Mon, 14 Jul 2003

Jul 14, 2003, 18:31 [home/journal/raymond_moses]
Raymond Moses, (sir)

Wow. Talk about moving.

I just saw the most amazing thing on television. It was on a show that I’m embarrassed to say I watched… I honestly have never watched it before! Jenny Jones. I still can hardly believe I witnessed it.

She was having unmanageable children and desperate moms on the show. These kids were screaming not just at their parents— calling them dreadful names and being extremely rude— but even screaming at the audience.

Now I know it’s not unusual for Jenny Jones to allow her audience to break into fits of yelling at guests and vice versa, maybe this is all planned ahead of time. I was watching the show with not a small bit of skepticism. But then I saw the most amazing thing. It brought tears to my eyes.

The event which moved me so, started this way: they interviewed one twelve year old boy before the show. They asked him about what he thought about his mom. He screamed out how he hated her, how she never stopped talking… he said she didn’t leave him alone and continually verbally abused him. He went on to say even more horrible things, the sum of which was quite breath-taking. I couldn’t imagine what would make a kid talk that away about their parents, especially their mom. He said everyone treated him that way.

Then they brought him on the show. There was a bit of booing— a somewhat inappropriate way to respond to a twelve year old, but he was RESOLUTE! This didn’t phase him at all! He snapped right back at the audience with smart-remarks and wise-cracks. Jenny tried to reason with him, but he was determined to convince us that his mother was an ogre in disguise. And it was a good disguise. The woman next to him was pretty, and hardly spoke a word in response to his flailing.

Jenny asked him if he knew who Raymond Moses was. He said he knew he was a sargeant, and invited him out because he had a thing or two to say to the man. The audience gasped!

Raymond Moses is a BIG man, and he specializes in helping troubled kids. In fact, as I found out by visiting his web site, he charges a lot of money to take your kid for the summer and transform him into a responsible young man. He dresses in army fatigues, and he is intimidating.

Srgt. Raymond Moses came out on stage and stalked up to this young boy, his broad brimmed hat tipped forward in an intimidating sneer. The boy stood his ground, and answered back to each question. We could all see this child was intelligent. We could see that he was angry, and we could see that it was hopeless. The great Raymond Moses was going nowhere with this boy.

He started off with asking the boy if he wanted to wear the hat— did he think he was in charge today? The boy did want to wear the hat and started to put it on. Raymond Moses snatched it back.

And this is where it gets amazing.

In what seemed like seconds, the boy was weeping! I couldn’t believe it! He went from a smart-assed snot-faced punk needing a good whupping to a hurting little boy! Raymond moses only spoke one or two quiet words to him, and it was all over. I sat on my couched shocked… I think my mouth was open, and water started running in my eyes. I felt like I had seen God. I had seen restoration. I had seen love.

What were those words which he spoke?

“You’re in a lot of pain, aren’t you.”
The boy reflected that pain for just a second, and nodded. “Hmm mmm.”
“YES SIR! you mean.”
“Yes Sir.” said the boy.
“When was the last time you had a hug?”
“I can’t even remember…” said the boy— obviously choking up.
“Well, give me a hug.”

It was all over. The boy was crying, the audience was crying.

I went back to my desk to work on the computer and I just stared at my screen, stunned. And then I started to weep. At first I thought, “What am I doing!? Why am I responding this way?” but I didn’t care. I just sank into my chair and cried long and hard.

I went to visit Raymond Moses’ site after that experience, and noticed right away that it is a Christian-based boot camp. He obviously has God behind him. He was just like Jesus.

~Jason

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