A Song of Freedom
Several years ago, TWR’s partner in Paraguay invited Project Hannah to initiate its ministry of compassion and encouragement to suffering women in the country, one of the smallest and poorest in South America. Project Hannah was then officially launched with Women of Hope airing in Spanish and Guarani, Paraguay’s official languages. Today, the program is also broadcast in Nivacle, Lengua, and Low German.
In 2004, a group of Project Hannah’s friends from the U.S. and the team members in Paraguay ministered at a women’s jail in downtown Asuncion, Paraguay’s capital. Though it was built for just over 100 inmates, more than 200 women and young children were living in the dirty, dark building with broken walls. “I will never forget the day we visited that jail,” remembers Founder and Global Ministry Director Marli Spieker. “I thought, ‘This is where Satan lives! This is his domain.’ One look at the empty eyes of the women there, and I knew I had to speak the name of Jesus. Only His name would chase Satan and his demons away from our midst.”
Marli spoke to the inmates about forgiveness and freedom in Christ, and invited them to respond to His invitation. Nearly every woman in the room did so. Before the visitors left, they sang songs of joy and distributed small gifts. The Paraguayan team continued to visit the women’s jail weekly, tending to the prisoner’s physical and spiritual needs.
A year later, Marli and another Project Hannah team returned to Paraguay and the women’s prison. “I could not believe the transformation!” Marli recalls. The formerly dirty, broken walls were painted pink, and inmates were decorating the room for the visit from Project Hannah. “Satan does not live there any longer,” says Marli. “The sweet aroma of Jesus permeates that place.”
Maria, a young Peruvian woman, is one of the women who now enjoys spiritual freedom. She was caught drug trafficking and sent to the women’s prison. “Solo Dios,” she insists. Only God. She said that if she had known the Lord before, she never would have ended up in jail. But, He has brought freedom to her soul. “I am not in prison in my heart,” she says.
Watch the DESTINATION: HOPE video today to see Marli and the Project Hannah team during the first visit to women’s prison in Paraguay (just after the 7 minute mark of the 9 minute video).
In Project Hannah founder Marli Spieker’s book, When Hope Wins, you can read more about the Paraguay prison ministry, including the story of Ramona, who found true freedom in Jesus while behind bars. Click here to order your copy today!
To learn more about reaching Spanish-speaking women across the Americas with the gospel, click here.