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“Boz’s story is gripping. What starts out tragically ends with layers of beautiful redemption. I remember our first meeting. It was in the prison in Mission, BC, where I would occasionally sing for the inmates—he wanted to talk up his music business connections. I liked Boz right away and I knew that our meeting wasn’t about the music business; I could sense God’s call on his life. It was only a matter of time until he surrendered himself to Jesus’s voice of love speaking to him. His life and this book are powerful reminders of what God can do with any of us who surrender our will and choose to serve and live God’s way wherever we are.”
—Brian Doerksen, Christian singer-songwriter
“‘When our soul is thirsty, we can dig our own wells … [but] we want to learn what it means to pant after God, to come to Jesus as thirsty people. Only thirsty people pant … We must discover how we can become aware of our deepest thirst. Facing confusion is one way. Feeling disappointment is another’ (Larry Crabb, Inside Out [Colorado: NavPress, 2013]). The gripping story you are about to read reveals a very thirsty ‘well digger’ who encountered deep confusion and disappointment. To his surprise, the pain and fear of those traumatic experiences led him to the quenching satisfaction of vibrant life in Jesus Christ.
“Since first meeting Bosco some ten years ago—during some of his darkest days in prison—I have seen a young man blossom and grow. I have witnessed the birthing of a dynamic ministry vision. I have grown to love and appreciate a man of deep humility and boundless passion for reaching the younger generation. I have had the honour and privilege of mentoring a man of gifted creativity and uncompromising focus. Though this book in itself is complete, it marks just the beginning of many more chapters of an exciting adventure upon which, by God’s grace, Bosco has embarked.”
—Rev. Tom Rathjen, former chaplain at Mission Institution
“I am very grateful to have known Boz for six years and in that time become his friend, hear the detailed account of his testimony, and see Christ Jesus’s amazing and miraculous work in his life. The beauty of Bosco Poon’s story is not only the radical transformation in his character but also the fact that there is a very public media and legal record testifying that he was once a gang member and criminal but is now a pastor and man of God. I would encourage the skeptic to read the 2006 newspaper articles detailing the crime that landed him in jail and to compare the story of the man who once was to the man who is now: the one born of Zion’s hope.”
—Daniel T. Holmes, MD, Vancouver, BC
“Boz’s story is our story. We have all been imprisoned. Pride, unforgiveness, ignorance, prejudice, and a hard heart have led us to foolish decisions and broken relationships. We’ve been separated from God. As Boz writes of the prison inmates, ‘All of our hearts had the same deep yearning for something that could set our souls free. We all wanted forgiveness and a second chance.’ In these pages, Boz finds true freedom through the only one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As you read this story, may you allow your heart to be set free and to find its home in Christ.”
—Marina H. Hofman, PhD, award-winning writer, Old Testament scholar
“God’s ability to transform a person is unmistakable in the life of Boz. This narrative is gripping, awe-inspiring, and filled with unexpected plot twists. The grace of God is sufficient to forgive and cleanse all human transgression. Boz’s life is a vivid testimony of spiritual, emotional, and physical transformation. This is a must read!”
—Rev. Kenneth A. Russell, district superintendent, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada–BC/Yukon
“Boz articulates with rich poetic descriptors a life that was hungry for acceptance. He shares with the reader how as a young Asian immigrant to Canada, he faced a new culture, a new social hierarchy, leaving him feeling isolated and alone. The need to be needed is innate in each of us, and Boz takes on a journey of choices leading to his willingness to give himself to people who would accept him not for who he was but for what he could do for them. His choices eventually cost him his personal freedom. The isolation that separated him from the society that he so much desired to be a part of brings him into the presence of the God of redemption, Jesus. This encounter validates the value, worth, and purpose God had for Boz from the beginning of time.
“I have known this young man for the last few years, and I am witness to his call into ministry and how he embraces his new life. God has taken the talents and gifts He gave Boz, who had planned to rise to the top of the Asian world of entertainment. His choices changed that plan, and God has redeemed the person of Bosco Poon, placing him in the front lines in His plan to reach the world. This book is a beautiful picture of love, acceptance, forgiveness, and redemption. Everyone who takes time to read the transforming love of God in this young man’s life will be blessed, encouraged, and reminded of the love of God for each of us.”
—Rev. Jim Caruso, DMin, author of Spiritual Sinkholes
RISEN FROM PRISON: BEYOND MY WILDEST IMAGINATION
Copyright ©2020 Bosco H. C. Poon
All rights reserved
International Standard Book Number 978-1-988928-25-8 soft cover
ISBN 978-1-988928-26-5 EPUB
Published by: Castle Quay Books
Burlington, ON, Canada | Riviera Beach, FL, USA
Tel: (416) 573-3249
E-mail: [email protected] | www.castlequaybooks.com
Edited by Marina Hofman Willard
Book cover illustration by Minnie Chau
Book interior by Burst Impressions
Printed in Canada
Winner of Castle Quay Books and the Word Guild’s Best New Manuscript in 2019
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publishers.
Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Unless otherwise marked, Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. • Scripture marked (ESV) is taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. • Scripture marked NLT is taken from Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. • Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) or “New King James Version” are taken from the New King James Version / Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Copyright ©1982. Used by permission. All rights reserved. • Scripture marked (AMPC) is taken from Amplified Bible, Classic Edition Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.
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