Frantic (36 page)

“Again I hesitate to tell you this for fear you will praise me, but this has nothing to do with me. This is God's miracle. He alone is worthy. He alone deserves glory and honor!”

A chorus of amens rang throughout the room. Judd felt goose bumps on his arms. “What happened to the men?”

Mr. Stein laughed. “That is the best part of the story, not that God performed a miracle with the sea, but God changed their hearts.

“First one, then another fell to his knees. Then others on deck did the same and cried out to God for forgiveness. As they did, they received the mark of the believer on their foreheads. When they looked at each other, they were amazed at what God had done. And so was I.”

“Every one of them believed?” Judd said.

“I counted every man there except the captain,” Mr. Stein said. “I have never seen anyone with such anger in his soul. He disappeared belowdecks before I could get to him. Then a few minutes later he returned holding something. He rushed past me to the railing and ripped open a package. A white powder spilled out and spread across the surface of the sea.”

“The drugs!” Lionel said.

“Yes,” Mr. Stein said. “Later he told me he prayed for forgiveness as he ran into the belly of the ship. After he spilled the first bag into the water, the others raced to the cargo hold and dumped the entire load. A fortune was lost that day, but many precious souls were won.”

“Did they bring you straight to Israel after that?” Judd said.

“We talked about what they should do as we studied the Scriptures and prayed. Many of the men couldn't study because of the pain from their stings, but in spite of that, I have never seen people so hungry for God's Word. After a few days they decided they would go to Greece as planned and explain what had happened to them.”

“But they destroyed all the drugs,” Lionel said. “They could be killed for that.”

“The men said they wanted to tell the buyers what they had seen and experienced,” Mr. Stein said. “They believe, as I do, that no one is so bad that God's love can't reach them.”

“What about Carpathia?” someone said. “Is he too bad?”

Mr. Stein grimaced. “Nicolae will soon be indwelt by Satan himself. With all the Global Community has unleashed, I fear we have not yet seen the evil he is capable of.”

“What happened in Greece?” Lionel said.

“Someone had tipped the authorities about the deal. GC Drug Enforcement officers were at the dock waiting for us with their bulky protective gear. They seized the ship and searched it. When they found nothing, the captain asked to speak. With all of the officers lined up on that ship, he gave the clearest presentation of the gospel I have ever heard. Most of the GC officers scoffed at him, but I saw a few who prayed and received the mark.”

“Unbelievable,” Judd said.

“And that is just my story,” Mr. Stein said. “There are 144,000 witnesses who are preaching the Good News. Each one of them has a story of God's working.”

“How did you make it here?” Lionel said.

“The GC had no reason to hold the ship, so the crew asked to escort me to Tel Aviv. As we sailed, I told the men about the commodity co-op of the Tribulation Force. They want to be fishermen by day, helping the coop obtain food, and fishers of men by night, building the kingdom of God.”

Mr. Stein slapped his knees with his hands and stood. Everyone around the room joined hands and stood in a circle. Mr. Stein looked at each one of them. “Now I am back with you in this great city. I am ready to serve however God leads, wherever he wishes. And I tell you that he wants to do something great and mighty through each of you. He wants to accomplish more than you can dream. And I pray that you would let him do it and that none of us would hinder God's work or become distracted from our true mission.”

Mr. Stein bowed his head. Yitzhak prayed; then others joined in. Judd couldn't hold back the tears. To think that God would allow him to be part of his plan for reaching others was too much for him.

Judd walked alone later to see Nada. The things Mr. Stein had said were exciting, but troubling as well.

Nada told Judd how difficult it was staying in the small apartment with her family and the others. Her father didn't want them moving in and out for fear they would be reported. Kasim struggled with whether to call Kweesa and talk with her about God.

Judd told Nada about Mr. Stein's return and everything he had seen and done. Several times he had to stop and compose himself as he described how God had worked.

“I wish I could have been there with him,” Nada said.

Judd nodded. “I want to be just like him. He's singleminded and won't let anything get in the way of doing what God wants.”

Nada stared at Judd. “What does that do to us? Am I a distraction?”

Judd smiled. “You're a good distraction. But I've been thinking a lot about Pavel and Sam. Lionel's called me on this a couple of times and I think he's right. I've let down my friends. Being with you is great. Our friendship means a lot to me, but right now it just seems . . .”

“Selfish?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Judd paused and looked into Nada's eyes. “Maybe God wants us to work together. Maybe he wants us apart. I don't know which it's supposed to be. But whatever God wants, that's what I want.”

“I understand,” Nada said. “Me too. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't hurt. I felt like we were growing together. Let's not tell anyone about this until we're sure what God wants us to do.”

