This is a most important chapter from my 400+ page book.  I sent part of it out to you two years ago, but the plethora of people reading these stories in Chin did not get to see it.  And because they need to see it, and because it is so desperately important, I am herewith sending it to you again.  Please consider its message!  It is real, not some theory!

Dr. Peter Pry

I have written about a bunch of amazing people in this book.  Most of them have already died.  Many were so close to God, and God used them to do some amazing things for Him. 

Now I want to tell you about one who is still very much alive as I write this. 

It is my opinion that God has tasked him with warning us about and to immediately prepare for what can only be described as an absolute catastrophe if we don’t prepare for it. 

First, let me show you my good friend’s credentials:

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry:

Executive Director of the Task Force on US National and Homeland Security,

He served in the Congressional EMP Commission as Chief of Staff,

The Congressional Strategic Posture Commission,

The House Armed Services Committee,

The CIA

Author of “Blackout Wars” and a Plethora of Articles and Studies

To show you about where his heart and thoughts are let me quote for you a few paragraphs from him.  I am writing this on May 1, 2019.  He wrote the following only last week and it was put in a national publication this morning:

“The Age of Science boasts Reason has triumphed over Faith, and God is dead. Christianity is hounded from the public square, is silenced, or worse mocked and despised, in our schools, modern art, and entertainment.

“Christianity and its child Western Civilization are thought so shameful among “intellectual elites” they would brainwash us into their new faith that is secular humanism, replace Christ with Marx, suborn individualism to collectivism, replace thought with “group think,” confuse the just society with “social justice,” and abandon free markets and free nations for the tyranny of socialism and globalism.

“Is Mankind better served by reviving, or at least understanding, Judeo-Christian values that built and sustained Western Civilization for 2,000 years, until the 20th Century — or by the new “religion” of secular humanism that worships false science and the technocratic state, that dominates society and governments in the 21st Century?

“Western secular humanists and socialists will vehemently protest they have nothing in common with the USSR, Nazi Germany, Communist China, North Korea, Cuba, or Venezuela — even as they embrace atheism and Marxism, shout down and mock the religious, and pretend to subscribe to objectivity and “science” in order to achieve “social justice.”

“All totalitarian movements start this way, promising a Worker’s Paradise, delivering concentration camps and doomsday.

“ Let us hope and pray for the resurrection of God’s law and Christ in the hearts and minds of men.”

Do you know what an Electro Magnetic Pulse is?  The last one to hit the earth as it zapped out from our sun happened when Charlie Goodnight was only 23 years old, September 2, 1859.

Just a relatively small nuclear explosion high above the central US would also cause one.  You would not feel it.  You would not even see it, unless you were looking straight up over the central US when the relatively small nuclear device was detonated 70 to 72 kilometers up in the stratosphere.  However, the pulse would fuse any two pieces of metal that are close together…..like the firing pin in most guns, all electronic devices, the ignition system in any car made after 1973.  In an instant most all cars on the road stop and all parked cars will not start.  All planes in the air go down.  But most of all, our entire electric grid is wiped out.  And this happens from the east coast to the west coast and from central Canada to Mexico City, most likely never ever to return in our lifetime.

Will this ever happen?  I met with a select group in our State of Texas Capital a few months ago.  There were several analysts from the CIA there as well as knowledgeable National Security Analysts and Engineers, and Military Officers.  Many of us have read the only good book written about EMP, One Second After.  The author of that book, William R. Forstchen, was even there.  Texas State Senator Hall was there too.  His previous job as an Air Force Officer was to shield our large missiles from EMP.  These folks were adamant that there is no other threat as likely and probable to happen to the US as this threat.  Forget global warming.  The following information is from………. Peter Vincent Pry, Ph.D. and Executive Director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security.  He was many years at the CIA and knows more about EMP than most anyone.

He absolutely expects it to happen.  He is almost what I would describe as frantic about it.  It will happen from one of three ways:

(1) Iran or some other rogue nation will get hold of a nuclear device, sail into the Caribbean on a tramp steamer and launch it with a cheap Scud missile of which Iran has plenty.  They really don’t have to aim it well, just get it up somewhere over the central US.  It does not need to be a really big one like a hydrogen bomb, just a small atomic one.  The Iranians are just salivating about this.  They could then fight us with swords like the Muslims of old.

(2)  North Korea has two satellites traveling several times a day from southwest Texas up over the Central US.  The CIA analysts and Dr. Pry said that each weighs between 250 and 300 lbs.  They say that they are sure that one or both have a nuclear device in them.  They don’t need a spy satellite to weigh that much.  If they don’t have such a bomb in them, the North Koreans can easily put up another satellite that does.

(3) We are way over-due for such a major pulse to hit earth from the sun.  It has happened regularly in earth’s history.  Dr. Pry says that the last big one was on Sept. 2, 1859.  We did not have an electric grid then, but we did have telegraph lines. The entire existing telegraph system was fried and wiped out.  It even traveled down the rail lines and warped the rails wherever they curved.  All those warped rails had to be replaced.  An EMP of that same magnitude from the sun very narrowly missed the earth in the fall of 2012.

Dr. Pry says that conservatively 30 million or more people in the US would be dead in 30 days.  However, the CIA analysts say 90% of the US population will be dead in 30 days.  Without electricity they would not have water.  But you say, I know where to get water from surface sources.   Yes, but the tens and tens of thousands of people going to those same sources would have it so fouled that it would not be potable for most folks.  The CIA analysts there told me that they keep a little back-pack in their cars, mostly filled with water purification tablets.  When I asked why, they said that when their car stops wherever they may be, they just want to try to be able to get back home.

Forstchen called his fiction book about the result of this happening to a small US community, “One Second After”, because it all happens in just one second.

No more electronic devices of any kind would exist.  All bank records are gone.  Everything stored in every computer, even in the cloud, is gone.  There would be no more communications, no cell phones, and certainly no TV or radio.  In that one instant, we would be plunged back into the 14th Century.

Most folks don’t realize that our electric grid is tied together and dependent on a few massive, extremely heavy transformers.  They are so heavy that they are very hard to transport to the strategic sites where they are needed.  They can only be manufactured by hand.  They are not made in the US; they are made in Japan and in Germany.  These would all be “fried” with an EMP.  It is doubtful then, if ever they could be replaced.

In 2001 Congress established a commission to study the danger of an electromagnetic pulse generated by the detonation of a high-altitude nuclear weapon. It concluded that while there would be no blast effects on the ground, critical electricity-dependent infrastructure would be rendered inoperable. The commission’s chairman, William R. Graham, has noted that several Russian generals told the commissioners in 2004 that the designs for a “super EMP nuclear weapon” had been transferred to North Korea.   While a regular nuclear bomb will achieve an EMP, the Russians have been perfecting certain ones for maximum EMP effect.

Recently the news media reported how a North Korean medium range missal was destroyed in mid-flight.  They expressed their confusion about why it had been destroyed when it was operating successfully.  Dr. Pry told me that the media did not understand that this was a test of how one of their missals can go up to deliver an EMP nuclear device and be exploded at just the optimum height for an EMP blast.

I wrote an email about this subject to some of my friends.  I mentioned the two North Korean satellites and how their paths carry them up over the Central US every day.  Someone got that email to Lou Dobbs.  You have probably seen him on Fox Business News on his weekday broadcasts each evening.  He read it on his program, verbatim……word for word.  And if you have watched him, you have seen how when something strikes him as very cogent, he will look right into the camera and comment on it.

On this occasion, when he got to the part of my email about the North Korean satellites, he looked right into the camera and said very earnestly:  “Why in  the world haven’t we shot those two things down!”

In late 2017, just before Kim Jong-un became involved with President Trump, he made an interesting statement. He said publicly, directly to the United States through a translator:  “If you people don’t stop messing with me, you are all going to live like dogs!”

As a proud American, I hate to admit it, but until we at least get our electric grid hardened, maybe we had better listen.

 At that conference in the Texas Capital all those important people from across the US had come all the way down to Austin, Texas.  When I asked them why they were there, they had a very practical answer.  They were most all desperately anxious for us to get our electric grid hardened to withstand such a magnetic pulse before it is too late.  They don’t want to see 90% of the whole US population dead in their homes and in the streets.  They expressed that they are in effect, hitting a stone wall in trying to get the grid hardened.

They said that since Texas is the only state with its own grid, and since as they put it:  “Texans are tougher, more energetic, and in our opinion more apt to do it than anyone else.  “We are here to try to get you to do it as an example to for the rest of the nation.”

On July 9, 1962, the US launched a Thor missile from Johnston Island, an atoll about 1500 kilometers (900 miles) southwest of Hawaii. The missile arced up to a height of over 1100 km (660 miles), then came back down. At the preprogrammed height of 400 km (240 miles), the 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead detonated.  We wanted to test one of our nuclear warheads so high up that no damage or results on the earth were expected.

It was called Operation Starfish, and all hell broke loose. 

      Here is a picture of the first part of the explosion

From this explosion, we learned much more about EMP than we had ever known before. 

There were not many satellites up at that time.  But the EMP fried the insides of the 6 satellites above that area at that moment and caused many others to fail later.

Even though it was way higher than the 30 to 40 miles which are optimum for EMP effect, it fried most of the telephone system in Hawaii, damaged the electric systems for hundreds of miles around,  and wiped out most of the street lights in Hawaii.  If Hawaii’s electric grid had not been so underdeveloped and analog, it would have been totally destroyed instead of just badly damaged. 

Congressman Bob Hall desperately wants Texas (at least) to harden its electric grid against an EMP.  Here is what he sent out to his constituents recently in an email report:

There was a time when life without electricity was the norm. By the 1930s, the majority of people living in larger towns and cities enjoyed the luxury, but only 10 percent of Americans who lived on farms or in rural areas had electric power.  In 1936 the Rural  Electric Administration was created to bring electricity to rural areas. No longer a luxury, electricity is now considered to be essential to life. A resilient power supply is essential to sustaining economic prosperity.

A prolonged power outage today would result in a complete breakdown in the fabric of society as we know it. Without power, communications systems would go down, creating a chaotic response to the situation. While limited locations would have access to temporary generators, as the on-site fuel for those generators is expended, replacement services would be at a standstill. Pipelines and transportation systems would be immobilized. Medically fragile individuals with dependency on machines would be some of the first victims. Those who depend on life-saving medications would be next as diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, currently controlled by medication, become death sentences. Then, as clean water supplies are compromised and waste water treatment plants are overwhelmed, diseases commonly associated with third world countries would become prevalent.

While Texas history with hurricanes, wildfires, ice storms and critters has made the state well-prepared for short term outages of power, there has been no significant planning for a catastrophic long-term loss of the electric grid that could be the result of cyber, natural, or man-made causes. The very idea that a single event causing the loss of the electric grid could plunge the entire nation back into a time without electricity, cell phones or the internet is so overpowering that it is easier to ignore the threat than to plan for it.

