Onnie Boswell passed away a week after recording the podcast interview that aired last week. This part two episode recounts and relays the incredible positive impact that Onnie had in the lives of so many people. You'll hear many amazing testimonies in this episode that relay the legacy of Onnie's last two years of life and the amazing kingdom work that God used Onnie to do.
Onnie Boswell passed away a week after recording the podcast interview that aired last week. This part two episode recounts and relays the incredible positive impact that Onnie had in the lives of so many people. You'll hear many amazing testimonies in this episode that relay the legacy of Onnie's last two years of life and the amazing kingdom work that God used Onnie to do.
HellO, and welcome to Renew, Restore, Rejoice, the Safe House Ministries podcast, where we share stories of the power of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. Safe House Ministries is based out of Columbus, Georgia, and we are a ministry that exists to love and serve people who have been affected by addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. I'm your host, Phil Shuler, the Director of Development for Safe House Ministries here in Columbus, Georgia. Safe House serves over 1, 100 people each month as they transition back into our community. Safe House provides an abundance of services including 213 beds for homeless individuals and families, case management for obtaining job skills and long term employment. Over 300 hot meals every day, free clothing, and so much more. One of the most incredible services that Safe House provides is our free 9 12 month intensive outpatient substance abuse program, which is state licensed, CARF accredited, and has no wait list. Almost 100 percent of individuals staying in our shelters who follow our three phase program become fully employed within a few months. And 68 percent of individuals who stay at least one night with us End up finding work and moving into their own home. Thank you for being with us today and listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.
I remember the first time I met Ani. I went to the Freedom House and Neil Richardson was there and showing me around. Ani was out there in the lobby and when he saw me and Neil introduced me, Ani just welcomed me with such a huge Loving, joyful spirit. Every time that I ever went to a building or a location or a place where Ani was and he would see me, Ani always greeted me in the most amazing way. He would holler out, Hey, Phil! And the way he would greet me really made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. And I know I'm not, but Ani just made me feel that way. And he had that gift. He did that with others. Whenever he would see you and greet you, he just always had such a warm and loving spirit. And he greeted you in such a way that you felt like you were so important and so special. And it's a wonderful quality that Ani had. Ani loved Jesus and Ani knew that Jesus loved and loves people. And Ani had a wonderful way of showing the love of Jesus to everybody that he met, to everybody that he hung around to everybody that he was with. He just had such a great spirit and he will be missed so desperately. There are so many things that Ani did. One of the things that he used to do was to send out Just really encouraging texts to some of his female friends. He'd say good morning sunshine and just give them some spiritual encouragement for the day several of those ladies in fact all of those ladies thought that they were the only one that received that text and then Somehow they began to talk and realize that wait a minute he sent a text to me like that and called me sunshine. And so I guess he called several different people sunshine and It made such an impact on so many people that there are, I think, three or four of those ladies that after Ani's passing went out and got tattoos on their arms that say, Good Morning Sunshine. Ani had that kind of an impact. He had such an impact on so many people's lives. As you hear some of the testimonies from the memorial service, you'll hear so many good things about Ani. And all of these things came about just in, a time span of maybe two years. He spent 32 years of his adult life in active addiction, in and out of prison. You heard the story of his life last week on the podcast. And. The Lord saved him out of that. The Lord got a hold of his heart and not only saved him physically, but saved Ani spiritually and took him from that bondage, set him free. Jesus came into his heart and Ani began to walk with Jesus, to love Jesus, and to share the love of Jesus with others. In a time span of about two years, Ani had an enormous impact on the lives of so many people. And there are many people that are saved now and will be in heaven one day because of Ani. There are many people that came from a life of addiction and bondage and are now free because of the impact that Ani had. I've heard testimony of men that were at the Freedom House and thinking of simply leaving and quitting and going back to their drugs and going back to their darkness and just the craziness of their lives and Ani said, Hey, just give it a little while longer. Give it another day. Give it another few days. Just stick in there. Hang it out. And Ani's encouragement. Kept them at the Freedom House on his encouragement, kept them in the Tomorrow's Hope program. And now so many of them are clean, are living a victorious life and are doing so well. I love Ani. I love the fact, and I'm grateful for the fact, that the Lord allowed me to get to know Ani just a little bit when I came here and began working for Safe House. And it is an amazing story of just how the Lord worked it out for Ani to do a podcast interview. It's a miracle, in fact. Ani and I had been talking and I wanted to get Ani on the podcast. I wanted to hear, have him share his story and share his testimony. And we had scheduled the podcast on a particular day. And something happened two weeks before that. Someone canceled and I had an opening and I reached out to Ani to say, Hey, can you come and meet me last minute and let's just do your podcast interview today since I had this cancellation