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Prayer for Marcos Marquez
Over the years, we have lived through things that have woven themselves into our common story. We are in one of those right now.
When you read “The Relentless Pursuit” (our 25th Anniversary Book) you cannot help but be captured by
the story of Marcos Marquez. Marcos has new life in him. Anyone who meets him will testify to that. Last August Marcos was arrested; he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When we heard about it, we were on the beach, having our annual family vacation. We thought it would be one of those situations where everything gets cleared up, and with very little problem he would go back home to his family.
Keep in mind, Marcos has a bad past. He has walked into his new life in Christ out of an old life that still names him. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is a dangerous thing for someone who physically looks like the “bad guy”. Marcos was placed in a metal cell where he had no contact with other inmates. He had absolutely no legal representation from August to early January. He languished, clung to his faith, tried to trust God, tried not to lose his mind and all hope. Meanwhile, we were desperately trying to find him a lawyer. No stone was unturned. Sometimes, I thought the whole legal community must have by now heard this name. He had no public defender, which was his legal right. It just kept falling through. The courts did nothing to remedy this. Private lawyers were willing, for a hefty fee. We prayed. Many of you prayed. His story leaked out. And then miraculously, Snell and Wilmer, the largest law firm in the state of AZ agreed to take his case. We were overwhelmed; the Lord was rescuing our brother.
That was January. His lawyers are convinced of his innocence. In fact, staff at the firm have formed a prayer group for him, after transcribing his interview tapes. At almost every turn, we expect good news. How hard is it to use the real hard concrete evidence to prove a man innocent? It’s hard, when you have a past that many against you would forever want to link you to it.
Marco’s story plays like a Grisham novel where the lawyers take on the underdog. This past Friday our lawyers won their motion to remand to the grand jury. That means the prosecutor has lots of work ahead of her to present what evidence she has. We don’t think she has much.
I’m hopeful that by catching you up on our brother’s story you will pray for him. I have no idea why this is happening – spiritual warfare comes to mind, revelations of justice in our courts, obedience and faith in the midst of adversity … Whatever it is, we have a precious brother in Marcos Marquez and I can assure you, it means the world to him to know you care about his situation. His little son said to his mom, “when Dad gets out of jail, the first thing he’ll do is go to church”.
We are setting up a prayer blog for him and will from now on bring you updates that don’t jeopardize his case. You can write him notes here and we will get them to him.
God bless you dear friends,
kit
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