Love for the Captives
At Kaua'i Prison Ministry, our vision is to remember those in prison, as if we were there ourselves. The LORD hears the cries of the needy; He does not despise His imprisoned people, and He hears the groans of the prisoners! Our mission is to proclaim the liberty of the Gospel to the captives and to show them the eternal joy set before them by Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I was in prison, and you visited me," and what you do "to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!" Furthermore, KPM seeks to care for those children-orphaned by and spouses-widowed by the incarceration of their family members.
We accomplish this through leading weekly Bible-based services in the various units at Kaua'i Community Correctional Center. We employ a full-time, on-island Chaplain to lead the majority of the services and provide one-on-one counseling and training to our inmates. Our Chaplin also supervises teams of mature and dedicated Christian volunteers to minister in these services. Our ministries are designed holistically to both support inmates who respond to discipleship and rehabilitation programs on the inside, while also ministering to their families on the outside to prevent future pain and brokenness in these children's lives. We pray that all affected by incarceration would be reconciled to God, their families, and their communities!
Success Story of Alex Medeiros
Success Story of Eldred Silva
The Next Generation of KPM
Aloha everyone,
As some of you have heard, my dad, Chaplain Clayton Sui, went home to be with the Lord in December. His passing was sudden and unexpected for all of us. I want to inform you about the future of the ministry.
First and foremost, the ministry will continue. This is a ministry that God has blessed, and the Kauai Prison Ministry board is in full agreement. I will be stepping in as the Chaplain. This was something my dad and I had discussed for some time as part of a long-term plan, though it has come about sooner than anticipated. Please understand, my dad never forced this role upon me; he wanted it to be God’s plan for me, and I praise God that it is.​ I had been training and covering for my dad throughout 2023, so God has truly prepared the way for this transition in our lives. ​
I am excited and grateful that the Lord has allowed me to continue this ministry as His representative in the jail. We are looking forward to the new path the Lord has placed before us. One significant step we will be taking, and one for which I seek your prayer and support, is a focused effort to disciple and integrate those ready to re-enter society. This program will connect someone ready to go back out with a mentor ready to disciple them. Please pray for this program and consider joining us in making it a success.
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Thank you all very much for your support during this time. It brings comfort to my family knowing that we have a network of people grieving with us and ready to support those incarcerated.
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Mahalo,
Chaplain Zachary Sui
The Success Story of Robert Ann
Robert Ann was born on December 3, 1977, in Hayward, CA. She lived there with her parents until the age of 9 when they came home to Kauai to care for her ailing
grandmother, where they were homeless and lived on the beach for the first nine
months. While RA (Robert Ann) did well in school in California, after the first year on Kauai she began to struggle. Eventually, she dropped out of school in the seventh grade and never went back.
RA’s first steps into substance abuse began around age 14. She would go to family parties and drink along with her relatives. When she was 19, she started selling marijuana but didn’t use it because she didn’t like it. At 20 one of her friends introduced her to crystal methamphetamine. She didn’t like the feeling, so she stopped using it. She met her husband at age 23 and went on to have five children (four daughters and one son). They struggled in their marriage, but she stayed because she wanted her children to have both parents in their lives even though he was an alcoholic. While there was no physical abuse, there was verbal and emotional abuse. Through it all, she remained in the relationship because she didn’t believe anyone else would love her.
As they struggled financially, RA turned to dealing crystal meth to pay the bills. In the beginning, she was only dealing small amounts. It was when she started dealing greater quantities that she caught the attention of authorities. Eventually, she was turned in by a police informant. As soon as she went to prison, her husband moved on to another relationship and abandoned the children. For RA, her lowest point was when she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Up until this point she had never been away from her children and now she was going to be separated from them indefinitely. Eventually, she had to sign away her parental rights to all five children and they would end up being split into four different foster homes.
RA served her sentence here on Kauai. In prison, she started to get close to God by attending Bible studies with Chaplain Sui and learning to pray for the first time. She learned that God is always there, even when things don’t go the way you wanted them to. When she started seeing other inmates with less time in the program being allowed to go to work before her, those old demons of thinking “she wasn’t good enough” started to come back. This time, however, she was able to turn to the Lord and trust that He had a plan for her life. She knew He was looking out for her and things would work out in His timing. RA is now out on parole and working two jobs to support herself and her mom. Her mom has Alzheimer’s which brings a set of new challenges but RA knows now that prayer works. She is looking forward and trusting God to guide her path. Presently
her oldest daughter is attending college on Oahu and her son is set to graduate this year. RA continues to spend time with her younger daughters and strives to live her life as an example to them on how to overcome your past.
Hallelujah!
