Old Timer’s Day in Forest Prison

Two very well known figures from the crime-world of 20-30 years ago have found themselves once again in the Forest Prison. Old question marks remained on their files, and they were “by chance” returned for questioning. But God turned these return visits to the Forest Prison for these two former gangsters into glory as each, now in their sixties, took time to reflect on life’s true meaning after the visit of the Protestant/Evangelical chaplain.

Leon had spent 10 ½ years in prison and was well know in the grand-theft crime world. He recounted to me that he had it all: money, luxury cars, vacation resorts, women, villas, but an ever-present emptiness in his soul. He did his work in crime as his job. Professionally speaking, he did his job well; but it wasn’t until he was in his sixties that he slowed down enough to fall in love with a fine woman. This changed his whole way of thinking: this love was what he had been hoping for all his life, but he had never taken enough time to experience the benefits of closeness to another human. I keyed in on this thought and mentioned to him that human love is a very wonderful experience, but that it is only temporal. I mentioned to him, “Human love is satisfying for a period of life here on earth, but experiencing the love of God is eternal. You can have an experience of the love of God that surpasses that of human love, and God’s love will last for eternity.” I then asked him if he wanted that kind of experience. He said that he had read the Christian materials that I had left with him the week before, but that he thought it was “too good to be true”. “I really don’t have faith to receive all of that.” I then explained to him how through believing the Good News of Jesus Christ, His death, burial and resurrection, that faith would arise in his heart by simple belief that God’s Word is true. He said, “I do believe that.” I said then that he could turn his belief into faith through acting on his belief by praying to receive Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. After praying the sinner’s prayer of repentance together, Leon rejoiced in knowing that his sins were forgiven and that he had made his first steps in coming to know the greatest love of all, the love of God for a sinner willing to confess and repent of his sins.

Léopold, another Belgian man, simply took another copy of the same Christian materials that Leon had, read them, filled out the Bible studies, prayed the sinners prayer of repentance, filled his name in on the decision card and reported to me when I came into his cell, “Now I know the truth, and I am converted.” I prayed personally with him also, and he now has a radiant smile on his face. He has already begun another Bible course and knows that what he has is of much more value than all the booty of his former life in burglary and drugs.
Ken Barickman

Ghislain Comes to Christ

How God Led Ghislain to Salvation…

Three boys going out for a walk around town. Nothing so unusual. Laughing and joking, getting some time together with good buddies. But what two of the friends didn’t know was that the other friend had another friend who had a bad habit of stealing cars and even doing ‘car-jacking’. That is stopping a car at a stop light, or fooling the driver to stop and pick up the person, and then that person forcing the driver and car to go somewhere where they rob and usually injure the driver. The bad friend had done just that and was forcing the driver to ‘joy ride’ around Brussels, Belgium.

As the car made a turn in the car-jacker’s neighborhood, he saw his friend and his two companions. He made the driver to stop the car and let his three friends in without telling them what had really happened. As they drove around, still with the owner in the car, now as a passenger, afraid to say anything for fear of harm, the gas gauge read near empty. They stopped at a gas station and agreed to split the cost for about $10 worth of gas, enough to get around town for another hour or so.

Ghislain volunteered, still not knowing that he was riding around in a ‘car-jacked’ auto, to go into the gas station and pay with the money that he had received from the others. While inside waiting to pay, he saw a police van pull into the station. The car-jacker ‘friend’ upon seeing the police arrive, took off running into the night and was not caught. The three unsuspecting buddies, were taken into custody. Two of them were born again Christians attending the New Jerusalem African church. Ghislain had been attending for a few weeks, but had not yet made a decision for Christ. He was wondering what it was all about, but hadn't yet learned enough about the differences between his parents’ religion, Roman Catholicism, and the New Jerusalem church’s beliefs.