and Ani did, he was able to, he had a, an opening in his schedule and it worked out and so we came and we did the podcast interview and the very next week, The Lord took Ani home. The very next week, Ani had a heart attack, and he died almost immediately. And he was in heaven. And it would have been a week after his passing that was the scheduled time that him and I were going to do the podcast. But the Lord knew, and the Lord had a plan, and the Lord wanted Ani's story to be told. And God had that, whoever it was, cancel on me, and I reached out, and Ani came, and the Lord got Ani's podcast recorded, because He wanted it to be there for others to hear. Ani had an amazing testimony. Ani lived an amazing life. And the two years that Ani spent giving back and helping others made a huge impact. I don't know where you might be at in your life. I don't know how old you might be. How discouraged you might be. But Ani's life is an amazing testimony to say that it really doesn't matter where you were, where you've been, what you've done. What matters is the decision you make today. As to where you are going in the future and on a turn that corner and the 32 years of his adult life that were in darkness and hurting people and Destroying not only his own life, but being responsible to harm the lives of many others during that time. When Ani turned that corner, the Lord took his life and used him in an amazing way. The Lord can do that to you. The Lord can do that for you. God can take you from where you are. that is the beautiful thing that Ani understood and that Ani shared with others. The grace of God will meet you where you are, no matter how far down you are, no matter how deep the hole is that you've dug for yourself. The grace of God will come down and meet you exactly where you are. And then. The truth of God will set you free and the truth of God will help you little by little take those small steps in the right direction. The book of John chapter one speaks of Jesus as having grace and truth that uses that phrase more than once. The fact that Jesus brought with him grace and truth. And the grace of God meets you where you are, wherever you are. The truth of God helps you to take those little steps one after another and get to where God wants you to be, get to where you need to be. So if you're lost, if you're in darkness, if you are in despair and you don't know where to turn, you don't know. What to do. The grace of God is there for you if you just open up your hands, open up your arms, open up your heart and receive it and then open up your ears and your mind to let God speak his truth into your life and help you to begin. Take those steps in the right direction here at safe house ministries. We would love. To have the opportunity to show you the love and the grace of God to help you, and we would love the opportunity to share with you the truth of God that can help you to be free and to live in victory, to live a life like Onnie lived in the last two years of his life, a life of joy, so much joy, a life of gladness, a life of just vibrance. Onnie was so excited. I love how Ani described when he, for most of his life, he had GDC, Georgia Department of Corrections, numbers that, that's what he was known by, his GDC numbers as an inmate. And then he said, as he was giving back, as he was clean, as he was free, not long before he passed, he took his certified peer specialist test. And he passed it, and he became a certified peer specialist, which gave him the credentials to be official, as it were, in counseling others. And Ani said, no longer am I known by those GDC numbers. Now I have letters after my name. And he was so excited about giving back. He was so excited about the opportunity to just get even better at helping others. Oni will be missed, but his life impact and his testimony and his legacy lives on. And I pray and I hope that just learning a little bit about Oni, hearing his story last week on the podcast and hearing some of the things that people say about Oni this week that were said at his memorial service. I just pray that would be an encouragement to you, that you would realize that you can be free if you're in darkness, and that you would also realize that you can be used of God in a mighty and powerful way to help others. I've noticed as a common theme as I've done these podcasts over the last several months that so often It is a common denominator in the lives of those who have victory in the lives of those who have gone from darkness into light. That they're giving back, that a common theme of their lives is their desire to pay it forward, their desire to help others, their desire to encourage and counsel and just be there to help other people turn from darkness into light, to help other people. Who are struggling to find stability, to find victory, to find joy, to find hope. And if that's you, if you want to help others, then come join us at Safe House. There are so many people who are hurting. There are so many people in Columbus, Georgia who have been affected by homelessness, by incarceration, by addiction. There are so many people. That are looking for help and we would love to have you join us here at safe house ministries and come alongside us and do the work of serving the Lord. Do the work of serving others and seeing the wonderful, joy that comes when people. When people go from darkness to light, when people go from addiction to sobriety, when people go from homelessness to having their own home, a job, stability, when people go from being estranged and separated and rejected by their families to then being restored. It's a wonderful thing. And we would welcome and love. All who want to be a part of that, to come and join us. You can help us just by being there in your presence, by volunteering. You can help us financially if you don't have the time to come and work alongside us, then you can give financial support to support the work of Safe House Ministries, the work of changing lives, lives like Onnie and lives like so many others. And we'd love for you to be a part of that
Pastor Matt Stephens:Good evening, everyone. I want to thank you for being here tonight to celebrate and remember Onnie.
