Many have asked me for a written account of my trip to New York. There is no way to express it all in a limited space. Below is a summary of some of what I experienced, December 4-12^th, 2001

- Chaplain Wally Johnston, Metro Police Chaplaincy
serving the Beaverton Police Department.

When I witnessed the events unfolding in New York on September 11, 2001, I never dreamed I would soon be taking a trip there. I am a police chaplain. Some of my colleagues from Oregon had a week stint at Ground Zero in October. When they returned, I was impressed by their concern for the NYC law enforcement officers, especially the needed care for the Port Authority Police. They planned a return trip in December. I'm not much for travel, so I decided I would help by writing a booklet of encouragement called, "A Special Message To The Port Authority Police." We had several hundred copies published and I wanted to send them along with my friends on their return visit. The closer December came, I felt compelled to make the trip. I'm glad I did. Many folks found help through the distribution of a special commemorative law enforcement 9-11 edition Bible (see www.peaceofficerministries.org) and the booklet. We personally handed out over 1500 Bibles, of which 600 went to the New York 9-1-1 Center and 500 to the Port Authority Police.

We spent a couple of days at Ground Zero, but most of our time was utilized at the precincts, police headquarters, fire stations, and the places the officers ate their meals.

One of our most moving experiences was to spend two hours on the rooftop of Fire Station 10-10. This is right at the perimeter of the "pit." On the day of the attack, the windows were blown out, but the building survived. I wish I could say the fire crew that day did, but most perished as they rushed into the towers to rescue others. It was an honor to be asked to go "on the roof." It is the best location to see the devastation and watch those diligent ironworkers and emergency personnel at work, looking for their lost friends and family members.

The other moving event was the Bible distribution at the 9-1-1 center (Refer to photo). The dispatchers are the "faceless" heroes. They were off-sight and had to hear their emergency workers as they died. We first went on Saturday, got a tour and handed out a few Bibles. So many dispatchers and officers wanted Bibles that we ran out of our supply. As we were leaving, people came out of the building saying, "Can I have one of those Bibles?" We told them we would return. On Monday, with the help of "Saint" Joseph, an ordained minister and NYPD officer (see photo), we loaded the van with 600 Bibles and headed for the center. That is over a ton of Bibles!

Our first stop was to NYPD headquarters to drop off enough Bibles for the families of the twenty-three officers who died on Sept. 11th. We then headed for the 9-1-1 center. As we entered the building, a couple of officers began loading the Bibles in a storage unit just inside. In the meantime, we began talking to some officers at the desk. They heard about the Bibles and wanted their own copies. Soon, a few dispatchers showed up requesting Bibles. They have a presentation page in front and we signed them when giving them away. Soon, more dispatchers started showing up. Before I knew it, there was a line down the hall! We even had officers from the 84th Precinct lining up for a copy. After ten minutes the Sergeant. set up some tables and chairs for us. Many of them worked on September 11th. As we handed them their gift, we told them how proud we were of them and to keep up the good work. Often, a dispatcher would look at us and say, "Thanks for not forgetting us." For the next four hours we gave out over 350 Bibles! At one point, Chaplain Russ Guppy turned around and officer Joseph Brinson was standing there, tears coming down his cheeks! God is at work in New York!

We in law enforcement have a special brotherhood and sisterhood. The New York officers are part of that family. We intend to return to our New York "family." I will return humbled by the experience and grateful for my new friends on the East Coast.

As a result of this, I'm asking believers everywhere to set aside the 11th day of each month as "The 11th Day Prayer."