Answered Prayers:
This is an ongoing praise report of answered prayers since first meeting with Police Chief Jones on June 15, 2012. We also happened to meet with Alachua County Sheriff Darnell later that same day.
In both meetings that Friday we prayed with law enforcement leaders for cold cases to be solved.
Keep in mind our next Prayer Meeting with Chief Jones was scheduled for July 20th.
On July 17th, God began to answer this prayer request when authorities cracked a notorious unsolved crime with the arrest of a man they say committed a vicious sexual attack on a female jogger in Haile Plantation in 2008. Andrew Payne Jr., 38, was arrested in Willacoochee, Ga., east of Tifton, around 10 a.m. on July 17 by a posse of law enforcement officers.
On July 18th, Alachua County sheriff’s officials arrested a 54-year-old man in connection with the Feb. 24 robbery of a Bank of America in Gainesville. The robber walked into the police headquarters parking lot and turned himself in!
These two cases solved before our next prayer meeting!!
But then God continued to answer this prayer request…3 months later…in September, a 20 year old cold case was solved: a DNA match between a hair and a mouth swab led authorities to believe they solved the 20-year-old murder case of Elizabeth Foster, whose body was found in the woods near a former U.S. 441 restaurant in south Gainesville in 1992.
Then in October, the body of a murdered college student was found in a rural area, in another county by two hunters (what are the odds?) The murderer pled guilty to the charges.
We are blessed here in that local law enforcement leaders have relationships dating back to their police academy days. They are always so thankful for the prayer meetings and come with a list of specific items to pray for. They often bring in other department members for specific prayers. Also, we have churches that pray monthly with ORT and have created a One Hour Prayer Guide that includes law enforcement (under government heading). Specific requests are often emailed to a network of local churches.
All of the answers to these prayers are documented on www.Gainesville.com.
To god be the Glory!
Gainesville, Florida 2012 Operation Rolling Thunder Week of Prayer Update
1. God responds to 26 churches and organizations participating in the Gainesville area’s Week of Prayer (April 29th through May 3rd), known as Operation Rolling Thunder:
Prayer for HEALTHCARE:
In the HEALTHCARE section of the One Hour Prayer Guide:
• That medical fraud would be exposed & eliminated in our state
Answer:
Thursday May 10, 2012, the Gainesville Sun reports that pharmacies in Tampa and Miami were caught in Medicare fraud where 2,637 pharmacies were identified for follow-up; defined as extreme billers.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120510/WIRE/120519984Prayer for Government:
In the GOVERNMENT section of the One Hour Prayer Guide:
Areas to pray for: Elections
• His willingness to help us and our leadersAnswer 1:
Friday May 11, 2012 the Gainesville Sun reports that state election officials announced the decision to screen the voter rolls. "The Department of State has a duty under both state and federal laws to ensure that the voter registration rolls are current and accurate," said Chris Cate, a department spokesman.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120511/WIRE/120519892Answer 2:
Monday May 14, 2012 the Gainesville Sun reports with voter turnout hovering in the teens and costs running upward of six figures, Gainesville commissioners continue to explore moving the city’s election date — possibly to the November general election. The rationale behind consideration of a potential move to the November general election is that it would increase voter turnout and potentially decrease the city’s costs with several other elections also on the ballot.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120514/ARTICLES/120519767
2. National Day of Prayer: Police Chief Jones attended the Gainesville Observance of the National Day of Prayer and prayed over the GOVERNMENT Mountain. The Reverend Karl Anderson, radio host of The Upper Room prayed over the ARTS/MEDIAENTERTAINMENT Mountain.
3. Members of the Christian Pastors Association for the Gainesville area are set to meet monthly with the Gainesville City Police Chief and the Alachua County Sheriff to pray over the needs of their departments.