We had been in Kenya only a month and a half when he appeared one afternoon at the reception counter of the Emmaus Bible Correspondence School in downtown Nairobi. Truly he was the prisoner of the Lord and, though his coming was unannounced, I had been looking forward to the day when one of the Lord’s prisoners would drop by to see us.
One area of the Bible correspondence ministry that has interested us and challenged us is the number of prisoners in Kenya prisons who write in for Bible courses. The rate of completed courses is high.
We have also been thrilled to note a fair number of intelligent decisions for the Lord coming in each month as they come to know him in the Bible studies. Still, a written testimony of faith is not always a guarantee that the writer has truly found the Lord. I felt that one day one of these ‘decisions’ would walk through the door. I did not realize it would be so soon.
He gave his name as Davis Lawrence Mboya. He had been released at the end of a three year sentence in February of this year. His crime had been habitual theft and his specialty was stealing cars.
In all he totaled 17 cars stolen during his infamous career. Davis told us he had a wife and four children at home. He said most of his life had been spent in prisons. He knew the life and the routine well of one who has lost his freedom and reaped the results of his sin.
The look on Davis’ face told another story! He had been set free! Last February? Well, in a way, yes, when the prison gates opened before him and he was permitted to return to his home and his family. But that wasn’t what he was talking about now. He was telling us how in studying his Bible, with the aid of one of our courses, God’s Word had convicted him of his sinful ways and had brought him to know the freedom that is in Christ! This prisoner had truly been set free!
Davis still spends most of his days in prison. He is a prisoner of the Lord now, bringing the Gospel message to those who have run afoul of the law, those who are prisoners indeed. Davis is a full-time evangelist engaged in prison work and supported by an Anglican mission. He came that afternoon, he said, because he felt the need of further Bible study. (Emmaus issues four free courses to prisoners.) He wanted to know what courses were offered and the cost. He also gave us a list of several prisoners’ names and addresses whom he had interested in applying for Bible correspondence courses.
Davis Mboya’s radiant smile and testimony gave all of us a lift. Pray for him and his ministry among prisoners. Surely the enemy of souls will seek to sidetrack him and nullify his witness. I think of that other prisoner of the Lord (Eph. 3:1) long ago who asked for the prayers of the brethren: “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)