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Dear Posse,
This is the
second day of the combined Texas/Southwest Border Sheriffs' Coalition
meeting in El Paso. At this moment we are hearing
a fascinating detailed explanation of how to get something accomplished in
Washington.
As I am
listening, a sense of gravity and urgency has come over me.
Because of
Arizona Senate Bill 1070, recently passed by the state legislature, the
President's next major agenda push--climate change--will likely take a back seat
to immigration reform and securing the
borders.
Up to now the
word from most Republicans in Congress has been "no" to immigration reform
before 2012, and the Democrats just say "we can't get it on the calendar." Those attitudes are in the process of
shifting because of developments in Arizona, according to a Capitol Hill
source.
Since the
attention of Congress is being turned toward the border, this is a significant
time for the Sheriffs to speak with one voice.
Speaking
with one voice was a foundational principle of both the Texas Border Sheriffs'
Coalition and the Southwest Border Sheriffs' Coalition. In 2005 Sheriff Sigi Gonzalez, one of our
Border School instructors, began contacting other border sheriffs in Texas to see if
they were experiencing the same kinds of issues, and the Texas Border Sheriffs'
Coalition was birthed. Later the Texas
Sheriffs invited sheriffs of counties within 25 miles of the border from CA,
AZ, NM, and TX to join them in the Southwest Border Sheriffs' Coalition.
Since the
Lord supernaturally placed me with the sheriffs two years ago this month, it
has been my prayer they would be able to speak with "one voice."
During the
opening prayer yesterday morning, I prayed they would speak with "one
voice." As local dignitaries greeted
us a little later (coalition meetings are held all along the southern border,
this time in El Paso), Jaime Perez, Chief of Staff for our County Judge, stood in
for the Judge.
After
Jaime's official welcome, he told us "the
nation needs to hear from the sheriffs."
He went on to give the sheriffs five points to consider. Here they are:
1) Good fences make good neighbors.
Significant
when you know our County Commissioners voted 3 to 2 one week ago to condemn AZ
and to boycott businesses with home offices there.
2) The rule of law is not tyranny.
He differentiates
between "rule of law" and rule "by" so many laws you can't keep track of them.
3) A house divided against itself
cannot stand.
There are
enclaves of other nations within the US without the same values.
4) Speak softly and carry a big
stick.
5) SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE.
Back to this morning... During the
presentation we learned about a bi-partisan task force being formed to focus on
the border, and the sheriffs were encouraged to get someone on it. I "saw" the
mantle fall on a sheriff. During a
break we had a minute to speak, and he felt the same thing (not that he would
have said mantle). When he actively
pursues this position, I will ask the Posse to come alongside him and support
him. This could be a significant way
the collective "voice" of the sheriffs can be heard. This past
week Bill O'Reilly made a statement I agree with. He
was talking about the southern border when he said, "The
U.S. is at war and its here!"
Yesterday,
05.11.10, I was seated next to Sheriff Larry Dever of Cochise County, AZ
(the
county where rancher Rob Krantz was killed by a drug smuggler) when he
left the
room to take a phone call. Larry
returned to the meeting shaking his head. Apparently
one of his staff called to say a rancher was driving
down the road when he saw a hitchhiker with a dog on a leash, a bundle
of
clothes under his arm and a bag of food.
The rancher stopped, and the man asked him for a ride. The rancher answered, "I'll be happy to take you
anywhere you
want to go if you'll just give me back my dog and my clothes!" The hitchhiker immediately let go of the
leash, dropped the clothes and ran away with the bag of food. While the rancher was away from home someone
had broken into his home and taken his dog, some clothes and food. The very
quiet Chief Deputy of Dimmit County spoke up late in the afternoon as
there was
a discussion about defining spillover violence.
He told the story of a rancher who was building his pen and felt
someone
was looking at him. He thought it might
even be a mountain lion. It
turned out that two illegal aliens were watching the rancher, and they
attacked him. It took the rancher a while to get
to an area where he had cell service to call for help. The
deputy was clear across the county but
the Border Patrol came and helped the rancher.
That rancher decided he needed to try to help the situation. Then Chief Deputy said, "I was that rancher."
The mission
of the Border Sheriff's Posse to protect and secure the borders of the United
States of America isn't for the purpose of protecting the namby-pamby
westerners who are such spiritual "wusses" that we couldn't stand in the face
of trouble and persecution.
The mission
of the Border Sheriff's Posse to protect and secure the borders of the United
States of America is for the purpose of fulfilling our destiny to help prepare
the earth for the return of Jesus.
I was asked
to pray before the meeting adjourned today.
The new chairman and board of the Texas Coalition were already on the
platform. Two sheriffs walked me to the
front for the prayer. When I finished
we all sang this prayer.... God bless
America, land that we love. Stand
beside her and guide her Through the
night with YOUR LIGHT from above. From the
mountains, to the prairies, To the
oceans white with foam, God bless
America, our home sweet home. God bless
America, our home sweet home.
We have work to do! Posse, the night is getting darker.
Winter season is coming upon this land.
We will experience a winter of "red snow." It's going to be bloody.
Are you prepared? Let's cry out with
"one voice" as we pray for our nation's borders!
I fly out to the L.A. Border School
tomorrow and will return to El Paso early next week. At that time I intend to write an article about spillover
violence, how it is defined by our federal government and how the sheriffs
define it, as well as to share some information from a very significant
briefing we heard today.
Thank you for continuing to "ride"
the US/Mexico border fence in intercession as we pray to protect the US and
stand with Mexico in this difficult hour.
Pam
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