Just love

Good news!!

My friend Chico (the lad I introduced to you all in last weeks episode) got out of prison today on bail! When he called me on the phone, I confusedly asked "Chico how are you calling me? you got out how?" The only thing he said back was "hey man you prayed".

Yes! Prayer!!!

Apparently this was his last chance to go up for bail and word got out through his landlord that he has made a lot of life changes lately and so a social services group heard about his case and decided to help the brotha out! Seriously guys this is a miracle because he was charged with three accounts one being resisting arrest. Apparently they never let someone out on bail if they were resisting arrest. That charge was total bull though, I was there when he was being arrested. I guess GOD and/or the judge saw through it. This means that he'll be able to make whatever arraignments he needs to before his sentencing. He will have to go back to prison again but this will at least give him some time to be with his daughter (the reason he's changing his life) and prepare himself for whatever will come after jail. He's still running the risk of being deported but now with the next couple months out of jail he'll be able to set himself up right for whatevers coming. Thank you all so much for praying for a guy you don't even know, he told me he really appreciates it.

I don't know how all of you relate this sort of story or sentiment to GOD but I often have a hard time reconciling GOD's love and justice. I should explain what I mean by love and justice. A lot of the time I see two faces to GOD; 1. a strict father figure that requires punishment and death for everyone who sins (ultimately everyone born), and the 2nd face being a really nice old grandpa that I know loves the crap out of me and I can't help but love back. I know its a dichotomy of a Good GOD, but sometimes my humanness just wants to disassociate the one from the other. I'm taking a theology course, through distance ed, and I found a couple paragraphs in one of my readings that really helped me understand this tension. The author (Erickson) said "if love does not include justice it is mere sentimentality" he goes on to say that justice if not implemented through love is just being a bully with 'the rules'. I don't know if you'll see what I mean through tying this story to my understanding of GOD but I think that GOD is a lot easier to understand when we see HIM at work in a situational story like this. On the one hand my friend Chico knows what he did and he's willing to pay what he owes to the good he didn't serve. Fully knowing and accepting that sin (wrong) requires a payment. But then GOD busts out an awesome loving act of letting Chico out of jail, for a little while, so that he can love and share with his daughter at least for now.

"Thus, justice is loving justice and love is just love."



Erickson Millard J. CHRISIAN DOCTRINE, Baker Achedemic, Grand Rapids Mich. 2003.

Chico, my friends...

LORD help me to speak with tact and an honest heart.

Know that in no way I'll be able to explain and expand on my current emotions, and the situations that have recently gone down. Just pray for a good friend of mine (Chico), and know that he's asking for prayers and well wishers, while he finds his place in a human holding facility.

Chico was my first well wisher upon my return to Thunder Bay and in less than a week, through a half hug and a cheep word of hope I had to say my good byes.

This is a story of a truly awesome individual and his journey from Ecuador to Canada, some regretful choices and the only promises being kept in life, being the promise of a life on the streets.

His life has been changed and changed and now seemed to be finding a consistent pace. He was able to kick some habits and find some new friends and programs to help him clean up for his daughter. He seriously lives for his daughter, I really don't know if I'll ever have that kind of love for someone, she was honestly ALLLL he had. But after an argument over custody with is ex, things were said, actions made and he found himself out of hope and possibly out of his daughters life. This was still over the summer, and now in a frustrating court hearing he found out he could be in a lot more trouble than expected. He has been able to see his daughter on and off through out the year but is not the current care giver and is having so much trouble with the person who is (not the mom). Another problem he's had is with Child and family services and the fact that the current care giver would honestly be a decent parent(which even he admits is good), but this care giver still is not the mother or father. And so Child and family seems to want him to give up on his daughter and let this other person raise his kid. He comes from messed up family situation and has never known a father or mother of his own and he can't bare the thought of his kid having the same life.