Mike:Thank you for allowing me to, the privilege to speak today about my brother in the faith, my friend, my co worker, about the man, Onnie Lanier Boswell, who impacted my very life to the core of my being as much as he did all of us in here. Anybody who knew Ani, who crossed his paths, who hugged his neck, or just walked over your life whether you want them to or not, you and I are blessed far beyond measure. We are blessed beyond measure, and this is true. I had the privilege of seeing love, hope, faith, joy, patience, goodness, kindness, and determination in the flesh, in action, one evening, while being in a, as a team leader of a SAR mission, that's a search and rescue mission in Columbus, Georgia. Our task was to find a deaf... Autistic, scared, disoriented young teen in the early onset of the evening who had been missing for some hours. And the various EMS units have been called, the K 9 teams are being called, and God led me to call Ani for help. Brand new to freedom, I knew there was a bunch of men out there, didn't know what else to call. God led me to call Ani, and before I knew it he had his entire pickup truck and cars full of men with lights and gear and etc to set out on a journey to find a kid no matter what it took. Ani led one little leg of the team and some of you I've seen your faces you know exactly if you were a part of that leg and I say thank you. Led this leg of the team into the wooded areas and into the homes in search for the child. Hours and hours went by. The cold got colder. It began to get freezing, and some of the search teams began to break off hours before dawn and go home. It seemed as though EMS teams were beginning to get thin. And on he approached me and he said, I will not leave you. Because I wasn't going to give up. I couldn't give up. I knew his mama personally. And Ani said he would not leave me until the task was completed. And the bottom line is that Ani and I found that child, carried him to safety, in the, in, in our arms, to his mother, unharmed, and into the hands of EMS, where he got care. God used Ani to go the extra mile, and then some. And then some. He never gave up. Praise God for Ani's determination. This was not the first nor the last challenge that he and I would face together. Anyone who knew Ani knew he could be called on anytime, anywhere, for anything. And if he did not have the resources, he's probably going to reach out to you and tell you to help us. An opportunity presented itself for Ani to be hired as house manager of Freedom House. He served this ministry, the clients, and most of all, our God, with all actions worthy of hearing. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of my rest. Who of us does not want to hear that? Thanks be to God. I only knew him for a blip, a brief period of time. I did not know Anya as Lanier, but the man I did know, I loved, and I continue to cherish his memory. Oni mastered the art of determination, to share the love of Christ unto others so well that one might begin to wonder how he got so close. So quick into the boundary lines of our personal, professional, and spiritual lives. I only knew him for a fraction of what most of you knew him as. And if the truth be told to each of us, told me, I only challenge me to be a better person for it. A better Christian, a better husband, A better father, a better son, a better servant for knowing Ani Lanier Boswell as he lived out Christ in his life. And I say thanks be to God first and foremost. But I also say thank you God for our brother Ani Lanier Boswell. Thank you for sharing yourself. In this ministry, in Freedom House, completely walking across my heart. I thank God.
Kristi:Mike had four papers, I have a quote, my favorite thing about Onnie is he knew his why. aNd I'm going to explain in CPS training, they actually, they play this video, and this guy, he sings Amazing Grace, and he just sings it like regularly, and then they're like, okay, you just got out of jail, you got shot in the back when you were a kid, now sing Amazing Grace, and, it's totally different. I can't sing real, so I would demonstrate, but, and that's the thing with Ani. Ani knew his why. He loved this ministry. He loved all of y'all. The guys at the Freedom House Ani loved y'all. He didn't care how many hours he had to work. He didn't care about attitudes. None of that. Ani walked in his purpose and he loved everybody he came in touch with. I personally could not stand Onnie when I first met him. Onnie became my best friend. Onnie taught me what it was like to have a friend. I spent most of my adult life in addiction. You ain't got no friends out there. Onnie accepted me for who I was, the good, the bad. He pushed me. He never let me just lay down and not challenge myself. And I gotta be really honest with you, I didn't want to speak tonight. But that would have been me walking in my fear. And Ani would have never let me do that. Never. I found this quote. iT says, Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal. I know a lot of us, we're broken over this, like he was one of the good ones. But, if you've had encounters with Ani, he loved you. And today, I can be happier than I can sad because I know I know what it's like today to be loved. Onnie taught me that, he didn't just love me, he loved my kids. He loved everybody and it just, it flowed through him. And I'm so thankful for that. I don't know if I would be able to love if I hadn't encountered Onnie. He really, he will break down your walls. And he will get through one way or another. No one could ever replace Onnie. No one. I'm gonna miss him so much, y'all. I remember we went to take our CPS test, and he drove me crazy, because all he wanted to do for two days solid was study, and I was like, oh, you got this. You can answer every question correctly. You can write it, talk it, everything. He still wanted to study, and He got done before me, and we came out, and he did his little jig. And he was like, I got this! I got this! And he was so confident, and he was so happy. And it's like his life just took off. But I heard one of the staff members say it's about the dash. It's not about the start or the finish, it's the dash, and Ani's dash was amazing. And I just walk away today being inspired. I know one thing, Ani poured into my life so I can pour into others, and it's not going to stop. It's going to be a ripple effect. I want to encourage all you guys that too, don't let it stop. Keep on his name going, and it doesn't have to be his name, but his legacy. As he poured into you, y'all poured into others.
