Hi.  Can you hear me from underneath the bed?  I’ve just been chilling here for a few days.  Safe.  

So guess what?  Larry is not a doll.  And he’s not creepy looking, which is even more creepy.  He looks normal.  Kinda your typical next-door, nice, happy, normal looking killer.  And he was hot on my trail when I left Saldovia.  I was looking for a creep, and I missed him.  Got this picture off “Got Assasain?” website. It’s him.

Not to make any of you jealous, I would never wanna do that, I’m a Christian, but guess where I went?  Guess?  No, silly, I didn’t go crazy.  I went to Magnolia Market  in Waco, Texas, (Fixer Upper!)  Yeah, so fun!  Of course, I didn’t go for fun. I haven’t entertained “fun” for a long time now. I’m in survival mode, you know? I actually hitched a ride because…well, I was supposed to fly but someone tried to kill me with the plane, so I just took my chances and stuck my thumb out.

 I didn’t see the sign until we were down the highway.  So after jumping out of the moving truck (it was only going 40 mph) I walked the rest of the way, which was a bummer.  But I made it.  So when I was in Waco getting fitted for body armor, I though why not have a little fun.  So I gotta go see their big store and the loveliest garden; and I swang on the the swing with 1940s music playing in the background. (Pretty sure that’s a country western song, ‘swang on the swing’.)  And it was a little awkward swinging with body armor, but hey, body armor is the new velvet.  

What? Why did I need to get fitted for body armor?  Oh, I dunno, maybe because I’m more popular than a deer in hunting season.  So, here’s some video of what happened when I was trying to fly out of the little airport in my town.

I was targeted by an airplane that they found out later was…you guessed it, manned by “no one“.  It was being controlled by “someone” with a remote.  I barely made it outta Compton alive.  So I’m assuming the controller of the remote was ol’ Larry, though I don’t know it for a fact. I just know that my life is definitely in God’s control, otherwise I would have been squashed like a bug on a windshield by now.  

Enough about me and my “problems with trying to stay alive.”  

Onto Mama’s crazy story:  

Wow, Sal has been issued a death warrant.  From a ghost.  Needless to say, Sal collapsed into fetal shut-down mode, and eventually the men had to leave the safe haven of the van to go back in to get him.  He was undone.  Like most of us would be.  The rumor was he was so distressed he didn’t speak all the way back home.  But when he entered his home, he blurted out to poor rung-out Allie, “You’ll be rid of me soon enough, is tomorrow quick enough?” And he headed to the privacy of his bed and collapsed. 

Mama, who knew none of this, came to work the next morning as usual.  But within only minutes of being there, the phone began to ring.  And Mama writes it was one of the darkest days of her life.  Sal took his own life.  

Wow.  So sorry I had to be the one to tell you this.  Just remember, I don’t  make the news, I just report it.  

So, I have to ask myself, was it the power of suggestion?  Was that a demon conjured up from the Psychic?  Was it God? Was it depression?  All I can tell you is when we venture out into the enemy’s territory, we are like a turkey at Thanksgiving.  We are gonna be shot.  Whether it’s fatal ain’t up to us anymore.  Sal sealed his own fate or mental stability by going to the Devil for advice. He became his own judge.  And now he was gone and his legacy was now forever stained by defeat.  His sickly flock was devastated.  

Mama writes about those dark days.  Utter despair filled the church.  Some of the board members resigned and left the church and some even left the town.  They had failed.  Everything they had done in the flesh to prop up a fleshly man had been done in vain.  And many didn’t stay to clean up the train wreck.

After the initial shock, Mama wrote that she almost thought it was possible that Allie was more relieved than sad.   I know when I one day leave this earth, I sure hope people aren’t “relieved.” Boy, sure makes you think about how you spend your time on earth.  Makes me wanna love well and love God.  

Dave is down south, whoopping it up, pretending he’s some bad dude, running around with a bunch of no-gooders; and then abruptly, he gets the startling news.  His adversary is dead.  The remorse that filled him was as dark as the night.  He headed to his camper near the beach and wept.  He wept for all that had happened and all that could have been.  And then… he called Mama.  

Mama, close to her wits ends, begged him to immediately come back, that the  church needed him desperately.  Dave wasn’t so sure.  Would he be seen as the one that pushed Sal to the brink? Would the church blame him for Sal’s demise?  Mama assured him that was not the case.  

And one more shock for Mama, Dave had a new bride. 

After a few days of thinking it through and getting on his knees once again, Dave knew he had to go back.  His arch enemy was dead.  But his beloved ex-wife was still there.  And things had never really been settled.  But the flock was in trouble.  He went back and forth so many times he thought his head would explode.  But he knew deep down he would go wherever God called.  He was shocked God was calling.  He hadn’t heard from Him in such a long time.  

Sal’s memorial service was the saddest service Mama had ever been to.  So many people had guilt and the tears wouldn’t stop.  Dave’s family sat with downcast eyes and shame settled on them like a rain cloud.  His casket offered memories of regret and lost hope.  There was no family reception afterward at their request.  They were going to deal with this alone.  And they also announced they were leaving town to start over.  Mama could hardly blame them, she felt like leaving too.

Reluctantly, Dave broke the news to his followers that he was leaving and sold the camper and bought a used car.   Abby and him headed back, 350 miles north, to the chaos and confusion awaiting them at the Shepherd’s Gate.

Dave stopped and got a haircut and a shave and bought some khaki slacks and a blue button-up collared shirt.  He dropped Abby at a salon, and after they “cleaned up” they met for lunch.  As they sat on the park bench to eat, Dave’s anxiousness wouldn’t let him enjoy his lunch.  He was returning to the Shepard’s Gate.  His mind ventured back to how different things were just a few years ago.  He thought about how innocent he had been, naive was actually the word he was looking for.    He had been married to another woman! The thought seemed surreal to him, and he felt his stomach flip at the thought of seeing Mika again.  And he knew she also had remarried.  Mika was a memory that couldn’t seemed to be suppressed.  And that thought worried him.  He found himself often thinking back to her and wondered if he should have tried harder to keep her.  He had let Sal steal her away.  Once again, regret tried to raise its head, but Dave pushed it down with all the other swirling emotions.

The warm and poignant reception he received that Sunday morning after Sunday service was unexpected.  When he and Abby walked out of the building, he saw the remaining board members and staff, including Mama, all standing in a long line to receive him.  Each one embraced Dave as he made his way down the line, introducing themselves to Abby.  Warm smiles and wet eyes were found on every face and many whispered their apologies.  Dave was overcome with emotion, tears falling on his cheeks.  At the end of the line was Edward, a board member, who, with both hands covering Dave’s handshake, asked in a trembling voice if Dave would come and take the helm of the sinking ship.  Dave began to protest, knowing that his recent past could alone disqualify him,  but he felt the nudge of God and he responded.  Right then.

Yes, he would come back.  He looked at Abby who was weeping herself, and took her hand.  Yes, he would come back as their pastor!