Tag Archives: fear

PEACEMAKERS Prayer Patrols the Miami Gardens Area of Florida, USA

“We have been in some pretty hairy places since the founding of Peacemakers Prayer Patrols in 2002, but Miami Gardens threw up the most concerns. We had Prayer Sheilds in England, Michigan, New York, and Miami. And although this was not by any means the feelings of our team members, it was mainly the small talk of people living in Miami-Dade County. In the Media, there are stories of a shooting nearly every day, with drive-by shootings on the rising each week.  The ages of those involved, both of those being killed as well as those carrying out these killings, seems to be getting younger.  See HERE ( 3 Teenage boys arrested for Shooting a 17-year-old boy April 2016 ) The suspects, one age 16 and the other two 15, are expected to be charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.  Watch   NBC Miami News

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“As Chief and as a father, tragedies like this are heart-wrenching because in total four young lives have been lost. We must continue to work together to bring an end to such senseless and heinous acts of violence,” Police Chief Antonio Brooklen said in a statement. “As tragic as this incident is, the Miami Gardens Police Department is committed to the mission of making our community safe. We will not tolerate anyone who threatens the safety of our Residents or our community.”

 To see NBC NEWS Click HERE > 23-Year-old shot at House Party   Alexandra Dean had just graduated from Nova Southeastern University in May. She was on her way to becoming a nurse and helping others. But that dream was cut short in an instant.

The Peacemakers found a receptive response to their Prayer Patrols at the small rank of shops, that had been the scene of a shooting not long ago. MG PPPThey were determined that Prayer Patrols would have an impact on the areas.  Reverend Palmer explains it like this – “WE really are Patroling the heavens, which directly impacts on the environment and atmosphere of a place. Every place that our feet patrols, creates an opening for peace, peaceful dialogues, and the removal of the spirit of fear,  in order to bring about harmony, peace and safety, to that place. I know it sounds like a tall order but that is my belief, and I have seen it work in some very tough neighbourhoods. Of course in Cities where there are greater confidences by the patrolling teams that join us,  by members of local community, by the Council  and usually by the Policing teams within these areas, we find that we usually receive encouraging testimonies of healings and transformations.   And although we did not have  all these dynamics in place, we did, however, get a good response from the Kingdom Builders Church Intercessory prayer department, IMG-20160709-WA0007some as Shields praying for us, and some of their Leaders came out with me for Saturday’s Miami Prayer Patrol.   We were told only a day before our patrol that Eric Readon, Pastor of a local Church in the Miami Gardens area, had spoken out against the recent youth shootings. and has opened up his church, one night a week, so that parent could drop off their youths in a safe environment. We did manage to make contact with him, unfortunately, due to our short notice, neither he nor any member of his organisation were able to join us for the Prayer Patrol.

WE met and spoke to a youth who was working the Supermarket’s trolly carts, in the car parking lot. Whilst driving to Miami Gardens the Rev shared a vision that she had, it was about a mother kneeling on the floor, crying.  In the vision the woman was in a semi-empty, broken down home, she was holding her stomach and crying profusely for her son. She was crying, wishing that he would be safe, wishing that he would not get caught up in the shootings that were going on around all her.  trolly So, as we approached this young man, Rev shook his hand and asked his age.  He said that he was 19yars old. she said, “No you are not”.  He repeated that he is 19.  “You wouldn’t lie to a Pastor now?” she asked him. ” No,I would never lie to a pastor,” he said. It was obvious that he was not 19, which he admitted later, perhaps our high visibility jackets scared him. When we asked what would he like prayer for, he said, “Please pray for my mother to have a house.” Rev then told him about the vision that she had had on her way there, and that she recognised him as the young man in the vision,  he did not appear alarmed in any way but was  rather attentive and happy for us to pray with him.  Some time later, we did see him again but this time, he looked a lot calmer and was more cohesive.