At that conference in Austin, their one plea was to try to get us to harden our electric grid against an EMP.  It is not that hard or expensive.  The CIA folks and the military folks and Dr. Pry were here in Texas to plead with us to harden our grid as an example for the rest of the country, because Texas is the only state in the US with its own independent, separate electric grid as I have written.  They estimate that it will only cost $13 per person.  And my main purpose in bothering you with all this is to implore you to do whatever it takes to get our grid hardened; the grid for the whole US.  There are two companies standing ready to do it.

I asked Dr. Pry what he intended to do when an EMP hits us.  He said that he intended to die along with everyone else, but then said, with tears in his eyes, that he just hoped that his grandchildren and great grandchildren would be able to survive.

Dr. Pry has only 4 other people to whom he sends his most private emails.  I have promised him that I would continue to pray for him.  He knows that God has entrusted him with the task of alerting our nation to this peril, and he does feel the burden, all the time.

I encourage you to please pray for him, also.  This threat is not some theory.  It is for real!!!

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

 如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.html

On those pheasant hunts in the San Joaquin Valley in California General Curtis Lemay was my hunting partner and bunk mate.  Many consider him the greatest worrier of the 20^th Century.  He showed us how to finally bomb the Germans effectively.  He was then sent to the Pacific to very effectively destroy the Japanese when we were not harming them much at all before.  In both of those occasions I am convinced that God woke him up in the middle of the night and put in his mind what specifically to do.

After the war he was sent back to Germany to direct the Berlin Airlift to thwart the Russians.  Then he is credited with winning the Cold War by building the Strategic Air Command from scratch, the most destructive fighting force in world history.

In those hunts in California he related to me things that I really don’t think that he ever shared with most anyone else, even his wife.  Following I will try to describe a few of those.  I sent some of those things out to you before, but my plethora of  folks in China who are reading this did not get to see them as many of you did.

                     General Lemay with his cutom made hunting clothes on ready to hunt.

  Our Hunting Group with Me on the Left and Gen. Lemay on the Right

Lemay in Asia

As I have written before, historians say that General Curtis Lemay was one of the most important warriors that our country ever had. During WWII we were not putting any effective bombs on the Japanese, and that had to be done if we were ever going to defeat them. However, he showed us how to do it.

I have also written you about how so many people were desperately praying for our success against the Japanese, and how I believe God woke General Lemay up in the middle of the night and showed him what to do. However, I never showed you the details of that. Herewith are the details of things he shared about what he did in the Asia/Pacific Theatre:

Even though he was still in England, an inkling of what was to come was when Lemay was promoted over the heads of several colleagues at the age of 37 to become the youngest Major General in the US Army. However, he was soon sent back to the States.

Hap Arnold, the Commanding General of our Army Air Corps, was not much worried about the war in Europe at that point. He knew that we were going to have to try to defeat the Japanese. Other than the nuisance raid of Jimmy Doolittle, we had never put a bomb on them. He was convinced that unless we used strategic bombing like we were doing against the Germans, we could never defeat their fanatical troops on their home islands.

He was pinning all his hopes on the huge new airplane whose production he had been shepherding—–the B-29. He had already told Lemay that he expected Lemay to be the one to accomplish that task. However, this plane was so advanced and complicated that they were having all kinds of problems with it.

First, there had been a competition between Boeing and Douglas Aircraft for the contract. Boeing had been selected, but at Boeings’ plant in Nebraska there were all manner of delays and engineering changes.

The real answer was that it should take many years to perfect a plane like this, but Hap Arnold wanted it now to bomb Japan. And he was going to have it now, come “hell or high water”. Some of its chief designers had already been killed when it crashed with them on only its 2nd inaugural flight.

                                                 B-29 Rolled out for the first time

This plane weighed 135,000 pounds fully loaded and could carry 20,000 pounds of bombs. Its wingspan was half as long as a football field and it was a third as long as a football field.

It could fly at 32,000 feet for 4,100 miles without refueling.

It had supercharged air-cooled radial engines with 18 cylinders that produced over 3,700 hp each.

It carried a crew of 10 and was completely pressurized so that the crew did not need those cumbersome oxygen masks and fleece-lined flying suits.

It had two 50-cal. machine guns in each of four remotely controlled turrets, plus two 50-cal. machine guns and one 20mm cannon in its tail turret.

The Army ordered 1,600 of them after only its first flight, and eventually 3,970 were produced.

There were 900 engineering changes even after it had finished its test flights.

Its main problem was that its engines tended to swallow valves and then catch fire. Its magnesium crankcase burned with a fury that fliers had never seen before.  In summation: It was years before it should have been put into service, but Hap Arnold was determined to have it bomb Japan now. In retrospect, he was absolutely right, but also in retrospect, more airmen lost their lives from its mechanical problems than from enemy fire.

Lemay had never spent any time with Hap Arnold, and knew little about him. Lemay assumed that they would have long discussions about the B-29 and how to operate from India where he was being sent first and how to finally fly out to China from where he was supposed to bomb the Japanese. They had no such discussions. The reason was that Arnold had no clue what the answer was to any of these things. He just ordered Lemay to go to India and make it all work.

Lemay had no experience with Arnold, so when he said no, that he would not do it, everyone in Washington was amazed at his effrontery. Lemay was not going to go without flying this B-29 first and understanding how its engines were put together.

Arnold and his staff finally relented and flew him to Nebraska to fly the plane and get to know its engines. He took his wife, Helen, and his daughter with him, since the whole transport plane was just for him. Through some fortuitous circumstances they found some great quarters right on the lake and enjoyed some wonderful and happy times.

He flew the plane and watched closely as they put its engines together. He spent a month mostly learning all of its problems.

Hap Arnold and the others in Washington were getting more and more anxious to put some bombs on the Japanese ability to wage war. It was time for Lemay to go to what they called the China/Burma/India Theater and make things happen. General Wolfe was there over Air Force operations, but was very ineffective as respects any results or consequence.

They assigned a B-29 for Lemay to fly there, but kept delaying and delaying getting it ready. Finally, he sent his wife and daughter back home to Ohio and boarded a Douglas C-54. He got to the American base at Kharagpur , India on August 29, 1944.

That is where all of his supplies were located, including his fuel and bombs. However, the problem was that any missions against the Japanese were to be from a base in China . It was 1,300 miles way over the high Himalayas . Everything would have to be flown into China over what was called “The Hump”.

The Chinese base for him was in Sichuan, Province.  At that time the city was called Chengtu. Today it is called Chengdu . What happened there is still a highly emotional thing for the Chinese, even to this day. They needed to construct an airfield for the US bombers, but they had no machinery for such a task——no road graders, no steam rollers for packing down a runway, nothing but hand tools. But it had to be done.

70,000 people from that area came together with only their hoes, and picks, and shovels, and wheelbarrows. Just the clay and dirt would not support the weight of those huge planes. They meticulously arranged river rocks like they were bricks and covered them with clay. To pack them, they went up into the mountains and cut out huge cylinders of rock for rollers. It took several hundred people to pull one of them up and down the runways. They worked feverishly and when they finished, they had constructed the longest runway in the world at that time and the largest parking area for planes. To this day, the task that those, mostly poor farmers accomplished primarily with their bare hands is a deeply emotional thing for Chinese that I have visited with.

That runway is covered with concrete now, but I have landed on it many times. China now builds huge infrastructure projects to keep their economy humming. They only use a part of it presently, but Chengdu has one of the largest air terminals in the world. It is certainly the largest I have ever seen.

Lemay was totally chagrined at these kinds of logistics. They had other cargo planes to fly over the hump, but all the B-29s had to be used to haul cargo too. It took seven trips over the hump to haul enough fuel for just one plane to go on a combat mission. It took 1,000 trips before they were ready for their first mission from Chengdu.

Washington felt that Lemay was way too valuable to ever risk another combat mission and issued those orders. Lemay practically burned up the communication channels back to Washington . He maintained that a Commander could not lead a successful operation unless he led his men into combat. Finally, they agreed to let him go on one mission—–only one. So, of course, he chose the first one.

After studying all the possibilities, he decided to bomb the big Japanese steel plants at Anshan in Manchuria. It was a main supplier of steel for the Japanese war effort, but he chose it for a different reason. It was reported to be defended by the best Japanese fighter aircraft and pilots. He wanted to see how good their pilots were, their tactics, and he particularly wanted to see how good were the B-29’s power driven gun turrets and central fire-control system.

  General Lemay’s B-29 Ready for Him to Board for the Raid on Anshan in Manchuria

On September 8, they were ready for the mission. Lemay ’s outfit was called the Twentieth Bomber Command. They had 115 B-29s at Chengdu. They were loaded and made ready for Anshan . Lemay took his place in the lead plane. All but 7 of the Superfortresses got off the ground that day and 95 reached the Anshan steel plants.

They were all watching for Japanese fighters. As they approached the target, they suddenly found them, airborne, in squadron formation, poised to attack. Lemay , accustomed to facing German fighter squadrons in almost identical situations, expected now to get some answers to those important questions in his mind. Not just how clever and relentless were the Japanese pilots, but how tough and resourceful were the men in his new outfit?

The Japanese squadron leader totally misjudged the B-29s’ speed. He never dreamed planes that big would be going that fast. By the time he got turned around he was never able to catch them. His spotter plane did make one pass, but did no damage. Also, contributing to his problems was that his fighters were designed to fight at 17,000 feet, but the B-29s were bombing from 25,000 feet.

They dropped 200 tons of bombs. Japanese antiaircraft fire perforated several planes, including Lemay’s. They lost only four planes on the mission. They managed to put much of the steel plant out of commission for at least a year, and the rest of it for at least 6 months.

Lemay never did explain to anyone why, but after their first mission to Anshan he grounded the entire 20th Air Force for an extended period of time. He set up intensive training groups for all the pilots, navigators, gunners, and maintenance crews. This was consistent with his almost paranoid emphasis on training that he had insisted on back in Germany.

Lemay managed to bomb two of the Japanese aircraft factories closest to China , but other than his logistical problems, he had the problem that there was almost no way to get weather information out of China . This was just intolerable and meant many aborted missions.

He was not a fan of the Communists, but he knew that Mao Zedong was not that far away down at Yenan from which he was fighting the Japanese and in a perfect position to send weather information. And even more important than the weather to Lemay was getting back the many pilots that were going down in northern China due to the B-29’s mechanical problems.

