Prepared for Crisis

Izzy is a wild man born and raised in NY, NY. Just looking at this Puerto Rican proud man lets you know he is not someone to be taken lightly. Izzy responded to a radio call in Paradise Hills of a man with a gun. He had a trainee with him at the time. He walked up to the apartment and entered the stairwell explaining how to stealthily approach this type of call. The two officers with radios turned down low (before ear pieces) were met with the muzzle flash and ear piercing boom of an AK 47. The officers tumbled down the stairs and the maniac fired on the two helpless guys. Izzy dragged his partner to safety while firing from his 9mm. He emptied the magazine into the stairwell while calling for emergency cover. The shooting stopped as both sides reloaded. Izzy called out…”Hey, you shot at me and I shot at you. No one got hurt. Let’s call it a day.” The barricaded gunman answered with a volley of 7.56 rounds traveling at 2,300 feet per second. Izzy hollered back, “So I guess you don’t want to talk.” The man was eventually taken out by a sniper. Izzy has proven he can talk to anyone under any circumstance and get them on his side in just a few minutes. Well this one was an exception.

Last week D, F and J escorted the Governor of Baja California to UCSD for a public policy address. Presidential candidates, governors’, mayor’s, chiefs of police have all been killed by the cartels in the war on drugs. This governor is a high value target. The last thing we want is an intern-national incident in SD. The caravan of unmarked SUV’s flew up the freeway in a bullet proof glass, beefed up suspension and heavy armored Chevy door caravan. After the speech the Governor asked his PD handlers if they could make a bonsai through the “In and Out” Burger. The caravan whips into the drive through of In and Out and the whole entourage got double doubles with fries and shakes. On the bottom of the cup John 3:16 is stenciled.

They stood in the parking lot talking and laughing in Spanish. The sergeant and detectives are making invaluable contacts with people who can give them vital information about activities and trends in Mexico. They did not notice but across the parking lot was another SUV, smoked glass and the man was armed with a 45 cal handgun and shotgun. About 30 feet to his right was a second car with two armed men. Behind them was a third car with the person calling the shots. They had the governor in a perfect three sided ambush. In all there were 15 armed men in the parking lot with enough firepower to stop a small army. It was the making of a disaster worthy of national media attention. One miss step and people will die. A lot of them.

The door of the smoked glass SUV popped open. A shaved head, armed man with a Padres jersey and dark sunglasses stepped out of the car. He began walking toward the Governor and team. His personal team noticed the man and immediately grew tense, rightfully so. This guy is dangerous.

The Christian life can be similar. Surprises happen and we have to react. Phillip (Acts8: 26 ff) was told by an angel of the Lord to go to Gaza via the desert. There is nothing there! Dirt, lots of heat and more dirt. He was obedient and went anyway. While in the desert he was directed to go stand next to a chariot. He “ran” to the chariot and heard the man reading out of the book of Isaiah. Phillip explained how Jesus was the one prophesied about and the man believed. This Ethiopian man saw some water and asked to be baptized immediately. This obedience began one of the strongest early groups of Christians in the world, the believers in Ethiopia. There are thee things needed to handle a impromptu crisis:

Preparation: Phillip studied, worked hard and knew his OT scriptures.
Eagerness: Phillip was obedient and eager. He “ran” to the chariot.
Izzyness. Phillip was fearless and able to talk to people. There is a sense of realness with people like them.

They guy who got out of the SUV walked directly toward the team as they tightened their formation into a defensive position. The U.C. SDPD detectives recognized the man immediately. IZZY! Que Paso amigo! Hey we are in the middle of an operation. How long do you think you are going to be? Just a few more. We should be fine. These guys (suspects) won’t mix well with your protection package. Say no more we are southbound. The package got south safely the buy went down without a hitch. They were prepared to deal with a crisis. They were prepared, eager and Izzyish.

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