So we're a few days removed from my brother Ron's house being victimized. I stopped by before they got home (to leave plant and a card on the front porch) and had a chance to look around myself. Interestingly enough, what looked like relatively minor damage is actually turning out to be much more substantative. Some of the siding, which is a vinyl composite, actually melted and fused into the bricks and the concrete. Even the professional cleaners were having difficulty removing it. In the end, if they can't get it off, they will have to remove the siding on the entire front of the home (even though the damage was limited to the porch area), they will have to tear up the concrete, and they will have to remove the brick and redo the entire thing.

The good news (beyond the obvious that no one was hurt) is that the inside of the home was relatively unscathed. They will loose an area carpet to smoke damage, but that's about it. So that is really a blessing for them.

If you are so inclined to continue to pray for them, I would ask that you pray for their emotional journey. They are all processing this in very different ways (e.g. denial, anger, compassion for the arsonists, etc...) and I think that is the hardest thing of all. So please pray for them that they would retain their oneness even as they stay true to their own feelings.

P.S. On a completely different note, I really enjoyed the article you (Greg) posted on African Americans, education, and the denial of "truth." After reading it, I found myself wondering whether this disease is actually an epidemic and whether the same things will be said across all racial lines as parents continue to disengage and students continue to seek the "mark" without actually learning the material.