Lemay was awakened from his sleep again and had the unusual insight (that I am convinced that God Himself put into his head) that he should send a plane down to Mao and request his help. The next morning, he sent an officer from his communications section down to Yenan on a C-47 with all the communications equipment that he would need. He got a call back right away that Mao said he would cooperate.That afternoon, Lemay loaded another C-47 completely full of medical supplies and sent it down to Mao. They say that those Chinese doctors spent all night unloading all these medical supplies and shedding big tears the whole time. All they had up to that time were bandages and splints and alcohol. They had never even seen the new sulfa drugs we had that would keep a wounded soldier from getting an infection from his wounds.

When Lemay heard that; the next morning he sent down another plane with doctors to show the Chinese how to best use all those medical items.
After that, he not only got much better weather information, but every downed pilot was escorted safely back all the way to Chengdu.

     General Lemay with the Japanese Sword as a Gift of Gratitude3 from Mao Zedong

Last year, some Chinese friends took me way up to Mao’s mountain hideout at Yenan. Because of its location in those mountains, I observed that it would be almost impossible to attack it successfully. I was allowed to go in and see Mao’s rooms, his bed, and even his little office. It was all very sparse, even the mostly bamboo buildings.

It was nothing like his sumptuous residence on the lake in Hangzhou after he took over all of mainland China and was absolute dictator. I have visited that residence too and can assure you it is not sparse like his hideout at Yenan.

By now, the US Marines had captured the Mariana Islands. They had not yet taken Iwo Jima and Okinawa, but they immediately began constructing airports on Tinian, Guam, and Saipan . There were still some Japanese hiding out and fighting, but just as soon as these fields were available, B-29s arrived and under General Hansell the 21st Air Force was formed there.

Yes, the B-29s were pressurized. Its engines were turbo-supercharged. Its guns were mechanized. And it was capable of operating at 35,000 feet, above the effective altitude of Japanese flak and the best Japanese fighters. But it took twenty-three tons of gasoline to get that high and all the way to Tokyo and back. That limited them to onky three tons of bombs per plane.

Adding to that, and what no one had ever known before, was that some of the strongest jet-stream winds in the world were over the Japanese islands. Much of the time they were over 200 mph and shifted in different directions. This made precision bombing almost impossible.

On every mission that he tried, Gen. Hansell was losing 3 to 4 planes in the Pacific between Japan and the Marianna’s due to mechanical problems and achieving very little results. Hap Arnold and the other generals did not know the answers to all this, but they knew what they needed to do——get Lemay there and in charge.

On orders, he packed-up the 20th Air Force and moved to the Marianna’s. They merged the 20th and the 21st together into the largest bomber force in history. Tinian became the largest airfield in the world as respects numbers of planes.

There were still no adequate quarters there. Lemay slept in a tent with the rest of the guys for awhile. He also started his intensive training of all these new pilots, and navigators, and gunners, and ground crews. He got the whole operation into much better shape, but because of the problems with the jet-streams over Japan , his results were not much better that General Hansell’s.

As was usual with him, he did not believe in spending all this money and enormous effort without getting results. And they were not getting the desired results.
At that point in the campaign the Navy brass asked Lemay to fly out and meet with them. They wanted to know if he thought it was necessary to take Iwo Jima, the little volcanic island that lay about half-way between Japan and the Marianna’s. His answer was an emphatic, “Yes”. He needed it for landing B-29s that could not make it back to the Marianna’s, and for a base for fighter planes to protect his bombers over Japan, and for air-sea rescue units to pluck his crews out of the Pacific when their planes went down near there.

He did help with bombing Iwo Jima a little in preparation for the landing, but at that time the Navy was much more interested in what they called Task Force 58. They were planning on sending this huge task force right up to the Japanese mainland and attacking Tokyo proper with their carrier planes. They promised Marine general, Howlin’ Mad” Smith that they would shell Iwo for ten days prior to its invasion. They shelled for only 3 days and he really became “Howlin’ Mad, and rightly so. He later wrote that “ Iwo Jima cost too much” because of the Navy’s preoccupation with their Task Force 58.

The Navy did send two-hundred plus ships for Task Force 58. They flew 2,074 sorties against Tokyo over three days, and dropped 513 tons of bombs and rockets. They also destroyed 415 Japanese planes with a loss of 102 of their own 1,091 planes.

On those same three days, an average of 167 B-29s flew 439 sorties and dropped a total of 1,220 tons of bombs (two-and-a-half times as much as the task force) on the Japanese Mainland. The B-29s shot down only 46 planes but lost only 5 of their own.

Meanwhile, Hap Arnold and Washington were boiling for better results against Japanese war-making infrastructure. Admiral Nimitz wanted to bring the 20th/21st Air Force under his control. And General McArthur of the Army, who was like and emperor looking for an empire, wanted it under his control.

With all the prayers being offered up about this war by Christians and non-Christians across the free world, I firmly believe that God was giving Lemay extraordinary help and insight. After my visits and correspondence with him, I just know that this is true. And at this particular moment in the war effort, I am confident that God’s Spirit Power directly intervened.

The President and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had already conclusively determined that Mainland Japan would be invaded. The estimate was that between 500,000 and 1,000,000 US service men would die from what would be absolutely fanatical Japanese resistance. Lemay knew that too, and he felt deeply that he had to do something to prevent this carnage, that it was his personal responsibility.

Suddenly, on a particular night on Guam he was waked up in the middle of the night just like he was in Germany . Clearly in his mind was the answer——a simple answer that no one had thought of. The Japanese antiaircraft shells all had fuses to explode at 21,000 feet and up. It would take two to three weeks to change those fuses. He could bomb at low levels for at least that length of time without the big flak shells. They would just whiz right on by.

He had been advised that at low levels the Japanese short range guns would shoot down all his planes if he ever tried, but it was clearly in his mind that this was not true. I just know that God was showing him that, and that he would have at least 3 weeks before the Japanese could install short range antiaircraft guns of any consequence and change those fuses.

Japan had intentionally decentralized 90% of its war related production into small subcontractor workshops placed in civilian districts. It made the Japanese war industry largely immune from conventional precision bombing with high explosives, all spread out and scattered among the civilian residences. Also, because of the threat of earthquakes all these civilian districts were made of wood and bamboo, not brick or stone.

General Lemay Giving the Briefing for Bombing Tokyo

When Lemay went into the briefing room and announced that tonight the B-29s were going to bomb Tokyo from between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, once again the guys wrote home: “Mama, I ain’t coming home!”

What really amazed them was when Lemay informed them that all guns and munitions and gun crews would be taken off the planes to make it possible to carry more incendiaries. The gunners wanted to fly anyway to keep their crews together, but they were required to stay home.

So on the night of March 9, 325 B-29’s were loaded with M-47 incendiary clusters, magnesium bombs, white phosphorus bombs, and napalm.

At just after midnight on March10 the pathfinders laid a huge, flaming X across that section of Tokyo where all those subcontractor workshops were located, making the parts for new aircraft. The main force followed and dropped 1,665 tons of incendiaries.

They created the greatest fire storm in history.

Lemay was out on the flight line the next morning to meet General Powers; who was leading the mission, upon his return. As instructed, Powers was to climb to 10,000 feet after releasing his bombs. He said at first there was a sprinkling of fires throughout the target area. Then these fires grew until they merged into one great conflagration. By the time Powers turned for home, the center of Tokyo was an inferno.

Photos the next day showed that at least fifteen square miles of Tokyo had been obliterated. Official Japanese figures showed that there were 84,000 fatalities and 41,000 were badly injured. More than half the fatalities resulted from suffocation when the fire sucked all the oxygen up into the sky. A million people were left homeless and 267,200 buildings were destroyed. But the most important thing was that a great part of Japan ’s ability to make war was destroyed, especially in this area for making parts to construct aircraft.

Between March 1945 and August 1945 the B-29s destroyed over 40% of the built-up areas of 66 more Japanese cities the same way. The dropping of the two atomic bombs were under Lemay’s supervision, and people say they were the reason for Japan ’s surrender. I am sure that helped, but I am convinced that what happened to Tokyo and the 66 other cities was the main reason for all those hundreds of thousands of US service men not having to die.

Lemay was greatly criticized and castigated for killing so many civilians.

When I asked him about that here is what he told me: “When Japan surrendered and MacArthur flew in to take over its occupation, I was in the 2nd plane right behind him.  On the way to the Occupation Headquarters I asked our driver to take me through that part of Tokyo that had been burned on the early morning if March 10. What I saw was that the only thing still standing were all those drill presses, lathes, and other machines for making aircraft parts. When I saw that, I felt vindicated.”

On those pheasant hunts in the San Joaquin Valley in California General Curtis Lemay was my hunting partner and bunk mate.  Many consider him the greatest worrier of the 20^th Century.  He showed us how to finally bomb the Germans effectively.  He was then sent to the Pacific to very effectively destroy the Japanese when we were not harming them much at all before.  In both of those occasions I am convinced that God woke him up in the middle of the night and put in his mind what specifically to do.

After the war he was sent back to Germany to direct the Berlin Airlift to thwart the Russians.  Then he is credited with winning the Cold War by building the Strategic Air Command from scratch, the most destructive fighting force in world history.

In those hunts in California he related to me things that I really don’t think that he ever shared with most anyone else, even his wife.  Following I will try to describe a few of those.  I sent some of those things out to you before, but my plethora of  folks in China who are reading this did not get to see them as many of you did.

                General Lemay with his custom made hunting clothes on ready to hunt.

Our Hunting Group with Me on the Left and Gen. Lemay on the Right

Our most accurate historians say that General Curtis Lemay was one of the most famous and important warriors that our country ever had. During WWII we were not putting any effective bombs on the Germans, that had to be done if we were ever going to defeat them until he showed us how to do it.

In the Pacific we were not putting any damage on the Japanese that had to be done if we were ever going to defeat them until he showed us how to do it. And at one point the Russians were a grave threat to us. They were not afraid of our President or our other generals, be they were deathly afraid of General Leman and the Strategic Air Command that he built and headed. Without him we may all be speaking German or Japanese or Russian today.

I have written you before how he was my hunting partner and bunk-mate on those pheasant hunts in the San Juaquin Valley in California. He told me things that I don’t think he had ever shared with most anyone else.

The General Bringing His Birds to Show Me

I have also written you about how so many people were desperately praying for our success against the Germans, and how I believe God woke General Lemay up in the middle of the night and showed him what to do. However, I never showed you the details of that. Herewith are those details and their results if you care to know. I find them fascinating:

Lemay was a good pilot, but he also became the best navigator that the Army Air Corps had.

They got the first B-17 in January 1936 at Langley Field, Virginia , but it was 1938 before they got production models to effectively train in. The US wanted to show off this long-range bomber to the world. The folks in Washington were also concerned about the growing influence of Germany and Italy in South America . Three Italian bombers, commanded by Bruno Mussolini, the youngest son of the Italian dictator had just visited Brazil.

