God's Mystery

God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform.
He plants his footsteps in the sea
and rides upon the storm.
His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
and scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter
and he will make it plain.

Tragedy Strikes

A few years ago, my daughter, Amber, age 21,  was shot and killed during a carjacking attempt in the driveway of our Atlanta, Ga home.  A boy, aged 14, wanted to join a gang, the Crips, and his initiation was to carjack someone.  He, a young girl and an active gang member, age 21, happend to be walking down our street, in front of our home, when Amber pulled into our drive.  Seeing a young lady by herself, they thought it would be an easy carjacking.  Without going into too much detail, my daughter was shot 5 times and killed.  The young girl was frightened and went to the police.  The 2 boys were apprehended within hours.  Within a few days the 14 year old committed suicide in jail.  The 21 year old plead guilty to 2nd degree murder and received a life sentence. 

In Loving Memory...

OUR MISSION

It is our hope that we help families of murdered children cope with their loss through counceling, legal and financial aid and by placing them in contact with other organization who may assit them.  We want you to know that you are not alone in your pain, and there are others who have felt and are still feeling the anguish you are feeling now.  

Life Continues

After Amber's death, my life took a downward spiral.  2001 & 2002 were very hard years.  My father had died in January and Amber in november of 2001, then my mother passed away in March of 2002.  We had a very close family and it was very hard losing my mom and dad.  But losing my daughter was excrutiating.  Shortly after Ambers death, I lost my job, began using drugs and ended up losing my home...my car...all of my possessions.  But losing those possessions was nothing in compare to the loss of my daughter.  I began using more and more drugs and became detatched to reality.  The only time I was not agonizing over the death of my daughter was when I was high.  So I stayed high all of the time.  This went on for over a year.  Then, with the help of God, family and friends, I quit using drugs.  I did not attend any reahab or join any groups.  Someone very dear to be gave me a call one day and told me he was dying of cancer.  He asked if I could come and stay with him.  Starting that day through today, I have not touched any drugs of any type.  Through the grace of God, my friend's cancer went into remission and he is once again cancer free and healthy.  Also through the grace of God, I am now sober and hopefully will remain so. 

I also wish thank the members of a couple of organizations, "Parents of Murdered Children"  and "Compassionate Friends".  The members of these 2 wonderful groups helped me deal with my pain and showed me that the death of my daugher did not have to be in vain.  They showed me that I, as a father of murdered child, could help others who are trying to cope with the same tragedy.  That is why I founded this organization, Amber's Fight Against Violence.