Freedom Update, Garage Shelves, Camp

God is working some very cool stuff. You may remember back in May, I wrote about a guy who came into Freedom way beyond drunk... About Last Weekend.
Well, that guy is now in rehab and is working through that misery and looking up as he works on the healing that needs to take place.

Check out this letter from someone who is working with him as a sponsor during his rehab.

Hey yall,

I wanted to follow-up with everyone at Freedom that I had an email address for regarding Tony White. On behalf of Tony's accountability group (Scott, Jimmy, Rocky, Ray and myself) we wanted to give you an update on how Tony is doing.

The five us had the opportunity Sunday afternoon to sit down and visit Tony during their visitor's hours. Tony is doing as well as expected. The days are long and monotonous, the environment is stale and pretty negative, and the presence of God is hard to find amidst everything. As Tony put it, "people are here for 2 reasons: either the judge made them come or they are here in order to get their kids back after DSS came and took them away." Scott and Rocky had a chance to participate in a meeting last Wednesday and they will be the first to tell you that it is a sad place to visit. There is no positive energy, no warmth, and honestly no hope as the program expects that people will be back soon after they relapse. What a tragedy! Even Scott brought up the name of Jesus in a meeting and people started attacking him immediately about Christianity, etc.

I say all this to give you a small glimpse of what Tony has to endure for 26 days. He said their days are comprised of basically 4 things (eat, sleep, meetings and smoke breaks, repeated over and over) It is against the rules to talk to a female, let alone even look at one without getting written up, so all Tony has for fellowship are the other guys who are there, of which none share the victory that Tony has in Jesus Christ. So a friend is not to be found and as a new follower of Christ, Tony is basically alone.

We, the body of Christ, have the unique opportunity to have a tremendous impact on our brother in Christ these new two weeks. Some of you have written letters or sent cards to Tony and what a difference that has made. Not even 5 minutes into our conversation with Tony, he pulled a folded-over pile of cards out of his pocket that some of you have sent. Some people he knew, some he didn't....but honestly it did not matter one bit. Each card spoke one consistent message loud and clear: Tony, we love you, we are praying for you, and we are here for you....and he kept those words literally on him all day long.

Some of you may not know Tony at all and that is okay because in some ways, your words of encouragement to Tony mean more than the rest of us that do know him. You see, to this day Tony is still blown away by the fact that he literally stumbled into Greer High School one Sunday morning and found God. And he is just as blown away that someone he doesn't know would care enough about him to send a card or a note encouraging him. We simply do not realize the power we possess as followers of Christ to breathe life into a dark world. The world Tony has to live in for 26 days is dark but you have the power to give him the hope he needs to survive each day, keeping his mind clear of the spiritual warfare that surrounds him.

If you have not yet sent a note or card to Tony, please consider doing so. If you have already sent one, send another. Your words of encouragement and prayers cannot be measured in their level of importance to Tony. They are truly the food that he hungers for spiritually and will sustain him through this test of faith, patience and endurance.

I'll leave you with this, when we drove into the parking lot of Holmesview Sunday afternoon, Tony was standing at the window waiting. Scott told him Wednesday that all 5 of us would be there Sunday and Tony told the people who worked there that he had 5 sponsors (not just 1) and all 5 of his sponsors would be there Sunday afternoon. God has used the body of Christ at Freedom Fellowship to make an eternal difference in the life of Tony White. Your prayers are priceless, your love is unconditional, and your words of encouragement to Tony are keeping him alive throughout these 26 days.

Thank you in advance for sending cards, notes and letters in the coming days. Tony's last day is August 8th, so from now till then let's send him reminders of how much we love him, care about him and are praying for him. Here is the address one more time:

Holmesview

3799 Old Easley Bridge Rd.

Greenville, SC 29611

Attn: Tony White

BTW: Feel free to send this email to anyone in the church I may have missed that would be willing to pray for Tony and send a card. God bless, -Dan, Scott, Jimmy, Rocky & Ray

Please consider lifting Tony in your prayers as he struggles with finishing his course of rehab and continues his walk with Jesus. Even better, send him a card encouraging him in his course.

Miles comes home from camp today. We are all ready to see him. This is the longest Tricia and I have ever gone without speaking to him. I know he has enjoyed himself. It's amazing that he is already at this stage of life. Dylan is ready for his turn next week too. Dylan's birthday party is tomorrow. It's a Ben 10 theme and we will have about 10 6-10 year olds here for a few hours. Shouldn't be boring!!!

Check out my cool storage shelves I put up with Charles Lamb last night.

They are super strong and I can walk on them without problems. The garage is looking great and I can park the van and walk around the back and front of the van (with the door closed). Sorry, but Keller still has to stay in the yard. Well, gotta get back to work. See ya!