It was decided to send 6 B-17’s all the way from Langley Field to Buenos Aires, Argentina . They wanted Curtis Lemay to be the Chief Navigator for this 11,952-mile trip. He said that they had no aircraft maps of South America . He said that he went by National Geographic’s Office and got some of their maps. That is all he had for navigation of this flight. They took off on February 16, 1938, and refueled in Miami, Panama, and Lima, Peru . They landed at the El Palomar Military Air Base in Buenos Aires on February 27. Three days later they provided a fly-over for the inauguration of President Roberto Ariz.

The people there had never heard anything like roar of those Cyclone-9 engines which provided 22,500 horsepower to each of the 6 planes.

Just after this flight the US Army Air Corps was in a big fight with the US Navy. The Army said their new long-range planes could provide protection to the US coasts. The Navy said that was impossible. So, a test was set up. The Air Corps was supposed to send a flight of B-17’s way off the coast of California and intercept the Battleship Utah in misty conditions with very low cloud cover. The whole success or failure of the mission was up to the Chief Navigator, Curtis Lemay. Even after being given the wrong coordinates on purpose by the Navy, Lemay found the ship and it was hit with three water bombs, much to the consternation of the US Navy.

Later, in a second test, Lemay found the Italian Liner Rex, 610 miles off the Atlantic coast. Still, the Navy was never convinced.

At Langley, Lemay formed the 305th Bomber Group. It was now just before Pearl Harbor. His recruits were subjected to relentless training, as Lemay believed that training was the key to saving their lives. “You train as you fight” was one of his cardinal rules. It expressed his belief that, in the chaos, stress, and confusion of combat (aerial or otherwise), troops or airmen would perform successfully only if their individual acts were second-nature, performed nearly instinctively due to repetitive training. Throughout his career, Lemay was widely and fondly known among his troops as “Old Iron Pants”, mostly because he demanded training way beyond that of any other commander. His demands for such training pervaded his whole military career.

After Pearl Harbor, he was ordered to England. He was now a Major and successfully got his 305th Group across the Atlantic and joined the 3rd Air Division of the 8th Air Force. Because of his dedication to training, he was later made Commander of the 3rd Air Division.

Those B-17’s were called Flying Fortresses because they had so many defensive guns, but Lemay was amazed that the gunners he was getting from the States had so little training, that “they just couldn’t hit anything”. He was criticized for using an inordinate amount of fuel for taking them on so many training flights to teach them how to shoot.

Lemay had never been in combat, so he was very intent on quizzing the commanders who had been on the few bombing missions that had been flown over France at that point in the conflict. They all told him the same thing: That those German 88mm’s were so formidable as anti-aircraft weapons that you had to fly a zigzag pattern over the target or everyone would be shot down from the flak, though many were shot down anyway. They all told him that a plane must not fly more than 10 seconds in one direction without changing direction. This was the operating procedure for all bombers in the 8th Air Force.

Lemay and his group flew several missions. He was lead pilot on every raid. However, it was just overwhelming consternation to him that the post raid photos showed that they were just not hitting anything. They were spending all that fuel and equipment and losing planes and getting guys killed, and so very few of their bombs were hitting the target.

They had that amazing new Norden Bombsight. US Airmen had to take an oath that they would guard it with their very life from falling into enemy hands. We did not even let the English have access to it for the same reason. It had a system that allowed it to directly measure the aircraft’s ground speed and direction, which older bombsights could only estimate with lengthy in-flight procedures. The Norden further improved on older designs by using an analog computer that constantly calculated the bomb’s impact point based on current flight conditions, and an autopilot that let it react quickly and accurately to changes in the wind or other effects. These features seemed to promise unprecedented accuracy, and they did in practice. But if you had to zigzag every 10 seconds, all that wonderful design was of little use.

General Lemay deeply believed that it was going to take success with strategic bombing of Germany to degrade their ability to wage war if we were ever going to defeat them. I am sure he was correct, too. The Germans were right on the verge of completing jet planes that could wipe out anything we had. They were also perfecting amazing rockets and were dangerously close to perfecting atomic bombs.

What happened next is why I have asked you to wade through all this history with me. I have already mentioned that more prayers were being offered up to God concerning WWII than any event at that point in human history. We can look back and see how those prayers were answered over and over, but here is what I consider to be one of the most important answers for its impact on the war in Europe.

Lemay was brooding on all this, when suddenly he was bolted from his sleep in the middle of the night. There, clearly in his mind was the answer, but it was so radical that he had to prove it. He never could explain even to himself why he had taken his old ROTC artillery manual from Ohio State with him all the way to England in his footlocker. He immediately got it out. It had been used by his old ROTC instructor there. He had been an artillery officer in WWI. He had drilled into Lemay and his fellow students the fundamentals of artillery warfare. The book had been written for French 75mm shells, but Lemay knew he could adapt it for the German 88’s.

He spent the rest of the night calculating the distance the 88 shell would have to travel to reach a B-17, the size of a B-17 at that distance, how fast the Germans were able to load the artillery piece with the next shell and a host of other parameters. He checked and rechecked his calculations and concluded that it would take 372 shells being fired to hit a plane if it were flying straight-in to the target without deviating at all. He knew, and I am convinced that God showed him that those were acceptable odds.

At the briefing the next morning of the 305th in their briefing room the guys were all assembled after their breakfast of eggs and spam and much black coffee. The back door opened, there was the “ten shun”. They all jumped to their feet, and “Old Iron Pants” walked up to the front. There was the weather report, and the maps of their target that day were put up. They were to hit the German submarine pens and the rail yards at St. Nazaire.

Then Lemay dropped the big one on them: They were to fly straight in from the first sighting of the target until all bombs were released. No one was to deviate the slightest bit.

Lemay had always encouraged his crews to speak up in a briefing if they felt it imperative to do so. At this point he rather wished he hadn’t allowed it, for all manner of commotion erupted. One pilot even stood up and said: “Sir, it just can’t be done!” Lemay informed them that it would be done, and that he would be flying the lead plane. That quieted things down, if he had that much conviction in his calculations to fly lead; but many guys wrote home: “Mama, I ain’t coming home!”

With no more talk, the men of the 305th got into their planes and prepared to take off. Twenty fortresses of the group took off. Four turned back because of mechanical problems and 16 continued on to the target, which wasn’t that bad in those days.

They got into an even tighter box formation as they neared St. Nazaire. For weeks and weeks Lemay had been having them practice a special box formation, flying very tightly together so that they would be protecting each other from enemy fighters. The thought of sending men in to die had been weighing more and more heavily on their commander. He devised the tight box formation with its resulting overlapping fire to protect them from the German ME-109s and the open engine FW-190s. These fighters used either 7.92mm MG machine guns or 20mm MG FF cannon, depending on the pilot’s preference. All were lethal to bombers but facing this tight box formation with all its overlapping firepower was something the German pilots had not faced before. If they could find a straggler that had drifted out of the formation, they pounced on it.

Eventually the entire 8th Air Force adopted Lemay ’s box formation.

As St. Nazaire came into sight, Lemay banked his plane into a straight, steady course and leveled his wings. When he looked around at the rest of the group, not a single plane wavered, even as the flak came up to meet them. The nasty little black clouds began to burst above, below, and among them. Later, when asked, Lemay said that after working out the artillery problem the flak did not particularly bother him, “But I certainly didn’t care for those flickering machine guns coming straight at me.”

He was making an unprecedented demand today, not only upon himself but on the other men in his group, when he insisted that all of them look into the muzzles of those machine guns and press forward with no evasive action and the flak of the German 88’s. Not every man is capable of such cool courage, and he knew it.

The flak was all around them at 21,000 feet, but they continued straight and level for 7 minutes when the bombardiers took over and adjusted their bomb sights. At 1:40 PM the first bombs fell. Two minutes later they were beyond the target.

Lemay’s plane was hit by two pieces of shrapnel and two guys in the back slightly injured. Five other planes reported being hit, but none went down. Six German fighters made passes at them but moved on after doing only minor damage. All 16 continued back toward base with no stragglers.

B-17 on Bombing Run over France

Lemay immediately summoned the rookie bombardier and asked how he had done. “I put bombs on the target. It was a good run, Boss”, he said. “Are you sure of that?” Lemay asked. “I am sure, but I could have done even better if it weren’t for those white clouds. They kind of got in the way.” Though he didn’t know it, those white clouds were from the flak bursts. There wasn’t a regular cloud in the sky that day.

All the 305th planes got back safely, told stories, and turned in their strike photos. It was two days before the intelligence officers of the 8th Air Force could analyze everything and turn in their mission report. The 305th had put twice as many bombs on target as any other bomber group and none of their planes had been shot down.

Within three weeks, every group in the Eighth Air Force was flying straight-and-level bomb runs, taking no evasive action over the targets.

After several more raids Air Force intelligence concluded that: The 305th was attracting fewer fighter attacks than other groups. They were using more ammunition than other groups but shooting down fewer German planes.

They had a much lower loss rate than other groups.

When asked for his impressions of why by the intelligence section, he gave these answers. Lemay said:
1. The 305th usually had more ships in the air than other groups, giving greater protection.
2. His stagger box formation gave them more firepower against an approaching enemy.
3. They were shooting at longer ranges. Lemay had decided that if fighters were welcomed by bullets before they even came close, they were not as likely to come close.

By now the 8th Air Force had doubled in size with the addition of new Groups from the US. Ira Eaker, still head of the 8th, was becoming anxious to bomb Germany, but the weather there remained dismal.

They bombed across France, even the airport at Paris where Lindbergh had landed. On July 17, 1943 they entered Germany for the first time in hopes of bombing the submarine plants at Hamburg, but the clouds were too thick to find the target. The clouds over Germany continued and continued.

Finally on July 24, Fred Anderson, the new head of Bomber Command became so disgusted with waiting that he decided to bomb elsewhere. He assembled 324 Fortresses, the largest group to go on a mission up to that time and sent them to German occupied Norway. They bombed the ports that the Germans were using and hit quite a few German ships and port facilities, though several of their targets were covered by clouds. But then the clouds cleared over Germany.

Immediately Eaker, still over the 8th Air Force, started what became known as Blitz Week. The 8th went on 6 missions in 7 days. On July 25 Andersen sent planes to Kiel, Hamburg, and Warnamunde, but the clouds were too thick there. Lemay’s planes found a hole in the clouds and hit their secondary target of Rostock with impressive results. This was mostly due to Lemay ’s relentless drilling of his navigators’ and bombardiers’ studying of their targets before-hand.

By then the Germans had transferred some of their best fighter squadrons back from the Eastern Front to oppose the bombers. On this raid they shot down 19 fortresses and many more on the rest of Blitz Week. By the end of the week the 8th Air Force had lost 100 bombers and over 1,000 men, but Lemay ’s 3rd had hit important targets. They knocked out rail yards, a rubber factory, and on July 30 they dropped 100 tons of bombs on the Focke-Wulf components factory at Kassel that shut it down for over a month.

