Tanya (Qld) - unexpected ministry in Bali prison

Tanya Richards (pictured left with a friend in Bali)served for several months as a Uniting Church volunteer with GKPB in Bali. The following is an extract from an article in Journey, a publication of the Uniting Church in Queensland.

"Eating Christmas lunch with Australian prisoners in Bali was typical of the challenging experiences Uniting Church Deacon Intern Tanya Richards encountered during her recent five and half months of volunteer work with Bali Protestant Church.“As we sat together and ate food that reminded us of home, true emotions came out as we once again realised where we were and what that meant for some of the people in that room,” Ms Richards said. Prison ministry was not an involvement Ms Richards had expected when she headed for Bali but it became one of her major focuses. After attending a daily Indonesian church service in Kerobokan Prison, Ms Richards noticed Australian prisoners sitting in the service but not understanding the language. She approached the prisoners, including those known as the Bali Nine about doing a Bible study. “They all jumped at the chance,” she said. “I spent two days a week in the Prison leading a Bible study, visiting and pastorally caring for both Indonesian and Australian prisoners. “It was in this experience that I saw the power of God really working in the lives of people who were and still are experiencing things beyond my belief.”

The full text can be read at:
http://www.journeyonline.com.au/showArticle.php?articleId=867

For more information about the People in Mission program for volunteers in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, contact Kathy Periera, People in Mission Coordinator, kathyp@nat.uca.org.au, Ph (02) 8267 4230.