Thank God I Went to Prison

I was arrested at the Miami Airport and taken to the local hospital to evacuate the drug I had carried from Colombia in my stomach. The year was 1998. I was charged with drug possession and trafficking, conspiracy, and money laundering. I was sentenced to 25 years for each charge for a total of 100 years in prison.

I was taken to a detention center where a man gave me a New Testament received from The Gideons International. He asked me if I would read it. From that moment I realized God had a plan for me.

I always thought that I was good. I believed that giving away food and gifts, even with drug trafficking money, made me a good person. In jail, however, I learned about the greatness of God and realized that my relationship with Him matters more than money. Through that small book I came to know a powerful God.

As time passed, God allowed me to form a group of inmates for prayer and Bible studies, and with the help of local Christian churches, I became the Christian leader of the Metro West Detention Center of the City of Miami, USA.

Through God’s grace, the group increased in number.

After two years, I received an offer to reduce my stay to 80 years if I declared myself guilty. Another option was to go to fast trial to see if I was declared guilty or innocent. I elected the latter, and three times in a row I was found not guilty. I was then declared “a burden for the State of Florida.” Under these circumstances, the state offered me 36 months, of which I had already served 30. I watched God’s hand reduce my penalty from 100 years to just 3 years.

I returned to Colombia, and God restored my life there. I began to look for a way to serve the Lord, but I was having difficulties. Last year, my wife and I joined The Gideons International and are currently active members of a camp in the city of Pereira in Colombia.

I may have flown to the USA with heroine in my stomach, but I returned to Colombia with Jesus Christ in my heart. I thank God I went to prison. May God continue blessing you all.

— Oscar N.

Pereira, Colombia