The Sick
THE HOSPITAL IS VISITED REGULARLY BY OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES AND IS A FREQUENT STOP FOR MISSION TEAMS WHO COME TO PRAY WITH AND CARE FOR PATIENTS.
Groups visit the maternity area, pediatrics, and the emergency room. There, they pray with the patients and families, hand out toys and coloring books to the children, dresses and birth kits to the new and expectant mothers, and other various items for the people in the emergency room. The hospital is dirty with broken windows and most air conditioners do not work or are too small for the room they’re trying to cool. Food is not provided for the sick, the beds are without sheets, and most heartbreaking are the children in the pediatrics area. Some have horrific burns or infections from wounds on their arms and legs. When mission team members visit these children, it not only brightens their day but provides them with something to do during their hospital stay. You won’t want to miss this experience!
The Imprisoned
YOUR MISSION TEAM CAN PLAN A VISIT TO A NEARBY PRISON DURING THEIR TIME AT OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES.
There, you will take fresh vegetables, candy treats, Christian books in Spanish and conduct a worship service with music. Precious time is spent with the inmates that often reminds them that they are not forgotten. Many have been incarcerated for very minor crimes, but can’t afford the fine to get out of jail. This prison outreach conducted by Open Door Ministries is a sobering and gratifying outreach adventure. Imagine walking into the confines of a prison where not even the guards go inside. The men and women of these prisons are left to fend for themselves. For the most part, the men sleep out in the open courtyard. For the lucky ones, family will bring a mattress for them or maybe a pillow. The government provides some food, but families must supplement with food brought in from the outside.
The prisoners enjoy the mission team visits and particularly the worship services with music. Many crowd right in with their bibles and join in the worship service. Visiting teams will usually bring some sort of a candy treat to give to the inmates. Mission team members safety is guaranteed by the senior prisoner or El Hefe (the boss). The prisoners desperately want to know that they have not been forgotten.