In Belgium, suspects in a crime are considered guilty until proven innocent, so Ghislain and his friends were put behind bars in the same prison where murderers and hardened thieves are incarcerated. Ghislain was shaken to his very soul by this experience. When I came into Ghislain’s cell, I sensed that Ghislain was a very sensitive young man who needed and wanted to talk about life’s real meaning. I felt urged by the Holy Spirit to pass quickly on to eternal matters and the plan of God of salvation. Ghislain sat down next to me and for the next fifteen minutes, we searched in the Bible for the truths that set the prisoner free. I asked Ghislain if he would be ready to ask Jesus Christ into his life as Lord and Savior, confessing his sins and asking the Lord for the Holy Spirit to come into his heart. He replied immediately that that is what he wanted.

As we ended our prayer, the door opened and the guard announced that it was time for Ghislain go outside for his daily hour walk in the enclosed prison courtyard with the others in his wing. Just in the right moment, the Lord made the way and the door opened for salvation as well.

Some prisoners have looked at me when I come into their cell and say, “I know God has made it happen so that I have ended up in this prison, now I want to hear what He has to say to me.” God can use any method He desires to bring a young man into the place where he can hear God’s Word and be saved, I just want to be there and be ready with the Good News of Jesus to offer to them. It is just in that way that God has chosen for His Salvation to be received into a life, just like Ghislain did that day.
by Ken Barickman, Brussels Prison Ministry

Ali Comes To Christ -

(Feb. '09) Yesterday, Ali, a quite violent young man originally from Palestine (Gaza), Italy, & Germany, gave his heart to Jesus. I first met him by error (I went to cell 1025 instead of 1035) when intending to go visit a Christian. When I opened the door, I realized I was at the wrong door (but this was a divine appointment arranged by the Lord!). There must have been an angel behind me who just pushed me on in, because, as soon as I was inside, Ali just broke down like a boy and told me all his hurts & problems. He had never heard about salvation in Jesus before! What a privilege it was to give him his very first Bible (in Arabic). We spoke in German because he didn't speak any English or French, and I don't speak any Italian or Arabic! That was over a month ago.

Then, a few days ago, when at the Forest prison, I remembered him and decided to see if the miracle took place... Sure enough, when I went into his cell, he was overflowing with praise to God and almost wanted to bow down to me for having come to help him come to know the truth of the Bible. He said he had read it through and was convinced that it was the truth for his life. So, I shared some Bible verses with him, like John 1:12 about receiving Jesus personally and Romans 10:9 about how to receive Him and be saved. He was so happy after praying to receive Jesus into his heart. He pointed to the Bible and with a big smile on his face, he said "That book is now everything to me."

You know, it wasn't easy to leave home and then first go to Africa and then here to Europe, but miracles of salvation like this make me aware that the Lord really did it and that it was worth it, going where He leads so that I can help in making the Good News known to those who have never had the opportunity to hear the message of Jesus Christ and accept Him into their lives. Thanks very much & Please remember to pray for Ali.

Ali's Sad Experience

Some are no longer living in victory- I share this with you in sadness... Back in February of this year, Ali for the first time read the Bible and made his decision for Christ. Being from Gaza, he has an Arabic name. This means that in the Belgian prisons he is considered a Muslim and they usually put them in the same cells. As a new convert to Christianity, he was a weak believer when put into the same cell as a devout Muslim. His Muslim cell-mate convinced him that his Christian faith was corrupt and wrong. When I visited him last week, he refused that I even pray for him, stating "I am now a Muslim and will stay one until I die!". In response, I warned him saying, "I understand that is your personal choice; but remember your eternal life is in danger, and after you die, you will discover what the truth of God's Word is all about. I will pray for you." Please remember to pray that a miracle of God's intervention take place in his life.

Raman Had A Dream-

About two months ago, I received a note from a prisoner asking me to come to his cell in the St. Gilles Prison in Brussels for a visit. When I entered his cell, he wanted to tell me immediately about the dream that he recently had. He told me that he came from Malaysia, and that he was not a Christian, but a Muslim, and that his wife and her family were Christians who prayed a lot. He told me that something had happened since his arrival in the prison that has shaken him very much. He said that one night while he was sleeping deeply, he had a very real dream. In the dream, he saw a large cross which looked much like the one that his wife always wore around her neck. He was small in comparison to the cross and it was moving away from him. He then began running toward the cross and when he caught up to it, he fell down on his knees. He then asked me what this could mean…

