Gun fire...

So, I guess just because two people are friends doesn't mean that hate can't come between them, especially if these two are not following JESUS, who is LOVE. Two of the guys who I serve lunch to on Wednesdays, who I will call Raymond and Montray, were shooting at each other last night. This happened in the afternoon and also in the evening. The crazy thing is, about a month ago, these two guys and their friends hung out together. But now, they are two separate groups. In the afternoon, my friend and I were walking out of my apartment. We saw one of the Raymond (who truly does look out for us and the neighborhood) holding a gun at his side, while at the same time Montray was driving past holding a gun in his hand. We didn't know what was going on at that time and I guess neither of us thought it was serious, because they were friends... so we thought. We left and returned later on that evening. We walked in my apartment and within 5 minutes heard about 15 gun shots directly behind my building. Immediately, we ducked down on the floor and called 911. We often hear gun shots here, but many times it is just people shooting in the air, not at someone, or something. But those shots last night were different than any I had heard before. I could sense anger in those shots, they were so close and sounded like they hit something. Any time we hear shots, we wait a few minutes, but then go outside to make sure everything is fine. We went on my back porch and one of the ladies began to tell us what happened while we were gone that afternoon. The two friends, Raymond and Montray, had been shooting at each other. I don't know who shot first, or even why they were shooting. We found out that Montray shot a friend of Raymond's in the leg. We believe that Montray was the last to shoot. And the 15 shots we had just heard was Raymond coming to get back at Montray for shooting his friend in the leg. About 5 police cars came and began searching some of the apartments for these two young men. My friend and I were praying in the Spirit the whole time, praying for things to settle down. For about 5 minutes we went back inside my apartment, grabbed hands, took authority over the strife and commanded it to go. Within 20 minutes, one of the guys was caught, two other fights that had been stirred up were squelched and there was complete silence and peace in the neighborhood. It was amazing to watch how after we took authority in JESUS' name, everything subsided. Thank you GOD! He really has given us authority and wants us to use it to change the atmosphere around us. My prayer is that God will restore peace between Raymond and Montray and that these incidents will not start a war. If I were to base my beliefs on what often happens with a situation like this, I would see these two groups go back and forth hurting each other indefinitely. But, I'm not gonna put up with the devil stirring that up in my neighborhood and my city. John DeShields and East St. Louis be peaceful and prosperous. Change is happening now and more change is coming, in the name of our JESUS!

Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV) Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.