Mostly because of Blitz Week the 8th Air Force crewmen suffered 75 emotional breakdowns in July of 1943. The stress of battle was bad enough, but their planes were not pressurized. The waist gunners had to have large open sections in the side of the plane through which to fire their 50 calibers. At 20,000 feet and above the temperature was 30 to 50 degrees below zero. Their oxygen masks would freeze up and cut off the oxygen supply, and they would not realize it until it was too late. Many times the plane’s oxygen system would be hit or just malfunction. They did not dare descend to a lower altitude so they could breath, for leaving the formation spelled certain death from fighters and flak.

Because of his exceptional leadership ability and all he added to the bombing campaign against the Germans, Lemay was asked to take over the whole 3rd Air Division of the 8th Air Force. This task called for him to be a Brigadier General, but he remained a Colonel for way longer than he should have. He was doing the work of a General but did not have the rank. When he finally got his General’s star, he remarked to his aids: “Well, it is about time.”

Because the P-47 fighters could not go very far with the B-17’s for protection, the bombers suffered horrendous losses. One of the reasons was that the fighters could not get auxiliary wing tanks. Lemay became furious when he found that one of the reasons the fighters did not get them was that Walter Reuther, who was head of the United Auto Workers Union and founder of the AFL-CIO and a big Civil Rights worker, and Women’s Rights worker was holding up their production back in the States. It is estimated that hundreds of bomber crews died because of it.

Lemay and some of the other generals confronted the head of the 8th’s Fighter Command. Their men were dying from lack of fighter support even on missions so short that wing tanks were not needed. What really rankled him was the Fighter Command’s policy of having one of the good fighter planes escort any fighter back to base that was having engine trouble. Lemay had previously been a fighter pilot for 8 years. He had no patience for such a policy when the good plane was so needed to protect his bombers. He informed Fighter Command that when one of his bombers had engine trouble, it had to fly back to base on its own. He walked out; but soon, because of his new-found influence with Hap Arnold back in Washington there was a new commander for Fighter Command.

Lemay did not go on any of the missions on Blitz Week. Ira Eaker was saving him to command something much more special. They wanted to make a two-pronged attack against the German’s big plant for making the Messerschmitt 109 at Regensburg on the Danube River and the Focke-Wulf 190 plant at Wiener Neustadt in eastern Austria. This was to be a double attack to spread the German fighters out more thinly. Also, to make them even more thin, they wanted to simultaneously hit the big ball bearing plant at Schweinfurt which was close to Regensburg .

Ira Eaker wanted Lemay to lead the attack against the Messerschmitt plant, while General Carl Spaatz, Commander of the Fifteenth Air Force in north Africa would hit the Focke-Wulf plant. At the same time General Bob Williams, commander of the First Division of the 8th Air Force was to hit the ball bearing plant at Schweinfurt . However, this was no ordinary mission for Lemay . After dropping his bombs at Regensburg they wanted him to fly on across the Alps to north Africa, refuel, resupply, and fly back across Germany and bomb a target there the next day. Since these targets were so far across Germany and were sure to be very well defended, this was going to be a dangerous mission.

The B-17’s could carry enough fuel to safely do this, but it was quite unusual. In preparation, Lemay flew to Africa and met with Col. Lauris Norstad who Hap Arnold considered one of the smartest men in the Air Force. He assured Lemay that the best base to land his B-17’s was at Telergma (about 60 miles inland from Tunis ). He assured Lemay : “Telergma is your field. It’s both a depot and a combat field. There you’ll have supplies, extra mechanics—-everything you need. That’s the place to land. You can get well serviced there. All the parts you need. All the maintenance people and support.”

Lemay left Norstad feeling confident about everything but the weather. Maybe he should have gone to Telergma to see for himself, but Norstad had such a good reputation that he just trusted him.

When he got back to England his bomb groups were getting ready for the special mission, though they did not know its details yet. At that time Lemay ’s Third Division consisted of Bomber Groups——94th, 95th, 96th, 100th, 385th, 388th, and 390th.

In August the weather remained bad across Germany . By August 13 General Spaatz in Africa was tired of waiting for the Eighth to move against Regensburg . That day he sent his heavy bombers (including 3 B-24 groups) against the FW-190 plant at Wiener Neustadt, thus scrapping the two-pronged mission as it had been originally planned.

However, Eaker still planned his two-pronged attack against Schweinfurt . Clustered around the railroad yards of this small eastern Bavarian city were five huge factories which provided almost two-thirds of Germany ’s ball and roller bearings. At that time it was thought that the whole German war effort depended on these bearings.

Finally, the orders came for their mission the next day. At the briefing that evening, Lemay told his men to take rations for two days and that they would probably be sleeping on the ground for one or two nights. The men were very quiet. They knew that this was to be the 8th’s biggest, and the deepest penetration into Germany against two targets that were sure to be as well defended as any in the Third Reich.

Next morning the clouds were low and getting lower as Lemay rolled out of his bunk at three o’clock on August 17. And when the zero hour for takeoff approached the low clouds had reached the ground into a thick fog. Lemay figured that if men would escort the planes to the runway with flashlights, they could find their way to the end of the runway and take off.

The approval finally came and the props began to turn. They all got off and got through into the blue sky. Then began the huge job of assembling. The people on the ground could hear the noise of the roaring B-17’s and the Germans with their sophisticated listening devices would know that they were coming; they just did not know where.

The Ninety-sixth Bomb Group was to fly lead, and Lemay was the lead plane in that group. The assembly went smoothly and soon the Third was ready to head toward the Continent, but where were the eighteen squadrons of American Thunderbolts and the sixteen squadrons of British Spitfire fighters scheduled to escort them at least as far as Holland . And where was the First Division, which by now should have been assembling its 230 planes for its mission to Schweinfurt . If Lemay ’s Third Division was to act as a decoy as planned, the First would have to follow in 30 minutes.

Lemay got on the radio to Anderson at Bomber Command and asked what was wrong. He was informed that they could not get off the ground because of the low clouds. He was furious. He had trained his people how to do that. Why hadn’t the others been trained? Thought was given to scrapping everything, but that would have been bad for morale, and would involve all that assembling on another day.

Just then, it did not matter. The radio went dead in Lemay ’s plane. No order to return could be given.

General Lemay never told me if it actually went dead on its own, of if he just turned it off. Anyway, the whole Third Division turned east to the continent. They had used up so much fuel circling and waiting that they had to abort or go now if they were going to drop their bombs and reach Africa.

Lt. Col. Beirne Lay, a member of Ira Eaker’s staff went along as an observer and to get some combat experience. He described what happened from one of the rear-most planes where he was riding. He said that as they approached Belgium about seventeen minutes after the Fortresses crossed the coast of the Continent, radial engine fighters approached. He hoped at first that they were the radial engine Thunderbolts, but no such luck. They were a hoard of FW-190s and bullet spitting ME-109s.

An exit door from one of the forward B-17s came hurtling through the formation with a man, who had apparently been sucked out with it. He had his knees tucked up and was just spinning over and over like a diver doing a triple summersault.

One of the fortresses fell gradually out of formation and drifted down to the right, and then moments later disintegrated in one giant explosion. The fighters kept pressing. In his rear plane he said they were flying through a hail of exit doors, tail assembles all manner of debris and partially opened parachutes.

He said that he watched one plane that was completely engulfed in flames but kept flying. He described how only the co-pilot got out through breaking his window. Lay said he crawled out but could not get through with his parachute on. He reached back, retrieved his chute and hooked his arms through it, and jumped off the plane. He hit the rear horizontal stabilizer and his chute never opened.

Lay said two FW-190s hurtled through the formation at a closing speed of five hundred miles per hour—-so fast that one of them nicked a pair of B-17s in passing. Smoke trailed from the wings of the bombers, but they stayed in formation. The 190 was not so fortunate. Smoke was trailing from its nose, and metal was flying from its wing as it plunged downward.

“After we had been under attack for a solid hour,” Lay reported“, it appeared certain that the One-hundredth Group that I was in was faced with annihilation. Seven of our group had been shot down, the sky was still full of fighters and more were coming up. And we still had 35 more minutes before we reached the target. I had long since mentally accepted the fact of death.”

German fighters were swarming all over the armada but concentrating on the battered and more vulnerable rear combat wings. Twin-engine ME-110s appeared on the scene to help the other fighters. They fired rockets from a distance and tried a new tactic of dropping bombs from above to explode in the midst of the fortresses. Col. Lay’s group had now lost 15 planes.

They finally reached the Initial Point from which they would begin their bomb run. Despite the onslaught, Lemay had led his division to the target. At 11:45 Lt. Dunstan Abel, the bombardier in Lemay ’s plane, dropped his load of explosives and incendiaries directly on the factorys’ buildings, and the rest of the planes in the group released on his cue. Lemay ’s task force dropped 303 tons of bombs on the Messerschmitt plant in what proved later to be one of the most accurate bombardments of the war.

The fighters had disappeared as they approached the target; probably from running short of fuel. They continued on toward the Brenner Pass in the alps, but 15 ME-110s and Junkers-88s caught up with them and they lost three more planes.

They formed up at a rally point south of the Alps and headed toward Africa. They had all suffered damage, but two fortresses were so badly damaged that they would never reach Africa . They headed into Switzerland for sanctuary as the others continued on.

The B-17s moved on down the boot of Italy . At an airbase near Verona there were fighters on the ground, but they must have been Italian. They did not come up to attack.

As they left the southern tip of Italy they went into a gradual, gliding descent to save gas. They hit the African coast about 18 miles off course but found Telergma. 45 planes landed one behind the other at the shortest possible intervals. Others landed on two desolate fields right on the coast. They were running out of fuel from having circled so long over England . Four could not even make those two fields on the coast. They landed in wheat fields and dry lake beds. Another four did not even make the coast and ditched in the Mediterranean . Two of their crews were saved by air-sea rescue units. The other two were never heard from again.

Much to his consternation, Lemay found nothing was as Telergma had been described to him. There were no parts depots. There was not a single mechanic there. There were bombs and there was gasoline in 55-gallon barrels, but almost nothing else.

Lemay was still fuming about this when Lt. Col. Beirne Lay arrived with the twelve remaining planes of the rearmost One-hundredth Group which had somehow managed to survive. Lay, who had just flown through Armageddon, and had watched countless Fortresses fall, including nine from the One-hundredth alone was glad to just be on the ground again and alive.