Unfortunately this last night brought him more misfortune and misunderstanding. Basically he said something to someone about still wanting to be a part of his daughters life, that someone passed it along to his ex and she took it as a threat, calling for an arrest under a breach of restraining order.


So this last night I spent with Chico talking, praying and frustratingly waiting for some arrogant jerks to come in, tell him that if he says anything they'll use it against him and demine him to cuffs. These guys were seriously such jerks. What I really didn't like was they came in asking question without listening to the answers. So I thought I would help everyone understand but I was told I was 'obstructing the peace' by trying to explain through Chico's Spanish accent. Then when I questioned the definition of 'obstruction the peace' they said they could define it however they felt; which was total shat! So I said "really you can make up laws on the spot?"... after that the tension mostly dissipated. But I got so pissed again when after they had him in the car they talked about who would bring him in to 'get a domestic' ; I guess they have some sort of a-whole points on the force.

Another person I have a very hard time not hating is a Mr. Hopkinson, his 'defense' lawyer that he had 2 days earlier at his court hearing to settle the past restraining order. This man may be over worked and under funded but the fact that he carried a complete lack of emotion a non-repentant or simpatico candice as he carried forward a case he was not prepaired to forward, made me want to puke all over his face. I couldn't believe that his client didn't know the Crowns allegation, what he was going to plead, even his options made me so sick; the only words he was giving was Jan. 12, 9AM be there. The whole hearing was a joke, there was no address from the defendant no witnesses questioned, just an ill prepaired lawyer and a very very confused man who did not know what tomorrow would hold or what was going on. The fact that the rest of his life is altered by a single verb... 'guilty'...... blows my mind. The whole hearing, I couldn't believe that this was it. That this short confusing and one sided 30min session could be the determiner of lives (his daughters and his).

This life is seriously E-ffed for a lot of people.

Ignorance may make a man into a criminal, but it doesn't make him into a sinner.

Pray for this man!

Pray that he won't be deported
That he won't find his way back to
the life he came from,
and that he'll find/keep the hope that
has brought him so far from where he
has been.

He knows that I'm writing this and is so close to understanding how great grace is.
Remember

Leviticus 19:34

34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Okay Oh Nine!

.... and so I keep it in my heart all year.

That good friend Christmas won't be far from my thoughts in this new year, as I'm sure that this was the most anticipated season, since my great fifth grade Christmas experience.

It was more than an honor to celebrate in the only place I know how to...... Winnipeg! and the cold open prairies. My heart goes out to those far from home in this past season of "..... if only in my dreams."

My Christmas season was busied by having to work most days I could, start work on some distance ed courses and more importantly Family and friends!! Family and Friends!!! I am so grateful I have family and friends.

Especially Church family and friends, it was really great to hear the interests and questions taken, so that I could gush about Thunder Bay and the awesome ways GOD is engaging out here.

In a list of highlights, I wish to share somethings that will make these holidays so easy to remember.
1. Christmas night fights.
2. SNC and the best Christmas candle lit rap/dance party of my life. Bust'in out to Felice Natividad will not soon be over looked in my books.
3. My material side being fulfilled on a early morning boxing day Camera buy. Never again Stephan but thanks for the motive.
4. The uber ethnic gifts I received.
5. Making, giving and sharing presents. Then telling stories about them.
6. James and Scott Christmas album number 1.
7. A birthday Rap for the thug to be. Elliot (Aka Crime fighter Aka E-breezy)
8. Sharing and being in a family! My family!

Now in a new 'year of our LORD' I'm very content to be back in T'bay, and looking forward to what GOD's got for NHYC (New Hope Youth Centre (where I work)) and me. My resolution for the year is entitled 'take time to make time'. That is, take the time to do things that'll save time later (financial planning, organizing(I know far less exciting than last years resolution (see a moose, which I saw two of on my way back to t-bay))).

So after a post Christmas and egg nog low, I'm here to say................

Okay... OH Nine!