We chatted and prayed with several people which we all receptive and happy  for us to speak and pray with them. This includes a group of three beautiful young ladies that we stopped to talk and pray with. After prayer,  the most outgoing of the three thanked us and said that she really needed the prayer and kind words of encouragement.  Reverend Nzurike supported and prayed offering them an invitation to  learn about prayer and the effectiveness of praying, at  her upcoming Gathering of the Intercessors event, which is being held mid-August at the Kingdom Builders Church, 168 St.

We stopped one guy that seemed drugged up and totally ‘out of it’. However, when we asked what he would like us to pray for he told us that his aspiration was to be a businessman. He said he was still in school. Decon Samuels did his best at encouraging him, spoke to him about the importance of a good education etc,, he was just on the verge of engaging with us, when, seeing a Police car turn into the carpark area, close to where we were standing, he quickly scampered and sadly, we did not get the chance to say our goodbyes.

Next, we spoke with a Police Officer while he sat in his car.  He told us that he was impressed by what we were doing, that he believes prayers are powerful and makes a big difference in difficult situations and people. He said that if he could retire early this is exactly what he would like to be doing.

Afterwards, we visited Miami Gardens Police Station and the Miami Gardens City Hall building. WP_20160709_14_45_10_ProWe had a frosty response from the first white male police officer we saw at the front desk in the reception area of the Police Station. Whilst explaining about Peacemakers Prayer Patrol he became uninterested and told us so.  In a grunt, he  told us to speak with the female officer at the window next to his.  She was a lot friendlier and very courteous. WP_20160709_14_41_22_ProShe was interested in our work and wanted to know more about how we see prayer patrols making a difference in this area.  This we did as well as sharing a few successful testimonials to our credit. Although on this occasion we were not able  to speak with the Chief, we did, share a few stories with the Sargent in charge Timothy Adams. explaining that we were there to pray a blessing of protection for officers, especially in the light of what had taken place in Dallas earlier that week, as well as paying tribute to the work of the good officers of that precinct. He appeared attentive, courteous, interested and supportive.            Photo  Above: Reverend Dawnecia at the Police Station.  Photo middle  The Rev with Front Desk Officer Agnes Lafarence ? Photo Below from left to right. Reverend Lillian Nzurike, Reverend Palmer and Deacon Samuel. WP_20160709_14_40_48_ProThe first officer continued to maintain a cold, non-responsive attitude throughout the visitation and before we left the Rev asked him why he had treated
her in such a manner. He replied  that he was not interested, he did not wish to know,  and that he was not being mean to her  and that he was just being busy trying to finish a report. Reverend Palmer said that in all the years of Peacemakers Prayer Patrols, in many countries of the world, this was the first time that she had experienced such a distasteful attitude from a first respondent individual, to either her or any member of her groups. When we were outside the station we prayed that there would be just policing in all Miami Police Force. We also prayed for their safety.

MiamiGarden man with gunInstead of the Driveby shootings of bullets, we created a new idea of ‘Driveby Prayers’ as we cruised through the walled areas of Legume Gardens. It was a very tensed area, smaller houses that all looked the same and was in need of repairs. Many areas were unkempt and the few persons we saw walking about appeared glum.

Our Final prayer Patrol was the City Hall. Here we prayed for justice, equality and safety for all Council officers, departments and workers. WP_20160709_14_53_11_ProWP_20160709_14_52_43_Pro “Let Peace reign” AMEN

PEACEMAKERS “DESPERATE MEASURES FOR DESPERATE TIMES ” – Peacemakers Prayer Prayer Chief response to recent Dallas Shootings

Dallas< Left: See News of Police shooting in                                                                      Dallas

Minnesota

 

 

> Right: See Video recording  of Minnesota Police shooting

 

“It appears that we are living in desperate times,” says Peacemakers Prayer Patrols Chief Reverend Palmer this morning, in response to the recent civilian and Police shootings in Minnesota, Baten Rouge and Dallas. She continues, “It seems that the world is gone mad, quite mad. When persons aren’t planning to kill themselves, they are out there planning to take the life of another.

This insurgence of an insatiable desire to kill must not become the expected reality for our world.

We are being fed bad news of these atrocities day in and day out. There is also a surge to watch, listen to or else to participate in the most despicable killing acts, through the games being built and manufactured or through the films and programmes being made and produced. All in the name of industry, greed, in an  unconsciousness of psychological disorder.