One of those B-17s “all shot to pieces” but Still flying

Lemay, knowing he was expected to bomb the next day sent a message back to Eaker in England with a preliminary report of his task force’s condition. By the time Eaker received Lemay’s message, he already knew about the Schweinfurt losses of the other armada. Though the damage to the vital German ball bearing plants had been as great as he had hoped; 36 of the 230 fortresses in Gen. Bob William’s First Division taskforce had been shot down. Added to Lemay ’s loss of 24, this brought the day’s toll to a disastrous 60, without counting the many planes that were so badly damaged they might never fly again. He knew the mission was dangerous, but he never expected to break a record.

Eaker immediately flew to Africa to assess the situation. What he found absolutely amazed him. Lemay had set up a headquarters tent and had his air crews scavenging the parts from the planes that were too damaged to ever fly again and repairing the other planes. Not a single man in the air crews was even close to a being a qualified mechanic except for one—– Lemay himself. He was directing everything for the repair job.

It took four days to refuel from those 55-gallon drums.

Eaker insisted that they fly home on a safe route to avoid any more losses, but Lemay was determined to complete his mission.

The best estimate is that of the 145 B-17s with which Lemay left England for Regensburg and Africa , at least half were either lost or would never fly another mission. Never-the-less on August 24, most of the survivors “returned proudly across France and in broad daylight”, dropped 144 tons of bombs on the German-held air base at Bordeaux.

Lemay was sent back to the States to boost morale and sell war bonds. However, he got back to England as quickly as possible. And on his return, he found that many more bombers had arrived and that plans were being made for the Normandy Invasion on the Continent. Yet, one more change had happened.

The long-range P-51 Mustang was coming to England, squadron after squadron, to escort the B-17s all the way to their targets and back. These slender, fast, durable and deadly fighters, equipped now with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, brought a dramatic change to the American’s daylight bombing effort. When Hermann Goering, Hitler’s Air Force Chief was captured after the war, he was asked when he knew they had lost the war. His immediate answer: “When those red-nosed fighters appeared all the way over to Berlin .”

P 51 Mustang over Germany

For the last 20 years I have presented the Gospel to each new youth at the highly secure prison for the kids ages 13 to 19 at Gainesville, Texas.  It is the first time that most any of them have stopped “running on the streets” and had the time to think about their life.  Most every one made a decision to make God part of their life.  After our hour+ together I would write each one a letter.  As a result I corresponded more with many of them.  And in each letter I would enclose a group of short stories or poems.  They really liked them, especially those with an emotional message.  You probably would not believe how many locked-up prison boys have loved theses little stories, and read them over and over.

In my soon to be published book I enclosed a long list of those short stories in the Appendix.  Since the prison boys liked them so much, I thought you may like to see some of them.  So, here is a 27th group of them for you.  And you are welcome to share them with others.

Ron

WRONG E-MAIL ADDRESS

A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida to thaw out during one particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic activities, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his  room, so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife.

However, he accidentally left out one letter in her e-mail address, and without realizing his error, he sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile…..somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband’s funeral. He was a minister of many years who was called home to glory following a sudden heart attack The widow decided to check her e-mail, expecting messages from relatives and friends.

After reading the first message, she fainted. The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

 To:    My Loving Wife

 Subject:    I’ve Arrived

 Date:    Jan 8, 2015

I know you’re surprised to hear from me.

They have computers here now and you are allowed to send e-mails to your loved ones.

I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. 

I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you then!  Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S.  Sure is hot down here!

You Are Beautiful

You are beautiful. . .

It’s a phrase that my mother used a lot.

I used to wonder, “How in the world can Mother call them beautiful?”

I am a logical, statistical man.  I call things as I see them.  I didn’t always see beauty.

My mother would tell people this with an enthusiasm they could feel.  She was genuine.  She wasn’t telling them they were beautiful to get something from them.  Most of the time, they were trying to get something from her.

I wondered for years what was wrong with Mother’s perception and vision.  Couldn’t she see that all of the people she called beautiful, weren’t beautiful?

You were beautiful only if you had a certain figure and face that was classed as beautiful by the laws of the world and glamour.  Yet when my mother spoke, people smiled as though Glamour magazine had listed them as one of the beautiful people of the year.

It took me years to finally understand my mother’s vision and the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  My mother had a spirit that could see the beauty in every person.

Most only look on the outside and then compare what they see with the standards the world has given them.  That was what I was doing.

Today when you leave your house, carefully look at the first person whom you see and notice how beautiful they are.

They may be balding, fat, wrinkled, pimply, or any of the other things the world frowns upon as beauty.

Look at them closely and look for the beauty.  If you really look, you’ll see it.

I didn’t believe that at first until I tried it.  Sure enough, as I stared and opened another set of eyes, I was able to see the beauty in every person.  No matter how rough or worn a person looked, each pain etched line held a glimpse of beauty.

You just had to look for the beauty.  It’s there.

When you get a chance today, look hard at each person.  You will start to see the beauty of every human who you didn’t know existed.  Trust me and try this. If you sincerely look, you will see it.

When you get home after seeing the beauty in faces you see, look in the mirror.

You are beautiful.

Thank you mama for all of the beauty that you have not only seen, but added.

You’re Fired!

“You’re fired.” Some people let the phrase get to them.  Others use it as a launching pad to superstardom.  In his book, “We’re Fired…and It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us,”  Harvey Mackay brings us some inspirational stories of rejects turned-celebrities.  Turns out the road to fame isn’t so smooth.

Elvis Presley The King got fired from a music studio in 1954.  He was told, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son.  Go back and drive a truck.”  Tell that to the thousands of Elvis impersonators who sing his tunes decades after his death.

Walt Disney Disney was fired from a newspaper for lack of ideas.  The Walt Disney Company, with its animated movies, theme parks, television stations and more, is now a multibillion-dollar empire.

Joanne Kathleen (a.k.a.  J.K.) Rowling The author of the mega-popular Harry Potter books was canned from a secretarial job after she got caught using the company computer to write creative stories.  She used her severance pay to write Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, using grant money to finish it after she ran out of cash.  The Harry Potter series became a global craze and Rowling became a billionaire.

Larry King Before he ruled CNN, Larry King wrote a column for the Miami Herald.  The Herald’s editor fired him for being too chummy with his subjects.  His way with people paid off, though; few politicians or celebrities ever bypass “Larry King Live.”

Burt Reynolds “You can’t act,” Burt Reynolds was told when he was fired from one of his acting jobs.  He later became the No. 1 box office draw for five consecutive years.

Steve Jobs He co-founded Apple Computer in his garage, and then got fired from his own company.  Jobs picked up the pieces and bought a majority share in Pixar in 1986.  Nine years later, he won an Oscar for Toy Story.  In 1996, he was back at Apple.

Abraham Lincoln Abe Lincoln failed in business in 1831 and again in 1833.  In the meantime, he ran for state legislator and lost.  His sweetheart died in 1835, and he had a nervous breakdown the next year.  He lost the nomination to Congress in 1843, was defeated again for Congress in 1848 and 1855 and lost the vice presidency of the United States in 1856.  Then he ran for Senator in 1858 and lost.

In 1860 Abe Lincoln was elected president of the United States.  The rest is history.

Time

“There was a small gold box that his dad kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most,’ Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. 

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died.  Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small package was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago.. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. “Mr. Harold Belser” it read.  Jack took it out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

Upon my death, please forward this package and its contents to Jack Belser. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

“Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser.” The thing he valued most was…..my time.

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said. 

“Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!”

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.html

For the last 20 years I have presented the Gospel to each new youth at the highly secure prison for the kids ages 13 to 19 at Gainesville, Texas.  It is the first time that most any of them have stopped “running on the streets” and had the time to think about their life.  Most every one made a decision to make God part of their life.  After our hour+ together I would write each one a letter.  As a result I corresponded more with many of them.  And in each letter I would enclose a group of short stories or poems.  They really liked them, especially those with an emotional message.  You probably would not believe how many locked-up prison boys have loved theses little stories, and read them over and over.

In my soon to be published book I enclosed a long list of those short stories in the Appendix.  Since the prison boys liked them so much, I thought you may like to see some of them.  So, here is a 26th group of them for you.  And you are welcome to share them with others.

Ron

Where You Going?

Where you going?

Not “where are you going,” but “where you going?”

As I held my shoes and socks in my hand, the six-year-old repeated the question. After the second repeat the three-year-old joined in.

“Where you going?”

People think that husbands are often bothered by wives asking them where they are going. That’s nothing compared to the two little ones.

I was downstairs with them so I replied, “I’m going upstairs.”

“But where you going?”

They knew that I did not require socks and shoes to go upstairs.

I could immediately answer them, I knew where I was going, that wasn’t the problem. The problem is that children, like adults, often don’t initially ask the real question.

Invariably, whenever I answer where I am going, I am bombarded with the next question:

“Can I go?”
“Can I go?”

That’s the real question they wanted to ask.

One must make it a point that wherever one is going, it is a place that one would not mind one’s children knowing about. Whatever one is going to do, it should be something they can be proud of.

Whether you know it or not, children eventually find out where you are going.

Eventually they ask of life on some level, “Can I go too?”

THE WONDER OF PRAYER!

Have you considered the wonder of prayer?
That we can pray anytime, anywhere?
That we can lift our hearts to God above?
To one who cares for us with his tender love?

Oh, how good to turn to him when in need!
To know he listens, that he pays heed!
To bring our burdens to him, and to bring our cares!
In a sense he’s waiting just to meet us there!

God wants us to bring our needs to him,
whether they’re big or small.
None are overlooked by him.
He’s concerned about them all.

If you are God’s child,
Here’s what you should do:
Pray to him daily.
He wants to hear from you.

Pray in the name of Jesus,
God’s own beloved Son.
He honors the name of Jesus,
and remarkable things get done.

Give thanks for God’s answers
given to your prayers.
They are his reminders
that he really, truly cares!

By Pastor Bruce Oyen

The Wooden Bowl

 A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson.  The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.

The family ate together at the table but the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult.  Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.

When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.  The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

“We must do something about Grandfather,” said the son.  “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.”  So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.

There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.  Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl that they found in the cabinet.

When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.  Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.

He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?”

Just as sweetly, the boy responded,  “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food when I grow up.”

The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless.  Then tears started to stream down their cheeks.  Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.  For the remainder of his days, he ate every meal with the family.  And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Children are remarkably perceptive.  Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb.  If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives.

The wise parent realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child’s future.

Let’s be wise builders and role models.  And realize that the Lord Jesus is observing us.

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.html

For the last 20 years I have presented the Gospel to each new youth at the highly secure prison for the kids ages 13 to 19 at Gainesville, Texas.  It is the first time that most any of them have stopped “running on the streets” and had the time to think about their life.  Most every one made a decision to make God part of their life.  After our hour+ together I would write each one a letter.  As a result I corresponded more with many of them.  And in each letter I would enclose a group of short stories or poems.  They really liked them, especially those with an emotional message.  You probably would not believe how many locked-up prison boys have loved theses little stories, and read them over and over.

