Horizon.org

I saw this story on the news that said the Escondido PD needed new vests, but the funds weren’t there to buy them. The officers were going to have to pay for them out of their own pockets, and that just didn’t seem right. After all, these are the men and women on the front lines protecting us everyday.

As a Pastor and a citizen, I have always loved to find ways the body could give back to our community. As soon as I read this story about the Escondido Police Department, I felt the Lord tug on my heart to get involved.

We have been blessed to have had many opportunities to reach out and extend the blessing we experience here at Horizon; from the building of orphanages in Mexico, to schools in Thailand and Cambodia, even a hospital in the Sudan. But, we cannot ignore what goes on in our own back yard, and what a privilege and an honor it is to help those we hold in such high regard, the men and women of our local law enforcement.

I brought this before our body, having the faith, not the funds, but knowing we serve an amazing God. And the church responded overwhelmingly! Praise God! In one weekend, we had enough to pay for all the vests for all of the officers in the entire department, a total of 89 vests! $27,600 dollars!

You know, a verse in the Bible that clearly describes the scenarios that these officers face daily is found in John 10:10: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

To me, that’s what these vests represent; Life. Protection. All the things we find in Christ. This Christmas we have the opportunity to extend His love and truly be an extension of His Presence to our neighbors… in our own back yard.

I wrote this letter to thank you and the kind people who donated to pay for our protective vests. There are a lot of believers at the Escondido Police Department and a faith in God keeps us able and capable to do our job.

Several of us stat around our patrol cars at 3 o’clock in the morning last night, still several hours left in our shift. We tried our best to simply process what you and your church did for us. It’s a hard thing for a group of cops to wrap their heads around. We are so completely used to dealing with one percent of the population, ninety percent of the time. It’s that one percent that we are cent to deal with who hate us, despise us, and sometimes, always unexpectedly, try to kill us. While we can rely on God spiritually, we find ourselves only able to rely on ourselves here on earth. When people have a problem they can’t solve, a common solution is to “call the cops”. It’s different when you are the cops and this is no one else to call besides the person who sat next to you in briefing. It can feel isolating because we can very often only rely on each other. It’s always a thankless job but to be fair, we don’t drive around int he middle of the night looking for a pat on the back.

Additionally, things have been particularly tough in Escondido. We are the lowest paid officer’s in San Diego County. Which is fine, because somebody has to be last! Although with the economy hitting Escondido particularly hard I found myself making 21 percent less then what I thought I would three years ago. One example, my childhood friend, whom I graduated the academy with, makes $11.50 more an hour working for the Oceanside PD then I do in Escondido. Additionally, I am working Christmas Day with no overtime pay and the city has taken away my uniforms and equipment allowance. Ultimately, with the amount of people who have lost their jobs in this economy, none of this matters. I can’t complain. God has still given me a livelihood and I still have a job to go to everyday.

And the Lord knows it can be a dangerous job. This year has been evidence of that as well. That 3am meeting I wrote about included one of my good friends and favorite people to work with. In March of this year he was shot during a vehicle pursuit. By the grace of God the bullet missed tearing through his throat by inches and merely grazed his shoulder. That night I dropped down on bended knee and thanked God for not taking him from us, not knowing at that moment that it was my turn to face evil next. Three weeks later I responded to a call of domestic violence. The suspect in this call decided that he did not want two police officers knocking at his door. He armed himself with a shotgun and confronted myself and my partner at his doorstep. Later that morning I called my wife. It was the toughest phone call I have ever made. I told her that I loved her and that I could not see her all day as a result of being involved in an “incident”. I was unable to gather the strength to tell her I had just shot and killed someone.

I only write about these things to put into perspective how powerful the timing of your gift was to the group of amazing people I am privileged to work with. It is powerful symbolism that a group of strangers bought us protective vests. The feeling of isolation, frustration, of punching at the wind, they all disappeared last night when we read that news article. We spend so much time trying to help people but despite our intentions we are often hated for nothing other then the uniform we wear. This week, seemingly out of nowhere, a group of strangers have decided to help us because of the uniform we wear. The feeling is indescribable. The gratitude is unimaginable. Thank you and God bless.

Anonymous

COVERAGE from THE LOCAL PRESS:

Click here to read the NORTH COUNTY TIMES Article

Click here to read the UNION TRIBUNE Article