Smitty City

Two nights ago, I had the phenomeinal experience of seeing a broken and desolate man surrender every ounce of his life to the Creator. You wil be encouraged to hear his story.
Darnell Wilson, a good friend from high school, has seen the worst of the world ever since he watched all his friends graduate high school without him. The summer after he sorrowfully watched us walk the stage, he was arrested and thrown in the county jail for six months. No one knew. He had told us all that after high school his plans were to join the military and travel north. So we, of course, assumed that he was being all that he could be. A orange jumpsuit replaced his envisioned fatigues. The second he was released, Darnell's parents fulfilled his northern bound claim by shipping him to Michigan to live with a pastor-friend. They felt that culture shock and a lost idendity would get his life back on track in the cold wolverine state. His life did quickly brighten when he met the daughter of the pastor he was staying with. She was bright and confindent...exactly what Darnell needed...the first beam of sunlight after a massive rain. Unfortunately for him, a monsoon was approaching. Within months she was pregnant and they were forced to marry, scarring the hospitable family. Their relationship was never solid because their foundation was everything, but Christ. So...He left. His journey east ended in Albany, New York. He had no home, no money, no friends, no God. Darnell quickly became wealthy by the only means a person with no high school education could...trafficing drugs. The huge amounts of money that he did make were quickly lost because of an extravagent lifestyle...which comes at no surprise. Gang-life followed for Darnell, and he took part in everything that was involved. With his parents at home praying, his wife and son in Michigan struggling, Darnell was living for no one but himself. Avoiding police and watching his back, He spent two years of his life running the streets of New York. Life seemed golden to this once church going, goofy high school cut-up. But, like the consistent theme in his life...things went bad. Eventually, his life was threatened. With his existence in jeopardy, he knew that he needed to get out before it was too late. He refused to return to his new family in Michigan because his wife was now with his best friend and he could never face his father's friend again. His sole choice was evident. The all too familiar son to (earthly) father plea for deliverance was made. "Dad...I need to come home...I'm in trouble." So the plane ticket was bought, but not before Reggie was robbed, loosing everything he had accumulated for the past two years in the streets.

Thursday morning, I awake with a new voicemail. It says, "Smitty...It's Darnell Wilson...I'm back in town. Call me."

If you know nothing of the 1994 genocide that occured in Rwanda then you need to hop onto the internet for a couple of minutes. This event is something that we all need to be aware of...don't take my word for it...ask the families of the 800,000 that we slaughtered. I would bet that they want everyone to stop eating thier dinner for half a second and take notice of what transpired. Close to a million people were destroyed in 100 days in central africa. The U.S. did nothing...but I do not have the time, nor the energy, to discuss the Clinton administration. Anyway, if you care to know, it is happening again. This time in Sudan. In Darfur, black african Sudan natives are being massacred daily by government militias ("janjaweed") who have no mercy on those who do not acknowledge Islam as the nation's true religion. The U.S. is currently doing nothing. Christians are being murdered, women are being raped, and children are being starved while we eat dinner and watch another ridiculous, mind numbing episode of American Idol. Honestly, I feel bad for President Bush. You know that he is aware of what is going down, but he is in a catch 22. If he does nothing, then years from now he will go down as the president who ignored the genocide in Sudan. By the way, I wonder who will play the uncompassionate U.S. President in the blockbuster Hotel Sudan? If P.B. takes action in Sudan then those (bleep) liberals will lunge at the throat of Bush until he has no life left in him because he, once again, is acting as the moral policeman of the globe. (dramatic pause) Somebody needs to be the moral policeman. We should not view areas such as Sudan, Rwanda, and even our poor inner-cities of our own country as "self cleaning ovens." This is the attitude of many. Let me ask you a question. If a friend was being murdered in an ally somewhere...would you help...or would you turn your head because you didn't want to get your shirt bloody? Would you ignore your friend being raped and stabbed because you are too busy with the other events in your life? I can only speak for myself, but I would at least make an attempt to save my friend...even if I was injured in the process. Bush is in a loose-loose situation. Poor Bush...no no, excuse me...poor Sudan. Oh well...mom, when is dinner ready?


may God be glorified...even in tragedy.