Personal Narrative: My Degree In Criminal Justice

On September 26,1998 in Detroit, MI at a church with a picture of God sitting on His throne, Jesus to the right and the Holy Ghost to the left on a wall behind the pulpit. I Vivian Williams stood and was infused to my rib cage belonging to Ellis Deshawn Odum. I can truly say he was my soul mate, best friend, companion, and all that and then some, but what sums it up best for me is, when reciting his wedding vows , he told God thank you for returning his rib to him. If either of us had any doubts, God would confirm by performing miracles such as, a store manager from Home Depot named Daniel Blu calling the wrong number , and Ellis ends up at an interview for a job he never applied for. Then he not only gets the supervisor position for himself,

Although we did not regularly attend church, I was introduced to the Christian faith as a child and hold those values. I was raised by my grandparents as my father left my mother before I was born and life’s

be in control, but I couldn't be. I was forced to learn that I have no control

Now, at that time, I was only 12 years old, God had not endowed me with those gifts, but when I answered him no, he began to act differently towards me. It was from that interaction that I began to take notice of the different teachings in different denominations.

By answering him I learned more deeply about Christianity, improving my knowledge. Furthermore, I had to incorporate some of the virtues of good character. Sometimes, when we compared his views and my views, some arguing arose. The urge to object to his views disrespectfully arose. However, I learned how to listen and respect his views. I also knew that I

Baba: Thankfully he was able to learn and understand this belief that I have taught

not let myself be used and taken advantage of yet at the same time I try to see the good in everyone.

described him in the same way. Many stories had poured in about his upbringing however, one

So then I finally understood, it was God that was talking to him. It never made any sense of him to start going to Church and believing such a man existed when he never had any habits of it when he was younger. Whenever he went to Church, his smile grew twice as wide as when we’re together. Especially during his Church’s camp, this thing called Standing Stones, where he had met a lot of others who are also Believers, since then, he’s been pushing me out and neglecting me more and more than ever. He never had time for me anymore, he was always about Church then, he had been so spiritually high that he had absolutely no reason to be speaking to the devil anymore. I’ve taken the lives of so many, and I took Shong’s, ruined his life, continuous events of consequences and never any breaks. So like his friends from school, I was isolated, and our bridge

Over the span of four months, each week I would regularly meet with a former colleague of mine by the name of Terrion Austin. Terrion recently moved from Nebraska to Tennessee, due to his job opening that presented itself that would allow for him to be closer to both him and his wife’s family. Terrion reached out to me over the summer, due to the fact that he was extremely unsure in his faith. He felt that whenever he read the bible he was never felt satisfied once done reading. This frustrated him tremendously. In addition to his frustration, Terrion was often confronted by members from his job that would frequently ask him questions that he did not feel he could answer. Moreover, his inability to answer did not come from a lack of knowing the bible; however, it was quite the opposite. Terrion, like most young Christian, grew up

divorced. After the divorce I continued to make great strides in my recovery, and one milestone lead to

He used to tell me that “secular counseling was of the devil” and he would quote scriptures such as James 5:14 (NIV) which says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the

After going over all of the answers I got from him, I feel like I have learned a bit more about the religion I grew

Ever since when I first started working with kids; I have always wanted to follow down this path and get a degree that would allow me to be able to work with kids. Kids are such a blessing to be around with, especially little ones because they sure can make your day fun and full of laughter. You never know what kind of suprise you will get when working with kids.

- What did you do/say to the person in light of the person’s reaction to your servant evangelism