New Hope Prison Outreach

Just off the main north/south road that connects Kalaymyo to Tamu is the infamous Mawlaikalay Prison. It houses over 2,400 inmates, about 400 of whom are Christians.

The story of New Hope Prison Outreach

Just off the main north/south road that connects Kalaymyo to Tamu is the infamous Mawlaikalay Prison, which houses over 2,400 inmates, about 400 of whom are Christians. There is no place nearby for families to stay during a visit. It is too far for most to afford the trip, and the bus goes by there only once per day. With no hotel facilities there is no practical way to visit the prison, and thus most prisoners never see their families for years.

Whenever Dr. Nehkholal (Palal) would drive by the prison on his way to and from Tamu, he was reminded of the verse in Hebrews 13 which tells us to remember those in chains. He was also reminded of the 400 or so Christians imprisoned there for various reasons, but mostly because of the Opium crisis which we have talked about here.

A New Ministry is Born

In late 2017, while driving past the prison again, Palal was overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. He pulled over and prayed and wept for the prisoners and their families. He believed the Lord was telling him it was time to start ministering to them in a more tangible way.

Providentially, very soon after this experience a piece of property within a mile of the prison became available. The owner of the land, a Christian man well known to Palal, told him that he wanted to sell his property and move to Kalaymyo. When Palal discussed using his property for some sort of prison outreach, the man quickly agreed to sell his land at a very fair price.

We reached out to our friends and partners, and the funds to purchase the property soon came in. Palal, identified a godly husband/wife team from the Tamu area to lead the outreach, and they eagerly agreed to move down to begin ministering to the prisoners. They also opened their home to families who wanted to visit their relatives in prison.

Pastor Sei Lal got right to work, ministering to the prisoners, collecting information from them, and contacting their families, if possible, to provide much appreciated news of their imprisoned relative. Some of the families had not heard from or about their relatives in years. One mother had been convinced by a rumor that her son had died in the prison two years earlier. You can imagine her joy when she heard from Pastor Sei Lal that her son was alive and well! We arranged for her to visit her son in prison, and it was a very tear-filled and joyful reunion.

Soon more funds came in and we were able to build a separate house on the property for families to stay overnight. As word spread that there was a new guest house available, more and more families began coming to the prison to visit their relatives. Most of the families that visited were Christian, but many Buddhist families began coming to stay at the guest house. They said it was more comfortable and home-like to stay at the New Hope guesthouse than at the nearby Buddhist monastery.

Amnesty

In April of 2019 the central government in Naypyidaw issued an amnesty that provided for the early release of thousands of prisoners across Myanmar. Pastor Sei Lal and his team of volunteers waited for hours outside the gates of the prison to see who would be released.

When the prisoners were finally released after 9:00 PM that night, Pastor Sei Lal made the guesthouse available for any prisoners who did not have family there to pick them up. The prisoners were provided with a hot meal that night and again the next morning. Pastor Sei Lal worked through the night, attempting to contact the prisoners’ families via cell phone. Most were able to be contacted, and they were incredibly thankful to Pastor Sei Lal and the New Hope Prison Outreach for caring for their relatives and contacting them.

Later that day, transportation to Tamu was provided for the prisoners so that they could get home.

A New Guesthouse

In December 2018 we received a generous gift from West Side Christian Church in Springfield, Illinois, to build a new, permanent guest house and ministry center on the property. The construction was completed in May 2019 and the dedication ceremony was held in June.

This young ministry has already been a tremendous blessing to the prisoners and to their families! Every week many people travel down on the bus (or are provided transportation by MyHope) so that they can visit their relatives in prison. They are so thankful to have a place to stay overnight, cook a meal, and take plenty of time to visit their family members.

Christmas in the Prisons

In December 2019, we received permission to hold an Advent Celebration at the prison (and also in several prison camps to the north). During the celebration, a special Christmas meal was provided to the prisoners and the staff. This was a great blessing and a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Christ with so many hurting and lonely people! Over 3,600 meals were provided during the advent celebration.

The Future

This is a brand new ministry outreach, and so there are still a great many needs that must be met. For instance, we now have a wonderful new building on the property, but it is still largely unfurnished. When families visit, they must sleep on the floor on bamboo mats. We would like to provide them with beds to sleep on, chairs to sit on, tables to sit at, and so on.

Would you please help us furnish the New Hope Prison Outreach Guesthouse? Here are a list of needs and costs:

• Double Beds (two needed) : $300 each

• Single Beds (three needed) : $200 each

• Mattress Sets (five needed) : $300 ea. (includes mattresses, sheets, pillows, blankets, mosquito nets, etc.)

• Desks (five needed) : $65 ea.

• Furniture Set : $450 (includes one coffee table, four single chairs, and one double chair for the main room)

• TV, DVD Player, and TV stand : $500

 All of the furniture is hand-made from solid wood by local craftsmen and will last for many years.