But in all of these bizarre random and sometimes coordinated acts of violence, we must realise that these aren’t really new to the planet.

These barbaric acts of violence may appear new and unsettling for our times, but acts of this sort has perpetuated the earth ever since mankind yeilded to the temptation of fear, to himself in separation, and away from the perfect alignment of the All Good, the glorious source of Life itself.

And although throughout the annals of history we have been shown redemptive processes, even the ultimate act of sacrifice and service to restore us to an original statehood of love and wholeness; mankind still crumble to the temptation to yield to the wretched insane idea of the basest of selfhood mentality, which is so totally off key, seeking to die and to kill, instead of yielding to the call to live, full, vibrant, magnificent lives.

Desperate measures mean not yielding to the fear of the hurt we think we feel about ourselves. Also not yielding to the fear of being hurt by others. Nor yielding to the fear which tempts us to hurt others. Therefore in true order, we should begin to love value and respect life itself. Then and only then, may we be able to love, value and respect it within ourselves. This would cause us to value and respect life in others, and ultimately,  begin to hope that other people are also seeing life in the same way.

This is a rather simple but important measure, imperiative for the regeneration of our planet and ongoing good of mankind.

In fear, a person plans to take his own life. Feeling that his or her life is worth nothing in this world or at least, they feel that their life is of a far lesser value, especially in the cases of some suicide, and other cases where suicide bombers do it for rewards in the afterlife. In both instances, they were unconscious that the same LIFE that gave life in one existence is the same life everywhere.

At the root of all this destruction is fear. It is not about race, creed nor colour. It is about fear. It is this same fear and total disregard to life which prompts a Police officer to kill an unarmed man, and visa versa, an armed civillian killing an armed Officer. Fear takes on many disguises.  

Fear has built and instituted religion so far back that unless man wakes up now, we will keep destroying ourselves, each other and the planet. A person might even say I am all alone, I feel so lonely, not realising or conscious that the life which breathes them is everywhere present. We are therefore never alone in life. And life is always good and magnificent.

Someone once told me that it would take a miracle to change the world, and I have pondered these words for years.

                   A miracle is a desperate measure.

A miracle to me means that something that is beyond the scope of the mere matter. And you know as I do that us humans, animals, in fact, everything in which the breath  of life has a domain, which is the entire stuff of existence, including things inanimate; yes, you and I know that we fear everything that we do not quite understand, including ourselves.  Have you never heard of the person who asks himself why am I like this, why can’t I stop this?….  And so it is that we have become afraid of ourselves. And this fear drives us to overeat, to get angry with ourselves, so much so that we seek ways to cheat and so to kill this self, in hope of escaping from the lesser we feel we are now, because of the false illusion self we think we should be, or have, or gain or become.

                          Love, Value and Appreciate life FIRST

But I encourage us all, including myself, that life is magnificent still, it will always be as it is. There really is no now in life, even this newness we speak about so mindfully  is simply like a drug to hide away, to cushion and protect ourselves or else to create a false sense of a better self.  No no no, we must see that it as we begin to Love, Value and Appreciate life FIRST, then life within our individual selfhood, that we could even begin to hope for change. All the praying will be in vain until this action is taken. Praying does not stop anything until the thing we pray for is stopped. However, our prayers can and do influence the good change we wish for. WE must all seek to become the good we wish to see in our society, in order for the miracle of a radically transformative environment on earth as in the Heaven.

Do you love, value and respect Life? In your own body? in others? When we speak of others, it is interesting that people often categorise this ‘others’. They speak as if the life itself within a close family member such as  child or parent, husband and is different in an in-law, a close friend, a neighbour, a workmate, the person we meet on the bus, the doctor, or the distant person of another tribe and country. And so you can begin to see that it is truly only as mankind is sent back to the drawing-board, ego-free, to begin again. To look and see Life in Its totality, fairness, opulence, magnificence, beauty, fullness, allness, and okness. Only then, will mankind catch a glimpse of what he can become, of who he truly is, and who you and I truly are.