John:So I'm John Bershaw. And When Ani first got to Columbus and went to the Grace House at the time, I remember I went by there and was talking to some guys, inviting them up to Connections and talking with them. And so he came up and said hello to me and come to Connections a few days later and we became friends. And it didn't take long for Ani to step up into leadership, like almost immediately. I had eight years in recovery and he had eight days, but he was already a leader. Yeah. Yeah. And one day he got in the car with me. I was going to go text people job interviews and go running around. He said, you want me to ride with you, Birchall? I said, yeah, come on. This is the first time we really got to know each other. And so he jumped in shotgun with me and we took off through the day. And our chemistry was just great together. It was like so easy, like we've been friends our whole lives. And I stopped by the Dollar General. I bought a thing of M& M's, a whole family size. And I ate the whole thing, going down the road. All of it for lunch. And Ani was like, dang, you're knocking back some chocolate. I said, yeah, I gave up one addiction for another. And not too long after that, Ani became my chocolate sponsor. Seriously, he's my chocolate sponsor. He would call and check in on me. How much chocolate have you been eating lately? I have to be honest with you. He was like, I'm gonna come get you, so yeah. And Ani he's so irreplaceable in Columbus. He just. the impact that he had on all of us and everybody that he ran across just can't be replaced. And so I'm thankful to have known it on him and he went out on top and like everything that he said he want to accomplish. All of that happened. And so we just need more friends like on and I love you
music:all.
Cheryl Sapp:Good afternoon, family. I'm Cheryl Sapp. I'm the clinical program director of Tomorrow's Hope. And Lonnie was came through our program and sobered up. And I was glad to be a part of that. My last memory of him, and I I stepped on Jamie Lee and Neal's toes, but it was right after he had came over and he had just got his CPS and he was just feeling really good and Arnie I was looking at him and I said, why don't you come over here and work for me? Come on and be a counselor. And he was like excited. And he, I really was joking, but he was excited. And Jamie Lee and Neal was angry at me Because he wanted to come and work for us. And they already had offered, they were going to offer him the case management position, and when they did he said I, let me think about that. I'm, let me see what's going to happen with Tomorrow's Hope. It was so funny, and I was going to call him. I told Jamie Lee, I was going to call him and tell him I was joking, but it, I get, the spirit never let me make that phone call, and I am so glad. That I didn't call and tell him I was joking he was excited about that.
Pastor Matt Stephens:I'm going to miss my friend. Oni had a unique ability to make you feel like you were the only person on the planet. You were so special, whether he had known you for a year or five minutes. And I just want my friend to know that I will forgive him for making me think that I was the only sunshine in his life. Thought I was the only one getting special messages on good morning sunshine. I forgive you for that. But, he did. He just had a really unique ability to just... Make you feel like nobody else on earth mattered, and I'm
unkown:really gonna miss him. But first and foremost, I want to sit here and thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because that's what he would want me to do. Without him, we're all nobody. And he showed me that. My good times, bad times, I had a friend, just like we have a friend in Jesus, I had a friend in Ani. So today, I'm not going to say goodbye, say so long, one day I know that when I stand at the pearly gates, my brother's going to be standing there and he's going to be opening them for me. I'm going to truly miss my big hand. Anybody that knows us knows that's what I call him, what's up big head? We had a friendship like that. Each and every day we spoke on the phone, each and every day. Even in my bull crap, I sent him just for the day messages. I forwarded them to him, I forwarded them to other people. And when I lost Arnie, I was going to stop doing that. And I had his best friend stand up and say, you can't do that. How am I going to get them if you don't send them, still to this day, I forward him his just for today. I forward all of our friends just for today in memory of my brother. There's shoes right there that no one will be able to fill, and that's okay. Yesterday, I got to meet his son and his baby mama personally. Me and his son have been on Snapchat all day long, back and forth. He's been asking about pictures from his daddy. And I've sent them to him. Aw, he would be so tickled about that. He would also be tickled about all these people that are standing in his room paying respect to him. Because he was a very humble person. When he loved, and he loved with a whole heart. He paid great respect to our recovery, but first and foremost, our God. When he said, bless it, he prayed for you right after it. You know what I'm saying? I can guarantee you. Ani was a wonderful guy. There's only one of them in a lifetime. We'll never see another one. But we always have the memory of the one we did have. Last Saturday, I celebrated his two years. He stood up and gave me this because he believed in me. If he would have had this many, he would have gave each and every one of y'all one. Because he believed in everybody. I'm I've been a little upset about it, this is a person that I talk to about everything. I could go crazy with everything. The day before he passed away, I called and asked him hey bro, I think I owe amends to somebody. This is what happened. Tell me what you think. And he's yeah, with your mouth, you need to make that amends. You know what I'm saying? He knew every morning when I got up, my prayer was, God, please put one hand on my shoulder and one over my mouth, because sometimes it's not what you say, it's how you say it. And he was so excited about this new chapter in his life. But how excited was he when he really closed his eyes here on earth and he opened them up in paradise. Not only does he have a room now, Ross, even though you wasn't that kind of friend, he's got a whole mansion. And, um, for a little bit, I was a little bit jealous, you know what I'm saying? Hey, you're gonna get to go to paradise for me, you know what I'm saying? But today, I find comfort in knowing that. I know where he's at. I know he's still looking over each and every one of us, and he will always be in our hearts. And that's something that he would want for himself. Never forget the little things he told me. But, I had something that he wanted me to have, which was a little book that he mostly wrote down work stuff in. And, I thought, what does he want me to do this for? But, anyway. Here's what, the only verse, Bible verse that was wrote in it is Matthew 11, 28. Come to me, all you who are weak and burdened, and I will give you rest. Y'all take that to heart. Know y'all can go right there. Know that he's right there. And, shout to the heavens cause they'll heal you. You know what I'm saying? Thank y'all for letting me have the opportunity to speak for my brother. He'll be greatly
