As he looked down the barrel of a handgun, pointed at him by a homeless man who had broken into his house, Kenny Easton realized something.

He’s the kind of guy who could pull the trigger if he needed to do it.

But he didn’t.

“His eyes told me I didn’t have to,” he said. “I could see in his eyes that he was a terrified kid. I don’t want to kill a person.”

Standing in his bedroom, the Christian missionary was relieved when the intruder dropped his gun within milliseconds, making the d...