On my right: Jeff. Grew up in great Christian home. Went to Christian school. Brother currently at Calvin! Got into Pot and Heroin, etc, etc, etc. Gave his testimony to our group.
On my left: Sean, aka Popeye. He was a favorite of the group. Many great memories of this guy. The kind of guy everybody loves, which makes his story even more incredible. Grew up in foster system. Beaten many times. He is the oldest, with 22 siblings, but is the only one that is not either on drugs or a
stripper. Big tough guy that got into gang life - Latin Kings. With that world comes guns and drugs. And violence. He was in prison from age 13-24. Once out, he got back into gang life. Along the way, he has also had 4 daughters, ages 5,4,3,2. Dyk! And, man, now he is fighting the battle for the Lord. I would love for you all to meet him someday. One of the last things he told me is, "Yo Mike. Some day me and you is gonna be chillaxin' together in Heaven by the Crystal Sea!" Can't wait, Popeye!
On my right: Brandon. One of the guys that told me he was in charge of the thrift store warehouse. When told our group was leaving on the last day, he said, "but I haven't had a chance to share my testimony yet". He proceeded to talk to the group, leading to at least 4 others to talk also. It was a real eye opener for our kids. Brandon's message centered around the fact that while in high school, he decided to stop going to youth group, and eventually church. Obviously he got into much more trouble, but his message was for the kids to stay involved in the church. Thanks for the help Brandon!
On my left: Tyrone (aka T.Y.). Overheard this guy many times say, "nice to meet you. Are you saved? When were you saved?" Then he followed it up with a "Bible Quiz". T.Y. definitely knows his Bible. And his In Your Face style is probably what we need more of in this world.
"Doc". The guy in green who started all of this. He was a dentist his whole life (hence the name Doc). Also, became a pastor later in life. And as he starts many messages, "A funny thing happened to him on the way to the country club". Towards the end of his working career, he did start going to the country club more often with friends, planning on spending his retirement years there. But God made it clear that He had other plans. Along with his wonderful wife, they began reaching out to men and women in the area that needed help. And here we are today!
T.Y. signing Jacob's Bible. I would love to do a Bible study with this guy.Popeye fit in well with the kids. He wanted so badly for everyone to sign a t-shirt for him. I told him I would love for him to visit us someday. His eyes got huge and tears started flowing. He said he has never been out of Illinois and never thought it would be possible. But I know that he now knows that with God, all things are possible. Pabama!
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