music:loved and greatly missed.
unknown:I didn't know how important Ani was in my life. I really didn't. I just seen him as another recovering individual. I am blessed and honored to say that he was my recovery sibling, I can say. When I was in Tomorrow's Hope, he was the one, he was there with me, doing the stuff. I don't know, for some reason, I think... I think the devil, he still tries to work and he tries to attack the ones that are really going to shine and really going to do something for this earth. I Think that's why he got in that car accident. I'm not sure, but maybe it was just a lesson. But anyway Ani taught me a very important lesson. He taught me to never give up. He taught me just to treat people right. One drop of water in the pond creates a big ripple. So if you treat someone with kindness that little act of kindness will go so far. And as I stand, before you guys, I see a whole bunch of faces. I want to say thank you to all of my brothers and sisters that have literally helped me so much. You you, everybody. And of course my sister Melissa and my brother, everybody. Sam. And Ani was sitting out here, I would say the same for him. I want to say not only thank Ani, but thank you all for never giving up on me. I was homeless, sleeping on the street. If it wasn't for Ani, I wouldn't have been here. If I would have been off the streets, I probably would have been still doing what I was doing, falling off. I'm not going to lie to you. I am doing good. I'm doing a lot better than I was. I can still make some improvement.
music:Thank you.
CPS Trainer:Good evening everyone. My name is Daisy Taste and I am here from the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network CPS Project. I am here because I got sad news. And I am here to share with you hope, hugs, and lots of love. I am on the team that get the applications. When you apply for a Certified Peer Specialist. And the first thing I recognized was, where did this guy get this name? Arnie. I thought my name was something else, but Arnie? And then I read his application, and it was like, wow, this guy really looks like Arnie. is applying from the heart. And that's what we ask. That you answer the question from the heart because we already know the Google answer. We know those answers. But Arnie's application was like, right there. I'm like, whoa. And I was happy. I was like, you know what? Thirteen people. That I analyzed the application went through. And I was like, and Arnie Bonny was one. And I don't know why I started calling him that. But anyway, to make a long story short I, of course, facilitate two of the classes. And Arnie would... When he was really into it, he would just lean into the, like this, he would just be into this, right there, and I was like, God, this guy is really into this. So anyway, he came. It was nine days was all I knew him, and I knew he was an okay person. Okay, nine days, that's it. Then, there was the tenth day. That's when he came to take the test. And he went in and I went in and I was like, y'all need me to dance for y'all or something? To give y'all some energy or something? And, I was just trying to bring everybody energy up because I know some of you had a long ride and everything. And Arnie was like, yeah, I'm alright. I'm like, okay. So when he came, I was on the panel, so when he came in to take the oral part of the test, I said, Oh, Arnie, you're one of the quiet ones. He says, no I'm not. I was like, okay. I don't want to say too much. But then he read those questions, and he says, we got this. Yeah, come on with it. I'm like, okay. And when he was finished, this is what got me. When he was finished, when he, with the questions, and we said, that's it. He was like, okay, Mike, I don't want to do what you did. He was like, we got this. Yeah. And he started talking about how he can, he already had been using some of the procedures that we gave him. He was using it on the job. And he told me how he'll never forget the catch it, check it, change it that I said to him. And he's gonna use it. And he was so proud. And I'm like, I hope he did good on the written part. But The energy that I got from him afterward, I was so confident. I'm like, I knew, I thought this guy was quiet. He's not even quiet. He was just talking and then it just brought this big smile to my face. And he said, all of what you guys gave me, every bit of it, I'm going to be able to use to help others. To not have to go through any of the things I had to go through. GOd has put me in this position. And I am going to do good work. And that's what I want to tell you guys. We all can do good work in the community. We just have to put our heart into it. Because, you know what? We all had something happen to us. There's nothing wrong with any one of us. We've had things happen. And when we recognize those things that have happened to us, and we can actually put words to feelings and behavior, then that's when you are in, on the road to recovery. When you can be honest with yourself, and say, you know what? Something needs to change. Something must change in order for me to live the life that I want to live. It has to start with you. And when you become a certified peer specialist, our job is just to support and to encourage hope. We don't fix anything. We're not doctors. We don't, we do none of that. We're just there for you. And that's why I'm here. Because you guys, you don't know how much we appreciate you coming through. Because when you learn something, we know that you're taking it back to the community. And that's what recovery is all about. Thank you.
