Ecuador (MNN) — At the Garcia Moreno prison in Ecuador,
thousands of prisoners are forced to share twenty toilets. Beds are few and
far-between, and the severe overcrowding leads to skin, lung, and
gastrointestinal infections. According to a Department of State report,
"Prison conditions are so squalid and brutal that in themselves they
represent cruel treatment."
Into this atmosphere, Crossroad Bible Institute has opened its
second South American distribution center.
CBI serves as a discipleship ministry to prison inmates. Its
focus in Ecuador, the Garcia Moreno prison, is one of the largest criminal
detention facilities. DC Director Angel Aguirre Villamar understands the
overwhelming conditions awaiting CBI ministry within prison walls.
Aguirre served time behind bars for drug trafficking. He
became a Christian while in prison, and in the two decades following his
release Aguirre served as missionary to many of the prisons in Ecuador. He
plans to expand CBI's program to other prisons after it's fully established at
Garcia Moreno.
Volunteers have been trained by Aguirre to correct biblical
lessons submitted by the 34 students already enrolled in CBI's program. They
will also write letters of encouragement to the students, providing
discipleship to inmates in their walk with Christ. Aguirre and the volunteers
are also working to gather Spanish Bibles for the students. You can learn more
about CBI's program by clicking here.
CBI has distribution centers throughout the world; DC
locations include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, Nicaragua and the US.
As with these centers, CBI headquarters will assure the program's quality by
providing instructor support, keeping records of students enrolled with CBI
Ecuador and providing Spanish training manuals and lessons.
If you're interested in supporting CBI's ministry
financially, click here to make a donation.
