In the summer of 1989, I was going through lots of trials and tribulations when I was in the outside world. It was during this time of troubles that I felt God was calling me to be a Christian, but I ignored God because I did not want to give up my sinful life and my lust for the material things of the world.

I suffered a nervous breakdown when I was made redundant from work and found that I could survive on unemployment benefit. I began to feel suicidal and that I was a failure. Searching for answers I also got involved in clairvoyance, which God has commanded us not to do:

Deuteronomy 18 v.10-11 (KJV) says:
"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer."
And Leviticus 20 v.27 says:
"A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them."

I got a reading from the clairvoyant to find out why 1 was feeling depressed and she said that a woman I knew was working witchcraft on me. This led me to kill the woman I was having an affair with. I then intended to kill myself afterwards, but I did not have the guts to do this at all.

On September 5th 1989,1 was charged with murder and sent to prison for the first time in my life. While on remand in Brixton, I began to cry a lot. I cursed God and blamed him for putting me in prison. I wanted to die, because I had lost everything that I'd had, and my lawyers had made it clear to me that I could be facing a life sentence. I felt God was speaking or directing me to go to the Church of England service every Sunday morning. In May 1990, at the Central Criminal Court I was wrongly jailed for life for Murder instead of Manslaughter through diminished responsibility. In June 1990, I was transferred to Wormwood Scrubs prison. The Church there was beautiful. In this Church I came across a booklet called "Journey into Life" by Norman Warren. This booklet give me a practical guide on how to become a Christian, so I repented of all my sins and invited Jesus Christ into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour. I told the inmates around me that I was now a Christian. I read the Bible daily for scriptural food and realised that there was very strong evidence in the Old Testament that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. God was speaking to me through the scriptures and changing my life. There would be times when inmates would mock me for being Christian etc. It got worse when I tried witnessing i.e. telling them about the Lord Jesus and what he had done in my life but the Lord has helped me through.

In November 1991, I was transferred to Gartree prison. While I was there I enjoyed doing Bible reading in the chapel at the altar regularly. I prayed for a Christian wife for 2 years and God answered that prayer when I got married in June 1992. God also answered my prayer for new Christian friends from outside. I am so grateful for the good things that God has done in my life and this proves that he does answer our prayers according to his will. In August 2000, I was baptised, fully immersed in water in the swimming pool at Maidstone prison. I was also confirmed and both were wonderful! What God has done for me he can do for you? My testimony will tell that even though we are sinners, God still loves us and wants to change our hearts and lives. Believing in witchcraft and clairvoyance got me where I am today, and destroyed my life and the life of my victim.

God is all powerful and even though the devil tried to destroy me totally, God turned my life around. I was saved through my suffering which led me to allow the Lord to take over my life despite having lost everything. What I have now in Jesus Christ in terms of righteousness, peace and joy cannot be compared with anything that I thought of value before.

When I was about twelve years old my dad got fed up with me - he said I was disobedient. I had run away from home because I was afraid of him. I started to steal money, I was caught, my father told the police that he did not want me at home any more. The police at this stage put me in a home for boys. I was there for nine months. Again I ran away and ended up on the streets. I ended up staying with a man and his daughter. I was fourteen years of age now. This man was murdered - it was in 1991. I and two other people (man & woman) were arrested for murder. In July 1998 I was sentenced to death - a death warrant was read out to me which stated that I was to be hanged in a few days' time. I cried to the living God for mercy. At this stage I was still not in Christ. My prayer was answered, praise God! I am alive today to tell you about it.

It was on the 16th of December 2000 that I asked Christ into my heart and life as my personal Lord and Saviour, I was also baptised as a believer. Praise God I along with others shall be coming off death row - I do not know when - but I thank my precious Saviour for saving me both physically and most importantly spiritually. Before I was saved I was a Muslim. I thank God for his Grace and Mercy and for saving the lives of many male and female inmates here in Trinidad and Tobago. God Bless You All.

From Thai Prison (Bangkok):

My name is Jomen Karen, and I would like to share my testimony with other inmates who do not know Christ in their lives. I did not believe in God but strange things happened to me. When I looked up at the mountains, trees, woods & valleys, I started to feel that all these things had a Creator. Many friends before had tried to win me to Christ but failed, but the spirit of God spoke to my heart and told me all things were Created by God. I asked for a Bible - they did not hesitate and offered me one. I accepted Christ as my Saviour and I am now a born again Christian. I thank God for delivering me from the power of darkness.