Sam Lewis:evening everyone. I'm Sam Lewis and Okay. And I'm a case manager. I'm one of the case managers at Freedom House. And to speak about Arnie, I was with Arnie at the Grace House also. When he came over to Freedom House and got into the leadership, I'm going to piggyback on what John was saying. Now, Arnie, when he was a house man, when he became the head house man, he went and set up an office. You know what I mean? Okay. I come there and Arnie got his room, but then he got an office for house man. Oh, this didn't happen. Something's changing here. And now talking about write ups, I'm telling you, Arnie didn't play. You know what I mean? Arnie did not play. He would write you up. And sometimes in the meeting we, I would get the message that Arnie's messing with me. Oh, he don't like me. He's trying to get me out of here. Arnie, what's going on? Look, Sam, this is what he's doing. And he would know the whole Freedom House on what's going on. I felt very comfortable going home at night when I leave the Freedom House that Arnie's there, got this thing under control. Because he wasn't going to let nothing go down up through there without him knowing about it. He'll walk the halls, and sometimes you have love, you have tough love. You know what I mean? And Arnie had a lot of tough love for some of the fellows because he wanted them to make it. That's all it was about. He wanted you to make it, and it was so beautiful as I continue to see Arnie doing that and every, Sam, he needs to be rolled up. Arnie, I'm so soft hearted. I'm not trying to write him up. No, he did this, he did that. Come on, I'm going to write you up too, and he'll make me write the man up, but Arnie was so cool. But but, people got in order. And they got in shape, and they did what they were supposed to do. Because there's rules, and Arnie allowed folks to abide by the rules. We got to do this. If you want to do, be where I'm at. The recovery that he had. And the leadership. I loved it. I loved it. Arnie stood up, as a man. He'd be out there smoking his cigarette every morning when I'd come up. Hey, Sambo. Hey, Arnie. And I'd go in and do, but I knew that things were smooth. When Arnie was there, and I loved that. And I just had to mention about the write ups cause, Arnie did write some people up, and I, as I look around the room, I see a lot, I see a lot of a lot of the write ups didn't make it, but it is what it is, it is what it is. And Arnie did what he had to do, he did what he had to do to try to help others to be strong. Because there's rules all the way through life. All the way through life, even if you're not there, there's rules everywhere. And so Arnie, wanted people to abide by these rules. And that's how he made it, abiding by rules. That's how he made it. Thank you all for letting me share.