Years ago one man tried to decree that this was the way to peace, love, and life. And as we know the story’s end, the people groups of the world back then, stoned, beat, and killed him. But truth cannot be stopped, the truth cannot die. The truth is an eternal concept that will spring up again and again,  even though it may be chopped down time after time.

And so, I resurge this truth again today, it is no new truth. This is the truth that Life itself which is outside of time.  It is my wholehearted wish that these few words, as desperate as they may seem in our seemingly desperate times, that they will make a difference and leave an impression on at least one soul, as so create a spark of hope for a new earth. Amen. Amen”

Next prayer patrol, this Saturday9th July, in the notorious  Miami Gardens known for its weekly drive-by shootings 

PEACEMAKERS PRAYER PATROLS IN NEW YORK – JAMAICA QUEENS ’40’ PROJECTS’

According to Wikipedia, Jamaica is a middle-class neighbourhood  in the New York City borough of Queens. The neighbourhood is part of Queens Community Board 12, which also includes Hollis, St Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Ponds Park,  Rochdale Village, and South Jamaica, Queens. Jamaica is patrolled by the NYPD’s 103rd, 113th & 105th Precincts.

As of April 30, 2016, the United States has a total resident population of 323,730,000 and the population of Queens was 217,00 in 2010. The Ancestries in the area are as listed below:

Black: 48.2%. Hispanics: 22.1% White:19.9% Asians 10.5% 0ther:9.4%  2015 Crime statistics for the area.

Most Queens neighbourhoods ranked highly in DNAinfo.com Crime & Safety Report, with nine of its 15 neighbourhoods ranking in the top 20. That’s a far cry from the early 1990s, at the height of the crack epidemic, when the borough racked up nearly 300 murders — three times the amount in 2010 — as well as 17,000 muggings, which breaks down to nearly 50 per day.

ppwideIt was an exceptionally warm Saturday afternoon, as the Peacemakers made their way into the hood of the South Housing 40’s Project.

Before going out we usually approached the local authorities Police to make them aware of our presence, in their Precinct.  This is not because we are expecting trouble, but, because we believe that after a patrol, the transformation begins, and often before the regeneration to come into fruition, the Police should allow the process. Although, sometimes, we have seen immediate effects. During our brief with them, one officer appeared sceptic and said “seeing is believing” when we pointed out some of the changes that  were are expecting to happen to the area, as a product of our patrols. However, we were very thankful that there was at least one officer who said he had heard about our work before, and that he too believed that our Prayer Patrol could possibly bring big changes to the community, uplift the residents and help to reduce crime.”

Patrolling 40 Project, South Jamaica Housing, Queens, NY 

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“The first person that we saw was a Muslim man. he chatted with us in a friendly manner, and although he said did not wish us to pray with him,  nevertheless, he also said that he would not mind a blessing. We were happy to bless him, then shook hands heartily before moving on.

We had many favourable instances to speak with, to pray with, to weep and laugh with, to encourage, motivate and bless the members of this community. WP_20160625_15_44_16_Pro 1                                                                        ^Pic: Barbara Haughton

There was also a positive response to our work with great testimonies of encouragement for what we do.

We had a  positive response to our work and great testimonies of encouragement from the residents for what we do.  WP_20160625_15_44_10_ProThere are so many wonderful stories that we could share with you that took place this day.  However, we will only be sharing half a dozen in this post, adding more in due course.    WP_20160625_15_44_52_Pro In the Project we found debris of all sorts strewn on the sidewalks, it is a busy area, people sit out in their front yards, on the pavements, standing outside shops, and in a tiny the park nearby, children play, oblivious that there may be danger close by.  And so, we find here a different sort of wealth, it is one of the soul crying out for change. Crying out for a chance for ‘better than this’. This is a people hungry for change”

(In some instances we might not use the person’s real name)

