Saturday, July 4, 2009 East Central Illinois

Lincoln's Challenge Academy: For one cadet, a divine gift

By Tim Mitchell
Sunday, November 30, 2008 3:01 PM CDT

It's 4 a.m. in the dorm at Lincoln's Challenge Academy and while nearly all the cadets are sleeping in their bunks, 18-year-old Desmond Battles is clutching his Bible. Meditating. Praying.

Here on this former Air Force base, a place formerly dedicated to teaching the tools of war, this teen from the south side of Chicago found God, hearkening to a line from the Old Testament book of Isaiah:

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