I knew right away that this dream was sent from God to open the heart of this man who was very used to running away from the cross instead of toward it. He said that he used to make fun of and mock his wife and her faith in Jesus. I then had his full attention as I explained to him the Good News of Jesus Christ, how He, the true and living Son of God, came to the earth to save us from our sins; How He died and gave His life’s blood on that cross as a sacrifice for our sins; And that if we will pray to Him and receive His sacrifice in a personal way, repenting of our sins, He will forgive us and write our name in the Book of Life in Heaven, making the way open for us the be with God for all eternity rather than having to go to Hell, a place of torment, and separation from all that is good and true.

I then asked Raman if he would want to place his confidence in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. He responded quickly saying that he would. We then prayed together, and Raman became a Christian also.

Since then, Raman has been coming to church on Friday evenings faithfully. I was able to order a Malay New Testament for him which he is now reading from cover to cover. Whenever I come into his cell, he and his cellmate bow in the typical oriental manner. Whenever he picks up his Bible, he bows and brings it to his lips, showing his respect for the Holy Book of God.

Today, when I went to visit Raman, both he and his cellmate (from India) were so excited they didn’t know how to express themselves. When they got control of themselves, they had me sit down, and with wide eyes explained what had happened in their cell just a few days ago… “Pasterr, you must listen to me what me happen is very wonderful! Me sleeping in the afternoon, when I see something like shadow passing by me. Me not know what it was. Pasterr, I wake up and me stand up, and the shadow pass by me again. My roommate asked me why me get up. Pasterr, then me see a hand come toward my head. It touch me with his finger. When he touch me, I feel a sound and a snap in my head, and I feel very good and fall down on the floor. My roommate think I die. He think I hit my head on the refrigerator and am maybe knocked out. But, me know it was Jesus who touched me. I not hurt at all. I know now Jesus is with me. Hallelujah!”

While Raman was telling me what happened, his cellmate just kept shaking his head up and down in wonderment at what the Lord had done. I then asked Raman to give me his Malay New Testament to show him John 14:21. I asked him to read it and translate it stating out loud what it says. He repeated it and when he came to the words “and I (Jesus) will manifest myself to him.”, his eyes lit up, and said, “That’s just what He did to me!”

Earlier, Raman had told me that he considered his time in prison to be like a time in Bible school. He had heard that before renovation as a prison in the early 1900’s, part of the prison buildings had been a convent. He said, “That’s how I want to see my time here, as a time apart with God, getting to know Him and His ways.”
So, Raman’s time in prison has become one long prayer meeting where he has time to learn God’s Word and be prepared for the day when he returns home to continue living for Jesus Christ, perhaps as a pastor or an evangelist in his home country of Malaysia. Please remember to pray for Raman and his cellmate.