We stopped to speak with two men and a lady, at first they were  reluctant to speak with us, but, as we explained our purpose and  shared some life-changing stories of our prayer patrols, they began to warm towards us. Our first story is about Joe. We soon learned that Joe’s son, of 24 years of age, was brutally killed only two weeks earlier, near to the very spot on which we stood.  WP_20160625_14_54_45_Pro  As you can see from the picture, Joe is a tall, strong man. He has two other sons, and the one they killed was his youngest. He was a broken man. he cried as he shared his story. Joe did not ask for vengeance,  instead, Joe was hoping to see change for better in this neighbourhood. Sister Barbara encouraged and prayed with him. And at one point, it seemed as if he would fall out, so we both held him up. After prayer he allowed us to take photographs with him, and when we shook hands goodbye there was definitely a sense that his healing had begun.

Then there is Brendan, WP_20160625_14_54_26_Prohe is smart, feisty and humorous. It is obvious that he had been drinking, but he is not drunk. He said, “if it’s not about money, you might as well just move on.” But a little while later and after we had been speaking and praying with his friend Joe, he spoke with us and we had the privilege to bless his life, and impart some beautiful prophecies, which was very well received.  Before we moved on he said, “O man, I wish that I was in England wid you guys.” ” O man, this is great!” I assured him that Goodness is everywhere, right there, as the life of God in his breath, and not just in England.  As we hugged him, I knew without a shadow of a doubt, that a transformation had taken place, and that he knew it too.

“We were not permitted to photograph Dorothy, the lady that we met with the two men mentioned above. Dorothy was sitting on top of her makeshift seat, along the sidewalk. She is a pretty lady but her eyes and face are sad and depressed.  She has been drinking, and while I do not wish to judge her, I can smell alcohol on her, however, she is not drunk. She says that she wants a blessing too.

As we began to pray with her, I felt empathy towards her situation and the circumstances which account for her present condition. I felt impressed in my spirit to pray for her grandchildren and to prophesy that they will be the catalyst for change in the family, and not just for her family alone, but for her neighbourhood. I felt  vulnerable in during the prayer because she had not yet shared her personal details with us. And soon as the prayer came to an end, and she could hardly wait to take out her cell phone from her pockets, and showed us a lovely photo of a baby girl.

Dorothy’s face beamed as she told us that she was happy that I mentioned her grandbaby, she says that the baby was  born June 4th and was not yet a month old. We continued in prayer to bless the child, and when we had finished we, we gave her a small  token of blessing for the child.  She tucked it into her pocket and set about telephoning her daughter to tell her of the prophecies. And when I indicated to her that she must see to it that the child receive the gift, she  seemed offended, saying,  “Do you think that I could rob my only grandbaby, who is going to do it for all of us.”

And so we moved on knowing that we definitely were in the right place, and at the right time, for this woman and her family”

WP_20160625_15_30_57_ProWe met up with Apostle Ralph Edwards of  One Way Intl Ministries INC. His Ministry is mainly on the streets but often lends a helping hand to some of the local Churches. WP_20160625_15_33_48_Pro

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Of this derelict site on the left, Rev says, “It shall surely come to pass that this place shall be a place of sanctuary. A place for new life. A space of God.” Apostle Edwards confirmed that 4 years earlier while he was in the area, at a prayer meeting, he heard the Pastor praying very similar words for the site.”

Below : a Picture of Solomon and the Rev

“And so, as came to the end of our New York Queens, South Housing 40’s Project Prayer Patrols, we cross path with a young man, whom we shall Solomon.  As here neared us, we stopped him, to ask for directions.  Courteously he showed us the way, and, as he was moving away, the Rev said that she was prompted in her spirit to talk with him about the work of the Peacemakers Prayer Patrols.

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The young man appeared very interested and was attentive to every word, hardly blinking and for the whole time he did not so much as move a muscle.  He agreed to let us pray with him, he thanked us profusely and  with a confident smile on his face, shook our hand and walked away, head held high.  “That’s a King Solomon in the making. That is if he really gets it,” says the Rev.

Rev’s Prayer

Let love reign, Let Hope Reign. May Peace reign within each soul. Amen.

NEXT PRAYER PATROL – MIAMI USA – in Miami Gardens,  Saturday 9th July, 2016