by Jeanette Lockerbie
chaplain and his mother brought. Torrey’s What the Bible Teaches and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress were of special help. Ned’s mother saw a greater trans formation than did the chaplain. She had often taken a bus and then walked a dusty two miles to the deten tion hall only to be greeted with a hostile, “Why’d you have to come here? Don’t bother to come again.” Now Ned welcomed her, eagerly tak ing the Christian books and maga zines she brought. Only God could have changed her son like this — it was the answer to many prayers! Strange as it seemed, Ned had been brought up in a Christian family, and he attended church and Sunday school regularly. “I guess I was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character.” “Sure, I’m a Christian,” he would tell people.. But delinquency marked his activities from childhood. He burglarized a neighborhood store with a group of friends and was put on probation at the age of eight. In high school he was president of the social club, an honored postion. On Sunday he went to church — though under compulsion. Even while going to church, he found it hard to keep the law. One time he and another boy were escorting a couple of girls to church. The girls didn’t want to ride the bus, so the fellows stole a car and drove it to church. Following high school, where he
I t w a s S u n d a y morning in Biscai- luz: Juvenile Detention Hall in Los Angeles. Ambling indifferently toward the chapel, 18-year-old Ned Ayarian, his dark eyes smoldering, complained under his breath “What a choice! Cleanup detail — or church! Well,” he decided, “at least I won’t have to do any work in chapel.” The speaker that morning was Chaplain Harvey Lifsey, a handsome, athletically-built man whose earnest words riveted Ned’s attention. His eyes never left the speaker’s face. The chaplain talked about Jesus’ cleansing of a leper. For Ned, it was far more than an ancient story. Later he described it: “It was God illumin ating me, meeting me face to face and drawing me to Him, completely capturing me.” Chaplain Lifsey said, “I couldn’t help noticing Ned. I had never seen anyone so intent. It was no surprise to me when he came to me at the close of the service and said he want ed to receive Christ.” Th.e chaplain gave Ned a New Testament and he began reading it avidly. The change in Ned was im mediate. He stopped fighting and be came cooperative. He stopped leading boys into trouble and became a good influence. Returning a week later, the chap lain found Net growing spiritually by leaps and bounds. He read his Bible so regularly that not one inmate dared scoff. He read other books the
had been active in pole vaulting, broad jumping, and wrestling, Ned drifted into a questionable gang. One boy had a .45, another a .38 pistol. It was providential that none of their escapades resulted in bodily injury to anyone. Eventually the police caught up with the group. In the act of robbing a lone man, they were arrested. When the guns were disclosed, the offense became a major one. In October 1956, Ned was convicted and sentenced to Biscailuz in Los Angeles. So remarkably did Ned change af ter hfs conversion that the chaplain’s work rose sharply in the estimation of the authorities. After a time, Ned was transferred to a forestry camp, and the chaplain visited him there to pray with and encourage him. The good conduct paid off; Ned was released when he had served half his time. The officials decided there was no point in keeping him longer. Ned went back home—to the fam ily and the church that had cease lessly prayed for him. Chaplain Lifsey, now a good friend of Ned’s, began to take him to various church and jail services to tell about the power of God in his life. On Lifsey’s advice, Ned enrolled at Biola College. While attending there,'Ned won the Western States Association’s speech tournament in oratory. A number of colleges and churches invited him to repeat his winning message.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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