in need of a miracle...

this is Armando, recently just released from the Juvenile Hall we mentor and counsel at on a weekly outreach. He is very close to his GED (an equivalent to high school diploma), currently staying with his mom and has seven years in prison hanging over his head if he makes one wrong move. Actually, that's seven years plus whatever time he will get for any addtional charge, if added. He looks like your run-of-the-mill, typical 18 year old. But, like many of our amazing youth, he's caught up. By what? Meth. Right now, he's clean. We hung out with him on Thursday, met his mom, and sat down for hours discussing what life could look like for Armando. It could go two ways and he knows it. His dad is not in the picture, and hasn't contacted him for years. His mom, however, is great. She has laid down the much needed boundaries, immediately and right now he is working with a brother. We are hoping to co-ordinate the testing for his GED within the next few weeks, once receiving the necessary paperwork on Armando from Texas. This is a key transitional time..he is need of many prayers! He wants to become a fire-fighter, possibly through the military. But, I know for Armando the biggest miracle right now would be if he could recogonize his need for God, his need for a savior. Please pray for that miracle!

Here is a picture of Barry, April & Armando at Charlie Brown Farms in Littlerock...I don't care how "urban" I am...there is a little bit of country in me. So when we went to see Armando I dragged them all out for a "family style" morning at Charlie Browns! It was fun. There were so many things to look at you have to go back again to see it all! We sat down at the table reading the dieter's handbook and the guidebook to dealing with idiots...or something bizarre like that. Anyways, it was definetly quirky, like me! Notice the toilet paper roll cleverly disquised as napkins. Made my day! I even took a picture with, wait is that John Wayne? You have to have a little fun or it's no fun. Right?

Miracles. Armando needs one and so does Micah. In Micah's life he has realized how desparately he needs God, but for him he is at the point where we hope Armando doesn't go...the point where he is now looking at possible prison term of 12 years. Micah continues to read his Bible, prays with other inmates, and encourages anyone he can. I can't help but to look back to a little over a year ago, when he was still a minor, released from Juvenile Hall at the age of 17 into his mom's custody. At that time, she left for 2 months. Micah was alone, and had no way to accomplish the demands probation had laid out before him. That's abandonment, but no one stepped up to plead his case. It's no wonder as I look back on this young man's life that he has made the choice's he has, there was no way he was mature enough to take care of himself, he had been in and out of incarceration since the age of 13. His dad, deceased since he was 9. His mom has not shown up to one hearing for Micah. She has never come to visit him. But when he was home, it was constant demands to get her money. Micah appears in court on the 23rd, and again on the 6th of February. There are two courts, one with each case. If just one case would get dropped then there would be a chance for him. The miracle? That Micah would see the hand of God in all this. I don't know what that looks like, but please pray for Micah. Here is a excerpt from his most recent letter:
God is answering everybody's prayer's because for the past few weeks I've been feeling good. I'm not stressing
as much, I've been reading my bible everyday and I feel God is going to help me through this.
He referred to the scripture in Acts, when Jesus confronts Saul. He said he likes it that Jesus didn't look at Saul like a bad person. He said in his letter to us:
I'm glad Jesus doesn't look at me as a bad person, I love him so much...
We took Reid to see Micah last time for a visit and the two of them went on and on about reptiles as they always have in the past. In Micah's closing line of his letter he wrote, I love you mother. Please pray for Micah, he's just another one of my kids, I will stand in the gap for. We only need a miracle, Jesus!