Friday, February 25, 2011

From Hate To Hope: A Story Of Forgiveness



This is an incredible story of the power of forgiveness. The story begins with Matthew Boger, a 13-year-old boy, who has been kicked out of his home because he told his mother he was being bullied at school because he was gay. As he wanders the streets he is attacked by a group of nazi-skinheads.

"When I got up to run to get away and they caught up to me in the alley - they were like literally beating, kicking, and screaming 'We're going to kill you.' The last thing I remember was when a boot went right to my forehead and I was out," Boger recalls.

He was left for dead. As the gang drove away they thought it was possible that Boger had died.

Where the story gets pretty amazing is where one of the skinheads, Timothy Zaal, who was involved in the incident begins to volunteer at the Museum of Tolerance, where Boger was one of the managers. One afternoon they went out to lunch and started talking. They shared about what motivated them to be involved at the Museum of Tolerance and the two started putting the pieces together.

Boger was staring right at one of the nazi-skinheads who beat him up. He walked away. Later the two made amends and started sharing their story of forgiveness. They were featured on 20/20 episode and a novel, Freaks and Revelations, was written about their story. They recently shared their story at Federated Church in Placerville.

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