Place of Promise

"I love the Lord for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live."       Psalms 116: 1-2

Dear Friends,

When a tree falls deep in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make any noise? When a young child cries alone in the night, are there really any tears? When a young man wanders lost in the streets, unnoticed by anyone, does he really exist? When the addict suffers, curled up alone in the basement of a crack house, is there truly any pain? When the homeless huddles alone in a doorway, shivering from both cold and fear, is there really any problem? As long as we see no blood, no wound, is there really any hurt?

We live in a world where many seem to believe that as long as we see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, there really is no evil. We try not to look at the unlovely. We pay no attention to the unlovable. The hurt and broken are eliminated by our refusal to recognize them. If we close our eyes, our ears, and turn our heads away, the problems of our society will cease to exist.

God, on the other hand, hears our cries! He shares our struggles, frustrations and pain. He notices; He loves; He acts on our behalf!

Place of Promise is full of a people who were once scattered about, lost and alone, but are now becoming a people of God. A little boy's cries in the night no longer go unnoticed, but are hushed by the love of our staff member, Rob Surratt. A young mother's wounded heart begins to heal when soothed with the balm of Gilead. Another mother's anguished prayers turn into tears of joy when she embraces her long lost son, now safe and at home in the Place of Promise. Yet another, knocked down, beaten by waves of hard, terrible grief after the death of her young son, now stands, together with God and her family at Place of Promise, sober and free from the chains of addiction for a whole year!

We love the Lord at Place of Promise for He hears our cries! Though everyone else may turn away, God turns His ear towards us. He hears our voice!

One young resident at Place of Promise has actually been with us a couple of times. I first met him when he was two years old, not long after his father was killed in a drive by shooting on the streets of Boston. He continued to be victimized by violence throughout his childhood. He was transformed from a happy-go-lucky toddler into a fearful, emotionally shattered, young teen. A school psychologist reported that she had never, in her many years of experience, seen a child so terribly traumatized by violence. He soon learned how to find courage in a few drinks; how to numb the pain and relieve the anxiety by smoking weed. Too scared to stand alone, he joined the gang, ran the drugs, went to jail. He became one of many, a statistic, just another messed up, meaningless life.

But God heard his cries! God heard the cries of his mother, his grandmother, all of us at Place of Promise and the many, many prayers of so many of you over the years! I remember Helen Tuchen, one of our beloved founding Board Members, praying for T.J. Lawrence everyday when he was still a young boy.

John Lawrence, better known as T.J., came to Place of Promise on parole almost a year ago. Terri promised to keep hands off and entrust her first born son to me under God. God heard the many cries for mercy and saved his life. He brought a hurt, broken, frightened little boy into Place of Promise and began the recreation process.

The process of letting go of the old and becoming brand new is extremely difficult and long-term. In fact, the whole process takes an entire lifetime from the moment of surrender to the end of the journey. The Bible pictures us as broken clay pots coming into the hands of the Potter. The Potter breaks us down the rest of the way, remolds and reshapes us into something brand new that is fit for useful purpose. I have come to believe that only God is capable of the severe mercy necessary for such reconstruction and often must separate each one from well meaning friends and family in order to begin this painful process.

T.J. struggled hard the first few months and it was a tough time for all. But God had turned His ear and heard John's voice. God loved him enough to listen to his heartfelt cries and T.J. found himself responding to that powerful love with love. T.J. began to love God because God loved him enough to pay attention to him, to hear his cries, to wipe his tears, to comfort his heart, to forgive his sins, to strengthen his trembling knees, to grant him a brand new life!

When we receive God's amazing love and begin to love, we are empowered to change, grow and live to our fullest potential. T.J has begun this journey. Today, he laughs again; much of his sorrow has been transformed into joy! He is in his second semester at Middlesex Community College with a goal of becoming a counselor. He married Keyana Jackson who also loves the Lord with all her heart. The couple continues to live, work and heal at Place of Promise. John has a special gift of communication and has inspired others wanting to find new life, as well as myself and other servants of God, to keep calling on God every moment of everyday.

T.J always dreamed of having a wife and children, a family of his own dedicated to God. He and Keyana were blessed by God with their first child who was due to be born on Valentine's Day. We were all excited! Two weeks ago, they traveled into Boston to meet with Rev. Hamilton for marriage counseling. While there, Keyana had pain and tightness in her chest, so they decided to go to Boston Medical Center. It was discovered that she had a blood clot in her lung and the doctors told them that she could have died. She had to remain in the hospital until the baby was born. It was a long, difficult two weeks. Keyana finally went into labor, the Heparin used to thin her blood was stopped and we all prayed. After 24 hours of labor, the doctors determined that the baby was in distress and performed a C-Section. Ariyanah Jonnaha Lawrence, weighing 6lbs 8oz, was born on 2/12/08. She is a beautiful baby girl- a gift from God! T.J. hasn't stopped smiling! He loves his new baby girl! He loves his wife! Most of all, he loves the Lord, Jehovah M'Kaddesh, who found him when he was a broken, shattered child, picked him up, cleaned him up, and set him apart as His own precious son!

We love the Lord! He hears our cries. Together, we are the ears, the eyes, the hands, the feet of Jesus. God acts in love through each of us to bring about new life. Please continue with us at Place of Promise to be the ears of God for the many more who are still crying alone out there everywhere. Thank you!!

Listening in love,

Beth Kidd, Director