Dear friends, A Nazarene Peacemaker and a Thief 3/4/19
“Would you turn that mirror in on your side in so it doesn’t get knocked off.” said Juan to me. He then added “I have to tell you a story about that mirror. I was at a stop light and a guy come up and just broke off the mirror. I saw police nearby so I told them.”
“They went and found him and brought him to me. They said to me, well here he is you can hit him or do whatever you want with him. Beat on him as much as you want. I said I don’t want to beat on him. That just didn’t seem right. They then called and another policeman who also said go ahead beat on him this is your chance. That might straight him out.”
“They then got a commander who brought a bat and said well now you can beat him go to it. I than talked to the fellow and found he was very poor and stealing things as a way to survive. So I felt he was already in a deep in a hole. I didn’t want to push him any deeper.”
“The police told me they can’t put him in jail, beat on him, or do anything unless he had threatened with a gun or a knife.”
Juan is a good friend from 3 years ago. He is obviously a very committed Christian. He takes Jesus seriously. It was a real witness to me.
Pray for the police in Cali, Colombia.
Jim
An Incredible Prime Minister Dear Friends, a hopeful happening, Two years ago, Ethiopia was a basket case. The government seemed to be losing control The majority Oromo people were restive under a rule that seemed to rob them of their place. The traditionally powerful Amhara rioted. A state of emergency brought silence on the surface, but underneath the nation seethed. Civil war threatened. A foreigner was killed. Tourism waned. Finally, the prime minister resigned. The church prayed earnestly. Then, unexpectedly, eight months ago, the relatively unknown Abiy Ahmad was elected prime minister. What followed was equally unanticipated. In a bold, courageous acceptance speech; Ahmad announced a policy of peace, love and unity for the nation and its relationships with the rest of the world. He made sweeping promises and, to the surprise of a world cynical of political promises, kept them. “We need friction but not hatred, argument but not insult,”
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