My name is Shee Arakan. I was brought up as a Buddhist, as were all of my family. I became a Christian shortly after my sentence to prison. I have given my whole life to Christ; He is all we need in our lives. I have it in my mind to see all of my family become Christians, because I have witnessed the truth of Romans 5.8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We have a church in here and I do go to the church services every Sunday. Christianity has changed my whole life, and I have promised God that I will follow His word and give my heart to Him for the rest of my life.
 

Hello everyone. My name is Norma Martindale and I come from St Helens in Lancashire. I look around and see happy faces, but I know how sad everyone feels at times - worried sad, lonely, hurt and afraid. That is how most of us go through our lives when we experience difficulty and pain. It is not easy, and many times we try and hide it from our friends and family when we are hurting.

I enjoyed many happy years in England - good marriage, three lovely children, wonderful parents, good jobs, everything seemed fine, yet many times I would feel depressed for no apparent reason. I felt afraid, empty, no anchor really. I kept God at a distance. Somehow I never felt Him close to me even when I prayed.

We came to Tenerife in 1994 to carry on our "good life", all of us together, until the tragedy struck. One night several years ago now, we lost our precious twin son Gary, aged 23 years, in a road accident - he was a passenger. I felt, along with my family, just utter panic and devastation, I was hysterical, The police called at the house because of the noise I made, I was full of despair. I thought God; I must ask God for help, so I came along to South Tenerife Christian Fellowship looking for help and support. I talked and talked and talked, I asked questions and many people spoke and tried to help me at the Fellowship. I realised, slowly, how Jesus was definitely my answer and it felt as though He was coming closer. I needed him for my strength to continue daily and also to speak to me at night when I found it hard to sleep. With God beside me I could carry on. I knew that I was definitely too weak to do this before I found Jesus because I used to panic if I lost my purse.

I would like to say what Jesus means in my life now. I now accept that He died on the cross for me personally and I love Him very much. Jesus is the way to know God. I could never do what I manage to do, since the death of my son, without knowing Jesus. He is my life, He holds all the answers and I just have faith and believe in Him. He guides me each day and speaks into my heart - I can now speak to Him at all times. Wherever I am I feel the Holy Spirit in me and it lifts me. The grief is still there, very, very much and many tears, for I miss Gary so much, but all of God's words in the Bible and in the Hymns we sing, encourage me to battle through. It is very hard at times, but I know I am not alone. That is very important to me, I can only do it with Him beside me, believe me. The Bible says that God does not take us out of the storms of life but gives us a strong hand to hold and His peace to experience in the midst of these storms. They do come to us in lots of different ways - divorce, sickness, deaths and lots of other trials in life, but I take heart from a lovely hymn we sing:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

This event actually took place... As I left one of the wings, I passed by one of the exercise yards. "Martin," I heard someone shout. I turned around and saw a young inmate who I had been spending some time with. I stopped, turned and made my way over to see him. There were about ten inmates working out in the yard. As I talked with my friend I noticed another inmate listening to our conversation. He approached me and without as much as an introduction he said "God is not interested in a criminal like me." What an opportunity arose for me. I said "My friend, how wrong you are." I went on to explain to him about Christ's relationship with the so-called outcasts of society, how He spent time with them and showed His love and compassion for them. This young guy looked at me in complete and utter amazement. "I never knew any of that," he stated. He started to see and understand the love that Christ had for him - that was one day he would never forget. To think that God is only interested in "good people" - what a lie from the evil one!

Note from the Editor:

My prayer is that the Lord has touched and spoken to your heart through this 16th issue of Set Free. Christ is indeed interested in you, my friend. Throughout this magazine He has shown you how He has truly set others free from the bondage that was in their lives. Yes He is speaking to your heart now, He loves you so much and he has a plan and purpose for your life. If you want to respond to Christ today then this prayer will help you. God Bless. M. Tuson.

"Dear Father, I know that I am a sinner and that I need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I am willing to turn away from my sin and now I invite Jesus to come into my heart and life as my personal Saviour. I am willing by God's Grace to follow and obey Christ as Lord of my life."

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