Counterfeiter comes to Faith
Release No: 09-34
By Noel Hwande
Jun. 10— NAIROBI, Kenya: Andrew was serving a five-year sentence at Kakamega Prison when he met, and befriended, a fellow prisoner named Jacob. Andrew recalls vividly when his friend first opened a Bible and read aloud a passage from Isaiah 54:7-8. It read: "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says the LORD your Redeemer."
That, Andrew says, was the moment that he realized that he had lived most of his life without hope.
Andrew's life of crime began with printing counterfeit money, and within two years, he had passed millions of dollars. Despite several arrests, Andrew's cases never made it to a law court because he bought his way out of trouble each time. Although he was often arrested he was never brought to court. This was because the money was always able to buy him freedom. Andrew came to believe that money was more powerful than God.
But soon, Andrew's luck ran out. He was arrested and charged for making duplicate keys to people's homes and then selling them to burglars. Although he tried to bribe the police officers again, this time his money could not save him from prison.
When he first arrived in prison, Andrew contemplated suicide. He had lost all he had - money, friends and family - because of his criminal lifestyle. This is when he hit rock bottom, and for the first time, he prayed to God saying, "Please give me something to hold on to because I can't go on."
God's answer came in the form of Jacob, who introduced Andrew to the Bible Correspondence Course (BCC) distributed by Lutheran Hour Ministries-Kenya. Andrew now credits BCC with helping to developing his understanding of the Christian faith. He is currently working through the Courses.
Lutheran Hour Ministries in Kenya, as in other parts of the world, has been effective in witnessing to prisoners using BCC. These Bible courses allow inmates to study and learn the Word of God individually, or as groups.
Andrew looks forward to starting his life over, and believes that all that has happened up until now was orchestrated by God to bring him to salvation. He also adds that he did a lot of things that accounted for nothing and now his life is filled with joy because of knowing God. And for that, he is deeply grateful.
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