Jim Peters

Dateline Winter 08/09

"No one wants to hear what you believe.... show us." Roy Williams quote. I like it, and have tried to live by it. We were asked by an Addiction Recovery Organization to do a tour of their centers donating our time for concerts. We gladly said yes. I believe we all (yup all us humans) need to 'give' not just with our wallets but with our lives. We've spent good quality time with US troops in Germany many of them wounded others just returning or heading out 'down range'. Each time we 'give' we are changed from the encounter. This Addiction Recovery tour was nooo exception.

We started in Alabama, then to Georgia and on to Florida, eanding somewhere in Sanford at Teen Challenge Ctr. Each center was either men or women, and either youth/juvies or adults. I will always remember meeting Angela. She was about 35 and had this amazing smile. As we set up our gear for the concert I said 'how long have you been in the program?" she answered "four years" What brought you here"? well the story she told broke my heart. 21 years on the street, a meth addict, and former prostitute, weighing only 60 pounds and 5foot 6 when she arrived at the center.... now healthy and clean, she was no a counselor in the program for other juvie girls. What a thrill to hug her and tell her congrats and that we'd be praying for her. Leadership is action not position I can't think of a better leader her intensity for others to get clean was amazing.

We donated our time and saw a great impact and response to our music and message. One young girl about 15 said it best, "thanks for showing us someone cares on the outside of these walls. We get discouraged thinking does this really matter?" yes it does and yes we do. We can't wait to do the whole tour again, making them smile and laugh, giving them a t shirt, or other random gift makes all the difference to them and very little cost to us. How cool is that? What if one of those people we met and challenged was a relative of yours? Would our time be worth it to you??? Most Def YES! Thats why we do what we do, to show the world we care and that there is a better way.

T's for troops

We've launched it and now it's official, we've found corporate sponsors that have steped up and made T shirt donations that we have given away to troops. Fender Guitar, Davincis, English Laundry, English Rose, Ed Hardy among others made our outreach to troops awesome. Over 700 shirts given away so far, and there is a huge need each shirt is given out to someone who desperatly needed it. Many of the troops we've met in hospital have no clothing except the hospital gown...weird... these are the best of our youth and we've got nothing for them? You see they've been seperated from their duffel bags due to the battlefield injury and some wait many days to get some clothes, often our t'shirt is the only top they have!! It's funny walking around in hospital pants and our T for troops shirt...lol. You should see the smiles on their faces, it makes this all worthwhile. We are hoping to have enough shirts to go around this time, we were desperatly short last tour.

Passed a kidney stone at Christmas this year, perhaps that was my gift to myself??? ouch, we'll at least it passed. We've been out promoting our newest Comedy cd, "Crtl, Alt, Delete" good one,.... I have to say that I'm on it! Get a copy just ask.

Recovery,

Jim Peters