Neil Richardson:I want to say a few things. First of all, this way a good man came. And everybody knows him to be a good man. Just talking to people that work here and had a chance to interact with Ani. Some special moments, most of which we've already heard, and we're not gonna need to do those again. But, I remember reading a story one time when George W. Bush was president and a guy from Newsweek magazine had been on the plane with him and followed him all the way through the campaign. And he said, Honestly, I hate the man's politics. I can't stand a Republican, he said. But he's the most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life. He met me and gave me a nickname, and he knew me. And he said, I won't hate him, but I want him to be my best friend, and, Mini Me, did he nail you when he gave you the nickname? Ha! He got to know you well enough that he could give you a nickname. He could dance in front of you, standing by that grill. And I don't think everybody calls what he did dancing. If we're going to be honest, somebody should have been written up for that dancing. Ha! I'm going to tell you three little places in scripture that I think are really important just to put a ribbon around this night. But before I go, I just want to say thank you to Pastor Matt, um, and the Fort Church. Ani got out of jail, came to Columbus because he was sentenced to be in tomorrow's hope. And that was a sentence that if he didn't succeed, bad things would happen. Ani got here and joined this church. And this church poured love into him and introduced him to a loving relationship with Jesus Christ that turned him into the man that we've been bragging about all night. That's what happens in this church. I just gotta say thank you. Because I think the role that God used you and this church that's been built here is a big reason why Ani gets to be bragged about tonight. I said this earlier today at tomorrow's hopes graduate, or moving on ceremony before I get corrected. That I'm convinced that Friday when Ani got to heaven, he spent the first few hours running around looking for somebody to help. But it's perfect up there, there ain't nobody to help. I think Ani was like going, I don't know what to do. It's like, how am I going to handle this? I think that was a fun part. I think God giggles a lot, and I think God had, let's let him run around. Hey, there's another section over there. And I think that's what happened. And you brought up the fact that it's a crazy name. I'm going to tell you about another crazy name in the Bible, a guy named Enoch. And I'm just going to read briefly in the fifth chapter of the book of Genesis. And it said, when God created man, he started, and it starts going through the list of the names. I wrote it down and I remembered where it was earlier today. But when Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years, had other sons and daughters and all together. Enoch lived 365 years, and Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God took him away. Everybody else lived 800, 900 years. Enoch only got to 300. I'm going to tell it to you in a different way. Sometimes the eight year old kids that come out of Sunday school tell the better versions of scripture stories. But there was an eight year old girl when she came home from church, her mom asked her what they learned in Sunday school today. And she said, we learned about Enoch. And mama said, who's Enoch? And she said, he was one of God's best friends. She said, every day at about three o'clock in the afternoon God would go to Enoch's house. And then they would take a walk together. And then right before sunset, they would come home. And one Sunday, when they were walking, apparently Enoch had more things to talk about, and they walked a little further than usual, and it got dark. And God told Enoch, My house is closer, you want to come home with me? And I think that's what happened Friday. I think God said, my house is closer. Why don't you come home with me? Second little brief thing I want to read is in the 12th chapter of Genesis. The first verse, the Lord said to Abram, leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land. I will show you. I, Ani left addiction. Ani left hiding places. Ani left fears. Ani moved to a place that God was going to show him. Without any reservations. I gotta be honest with you, when I came to Columbus from Miami, I needed to know where I was going before I left. I wasn't leaving with that level of confidence. Onnie left his past. Onnie left a bad home. Onnie left a bad place. Onnie left addiction. And went to a place that God was gonna show him. And it happened to be here, in Columbus, Georgia. In Safe House Ministries, at Grace House, and then Freedom House, and Tomorrow's Hope. Even had connections into paying it forward. That's why God told Abraham to leave, and I'll show you when we get there, because I'm going to use you to share. And Ani had already done that. I understand at church last Sunday you played the podcast that you did last fall with Ani, which I got a chance to see it with Ani, which was fun because he was pretty pumped. Let's be honest here. For those of us that have come out of addiction, anybody think we would be in here in a night like this? Sheesh, no, I just was trying to re up. Ani left home and went and trusted God and did what God called him to do. I was gonna read you the passage, but Mike's already brought up about the talents and well done good and faithful servant. Cheryl already told the story. I'm going to finish the story. I had to go to Ani because Ani had told Jamie Lee, Jamie Lee had offered the job to be the case manager. He said, basically, he said, I'm going to have to check with Cheryl and weigh my options. Yeah, so the first thing I did was call Cheryl and choose some tail. tHis is, we're gonna hire him and now I gotta have to deal with this. So first of all, we're not in a negotiating posture. And then I had to pull Ani in and I said, Cheryl's been wanting to hire a person for six months. And you know what the answer's been the whole six months? No. And it's still no. So if you want to wait for Cheryl to come up with an offer, or I played the boss card. A good man this way came. We need to cherish those memories. I think, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna thank God that I got to know Ani, and that you got to know Ani, and that we get to take his memory. But, if we walk out of this room today, and all we do is remember our friend, and we fail to pay it forward, we spit on his reputation, and the life that he poured into us. Yeah, him and God did just get a little farther away from home, went to God's house last Friday. But I want to remind you of something. Say your prayer, sunshine.
