In Mexican Prison, Book Distribution Initiative Opens Doors to the Gospel Message

March 27, 2023 | Las Palmas, Tabasco, Mexico | Laura Marrero, and Inter-American Division News

A book distribution initiative has opened the doors to the gospel message inside a prison in Mexico. Thanks to the “Cruzando fronteras” (Crossing Borders) program, thousands of books are transforming not only the lives of inmates of the Las Palmas Prison in Tabasco, but also helping their relatives and neighbors to get acquainted with the Adventist message, regional church leaders reported.

Las Palmas prison is a facility that houses almost 600 inmates. One of them Lázaro,* a man who has witnessed the impact of the Crossing Borders initiative firsthand. Thanks to one book he received as a gift while in jail, one of his grandchildren is now a baptized member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His case is not unique, as other relatives of inmates are now following Bible studies thanks to the book distribution initiative.

Lázaro had known the Adventist Church for years, but only 12 years ago he requested to be baptized after the evangelistic efforts of a local Adventist church, which has visited Las Palmas for 30 years.

Last summer, Lázaro was given one of the 600 copies of Alejandro’s Bullón’s book Fuerza para vencer [The Power to Overcome], that a group of literature evangelist students distributed in the facility. A few days later, and before the man could read it, one of his grandchildren visited and asked Lázaro to give him the book. Lázaro accepted the request of his 15-year-old grandson. The boy took the book, read it, and two months later, requested to be baptized.

Books that Transform Lives

Prison officers say that since the young literature evangelists arrived, it’s not difficult to see inmates reading them in their spare time, either individually or in groups. “Las Palmas officers are really thankful for this initiative,” said Birzavith Torres, a theology major who coordinates the local ministry to the facility. “They have witnessing the transformation of inmates,” he said.

Lorenzo is another one of the Las Palmas inmates that accepted Jesus as his Savior 8 years ago and was baptized inside the prison. Up to July 2022 he was the only Seventh-day Adventist in his family. Now that the books are widely available inside the facility, his eldest brother began to visit him more often to read a book together. Now his brother is also following Bible studies.

Some of the student literature evangelists who took part in the “Crossing borders” at the Las Palmas facility, summer of 2022. [Photo: Birzavith Torres]

 

Lorenzo, Lázaro, and other inmates are members of a Sabbath School class inside Las Palmas. The Bible study group was organized on January 27, 2023, and includes 28 baptized members. For a long time, many of these baptized members had launched various initiatives to share the gospel message with other inmates inside the prison. They had also reached out to their relatives outside, inviting them to study the Bible. “Baptized inmates are very thankful for the support received through the Crossing Borders initiative,” organizers said.

After witnessing the success of the Crossing Borders initiative, Torres decided to keep working in the Las Palmas prison. They managed to get almost 300 book packages of donated books, including Loron Wade and Mark Finley’s Hope End-Time Secrets, and Samuel Rodriguez’s Con ganas de triunfar (Eager to Succeed). “We hope these books will become an even greater blessing for inmates,” Torres said.

About the Crossing Borders Initiative

Crossing borders is a literature evangelist initiative launched in 2019. It invites people to donate the resale price of one book, which then can be given away to someone in need. Literature evangelist students are then in charge of distributing those donated books to the people who they feel most need it.

This last winter, more than 100 literature evangelist students from Montemorelos University distributed nearly 7,500 books. They also sold thousands of other Christian and health books to help defray the costs of their studies. Program coordinators say that in summer, that amount usually triples.

Literature evangelists have emphasized the importance of the Crossing Borders initiative to reach others with the gospel message. “Literature evangelism and the Crossing Borders initiative is an amazing, combined opportunity of being the feet, the hands, and the voice of Jesus in places where not many know about Him,” they said.

Torres reminded church members that Jesus Himself called us to be aware of the needs of people like those inmates. “Jesus told us, ‘Because I was in prison, and you came to me.’ It is what took us to that prison to share the plan that God has in store for them.”

*For safety reasons, only first names are provided.