Ken Barickman

SHARMA - From Hinduism to Heart for Christ

SHARMA – A Hindu Finds Christ

There had been some obstacles that day hindering me from going to the Brussels St. Gilles Prison as I had planned. But, nonetheless, I felt this was the Lord’s leading that I should go anyway; eventhough it was getting late, I knew from experience that when the Lord is in it, lots of good things can happen in a short amount of time.
When I saw Sharma’s name on the list of prisoners, I knew today was the day to visit him. He was back in the ‘worker’s block’ of cells called “the Pre-Fab”, and would not be free for a visit until after 4 pm. When I entered his cell, Sharma acted as if he had been expecting my visit, though I had not ever met him before and didn’t inform him beforehand of my visit.
After brief greetings and informing him of who I was, he proceeded to show me all of the religious pictures and short articles he had collected concerning the major religions of the world. He said that he, in fact, was of a Hindu family from India. He said he respected all religions and had done some reading up on most of them. I said to Sharma, “God is a faithful and loving God, and He desires that all men would come to know Him according to the truth.”
At this, Sharma began opening his frustrated heart to me about how he gets up in the morning 30 minutes before work time in order to meditate to the Hindu gods, and he said that he also says over and over the name of Jesus to please the Christians who he had met. He asked me, “Is this enough to please the Christians’ God to permit me into Heaven, in case that is the right way to go?” At this point, his questions and statements about how he was searching for the true way to God became true “music to my ears”, as I knew that he was seriously ready to hear and obey the Truth of God’s Word.
Without hesitation, I said to him, “Jesus Christ said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father except by me.” John 14:6.
At this, Sharma responded, “Then my meditating on Jesus’ name is enough to please him?” It was then, that I told him that, “No, in fact, saying Jesus’ name is not enough to get a person to Heaven, but it is possible that God’s hearing the name of His Son got His attention, and that’s why He sent me here to talk with you today to show you the Bible’s Way of Salvation. The truth is that only by being ‘born again’ can you be made ready for acceptance and entrance into Heaven.”
His response was the same as Nicodemus’ in John chapter 3… “How can I be born again when I am over 30 years of age?” We opened the Bible together, and what a great joy it was for me to lead him from explanation to explanation of what it meant to be born of the Spirit of God, receiving Christ’s sacrifice in a personal act of prayer and commitment, leading to the free gift of God, repenting of our sins, opening the door of our lives to Christ, and receiving the right to be called a son of God, and the promise of eternal life in Heaven. I then lead him in the sinner’s prayer of repentance and acceptance of the Lord Jesus in his life. The Lord had truly touched him deeply as tears flowed from his eyes in joy of knowing that his sins were forgiven by his truly wonderful Heavenly Father.
I gave him some Christian literature to read, a Bible study to do, and left after praying for him for strength and courage to follow the Lord faithfully.
He asked for a Punjabi Bible, so I’m looking now where I can find one for him. Please remember to pray for Sharma.

From Kidnapper To King's Kid

MICHEL –

Another life changed, touched, and filled by the Spirit of the living God, Michel was abandoned by alcoholic parents when still a toddler. He was taken in by long-term foster parents. Growing up in this normal, happy family until the age of 18, his foster mother gave him the shock of his life when she announced to him, “You are no longer a part of this family! At 18, you are now of age. Go out and find your own life. You can no longer stay here with us.” Feeling terribly rejected by the only family he ever knew, he was now “out on the streets”. Quickly taken in by the drug culture of the city, he became addicted to heroine and crack cocaine. One bad influence led to another, until he was taken in by the worst criminal gang of all, child kidnappers. Taking young girls off the street and in to a waiting van, sequestering them in a basement cell until they were taken off into the underworld’s child prostitution market, misusing them in the process were the gangs principle activities. Michel was prodded on by the gang’s constant taunting and temptation of more drugs to fill his veins, continually in a stupor of dependence, following blindly the gang’s orders, hoping for just one more ‘fix’.

Finally, the police caught the principle characters of the child kidnapping gang, Michel included. When it was discovered that the police in the locality of the gang’s main residence was covering up their activities, the news hit the headlines of Belgium’s newspapers like lightening. 100,000 people filled the streets of Brussels wearing white and carrying white balloons in protest.

During the eight years of imprisonment leading up to the most publicized trial in Belgian history, Michel was contacted by the Evangelical chaplain of the Arlon prison. He began to understand the basic truths of the love, forgiveness, and hope that faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, offered him.

After the trial and sentencing, Michel was transferred to the Ittre prison where I am a chaplain. With the help and influence of the 2 other chaplains during our visits with him, the Lord broke through to Michel’s heart. In 2007, he made his personal decision to accept Jesus Christ in to his life as Lord and Savior. Since then, he has had a number of ups and downs, but the Lord has been faithful to solidify his heart and mind in the faith, and he has come through it all in victory for Christ. I had the privilege of baptizing him in a baptismal tank of water in the Visits Hall of the Ittre Prison on October 5th, 2009. Truly, he has made the transformation from kidnapper to King's Kid (Jesus Christ is now the King of his life). Please remember to pray for him that his step of faith will be an encouraging stepping-stone in his walk with the Lord.