In my soon to be published book I enclosed a long list of those short stories in the Appendix.  Since the prison boys liked them so much, I thought you may like to see some of them.  So, here is a 25th group of them for you.  And you are welcome to share them with others.

Ron

God Was Busy

If you don’t know GOD, don’t make stupid remarks!!!!!

A United States Marine was taking some college courses between assignments. He had completed 20 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan .  One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist.

 
One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, “GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform…
 
I’ll give you exactly 15 min.” The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, “Here I am GOD, I’m still waiting.”

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor,  and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform.  The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently.  The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, “What in the world is the matter with you? Why did you do that?
  
 The Marine calmly replied, “GOD was busy today protecting America ‘s soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an idiot. So He sent me.”

The classroom erupted in cheers!

USC Professor…………

This  is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at the University of Southern California . 
           
There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. 
           
His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester proving that God couldn’t exist. 
           
His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic.
           
 Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation. 
           
At the end of every semester on the last day, he would say to his  class of 60 students, ‘If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!’ 
           
In twenty years, no one had ever stood up.  They knew what he was  going to do next. He would say, ‘Because anyone who believes in God is a fool’.

If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking; such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet He can’t do it.’ 

And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into many pieces. 

All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare. 
           
Most of the students became convinced that God couldn’t exist.  Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up.
           
Well, a few years ago there was a freshman from Texas who happened to  enroll. 
           
He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about this professor. 
           
He  was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid.  But for three months that semester, he intently prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said, or what the class thought.

Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith…he  hoped. 

Finally, the day came.  The professor said, “If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!”  The professor and the class of 60 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom.
           
The  professor shouted, “You FOOL!!! 
           
 If  God existed, he would keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!” 
           
He  proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. 

The professor’s jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk.  He looked up at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall.

The  young man who had stood, proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 60 students stayed and listened as he told of God’s love for them and of His power through Jesus.

WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom….  There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it.  When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, ‘Dear God, this is an emergency!  I need help now!  Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.’

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water.

Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, ‘Thank you, Lord!  Thank you, Lord!’

Now, all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy.  The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out.  All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk.  The sympathy is wonderful.  But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out.  ‘You’ve done enough, you klutz!’

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, ‘You did that on purpose, didn’t you?’  Susie whispers back, ‘I wet my pants once too.’

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good….

Remember….  Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us may be going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can if you are staying close to Him.  

Keep the faith.

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.html

For the last 20 years I have presented the Gospel to each new youth at the highly secure prison for the kids ages 13 to 19 at Gainesville, Texas.  It is the first time that most any of them have stopped “running on the streets” and had the time to think about their life.  Most every one made a decision to make God part of their life.  After our hour+ together I would write each one a letter.  As a result I corresponded more with many of them.  And in each letter I would enclose a group of short stories or poems.  They really liked them, especially those with an emotional message.  You probably would not believe how many locked-up prison boys have loved theses little stories, and read them over and over.

In my soon to be published book I enclosed a long list of those short stories in the Appendix.  Since the prison boys liked them so much, I thought you may like to see some of them.  So, here is a 24th group of them for you.  And you are welcome to share them with others.

Ron

Toys  vs.  Character

The world gives us toys, things that look exciting but are not the main point. The less mature you are, the more you get things for the toy appeal, and the less you get them for the higher purpose.

“The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.” That is a rather well known saying. Maybe the real difference between men and boys is that real men need less toys.

It is not really a function of age. I’ve seen old men still fascinated and focused on toys while neglecting the important things of life and family.

Choosing a woman based on curves not character or choosing a man based on cash not character……..toys.
17, 27, 47 or 87, age doesn’t really matter, only maturity.

Three dictionary definitions of fiber are:
1. Something that provides substance or texture.
2. Essential character or structure.
3. Basic strength or toughness; fortitude.

Three dictionary definitions of toy are:
1. An object for children to play with.
2. Something of little importance; a trifle.
3. A bauble

Fiber or Toys?

Good question.

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man,
I put away childish things.”   1 Corinthians 13:11 KJV

 Traveling Angels:

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.  Not knowing they were angles, the family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room.

Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a strange hole in the wall and repaired it.

When the younger angel asked why he did that, the older angel  replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.

After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen?  The first man had everything, yet you helped him, he accused.

The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied.

“When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was huge hoard of gold stored behind that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it.”

“Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.

Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way they should with those who are close to the Lord.  If you have faith, you just need to trust that every out-come is always to your advantage with the Lord’s care. You just might not know it until some time later……

God Protects his own – A true story

 It has been confirmed that 80% of the town of Meulaboh in Aceh , Indonesia was destroyed by the Tsunami waves and 80% of the people also died. This is one of the towns that was hit the hardest.

But there is a fantastic testimony from Meulaboh. In that town are about 400 Christians.

They wanted to celebrate Christmas on December 25th but were not allowed to do so by the Muslim majority of Meulaboh. They were told if they wanted to celebrate Christmas they needed to go outside the city of Meulaboh to celebrate.  Because the Christians desired to celebrate Christmas the 400 believers left the city on December 25th and chose a high hill on the edge of town.   After they celebrated Christmas they stayed all night on the hill.

The morning of December 26 there was the earthquake followed by huge Tsunami waves destroying most of the city of Meulaboh and thousands were killed. 

The 400 believers were on the mountain and were all saved from destruction. 

Now the Muslims of Meulaboh are saying that the God of the Christians punished us for forbidding the Christians from celebrating Christmas in the city. Others are questioning why so many Muslims died while not even one of the Christians died there. 

Had the Christians insisted on their rights to celebrate Christmas in the city, they would have all died. But because they humbled themselves and followed the advice of the Muslim majority they all were spared destruction and can now testify of God’s marvelous protection. 

This is a testimony of the grace of God and the fact that as believers we have no rights in the world.  Our right is to come before God and commit our lives to Him.  Our right is kneeling down before the Lord almighty and committing our ways to Him.  

He is our Father and is very capable of caring for His children. Praise the Name of the Lord!

Bill Hekman
Pastor Calvary Life Fellowship in Indonesia.

Twinkies and Root Beer:

Once there was a little boy.  He had problems that made his spirit hurt.  He had never known his dad.  Since his mom had to work so much, he was ever so lonely, and since she came home so tired, he felt as if he never saw anyone smile.

He decided one day that he wanted to meet God.  He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his little suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer from the icebox and he started on his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie. The old man gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, the old man smiled at him. The boy was delighted!  They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but never saying a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a big hug.  The old man gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by something she had not seen in a long time…….a look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?  “He replied, “I had lunch with God.”   But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what?  He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, “Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I ate Twinkies in the park with God.  “However, before his son could respond, he added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  And know that for some strange reason God chose to do His work through people.

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.html

For the last 20 years I have presented the Gospel to each new youth at the highly secure prison for the kids ages 13 to 19 at Gainesville, Texas.  It is the first time that most any of them have stopped “running on the streets” and had the time to think about their life.  Most every one made a decision to make God part of their life.  After our hour+ together I would write each one a letter.  As a result I corresponded more with many of them.  And in each letter I would enclose a group of short stories or poems.  They really liked them, especially those with an emotional message.  You probably would not believe how many locked-up prison boys have loved theses little stories, and read them over and over.

In my soon to be published book I enclosed a long list of those short stories in the Appendix.  Since the prison boys liked them so much, I thought you may like to see some of them.  So, here is a 23rd group of them for you.  And you are welcome to share them with others.

Ron

The Dive

A young man who had been raised as an atheist was training to be an Olympic diver.

The only religious influence in his life came from his outspoken Christian friend. The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend’s sermons, but he heard them often.

One night the diver went to the indoor pool at the college he attended. The lights were all off, but as the pool had big skylights and the moon was bright, there was plenty of light to practice by.

The young man climbed up to the highest diving board and as he turned his back to the pool on the edge of the board and extended his arms out, he saw his shadow on the wall.

The shadow of his body was in the shape of a cross.

Instead of diving, he knelt down and finally asked God to come into his life.

As the young man stood, a maintenance man walked in and turned the lights on.

The pool had been drained for repairs.

My friends tell me that this really happened!

The Flat

The tire was flat.

Church was just letting out as I stood in the street and looked at my mother’s tire; it was flat.  It was over 90 degrees as the sun was beaming down, and she didn‘t have a spare.

A small cigarette lighter powered air pump labored away trying to raise the flattened tire.  I told my mother to take my Jeep and go home, and I would take care of the tire.

I listened as air hissed out as fast as the pump put it in.  I found the hole and backed the car up so the hole was on the bottom.  The weight of the car stopped the leak and allowed the tire to fill.  With the tire full but leaking, I pulled off.

I didn’t know of any gas stations with mechanics in the neighborhood, but I figured I could drive until I found one.  I stayed off the expressway in case the tire went flat.

After ten minutes of driving, I found nothing open on a Sunday afternoon.  I pulled into a gas station to pump up the nearly flat tire again.

As the pump was pumping, there was one man pumping gas.  “Do you know where I can get a tire plugged around here?” I asked.  “There’s a place right there,” he said pointing.

“Right where?” I asked, wondering where the place could be since he was pointing to the street and direction that I had just driven from.

“It’s next to the liquor store, it’s on the right but you have to look hard to see it.”

“Are they open now on Sunday?” I asked.  “Yes, they’re open,” he replied.

I thanked him and set out to find the repair shop.  I was somewhat skeptical that I could have passed a tire repair shop while desperately looking for a tire repair shop.

I passed the liquor store and there on the right, down a little gravel road was a tire repair shop.  Men covered in black grease were hard at work.  They were a welcome sight as the air continually hissed from the tire.

In ten minutes, I was on my way.

It reminded me so much of life.  Why?

We are often deflated, the essence of life slowly leaking out and each time we pump it up, it isn’t long before we’re flat again.

We are straining, crying, praying, hoping, pleading for the answer and often we pass right by the answer.  Life is slowly leaking out towards the flatline and we pass right by because we don’t see the road, the place or the men on the right.

I could not find it on my own; I had to seek the answer from someone who knew, from someone familiar with the territory.  When I did hear the answer, I was doubtful that I could have missed it because it was so close.  I measured it; it was 750 feet from where I asked the question, but I couldn’t see from where I was standing.  Someone had to point the way.  Jesus can be like that for each of us.  As we search His Word, I predict that the way will become clear to you.

Your answer also, is closer than you think.  It’s on the right side.  Some of you will have to bypass the liquor store to get to it.  When you get there they will be waiting to help you.  They will be waiting to help you stop the leak.  They will be waiting to fill you with breath, but you will have to really listen and be ready to take action.

And they will be open on Sunday.

The Visitor

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter.  She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter:

            Dear Ruth, I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday

            afternoon and I’d like to stop by for a visit.