Pastor Matt Stephens:we finish up tonight, I wanted to share with you a little bit about what happened yesterday at at Ani's funeral in Commerce. God told Abraham to... leave this land and go to the one I'm gonna show you. At, in commerce, everybody was saying Lanier. And in the new life that God had given Ani, he wanted to leave that reputation behind. He wanted to be called Ani. He wanted to be something different. He knew he was a new creation in Christ and he wanted to leave the old behind. There's a lot of respect for that, right? hE made a line in this thing. He knew this was the moment. I'll no longer be that again. As we were up there, Mike and I, talking about what a wonderful guy and how amazing he was and what, how many people he had helped. I looked at his family and I thought, this is hard for them because they didn't know him that way. They've had a little glimpse, over the phone and a few visits over the last couple of years. And Mark, his brother, was very thankful for that. But his aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and son, they didn't know him like that. They didn't know him like that. And I thought, this is probably not all easy for him. I told the story at his funeral of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. You may not know that, but that story. But Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus, him and his sisters, Mary and Martha, and words sent to Jesus that Lazarus is very sick and it's sickness unto death and and so the implication is that they're calling Jesus to come do something. And John records, Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus very much. And the next verse says, So he stayed where he was for two more days. I think that's not right. It should read, so he jumped up and ran to his sick friend. And Jesus knew before they got there four days later that Lazarus had already died. They had put him, wrapped his body, put him in a tomb. And read that verse and I think why would Jesus wait? When he got there, Mary and Martha both said, if you'd have been here, he wouldn't have died. If you'd have been here, he wouldn't have died. The timing just seemed all off, right? aNd for that family, the timing may seem all off. Why didn't we get the auntie y'all are talking about earlier? Why didn't we have him? Why didn't I have my brother, my niece, my nephew, my child, more? And I understand that sentiment. And I don't, I told them, I said, I don't have a perfect answer for that. God probably does probably got a perfect answer. And I said, but there are dozens and dozens of men and women who will tell you that Ani came to them at just the right time. And so God's timing is not always as we might want it or plan it. And certainly Friday was not what we would have planned out. But I am thankful, just as in the story of Lazarus, that Jesus called into that tomb and said, Roll the stone away. And Martha said, Don't roll the stone away. He's been in there four days. The Bible actually says they'll be a stench, right? She's a very practical woman. He's too dead. Don't How many of you thought you were too dead to be called out of the grave? WhO's too far gone? Who's been gone too long? None when Jesus calls your name. Jesus called into that tomb and he got up, Lazarus got up, started stirring, he's all wrapped up in these cloths and as he's coming out trying to pull these cloths off of him, Jesus says, get those grave clothes off of him. That's what Ani's been doing these last two years. Getting the grave clothes, getting that old stuff off of him. That's what we're doing. That's what we're doing, right? Old is gone, the new has come. Just one more thing that The 2 percent shirts, and I've shared this a couple of times now, but all of you probably know what it was when I saw it the first time. I didn't know what the 2 percent was all about, that it's the low rate of those who actually get clean and stay clean throughout the rest of their life, And that was one of the things I always thought about, Ani, is that 2%, big 2%, because you can't miss that big 2 percent coming in the door. And one of the first thoughts I had on Friday when I got the call was, he made it. He made it. And when Jesus called his name and he told us in that video that every day. From the day that he first submitted his life to the Lord, every morning before he put his feet on the floor, he submitted himself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And that Lord who had brought him to this place that we're all talking about, this glowing, shining light, that Lord, who he loved, called his name. Called his name one more time. Called him to his side. Called him to his presence. And there is not another day that Ani will go and have to worry about falling back to his addiction. That is done. It is gone. We should be thankful for that. It's hard for us. It's going to be hard for us. And several people said, you can't replace Ani. But I want to echo what Neil said. You can't replace Ani. You should try. You should try. Father, thank you for these moments that we've had tonight. God, we are grateful for the gift that you gave us in Ani. God, I know that so many of us feel that his friendship and his love and outpouring of friendship was we were not worthy of it, yeah. But God, I thank you that your love poured through him. I thank you that you gifted him with the ability to make everybody feel like they were his best friend. God, that was a gift to us and God, I pray that those here who are hurting for the loss of their friend, God, that you would continue to comfort them and that Ani's memory would push them forward, not just in sadness, God, but in, in joy and also in the determination that was talked about Ani tonight, that we would be determined. To continue to let your light shine as it did through him. God help us. Thank you for tonight. In Jesus name, Amen.
Phil Shuler:We look forward to being with you again next week as we share another testimony about the power and the goodness of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. if you are someone listening to this podcast that loves to hear these stories of the great things that God is doing in changing people's lives for the better, and if you would like to be a part of that work, please reach out to us You can reach us at 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus, Georgia, 31,904. You can call us at seven oh six three two two. 3 7, 7 3, or you can email us at info@safehouse-ministries.com.
Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-2:Thank you so much for being with us this week for the renew restore and rejoice podcast of safe house ministries, we pray that God will bless you this week. And we look forward to having you back with us again next week for a new episode.