Ken Barickman
A/G Missionary to Belgium

From Kick-Boxer Champ to Victory in Christ

A Word From Rik


Hello, my friend. This is a letter from Rik. “I am 33, and am now in a Belgian prison. I think that I experienced lots of things in my life. In the realm of sport, I achieved the highest level: I became World Kick-Boxing champion in 1991, and with my parents, I began a sports school in the center of Amsterdam for 12 years. After ending my competitions, I ended up in the lowest places of my life especially because my hobby became, with time, my career. At this time, I was working as a “bouncer” man in a certain disco in Amsterdam, seeing that my background in sport gave me no problem to find that sort of job in that my reputation in the boxing ring was known by all.

But, throughout my night life I had to face another world: alcohol, drugs and violence. At that time, my girl friend left me because I drank alcohol and took drugs. For those who looked at me from the outside, I had it all, but everything became more and more extreme. I went out with many bad women. I couldn’t resist this temptation because I consumed too much cocaine. When you are under the influence of drugs, it’s hard to be content. But I also found out that this type of life style costs a lot of money. In the night life, lots of people would receive money from each other, but afterwards they wouldn’t give the money back. So for me, I was then contacted to intervene to see that the debts would be paid. I did a good job of that. Here and there I had to use some violence, but when you are under the influence of whiskey and cocaine it wasn’t a problem. Then finally my violence backfired: I was once stabbed in the back and once shot hitting me about 10 cm under my heart. And I still have a bullet in my tibia and 2 or 3 in my hips!!! So as you can see, I experienced a lot in my life!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, about 7 and a half months ago, a friend asked me to help him concerning a question of money, and I was asked to go look for a certain man who was living in Brussels, Belgium who owed him some money. So I went to his place with 3 other young men. There was nobody at the house except for his wife. She then told us that her husband was sick in the hospital. At that moment, I heard guns being cocked and readied in the house. We were also armed, so then a big gun fight began with about 45 bullets fired which were later found in the house. At the end, there was 1 dead and 3 wounded. Now comes the interesting part: the ones who started the shooting were policemen, and that’s why it got so bad legally for me.

The police had set up tape recorders, so all that was said was recorded. When you listen to it, you can hear the misunderstanding, because they said “gendarme” (French for ‘police’) and we (from Holland) didn’t understand that word which means “rijksveldwachters” in my language (Dutch). All these happenings were investigated in court. So, I was charged with attempt of murder because one of my bullets wounded a police officer. But because I did not know that he was a police officer, I got a lighter sentence. At the time of my arrest, I was locked up in prison with the hardest treatment: in that during the first 6 months, I was in an isolation cell. My parents could come and visit me only after 2 months and that only through a heavy glass ‘see-through’ barrier.

For the rest, I saw no one else, except that I signed up for the protestant service, and I could go there once every 2 weeks for just 1 hour, and that sitting between 2 prison guards. And that’s how I got in contact with Ken Barickman, who is now my friend. He gave me a Bible and a type of Bible study book to read in my prison cell. That was especially important because I was 100% alone in my cell. He also gave me a very good book to read : “Twice Pardoned”. When I finished that book, I really felt that God had my attention. Then, Ken gave me the book “The Cross and the Switchblade”. When I finished it, I knew that there was also hope that something could help me. The strangest thing is that I felt even more alone before my incarceration than I felt then in my cell. But this feeling became stronger the closer I came to Christ. Then, one time I asked Ken how I could know that the Holy Spirit was with me or how He could come to me. I asked that because I read about it in all the books that Ken gave me. At that moment, I took it as a good sign from the Lord.

During my imprisonment in isolation, I could go out for only 1 hour per day in a completely separate court yard. There, you even have barbed wire on top of you. One day, I found a worm there that a bird had dropped; and even that, I took as a sign for me because a bird is the sign of liberty. Then I knelt down for prayer and gave my heart to God. He came to live in my heart where he still is today. When I prayed, there were tears coming from my eyes. Listen, I don’t pray all the time, sometimes I forget, but I still think a lot about the Lord. I read a lot from the Bible and I also watch the Dutch TV show “Evangelistic Call”. Every day I spend time with Christ in whom I now find my passion for life. My favorite Bible passage is II Corinthians 5:17 (because it speaks so much to me) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Even though I am still behind bars, I feel like a happy person because I have His peace, and with God’s help, I will continue. When I will be freed, I want to keep this feeling. I have a nice house, kind parents, a beautiful dog, and a job; so I have all that I have ever needed. I would love to go to a Bible college to learn more about the Bible. And every week, I go to the church service in the prison to sing. I would also like a visit from someone like Ken to talk especially because I have trouble in forgiving. When I arrive in Amsterdam, I am going to find a church where I can go for the good fellowship in Christ.

