Here it is in his words...
Hello fellow prayer partners,
Last night was interesting.
Fireworks were basically used as a shield to fire guns. You would hear a loud bang or screecher firework followed by the rapid snapping of .22, .45 and 9's.
Once the fireworks at the Sun Dome had been expended and the neighborhood was empty, gun fire broke out up and down the street, all around us with no pretense or attempt to hide any of the intent.
In some cases it was random firing but in other instances there were clearly firefights block to block with return fire back and forth using higher caliber weapons with rapid fire exchanges including AR 15's and other weapons I couldn't place from just the sounds.
This continued all through the night until 6:30am and I wondered at one point whether they would run out of ammunition or alcohol first (blame it on the Goose). :)
My family and I were perfectly safe. What did concern me was the young man that dropped by around 9:30pm, clearly strapped and needing food and water. We weren't sure if he was there for our protection or his own.
He is a great kid that grew up on the eastside and has generational gang roots.
He tried to pass it off as just being funny but his questions were veined in serious notes, making sure we were safe and that we should probably arm ourselves, even though he'd, "let his homies know we weren't to be touched, but he can't assure us that his enemies felt the same."
I assured him Jesus was taking care of us.
Kimberley and I and the kids sat with him on the front porch, feeding him and letting him talk for awhile until it was time for him to leave around 10:30pm. I sent the kids and Kimberley inside and explained to him that Jesus loves him and had a plan for his life. Before he left he asked me to pray for protection for himself that, "he wouldn't get messed up in anything stupid tonight". I did that but also prayed that "Jesus would show himself to [him] tonight in a way that undeniable, and that he would clearly see Jesus."
Please pray for us to heed The Spirit's leading and that Jesus would continue to bring these opportunities to witness to our front door.
Send this to whoever would benefit from it or is interested in praying for our ministry.
Thanks,
Tony Baker
MH director
I've never been in a situation like this before, and yet even though I was overwhelmed, I was also covered in a peace that only Christ can give.
About three weekends before, I was given the opportunity to speak at a weekend camp and the verse that my co-speaker and I focused on was 2 Timothy 1:7:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.
These were the words that were running through my head as we listened to the chaos outside our home.
Jesus is here with us, whether the streets are calm or in turmoil. He has placed us here with a very specific purpose - to show His glory in the middle of what we don't always understand.
If you would like to be included in our prayer letters, you can contact me at wifeoftony{at}gmail(dot)com. We would love to have you stand beside us.
Jesus is here with us, whether the streets are calm or in turmoil. He has placed us here with a very specific purpose - to show His glory in the middle of what we don't always understand.
If you would like to be included in our prayer letters, you can contact me at wifeoftony{at}gmail(dot)com. We would love to have you stand beside us.
