Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Hello everyone! I know some of you have been disappointed not to see me update this blog lately and for that I am sorry. I have been very sick and attribute it to change in climate. It seems as if every time I relocate I get sick. This has been an ongoing issue ever since my first trip to Germany back in 1994. The problem is that it seems to get worse as I get older. I wont get into the details but those that know me well know that I hate hospitals more than anything. So going to a hospital is always a last resort and I would suffer until I'm actually dying and have no other choice. I almost went 4 days ago. I got dressed at 2:30 am, grabbed a change of clothes and began looking up directions on the internet. Just as I got all ready I thought about my dog. Where would I take him at 3:00 in the morning? What if they want to keep me in there? I couldnt just leave him here at the hotel. So I made up my mind, got undressed and took an ice cold bath. My fever was pretty intense and I was so weak I could hardly go from the bath to the bed without agonizing commitment to get there. So thats been an ongoing problem since I've arrived in Nashville. I got sick 3 days after I arrived and am just now getting better. I figured something temporary but I was wrong. I got sick quite often in Mississippi and those of my friends in Pascagoula, MS know that I when I get sick it's not just sick. When I do it I do it the right way and get full blown SICK! : D

So anyway, the mission was going great till this happened. I've spoke with some church leadership in the area and am confident the outcome will be very good. I've lost a week so have alot of work to do to make up for lost time. Presently I am tweaking my presentation and creating a better video that will have some info in it instead of just pictures. I speak to representatives but how they relay the message is something that might not give the full seriousness of our needs in Pascagoula. So I am adding a couple powerpoint slides that will describe what happened, what is happening and what needs to happen there on the Gulf Coast.
This is a good way to be productive while I'm getting rid of this sickness thing. I ask for your prayers.

John I read your blog about that guy that came into the church. Man o man was I disappointed. Let me explain.... I was sitting at my desk when I heard a knock on the side door of the church (door connects to our offices). I opened the door to find the same guy he described in his blog. unshaven, dress shirt with hospital type scrubs and boots. You could tell he had not showered in some time. So I talked to him but had a difficult time because I'm partially deaf and he was very soft spoken. I must have said "I'm sorry I didnt hear you" like 100 times during our breif discussion. What I could make out was he owed someone money, a drug dealer. He said they were going to kill him if he didnt pay. I told him he needed to talk to John Dobbs. This was not my area of expertise and I have seen hundreds of drug addicts beg for money and leave. As an ex-cop I can tell you that these guys dont care about anything other than their next "fix" and will do anything and everything they have to do to get it. So I never would give them any money but this was different so I got John on the phone. They must have talked for 45 mins it seemed like cause I desperatly needed to make a call and kept looking to see if he was still on the phone. Well the guy was talking outside by my truck (cordless) and I decided to go inside and work on something until he got off the phone. When I came out he was gone. The phone was sitting inside my truck on the seat and he was nowhere in site.
Later I learned he left and went knocking on doors in the neighborhood. He said he represented the Church of Christ and that he was collecting donations! MAN! I was upset to say the least. This guy is out there using our good name and trying to cure his drug addiction by soliciting the good will of the people of Pascagoula. Needless to say I wanted to call the police and describe him and hope they could track him down. Well in the mix of things I just shruged it off as just yet another disappointment in the soap opera of Hurricane Katrina.
To hear him come in front of the congregation and repent would have been interesting to me. I have a hard time with forgivness sometimes but have learned alot from my friends down there. As christians it is our responsibility to forgive. But when this happens over and over and over again you tend to seperate yourself from that element and begin to profile them in a way you shouldnt. So if they look like a drug addict and smell like a drug addict are they a drug addict? Are they true about coming to the Lord or are they just saying what they have to so they can get their last resort remedy? I know, I know! It's hard sometimes! These guys will do ANYTHING at desperate times. That includes getting washed of their sins and leading others to think they have changed even though it's not in their hearts. We call them "pretenders" in law enforcement. They have the ability to adapt and seed into any enviroment. They are the deadliest criminals of all.
But I ask myself what makes them different than us? Was there any doubts in your heart when you got baptized? Was there ever a time that you knowingly did something your not supposed to do? Well join the crowd! All of us have strayed at times. We all should be looking at these "pretenders" and welcoming them and hoping that somewhere in their time with us we can plant a seed. Something that will live in them forever. Something that hopefully one day will turn into true faith and perhaps they make a difference in someones life! How do we do this? By being christians and welcoming them as we would Jesus himself! Forgiveness came to us at the cost of Jesus dying. What would you do if someone killed your son? We must remember to forgive and forget the way God has done for us!
So I'm glad to hear you guys gave him refuge for awhile John. I hope that planted a seed that will change the outcome of where that man is heading and who he effects before he goes there!

Good job!

Have a good day everyone!

1 comment:

Candle (C & L) said...

Hey -Jeff - Sorrry to hear you were sick -- Hope you are fellingbetter. I was interested in your comments on drugaddiction - re James the guy JD wrote about. When we got home there was a guy that the church here had befriended who had just gotten out of jail after a "lifetime" of addictionand crime. He had been studying with a preacher we knew in prison and was referred to us -- He was on parole and also on methadone. While he had his ups & downs he did seem tobe turning his life around -- then he met this "girl" -- startedliving with her -- she had problems and he had money problems supporting both of them. We ekped with grocercies a few times -- he was coming to services regularly and even came and pitched in painting when we had a work day.

Then he got off parole and dropped out of sight until one night Roger (the preacher here at the time) got a call -- he was in jail. He had gotten some coke to re-sell and make money and instead he & his girlfriend went on a binge - used it up and in the course of that he turned ugly and starting a fight with her that spilled overonto the street and he got picked up -- and nailed for possession. Roger and others stuck with him through the trail -- he got a very light sentence -- people visited him whilein jail -- When he got out he was "invisible" for a few days and then he came to us with the story that the people who had given him the drugs where going to "beat him badly or worse" -- we don't normally give money andwe certainly didn't want to give money fordrugs but decided that we'd give him a chance and sohelped him. He promised faithfully that if he got "free" from these people he would be involved in a "group" process (anetwork of people who werewilling to invest in helping him with his "life skills" so he couldmake better choices and stay out of trouble. We gave him the moneyand he disappeared again and we haven't seen himsince.

It is heart wrenching to see someone turning their backs on the only real source of help -- which is giving themeselves to Jesus -- especiallly when there are those willing to give so much to help them in that process -- but you know -- it is the same as when he was in jail and I visited him -- he said he was sorry and ashamed that he had hurt me. My response was you didn't hurt me -- I'm OK -- you hurt yourself and I'm sad for you -- and I'm praying that you can accept the love that Jesus is offering you and that we are offering you because of Jesus -- but in the end the only person you hurt is you.

We have compassion on people because Jesus had compassion on us- how they do respond to our compassion will be judged by God --

Anyhow - I guess I'm sharing this to let you know that you are not alone in this struggle of dealing with the disappointment and sadness that comes when peopletakeadvantage ofyour goodness (which is a goodness that came from Jesus) -- It does diappoint, it doesfrustrate and it does cause you tolose faithin people - but keep on keeping on -- your reward isfrom God not from other people.

God Bless
Charlie
(You remember the Canadian guy with the motor home and the lovely wife who were with you in Pascagoula in March)