fill my desires. I got a 16-year-old girl pregnant and there was no money to support her or the baby, so I decided to sell drugs to support them. I got arrested within a couple of months and put into prison, which I have now served four years. Since then I have lost my family, my wife and my kid. I was in despair and frustrated, so one Sunday someone gave me a Bible and asks me to go to church with him. So I started going to church and reading my Bible every day, my heart started to change. I gave up all of my sinful life and asked Christ into my heart and life. Jesus has redeemed my lost soul and has taken me out of a life of darkness into a life of light. PRAISE THE LORD, ROMANS 5:8

At school, I was told that the Bible was unscientific and that Jesus Christ never claimed to be the Son of God. My schooling left me with the impression that eventually science would solve all our problems. I even heard at the university that sin and evil were outmoded concepts and that environmental factors were the sole obstacle to man achieving an economic and social utopia. I am ashamed to say that I adopted these views uncritically and held them until my late twenties. Then for the first time in my life, I started to think seriously about the subjects of life and death, good and evil, the failure of human beings to live harmoniously together, and the reasons for human existence.

The first question which I asked was "Is there a God?" On consideration it was inconceivable to me that the complex system of which we are a part could have occurred without a Creator. Just as a great symphony testifies to the skill of the composer, the world and the universe testify to the wisdom and power of God. Science is but a description of God's work. Two other things also occurred to me at this time, First, there was evil in human beings including myself, and that this evil was naturally occurring, and did not have to be learned. Secondly, it was likely that a human being could have some sort of personal contact with the Creator of life. When I started to read the Bible again (this time with an open mind) it fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle. Jesus claims to be the Son of God, the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. (1) He says, I am the Resurrection and the life: He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. (2) In the Bible we learn that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then rose again to a different dimension of divine life. I discovered this vital life in Jesus and became a Christian when, at the age of thirty, I sought forgiveness through Christ for my sins. The change was radical and complete. The living Christ becomes more real to me as the days go by. I find in Him a source of peace and security which a mere scientific knowledge can never bring.

I was released in 1997 after spending 14 years in prison. Through all that time at the start, when I was on remand I went to church every Sunday and went to Bible meetings every Wednesday.

When I was moved to the Maze prison in 1985, I went to church a few times and Bible class once. Then I said to myself, this is not for me. I spent 4 years in the maze, then was moved to Maghaberry were I stayed until I was released in 1997. All through this time I did not even think about God, as I just wanted to do my time the best way I could.

While I was in prison on the working out unit, I met my wife through a friend (blind date). Once I finished the working out unit I moved in with my wife and got engaged. We married the following year and then our son Craig was born on the 1st of October. Everything was going well for us both and in the summer of 1998 we bought our first house. We were both working in Montupet and earning a good wage. Then we sold our house and moved to Lisburn were we bought a bigger house as my wife had two daughters from previous relationships. We were happy at the start until everything started to go wrong. About two weeks before I returned to prison I asked my wife would she go to church with me that Sunday and she said no. I was very scared of going on my own and all that Sunday I was troubled with worries and didn't know what to do or who to turn to. Then the fortnight after that I went out touring on my motor bike for charity and once it was finished everybody went to Derriaghy Cricket Club were they were holding a mini moto event (motor bikes) and once my wife came down with the kids everything went sour. I told her I was going to work and it was then she told me in front of everybody that our marriage was over. I went home to read a letter she said she wrote, and beside the letter were two wedding rings.

When I went back to talk to her she had left with the three kids. My mind was in turmoil and I finished up drunk and I drove about all night trying to find out where my wife and kids were. That was the night I ended up re-offending and finished back in prison. Now I am in the middle of my divorce and I get to see my son every two weeks, when my mum and aunt come up for visits. At Christmas time I was going through a very bad patch as I had let everyone down and now I had hit rock bottom. Everything I worked for from 1997-2002 I had lost - my job, my house, car, motorbike and some good friends. My ex-wife does not want me to have anything to do with my two stepchildren.

I was introduced to Martin at the start of January this year and every time I spoke to him I was crying with hurt and pain. It was on the Friday 17th January this year, that I let the Lord into my life and I have now got peace and joy within. I have learnt to put all of my trust in the Lord and to take all of my problems to him through prayer. I still find things hard but I am learning to cope better.

PRAISE GOD, John continues to grow in Christ and has experienced many powerful miracles in his life. He is a living testimony to the power of God.

Have you come to a point in your life where you're searching for more - you haven't got a peace about you, you're ashamed of your past and you just want to be loved unconditionally. You've heard about a man called Jesus, God's son, who died on the cross for your sins. You have a desire to know more about Him, and so you begin to observe these people you've heard about who call themselves Christians, to see what's different about them. After a while you stop thinking about Jesus and you start to notice that these people are not as perfect as you once thought. They are sinners saved by grace and although the Holy Spirit came to live in them, when they were saved, they continue to sin on a daily basis. This is why the Lord gave us repentance: if we as Christians confess our sins to Him, He will have mercy on us and forgive us.