Rik 19 September 1997
(translated from Dutch by K. Barickman)

Georghe Comes to Faith in Christ

Georghe is originally from Romania and always has been an out-going and kind personality. He grew up in a Pentecostal Christian home not far from Bucharest. During the communist years in his country, things turned very corrupt, with Georghe finding his way to success, also, through corrupt money making schemes. After many years and many 'up and downs', he was arrested and put behind bars in 2005. I came to know him in the Forest prison in 2006. He was always smiling, happy, and ever willing to talk and to listen to the message of God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ. But, whenever I would ask him the question, "Georghe, are you ready now to put your full trust in Jesus' work on the Cross of Calvary for your personal life, to turn your heart and life over to Him?" He would always say, "No, I'm not ready yet. I need to think about it more."

He was later transferred to St. Gilles prison, where I visited him some more; then on to Ittre prison where I was also able to visit him, also. He must have thought "Man, this guy is everywhere! I can't escape his always asking me if I am ready to ask Jesus into my life." In reality, I stopped asking him, because I know that after a point, always saying "No" to Christ can harden the heart. So, I just kept on being there, visiting him, and with time, came to befriend him, (Matt. 11:19). Finally in the Ittre prison, he tired of his life in confinement, and thought of suicide. I talked him out of that; then, he decided to go into an isolation cell on a hunger strike until either they gave him work or they would transfer him to another prison. After 2 months in isolation, they transferred him to the psychiatric wing of the Forest prison where I visited him again. After they found him to be of a sound mind, he was given a job in the kitchen and was put in a regular worker's cell.

He had a day off today, and was alone in his cell, so I felt lead to share with him from Luke 16 and Matthew 16 where Jesus talks about what it really means to follow Him..."For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" This question and its logic really spoke to him, and Georghe said, "Always before, I was carrying my baggage from my past life along with me, and I never wanted to give it up. But, now, all that baggage has been stripped away. I see clearly now, and I'm not held back to make a right decision this time." I said to him, "You truly now have nothing to lose and everything to gain." He smiled and shook his head in agreement. "Would you like to make your decision today to ask Jesus Christ to come into your life, Georghe? To make Him to be your hope and reason to live?" I asked. "Yes, I'm ready." was his reply. We both, then, got down on our knees as I lead him in the sinner's prayer of repentance. When we finished, we rejoiced together in Victory in Christ for his soul.

When I returned home from the prison, I shared right away what happened with Marianne. She asked me "Was that in the morning or the afternoon?" I said that it happened between 3 and 3:30 in the afternoon. I asked, "Why? Were you praying for me at that time?" She said , "Yes, that's right when I took 45 minutes to pray for you." Praise the Lord! Prayer works! And, that's team-work. Thank God for a praying wife. And thank you, for your prayers, as well.

Please remember to pray for Georghe as he now begins his new life in Jesus Christ.
Thank you,
& God bless you!
Ken Barickman
A/G Missionary to Belgium

Brussels Prison Ministry

Purpose:

As a prison chaplain, I am bound to "confidence" sharing of what is going on in the prison. This means that I must be careful not to reveal names of the people that I work with. What I often do is to only use the first name of the person that I write about to hide their identity and to respect their life experience. They themselves wish (I never share a story of someone who does not wish to have others informed even of their story, let alone their name.) to have others share the joy of their new life of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Also, I will never share about the "inner concerns" of the prison itself... Mostly I want to share what good things the Lord has done in prisoners' lives, and sometimes about the ones whose lives turn against the Good News of Christ, just to show the contrast. All of this in an atmosphere of Hope, Hope in the one Who gave His life so that all may believe and receive forgiveness of sins, new life, and the promise of eternal life. Ken Barickman