Sunday is always interesting but...

Sunday is always an interesting day. But yesterday (October 1) was special for several reasons. I went to the airport at 5:30 AM to pick up our latest guest, Norm Merrill, who is from my home church in Battle Ground, Washington. He is here for one month to work on networking several entities in the area of Community Development. Maybe I will write another blog entry about this when I know more about what we are talking about.

Upon picking him up at the airport we went straight back to the house, grabbed breakfast, he got a shower and the rest of us got ready for church. We proceeded to Naga and the next three hours were filled with children (47 attended the Sunday School that Carol has organized) , walking around the immediate community of the church (this is a potential area for a community development project) with Norm so that he can get a better feel for the level of poverty that is around, attending the adult Sunday School (translating for Norm and participating in the excellent discussion), and attending worship service. During all of this we were informed that one of the young adult children of one of the faithful families in the church (I was a sponsor at this young man's wedding a few weeks ago) had been accused of possesing drugs. He had been put in a police station holding pen where they (the local police) had informed the parents that if they would give the police the equivalent of five months salary (without a receipt) they would let him go.

Like I said, it is never boring.

After church we went out to eat and then Carol took the boys to buy school clothes and I went home to get ready to speak at our church's outreach in a neighboring community. We went and had a good time with the people. I spoke on Colossians and the great list of things that Paul was thankful for. If you want to be encouraged, go and read the first half of the first chapter of Colossians.

I then took several people home and rounded up the relatives of the incarcerated young man, including his wife. We went to the original holding center and they told us that he had been transferred. We then drove back over the same road that we had come on to return to the city hall detention facility. We then found his parents there ahead of us. We were able to give him some clean clothes and talk to him. His parents had talked to the very helpful elderly gentleman who was in charge. He informed them that they would post bail to get their son out but this time there would be receipts for which I was thankful.

I got home at about 7:00 PM. Ate pizza and went to bed.

This morning the mother asked if I could loan them some money for the bail and I gave them some morning that I received this morning. I would like to ask everyone who reads this to pray for this young man. He claims that the drugs were planted on him, which is totally within reason but he needs to examine where he spends his time and the company he keeps. I went in support of the young wife, the parents and the other members of the church that are very concerned.

The holding cells were something else. Just cardboard on the floor and while we were there the men and women could visit each other in plain view of everyone. I just could not believe it. Things to learn everyday.