PRAYING FOR CHANGE IN TWO DRUG-PLAGUED EVERGLADES TOWNS

The mother of a drug-addicted daughter thanked God for the Collier County
sheriff's deputies who carried out last week's raid on the importers of $2
million worth of marijuana. Others around her who participated in the
weekly prayer meeting shook their heads in agreement. God is on our side,
they noted, and he can change hearts and save our kids.

Their prayer mission is simple: They meet every Tuesday at a different
church in Everglades City and Copeland to pray for the release of their
communities and their children from drugs. The group has been meeting for
two months, initially coming together out of the same frustration and
hopelessness that plagues inner cities, now the scourge of this beautiful
part of the Everglades.

The underlying question "What can we do?" colored every statement and
testimony of those who spoke about their heartache and fears. They want to
turn things around but feel that only prayer has the power to do so. And
they want a miracle, not another death.

Two drug deaths were the catalyst for the prayer meetings, but more than
(?) seven people have died from drug overdoses in their communities in the
last year. The pastor of a Copeland church told the group he calculates his
town's population by first subtracting residents in the county jail. His
point was that not only death but also loss of productive lives is the cost
his community pays for drug problems.

The group embraces the American spiritual There is a Balm in Gilead as its
theme song. One participant said the words didn't mean much to her until
she found out that the balm from Gilead was considered to be a priceless
healing ointment, one without measure in its power as a restorative. Now
she is looking for a remedy through prayer for her community's ills.

Participants agreed that drugs have been a problem for a long time in
Everglades City and Copeland. They also admit that things won't change
quickly without intervention. Yet the attraction to drugs may be a cry for
a revival in how people earn a living more than a need for a miraculous
cure. The heyday of charter fishing has waned, the county seat was moved
from Everglades City to Naples, and regulations and catch limits have
decimated the commercial fishing fleets. During the last two decades, drug
trafficking became the business that replaced lost incomes. That revenue is
now kept in check by law enforcement.

So for now, prayers are said for those who have died and those in peril.
Perhaps Satan has slipped into Eden with his addictive lures and
temptations, or perhaps Eden is in need of a revival that will bring more
opportunities to the area and a return to more prosperous and vibrant times.