Our Missions Conference message last evening was remarkable! Our church had the pleasure of hosting Don and Joan Ewan who currently reside in the Tampa area, where they serve with the ministry of New Hope Alliance Church in Land O’ Lakes, Florida. Last night’s message, however, focused on their years in Quito, Ecuador, and Joan’s prison ministry in particular.
Don and Joan Ewan
The Ewans began their missionary career working with the Alliance Academy in Quito in the 1970′s. While teaching there, God laid the burden on Joan’s heart to minister to the international women being incarcerated at the El Inca Women’s Prison there in the capitol city. It was from this tiny beginning, years ago, that the Lord raised up the “Soul Light Link” prison ministry. Soul Light Link is a non-profit ministry that reaches South American imprisoned women with the good news of Jesus Christ. They are currently working in Quito, Ecuador and Lima, Peru, but would like to expand their influence into many other international prisons.
Joan captured our imaginations as she described the deplorable conditions of the South American prisons. Unlike the United States, the prisoners there have very little rights and privileges. They receive very few supplies and they have very few resources even for their necessary items. And no matter how severe the offense, they all receive the minimum sentence of 8 years of hard time. The prison is typically a place of hopelessness and despair. It’s a place of utter darkness, where the women are hard and calloused.
But, by God’s grace, Joan was used to bring the Light of Jesus into their world of darkness. Many of the prisoners came to a saving knowledge of Christ behind those prison bars. They began meeting regularly for worship and Bible study, as the women encountered hope beyond hope. Under the direction of God’s Spirit, Joan had won the respect and trust of the previously hardened prison women. As a result of her faithfulness and obedience to God, there was a new joy that became evident in the faces and voices of the women. And with that hope and joy came a new purpose for each of them – to share the Light in their own homes and communities upon their release.
My oldest daughter reminded me that Joan’s ministry was similar to a significant chapter in Gladys Aylward’s life. As you recall from my previous post, Gladys Aylward was a missionary to China before World War II. While there, she was called upon to restore order in the prison when the inmates had turned upon one another in violence. the Lord protected her and helped her gain their respect as she helped to initiate much-needed prison reform over the next several years. Similarly, Joan Ewan helps bring about prison reform as her ministry provides many of the things that help to make the prisoners’ experience more sanitary and tolerable. And then she uses that platform to give the glorious gospel of Christ which results in true freedom for all who believe.
Joan shared with us the inspirational story of a young woman named Andrea. We were all moved with compassion as we heard about her plight. Unfortunately, Andrea’s life was a troubled one from the time of her adolescence. She was exposed to a great many abuses that would threaten anyone’s sanity. So she turned to the underworld of drugs in a desperate attempt to control her misery. However, she gave birth to a boy that she dearly loved. But while her son was still a small boy she was convicted on drug charges and thrown into prison.
In prison, Andrea fell into the harsh realities of dark depression. She was languishing in a hell of her own making. She even claimed to be a witch associated with the pagan Wiccan religion. By all appearances, she would become another one of the multiple, faceless victims of Satan’s destructive exploits. But, thankfully, as she participated in the Bible studies, she was radically transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Although it didn’t happen immediately, her life began to change as God’s grace was revealed more and more in and through her. Joan was thrilled to find a different person, a new person in Christ, and she had the privilege of baptizing her as a testimony of her Christian faith.
Andrea’s story is just one of many that have unfolded in the years of Joan’s prison ministry in Ecuador. And there are countless other stories just like them all around the world as people encounter the freedom in Christ. People need the Lord in all places and circumstances. Wherever darkness abounds (and that’s everywhere outside of God’s grace) the Light of Christ is the only thing that can expel the darkness.
The people of our church were inspired by Joan Ewan’s testimony last night. Each person in attendance was challenged to do something that made a difference for God’s kingdom in this world. Every one of us can make an impact in our own little circles influence. We all know people that are imprisoned in sin that can only be liberated by the gospel. That’s what missions is all about, whether at home or abroad.
We greatly appreciate the Ewans and their work for the Lord. Please pray for them to be enriched by God’s abiding grace. Pray for the Soul Light Link prison ministry in Ecuador and Peru and for the opportunity for their expansion in the coming years. May God be glorified through our efforts in missions and evangelism.