            Love Always, 

           Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. “Why would the Lord want to visit me?  I’m nobody special.  I don’t have anything to offer.” With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.  “Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer.  I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.”

She reached for her purse and counted out its contents.  Five dollars and forty cents.  “Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.”  She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.  A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk…leaving Ruth with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday.  Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

“Hey lady, can you help us, lady?” 

Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn’t even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway.  A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than  rags “Look lady, I ain’t got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it’s getting cold and we’re getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we’d really appreciate it.”  Ruth looked at them both.  They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.

“Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.”  “Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand.  Thanks anyway.”

The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.

“Sir, wait!”

The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. 

“Look, why don’t you take this food.  I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest.”

She handed the man her grocery bag.

“Thank you lady. Thank you very much!”

“Yes, thank you!” 

It was the man’s wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.

“You know, I’ve got another coat at home. Here, why don’t you take this one.”

Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over  the woman’s shoulders.  Then smiling, she turned

and walked back to the street…without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.

“Thank you lady!  Thank you very much!”

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too.  The Lord was coming to visit and she didn’t have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key.  But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.

“That’s odd.  The mailman doesn’t usually come twice in one day.”

She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.

            Dear Ruth, It was so good to see you again.  Thank you for the lovely

            meal.  And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.

           Love Always,

Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

The “W” in Christmas

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.

I had cut back on nonessential obligations – extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.

Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year.  It was an exciting season for a six year old.

For weeks, he’d been memorizing songs for his school’s “Winter Pageant.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there’d be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation.

All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.  Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as “Christmas,” I didn’t expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment – songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son’s class rose to sing, “Christmas Love,” I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads.

Those in the front row- center stage – held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.

As the class would sing “C is for Christmas,” a child would hold up the letter C. Then, “H is for Happy,” and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, “Christmas Love.”

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter “M” upside down – totally unaware her letter “M” appeared as a “W”.

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one’s mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her “W”.

Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.

In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

“C H R I S T W A S L O V E”

And, I believe, He still is.

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.html

For the last 20 years I have presented the Gospel to each new youth at the highly secure prison for the kids ages 13 to 19 at Gainesville, Texas.  It is the first time that most any of them have stopped “running on the streets” and had the time to think about their life.  Most every one made a decision to make God part of their life.  After our hour+ together I would write each one a letter.  As a result I corresponded more with many of them.  And in each letter I would enclose a group of short stories or poems.  They really liked them, especially those with an emotional message.  You probably would not believe how many locked-up prison boys have loved theses little stories, and read them over and over.

In my soon to be published book I enclosed a long list of those short stories in the Appendix.  Since the prison boys liked them so much, I thought you may like to see some of them.  So, here is a 22nd group of them for you.  And you are welcome to share them with others.

Ron

The Hole

Two little brothers once decided to dig a deep hole behind their house.  As they were working, a couple of other little boys stopped by to watch.

“What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors.

“We’re going to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.

The other boys began to laugh, telling the brothers that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible.  After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms, insects and interesting stones.  He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors.

Then he said confidently, “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!”

Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig.  That is what a goal is for, to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen.  In other words, to set us to digging!

But not every goal will be fully achieved.  Not every job will end successfully.  Not every relationship will endure.  Not every hope will come to pass.  Not every love will last.  Not every endeavor will be completed.  Not every dream will be realized.

But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, “Yes, but look at what I found along the way!

Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!”

It is in the digging that life is lived, and it is the joy in the journey that truly matters!

The Portal

Over 20 years ago I read a fictional story about a device that would allow you to live forever.

The operation of the device was simple. It was just a portal that you walked through, and when you walked through five years were added to your life.

There was no cost, at least not in terms of money.

Each time you walked through and gained five years, five years were removed from your memory.  The good thing was, you could choose which five-year period would be erased.

As the story was told, no one ever walked through because no one could find five years that they wanted to give up.

Suppose I had that opportunity?  Could I choose five years to give up?  All have had periods in their lives rougher than others.

…times of economic strain

…times of ailing and aching bodies.

…times of romantic loneliness, turmoil, or heartbreak.

…times of fear and uncertainty.

and then

…times of prosperity and plenty.

…times exhilarating youthful energy and vitality.

…times where love conquers all.

…times where we can’t wait until tomorrow.

What were the worst five years of my life?  Would I erase those if I could?

Would you?

The tough times made me stronger, wiser, and more appreciative of the easy times.

The tough times are just as much a part of who I am and why I am who I am as the easy times.

I can look outside on a freezing day and appreciate warmth because as a teenager I carried newspapers at 4a.m. each morning on a bicycle.  My hands and feet were nearly frozen daily.  Would I give up those five years of the freezing paper route?  Not hardly.

Each age has its beauty and its strain, its pleasure and its pain and with any piece missing,

we are not the same.

What I read 20 years ago was just a story.  There is only one true way to get eternal life.  That is also a portal.

It does not require that you erase anything of the past, just get one thing straight in the present that automatically washes away all sins of the past.

“Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.”  Matt 7:14 

The Tablecloth:

The brand-new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work.

They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest – a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in.

One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was white as a sheet. “Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get that tablecloth?” The pastor explained.

The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria . When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.

Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the Church. The pastor insisted on driving her home; that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had three days later on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great.

At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike.

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

(True Story – submitted by Pastor Rob Reid)

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.html

For the last 20 years I have presented the Gospel to each new youth at the highly secure prison for the kids ages 13 to 19 at Gainesville, Texas.  It is the first time that most any of them have stopped “running on the streets” and had the time to think about their life.  Most every one made a decision to make God part of their life.  After our hour+ together I would write each one a letter.  As a result I corresponded more with many of them.  And in each letter I would enclose a group of short stories or poems.  They really liked them, especially those with an emotional message.  You probably would not believe how many locked-up prison boys have loved theses little stories, and read them over and over.

In my soon to be published book I enclosed a long list of those short stories in the Appendix.  Since the prison boys liked them so much, I thought you may like to see some of them.  So, here is a 21st group of them for you.  And you are welcome to share them with others.

Ron

The List

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

 On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. ‘Really?’ she heard whispered. ‘I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!’ and, ‘I didn’t know others liked me so much,’ were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn’t matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to pass the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. ‘Were you Mark’s math teacher?’ he asked. She nodded: ‘yes.’ Then he said: ‘Mark talked about you a lot.’

After the funeral, most of Mark’s former classmates went together to a luncheon.. Mark’s mother and father were there, obviously wanting to speak with his teacher.

‘We want to show you something,’ his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket ‘They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.’

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him.

‘Thank you so much for doing that,’ Mark’s mother said. ‘As you can see, Mark treasured it.’

All of Mark’s former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, ‘I still have my list. It’s in the top drawer of my desk at home.’

 Chuck’s wife said, ‘Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.’

 I have mine too,’ Marilyn said.. ‘It’s in my diary’

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. ‘I carry this with me at all times,’ Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: ‘I think we all saved our lists’

That’s when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for allhis friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don’t know when that one day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.

 Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.

 May Your Day Be Blessed!

Taps

We have all heard the haunting song, “Taps.”

It’s the song used at military funerals and at the end of each day on U.S. military bases.

Perhaps we should read the words to the melody U.S. soldiers hear around the world each night.  Try humming with the words:

Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the skies
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Fading light, dims the sight
And a star, gems the sky,
Gleaming bright, from afar,
Drawing nigh, falls the night.

Thanks and praise for our days
‘Neath the sun, ‘neath the stars, ‘neath the sky.
As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

“Taps” – Words by Union General Daniel Butterfield and bugler Oliver Norton.

The Barracuda

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute did the following study:

It’s a widely known fact that Barracuda love to eat mullet.

Scientists put a barracuda into an aquarium, added a glass partition in the middle and then put a mullet in the other side.

Not believing his good luck the barracuda circled a few times, gathered up speed and launched directly at his lunch – the poor unsuspecting mullet.

Wham!  Bam!  Full throttle into the glass partition.

Unfazed at this, the barracuda did his preliminary circles and sped off again toward the mullet.  Again, Wham! Bang! into the glass partition.

Again and again and again he tried.  Some weeks later, the scientists noticed the barracuda quit trying to eat the mullet, so they removed the glass partition.

Amazingly, the barracuda remained in his side of the aquarium, silently swimming in circles.

In fact, the hapless barracuda slowly died of starvation while the lucky mullet swam about in safety just a few inches away!

Many of us are like that barracuda – hurt, bruised and wounded from many previous collisions with life.

We’ve given up, our lives have become unproductive, lifeless, hopeless, without goal, purpose or meaning.  And in this life, the Devil wants us to stay that way……until death.

Around and around we go, going nowhere…silently, starving to death… while just a few inches away there is a prize to be collected, a blessing to be claimed, a job to be had, a relationship to begin an education to be gained earnings to be earned.

The Heart

“Tomorrow morning,” the surgeon began,  “I’ll open up your heart…”

“You’ll find Jesus there,” the boy interrupted

 The surgeon looked up, annoyed, “I’ll cut your heart open,” he continued, “to see how much damage has been done “

 “But when you open up my heart, you’ll find Jesus in there,” said the boy.

The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. “When I see how much damage has been done, I’ll sew your heart and chest back up, and I’ll plan what to do next.”

“But you’ll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You’ll   find Him in my heart.”

The surgeon had had enough. “I’ll tell you what I’ll find in your heart.  I’ll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels.  And I’ll find out if I can make you well.”

“You’ll find Jesus there too. He lives there “

The surgeon left.

After the operation the surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, “…damaged aorta, damage to

pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration.  No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis:  here he paused, “death within one year.”

He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said. “Why?” he asked God aloud “Why did You do this? You’ve
put him here; You’ve put him in this pain; and You’ve cursed him to an early death.  Why?”

And they say the Lord…..actually really answered in an amazingly clear voice, …..and said, “The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock , and will forever be.  Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine.  His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow.”

The surgeon’s tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. “You created that boy, and You created that heart.  He’ll be dead in months. Why?”

The Lord answered, “The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for He has Done his duty; I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb, “YOU!”
      
The surgeon gasped and wept ………… The surgeon sat beside the boy’s bed; the boy’s parents sat across from him. The boy awoke and whispered, “Did you cut open my heart?”

“Yes,” said the surgeon.

 “What did you find?” asked the boy.

“I found Jesus there,” said the surgeon!

If you would like to watch a wonderful, life changing movie, get yourself all prepared with the time to watch a full length movie, and then go to this site and be ready for a life changing experience. .…………….. https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/english.html

如果您想观看一部精彩的、改变生活的电影，请准备好观看一部完整电影的时间，然后访问这个网站，为改变生活的体验做好准备………..…………https://www.jesusfilm.org/watch/jesus.html/chinese-mandarin.htm