However, you may also say, "well what about those who say they have accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour, but who continue to lead double lives and seem to be contradicting all that they once believed in?" Well, God guarantees that He will never turn His back on us (Hebrews 13 vs. 5-6), but He does give us a choice. We can either continue to grow in Him and live our lives through Him, or we can turn our backs on Him. For some reason or another there are people who walk away from God. When this happens to a Christian, it is not only very sad for them and it breaks God's heart, but it also misleads and confuses those who are unsaved and who may be searching.

This is why we need to take our eyes off imperfect Christians (we are all sinners) and we need to start focussing on the perfect Christ. Hypocrisy can be used as an excuse for rejecting the Gospel, but don't let another person's shortcomings prevent you from receiving God's gift of salvation (2 Corinthians 6 v.2). Remember, it is Jesus who is sinless and without fault - and after all ITS ALL ABOUT HIM.

I started crime at an early age. The first time I remember stealing I was aged five. Some years later I started to attend my uncle's church and learnt the story of the Bible. At times when the service was lively, I thought I felt a hidden presence in the atmosphere. Sadly I gave up on Church - it was not for me. I started to steal scrap and was eventually arrested for theft. This frightened me at first, but did not stop me from committing crime. This lifestyle continued and I was 14 when I received my first prison sentence. My first time in a young offender's I was not frightened but I missed my family and friends.

By the time I reached 21, I had been convicted of robberies, burglaries, thefts, offensive weapon, driving offences, criminal damage, perverting the course of justice, and possession of class B drugs - I was serving my fourth prison sentence. I was released at the age of 24 and did not intend going back to prison.

I started to sell drugs and was back in trouble again with the police. Nine months after my release, I was sentenced to another five-year stretch. In the first year of this sentence I had a dream which frightened me - it was an evil dream. I awoke and soon went back to sleep again, I dreamed again. In this dream I was in a church, the choir were praising Jesus. I felt joy and the presence of the Holy Spirit in this dream. The next day when I thought about this dream it made me happy. I tried to dismiss this; I found that when I said bad language I felt bad about it. I spoke with another inmate who was a Christian about my dream etc. He gave me his own powerful testimony. This all led to me giving my life to Jesus. In my cell that day I got on my knees and prayed to the Lord and asked him to help me change my ways, and to do what He wants me to do. I did not change overnight but gradually with the Lord's help he began his work in me. The days passed by, my faith continued to grow. I became more aware of the evil in the world and how drug abuse was part of this darkness. When you take a look around you and see violence, lies, stealing, lust, drugs, extortion and many more dark things, then you are seeing a part of darkness that I am talking about. My time at that prison came to an end. Since then I have been transferred twice to two prisons; my faith has not dwindled; in fact it has got stronger. Through the power of the Holy Spirit my prayers are answered, drugs and crime no longer tempt me, I feel a different person.

God has taken me through all of these hard times. At times in my life I have been crying out for love, in my heart. I have been to the darkest places and in some of the darkest situations. I have stolen off people all of my life to get material things. None of these things have ever given me the love or happiness that my Saviour has given me. When Jesus came into my life he gave me that love I was searching for.

I hope and pray that when you read my story, that you will be encouraged to change your ways. If I was saved, with all my criminal history and the times I have hurt people, then surely if you need him, God will send you His son to save you.

Read Isaiah Ch. 42
1) What shall he bring forth to the Gentiles?
2) Who will wait for his law?
3) Who will be brought out?
4) Who is well pleased for his righteousness sake?

Read Isaiah Ch. 61
5) Who is liberty proclaimed to?
6) What will be given to those with a spirit of heaviness?
7) What does the Lord love?
8) What will the Lord cause to spring forth before the nations?

Proverbi 1:23
Lo versero il mio Spiritio su di voi e vi faro conoscere le mie parole.

Proverbs 1:23
Turn you at my reproof: behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

DAVID'S PSALM OF PRAISE

In Psalm 145 there is a powerful message of hope to those who are broken and lost. A message which reaches out to the outcasts of society, that no matter the circumstances they face in life and the sin they are involved in, God's mercy and Grace is there for them.

In verse 8 it says that The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. What a verse of hope for the sinner; it then goes on to say in verse 18 "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." Notice the word ALL in this verse - however deep the pit you are in at present there is a way out. Whether it is a pit of alcohol, drugs, prostitution or a destructive life style, there is an answer. Try as hard as you can you cannot get yourself out of the pit you are in. In that pit you are alone and it is dark. You can call out for help but there is no one there to lift you out. But praise God there is good news to those who are in their own pit. Jesus Christ is the only one who can lift you out of the terrible situation you find yourself in. When you call out to him He reaches down and pulls you out of your torment. He will put your feet on solid ground. So many can testify to saving Grace and Mercy of Christ. There is no one that our Lord will turn away, do not think you are worthless in God's eyes. This is the good news of the Gospel - that Christ came into the world for those who are broken and heavy laden. Through Christ you can know forgiveness from your sins, for it is only in him we can be truly SET FREE.

Romans 5:6-9

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

I pray for all who read this Issue, to come to know the risen Lord. Again throughout this Issue you can read of lives transformed by Christ. My prayer is that you will come to know Christ in your own lives, for what he has done for others he will do for you. If you want to accept Christ into life then this prayer will help you.

If you have prayed this prayer and have accepted Christ into your heart and life, please cut let us know, so we can pray and help you in your new life with Christ.