Power of a Praying Woman 10/17/06 9:02 AM Page 141
j C HAPTER F IFTEEN i
Lord, Guide Me in All My Relationships
I
once heard a radio interview with some gang members in Los Angeles. At the time crime was extremely high in that city due to a terrifying wave of random drive-by shootings and murders perpetrated by gang members. These boys—some barely teenagers and some in their early 20s—said the main reason they joined their gang was to have a sense of belonging. In a chilling statement a number of them admitted they would do whatever it took to ensure they were accepted and esteemed by the group. Even commit murder. Some of the boys revealed that the test of whether they could even be accepted into the gang was to go out and kill someone. There was no other reason for the murder other than to complete the initiation requirement and prove that they would do anything for the group. Some confessed how much they hated doing it and wished there had been another alternative. But they were desperate to belong to a family, so they went ahead with it. This was a frightening revelation to all of us who lived there, because it meant no place was safe.
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