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The vet and the Buddhists at the 2008 County Fair

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Dear friends

"Would you like to hear how we are reducing violence in the war zones of the world?" I asked Justin as he walked by my booth, and we started what turned out to be a very warm conversation. "No, I have been in the military for 15 years; I have seen too much of that already," Justin responded.

"WOW, you have been through a lot. Part of my calling is to pray for people; I will put you on my prayer list," I answered. Justin responded, "Well, that is awful nice of you, thank you very much."

"What do you do any way?" I asked. He answered, "I take care of my grandmother. Being in the military all those years, I saved my money. I live real simply, don't spend very much; her and I are the only ones left in our family, so we just have each other. . . Sorry I don't want to sign up for your letters, I just have seen too much already. I am sorry I gave all those years to military service, I am just trying to heal."

As part of several other conversations about prayer and meditation with Alisa, a Buddhist, I read from the Message Bible to illustrate a point. She responded, "I sent my children to church and my husband is in AA. I have been looking for a good modern translation to share with them; that one sounds good." I added, "This is what I feel is a spirit-led paraphrase; I have found the Lord really speaks to me through it. Also the Remix version, where it is divided into verses, I have found easier to use, and if you go to Biblio.com you can buy it used and quite a bit cheaper." Alisa replied, "I always like recycling, let me write it all down. Thank you very much!"

I gave to Alisa, as I did to many people those five days, a reminder that I would be giving slide programs at two local libraries. She promised to come and invite her other Buddhist friends. She also bought a book from me, Bo Lozoff's It's a Meaningful Life on prayer and meditation.

Pray for the Lord to speak to us in all my upcoming slide presentations. And that the seeds that are planted sprout, grow and flourish and that the God's will be done in this election and for peace.

Thanks so much for your prayer support,

Jim
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