FORUM
Freedom from a different slavery
Nigel
Alston
Motivational
Moments
"Every great moment has a
halfway moment, that split sec
ond when we are given the
opportunity to do something dif
, ferenl. "
? A Halfway House Bulletin
Bdard Message
"My name is ... and I WAS a
drug dealer," the young man said
as he leaned into the microphone
to speak at Union Baptist
Church during the morning wor
ship service. The congregation
erupted with praise as it heard
those five words - "I WAS a
? drug dealer." He was one of
> more that 30 or so graduates of
the drug dealers conference that
attended the concluding service.
God had delivered in
j unimaginable ways, and the evi
! dence was talking about how the
former drug dealer had been
changed. It was a high time
inside the walls of the church and
I am sure inside the minds and
hearts of the young men and
women who attended the tcon
ference. I believe more people
than the drug dealers were
changed too.
The Corner to Corner or
C2C, Drug Dealers Conference
was held a Union Baptist
Church over a three-day period,
ending with a graduation cere
mony during the morning wor
ship service for those who chose
to attend. Over a hundred men
and women were given ohe
chance to make a choice in the
direction of the rest of their lives.
Many of them had to be there: It
was mandatory for those who
Rev. Sir Walter Mack Jr.
were currently in drug rehabilita
tion programs. However, many
of them came back each day and
brought others with them. A level
of tnist had been established, and
change was taking place.
The force behind this one-of
a-kind conference is the pastor
and teacher of (he church, the
Rev. Dr. Sir Walter Mack Jr. The
conference was designed,
according to him, to reach out to
the dealer to help create a self
awareness resulting in a pro
found positive impact in the
community. By all accounts, that
first step was achieved.
As Mack shared with the
congregation, during the cere
mony. one attendee indicated on
his evaluation form that if it were
not for this conference. THIS
weekend, he would probably be
dead! What a testimony to the
power of reaching out to an often
untouchable and unreachable
segment of our society.
There was doubt on both
sides about the conference, and
perceptions changed over three
days, both ways. Two former
police officers, for example,
members of the church, saw
another side of the problem they
had observed over too many
years. It was a human side. One
shared with me a conversation
one drug dealer had with a friend
on his cell phone from the part
ing lot of the church.
"Where are you," the friend
wanted to know.
"I'm at Union Baptist
Church." the drug dealer told the
friend. "It's not what 1 thought it
was going to be."
In other words, it was not a
sting; it was not bait and switch.
It was for the purpose designed;
to help make a difference. He
was impressed and moved by
that and had to tell somebody.
And so were others who
committed to moving forward
from this point on.
"I will look forward and not
back," said one attendee.
"I will change my thought
process and attitude," said anoth
er.
"I will join a church." said
the young man who spoke to the
congregation on Sunday morn
ing, in a Saturday afternoon ses
sion. He and four others came
forward to turn their lives over to
God. Several others were saved
in more ways than one too.
It was quite a sight to see the
celebration and graduation cere
mony as the committee that
planned the conference lined the
aisle leading to the pulpit area,
making way for the men and
women, white and black, old and
young, to come forward. It was
as if the Red Sea were parting,
this time for another group of
God's children to be saved from
a different form of slavery. They
had been possessed by their pos
sessions, fast money, fast living,
jail and drugs. They were trying
to escape and had been provided
a way, through the church.
That great moment on Sun
day had its halfway moment
sometime during the three pre
ceding days, when a choice was
made by participants in a split
second to do something differ
ent. It will not be easy transform
ing from an old life to a new one.
though, as they pursue a different
path from this point on. Howev
er, a step has been taken in the
right direction, and everyone
involved is different and sees
with new eyes. That's something
to be thankful for.
Nigel Alston is a radio talk-show
host, columnist and motivational
speaker. Visit his Web site at
mm'h moli vationalmoments.com.
Battling breast cancer at 30
Julie White
Guest
Columnist
Since Elizabeth Edwards
was diagnosed with breast can
cer, I have found myself doing
more thinking about being the
parent of young children while
fighting this battle. At first, I
wanted to write her a letter, to
tell her that the treatment is not
as bad as you envision when it
begins. But yesterday when I
heard a part of her interview on
the "Today Show," it struck me
that she is not afraid of the
treatment. She is afraid for her
children. She is afraid that she
may not live.
Maybe I am not as strong as
Elizabeth. Maybe it was a cop
ing mechanism. Maybe I did
not have these same thoughts
until now because I am
younger or because 1 have
never experienced the loss of a
child as she has. I am not sure
why it has taken me so long to
come to this place, but I am
here now. There is a possibility
that I might not win this cancer
war. There is a possibility that
after all my treatments it might
not be gone, or it might come
back.
Another young woman
fighting breast cancer told me
recently that she heard it is
harder to be a breast cancer sur
vivor than to fight the war. The
doctors told her that while you
are going through treatment
you are doing everything you
can to battle the disease. You
are an active participant in your
care on a daily basis. You work
KRT Rk*o
Elizabeth Edwards faund out she had breast cancer around
the time her husband lost his bid to be vice president.
with your doctors to get the
chemo that ravages your body.
You show up daily for radiation
and you check yourself into the
hospital so they can cut the dis
ease out of you. You sacrifice
your dignity, femininity, sexu
ality, energy all in the name of
beating the disease.
But when you finish your
treatment they send you home
and say, "See you in three
months." And you go home and
hold your breath. In three
months, if you get a clean bill
of health, they say, "See you in
three months," and you keep
doing this for a lifetime. You
can get regular checkups and
take care of your body, .but I
was already doing that, and that
does not prevent cancer.
I have always loved carry
ing the heavy load. I have
taken great pride in moving so
far from home and building a
life completely on my own
with Mark. I beamed the day I
received my master's degree,
having put myself through
school, and landed a great job
on my own merit. I have
climbed the ladder in my career
while taking great care of my
family. I love being referred to
as strong and being depended
on by all around me.
Maybe that is why I was
determined to be Wonder
Woman when facing this dis
ease. I remember telling a
friend the story of my first day
in the chemo treatment room,
fighting back tears and facing
that room head-on. saying to
myself. "I will be dammed if
anyone in that room is any
stronger than me." I put on my
game face, allotted one year of
my life to fighting this battle
and carried on as if nothing had
changed. I have worked full
time, carried twins and fought
cancer. No one is tougher than
me.
But now I am tired. The
newness of the fight is gone. I
am at the end of the pregnancy.
I can no longer sleep at night. I
am constantly uncomfortable.
I cannot keep up the full-time
work schedule. I am about
halfway through my treatment,
and I feel no reason to celebrate
as I thought I would. When I
heard Elizabeth admit that
there is a possibility she will
not beat this, it struck me. It is
finally staring me in the face. I
can be the toughest young
woman to ever fight this dis
ease. and I may not live.
That leaves me with noth
ing to write Elizabeth, no
insight to share; no words of
wisdom come to mind. She is
already tough. She already
knows how to carry the weight
of the world on her shoulders.
I am five months down the road
she has just begun and no more
thoughtful or reflective - just
another mother of young chil
dren who plans to cherish the
time I have today to spend w ith
my family.
Julie While is a 30-vear-old
mother of 2-year-old Benjamin
and is expecting tw ins on Dec.
JO. She is the communications
director for the state treasur
er's office.
I rge?lf news foi people wilCI look I
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