Ignorance of Law is no Excuse

When I attended college at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, there was one man that you always wanted to stay on good terms with.
Now granted, there were a number of people like that.
You always wanted to have a good relationship with your professors, Dr. Bradley, Dr. Loutherback and of course the president himself, Dr. Bawcom.
But one man always stood out.
This man not only enforced the law set by the previously mentioned, wonderful, fabulous administration, but was also the man who had the power to dismiss those annoying parking tickets.
This man was also in charge of those annoying police officers whose only mission in life is to keep students from having fun.
OK, so maybe that’s not really their goal.
But when you’re a crazy college student who wants to pull a prank, like hanging a Chet Edwards, D-Waco, sign upside down on Heard Hall, or filling Richard Muskee’s car with confetti and old smelly cat food, the campus “po-po” were no fun.
And UMHB Police Chief Gary Sargent was the man in charge..
His authority made students shake in their boots.
But fast forward almost a year and your opinion of a man can easily change.
Don’t tell this to any UMHB students, but even with 17 years on the police force at Baylor University and six years with the UMHB force, Gary isn’t as tough as you may assume.
He has a real heart of gold.
After moving one of his daughters to Alabama and marrying off his youngest daughter last year, Gary and his wife Dianna, a nurse at Sparta Elementary looked at their empty nest and began to make plans to enjoy the rest of their lives.
“After we moved my youngest daughter to Houston, I knew what I was going to do for Spring Break this year,” Gary said. “I began making plans to head to Disney World.”
While Gary was looking forward to a relaxing spring break in Florida, he began to get a different tug on his heart.
Not knowing where this tugging was leading, he began to consider seminary and he and Dianna enrolled in a Christian Leadership course at UMHB.
Then in February, Sargent found his passion.
“I was scrolling through the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) website looking at various opportunities and I finally came across an article for Mission Corp Volunteers and their work in Harlan County, Ky.,” Gary said. “I saw the story of a pastor who had given up a six-figure income to return to Lynch, Ky. and work in one of the poorest cities in the state, with no guarantee of a salary. That’s when God began to lay the people of Lynch on my heart.”
Lynch was once one of the wealthiest cities in Kentucky until the coal mines closed down and left the town broke and busted. Today Lynch is one of the poorest cities in Kentucky.
Harlan County is one of the most severely distraught counties in Kentucky. 13,000 of the county’s 36,000 live in poverty. Unemployment and poverty rates are 150 percent more than the U.S. average. In the 50 county area of the Appalachian ministry, 51,097 households have an annual income of less than $10,000 with 48-percent of those incomes less than $5,000 a year. 16,691 housing units have no water source; 25,885 households do not have vehicles; and 26,116 can’t afford a telephone. The absence of transportation and the physical isolation create serious accessibility problems for health care and emergency situations. The fight for survival has left many exhausted, bitter, and hopeless.
With a new direction, Gary and Dianna began 10-8 Ministries.
The ministry takes its name from code used by police departments across the county.
10-8 simply tells dispatch that the officer is in service and ready for further directions.
“We’re still learning about God’s direction each day,” Gary said. “But above all, we want to tell God, ‘We’re in service waiting for further directions.’”
After contacting the missionaries serving in Lynch, Gary and Dianna knew their plans for Spring Break were to be changed and they began planning a needs assessment trip.
And last week, with the donations from Immanuel Baptist Church in Temple, Academy First Baptist and UMHB, Gary and Dianna packed up their Explorer and a trailer full of food and headed to Lynch.
“I was worried we wouldn’t be able to fill our Explorer,” Gary said. “But we had over 1,800 pounds of food.”
The Sargents were also able to provide a bullet-proof vest for the town’s chief of police as well as a check for $1,000 from the donations.
“In Lynch and Harlan County you see pure hopelessness,” Gary said. “But with a little ray of hope you see amazing rays of change.”
God also laid a vision on his heart for the community of Lynch.
On Feb. 2, Gary wrote in his journal that he felt God calling him to raise $100,000 to help with community revitalization.
Not only was Gary to raise $100,000, but he felt God instructing him to raise it $10 at a time.
“The idea of raising $100,000 didn’t seem like a simple task,” Gary said. “And the idea of raising it $10 at a time was an even larger task. But I believe this is God’s way of proving that He’s in control and I can trust Him wherever He leads.”
Other visions that the Sargents have laid on their hearts, is to purchase a house for missionaries working in the area. They also hope to be able to provide computer equipment for the local teen center along with software to help with literacy and computer training.
Gary said he won’t take anymore than $10 from any one person.
“It’s a huge task, but God will provide,” Gary said. “If people choose to donate more it will go towards the purchase of the house, food or other needs. Otherwise the $10 will go directly to the $100,000 goal for community revitalization.”
Gary and Dianna are planning another trip to the area this summer and hope to bring another load of food and computers with them.
While the Appalachian people are heavy on their hearts, Gary doesn’t believe 10-8 Ministries will move them to the Kentucky Mountains.
He believes the ministry will help raise funds and awareness for other ministries around the country, like the Mission Corp Volunteers. He says he hopes to duplicate the plan and results in other areas around the county like the Texas Rio Grande Valley.
“As a police officer, one of my favorite sayings is ‘Ignorance of the law is no excuse,’” Gary said. “God told me, ‘Ignorance of the situation in Harlan County is no excuse. Do something!’”
And now you know too.
Donations to 10-8 Ministries can be brought to the UMHB Police Dept. or mailed to 10-8 Ministries, P.O. Box 1755, Belton, TX 76513.
For more information on Gary’s ministry visit:
www.10-8ministries.org.