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Can we share a few thoughts/anecdotes about Memorial Day and the brave men and women who have laid down their lives for our freedom? It would be nice if we could stay on topic and just relate a few experiences which would honor the memory of our fallen soldiers. Would also be nice to avoid getting into political debates, rants about Obama or Osama, or negative comments about the unpopular wars and conflicts our nation has been involved in. How about a few uplifting comments on (what should be) a solemn occasion. I wonder if this holiday has any real meaning to some of my neighbors I hear playing music outside right now and having a BBQ. I think that's great, enjoying themselves with their families...but I wonder if this holiday is nothing more than a guaranteed 3 day weekend to so many. Does anyone stop and reflect on the significance of it all? Do they stop and thank God for the fallen heroes whose blood this country is built upon? Do they utter a prayer for those overseas right now, in harm's way, in the eye of the storm?
WE SHALL KEEP THE FAITH
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a luster to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
Written in November 1918 by Mrs.Moina Belle Michael (The American teacher who originated the idea of the Flanders Field memorial poppy).
My name is Daniel. I'm a little youth pastor here in New York City (site of a famous event back in 2001). I'm a new member here, and, besides posting a few items for sale, I've never started a discussion on a new topic before. I've never been in the military myself but God placed it on my heart to start a discussion about Memorial Day, and I'll tell you why:
I'm an immigrant from Guyana, South America. Our ancestors are from northern India. My family came to this country when I was 8 years old. We were poverty-stricken back in Guyana. I remember being hungry as a child, sometimes crying because there was nothing to eat and my stomach was hurting so badly. My family came to America to find a better life. And we have found it. We have also found a lot of hardships and heartaches. But if I had a choice of all the great kingdoms of the earth I would rather live nowhere else but here, in the good ole' U.S. of A. And I would rather be nowhere else but in the heart of New York City! This is where God wants me, and this is where I shall remain, until the Good Shepherd leads me on.
My father, mother, 2 brothers, sister and myself are all now proud citizens of this great land. My brothers have gone on to become chemists and engineers, but my sister and I have been called to become teachers. And, in my case, a youth pastor involved in inner-city ministry. I have been in certain parts of the city inhabited by gangs known as the Bloods and C.R.I.P.S. I have also seen a teenager shot because of drug warfare. I have a love for life and for liberty and I know that God has more in store for this young generation.
A few years ago I started selling used laptops to raise some money for my little ministry. I have had some interesting experiences with servicemen. (This is the reason I want to honor them. Now, after reading these 3 stories don't try to take advantage of my generosity...don't try to tell me you've served our country if you have not. That would not be a very nice thing to do). My first story now begins: I sold a Thinkpad A31 to a disabled veteran in a V.A. hospital in Washington, D.C. After I found out he was a veteran, and injured, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Send him a better one". (Yes, God "speaks" to me). I asked him if he would like a better laptop, one which was lighter and easier to move around... seeing that he had limited mobility. He said sure, God Bless you, so I decided to send him a very nice T60 instead. After receiving the laptop, he never said "Thank you" or anything. (We don't look for thank yous in this life). Then he emailed me back and said, "How do you adjust the volume on this laptop. Does the volume work!" (What a cranky old man
... I told him, of course the volume works. I explained that I downloaded the audio and video drivers and played a CD and DVD for a long time on the laptop to check it out. He emailed me back and explained that he's almost completely deaf. I don't know if that was a war injury. Anyway, he found a friend in the hospital with normal hearing to help him with the laptop.Next I met a LCDR from the USN. Sold him a Thinkpad T42. I emailed him and told him would be shipping his laptop in a couple days and asked, just curious, about the "LCDR" I see in his screen name. He replied, " I recently retired from the Navy and teach in a high school in North Carolina." Well I wanted to Bless him because he's now been in 2 warzones
And he's still serving our country faithfully. So I chose a T42 in MINT condition, doubled the memory on the laptop and sent him a larger hard drive than listed and he was very, very thankful.One final story which has touched my heart. This one happened just today. I had sold a very nice T61 to a man in Kentucky. I didn't know until today that he has been in the military. He had bought the laptop for his grandson, whom he has not seen in a number of years because of arguments and division in the family. After many years he was reunited with his grandson, now a young man, and gave him that laptop as a present. But now 2 days after that, the laptop was stolen. He called me and told me how "torn up" his grandson was about it; that he really liked the laptop. After hearing what had happened, and that he would be needing another laptop for his grandson, I decided earlier today to send him another one at the best price I possibly could. (Just between you an me, I'm basically breaking even on the sale). But I feel sorry for the guy. After I told him the price and promised to help him out with another laptop, he was very grateful. His emails today really Blessed me:
"thank u and i will give u the highest rateing there is ur a wonderful man..."
"thank u very much sir ill take it and god bless u too i just put all the flags on all our vet s in a cem here next to me and my son from vietnam is in the cem there i look after all our vet s here over 30 of them in a little known cem when i die i have a navy vet going to take over for me happy memoral day to u"
I'm not sharing these stories to make myself out to be some great hero. I have to try to make money like all of you other sellers out there. But if we can help out our men and women in the armed forces, veterans, or families of veterans, then let us do so. One good deed deserves another. They have done a lot for us, and if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have a free land in which we could have free enterprise and our own business. So here is my message for Memorial Day: Somewhere it is written, "It is more Blessed to give, than to receive." And I know that as I am fair an honest in my dealings with others, and try to help those less fortunate, God will Bless my little business and provide the needs of my ministry. I am a Christian, and very proud of who I am. I am glad I live in a country in which I can practice my religion freely. My Lord Jesus Blesses me so that I may be a Blessing to others. And there are none more worthy than those who have risked their lives for our nation. Some have even given it all. I am very grateful to those brave men and women. To them, I say "Thank you!" It is because of your sacrifice that we are able to enjoy so many freedoms. On this day let us honor the memory of those whom we cannot thank in person, the fallen heroes whose blood this country is built upon. Happy Memorial Day.
Daniel,
the little YP in NYC.