“Agreed,” Judd said. “Let's be totally committed to doing what God wants us to do from now on.”

33

VICKI
watched the miles roll by as the kids headed west in the minivan. Shelly had driven first on an old tollway coming from Chicago. In places, concrete slabs rose straight up and Shelly had to drive off the road, but mostly the driving was slow, watching out for potholes or separated roadways.

Pete had warned them not to drive too fast. “You'll hit smooth spots and think you can drive the old speed limit. That's when people bust a tire and get themselves stranded.”

The kids were aware of news reports of roving bandits. Before the locusts had come, groups of bandits had taken over lonely stretches of roads. They stopped cars, robbed the occupants, and stole vehicles. Sometimes the people inside the cars were even killed. But now reports of these bandits had dwindled.

At night, the kids pulled the van away from the road and slept in it. It took them nearly two days to get to their first meeting in Iowa. Mark had given directions to a college about fifty miles from Des Moines. They found the campus in ruins, most of the stone buildings destroyed by the earthquake. Huge trees had been uprooted and lay strewn between piles of rubble. A few of the older buildings were still standing but looked dangerous.

“Where do you think everybody is?” Shelly said.

“The meeting isn't supposed to start until sundown,” Vicki said. “Let's get something to eat.”

They hid the minivan behind some shrubs and ate sandwiches. Vicki used the cell phone to call Mark but couldn't get a signal. When the sun went down, the kids got out and walked the campus.

“I don't see anybody,” Conrad said.

Something moved in some trees. At first Vicki thought it was the wind blowing leaves; then she realized the movement was young people walking toward them. Soon the campus was full of teens and young adults.

A girl a little older than Vicki stepped forward and shook hands. “I'm Kelly Bradshaw. I sent the e-mail inviting you here. Are you Mark?”

Conrad shook his head and introduced himself. “Mark stayed behind. Vicki is the one who does the teaching.”

“Come on,” Kelly said, “we're meeting in Darby.”

Darby had been a combination gymnasium and computer center for the college. Kids with flashlights illuminated the room. The floor was cracked. Bleachers sat at an angle and looked unsafe. What hadn't been destroyed by the earthquake had been wrecked by looters.

Kelly led them down a set of concrete stairs to a locker room. “We'll be safe down here.”

“Do you all stay together?” Vicki said.

“Some of us took over my family's farm a couple of miles away,” Kelly said. “We're trying to grow our own food so we can live when we can't buy it. Others are people we've met from the area. Some came all the way from Missouri. Everybody's a believer.”

Some kids sat on benches, others on the floor. Vicki did a quick count and estimated there were almost a hundred in the room. She looked for something to write on, and Kelly handed her a black Magic Marker. “Just write on that wall.”

“My name is Vicki Byrne,” she said, her voice echoing through the locker room. “I believe we're living in one of the most exciting times in the history of the world. By the end of the soul harvest, there will be more Christ followers than at the time of the Rapture.

“That's the good news. The bad news is that Nicolae Carpathia and the Global Community are in control. There is so much evil, and that's only going to get worse. That's where we come in. Our job is to tell as many as we can about God's message.”

Mark tried to contact Vicki and the others about their next meeting but couldn't. He had fallen asleep at the computer and was awakened by the phone.

“You won't believe how well the meeting went,” Vicki said. “We're staying another day at a farm nearby and going through the rest of the teaching. These kids are really learning.”

“Great,” Mark said, “but you'll have to drive tonight if you're going to get to Minnesota by tomorrow evening.”

“We can do it,” Vicki said.

While he talked with Vicki, Mark opened an e-mail from Lionel.

“Read it,” Vicki said.

“We're back in Israel,”
Mark read,
“but our friend Sam is missing. He went to see his dad a couple of days ago and hasn't returned. We're trying to decide what to do
.

“Mr. Stein is back and you should hear his stories. He could write a book about all that God's done! But my main reason for writing is Judd. He's been seeing . . .”
Mark stopped and read the rest of the message silently.

“What is it?” Vicki said. “What about Judd?”

“It's . . . nothing,” Mark said.

“Tell me,” Vicki said.

Mark read on.
“Judd's been seeing a girl ever since we came here. We went to New Babylon because his friend was dying, but I wound up spending more time with Pavel than he did.”

“I remember Judd talking about him,” Vicki said. “Pavel's dead?”

“I guess so.” Mark kept reading.
“Some good things came out of him being with her, but I'm afraid we're going to lose him. He and Nada are getting serious.”

“Her name is Nada?” Vicki said. “What kind of name is that?”

“Almost finished,” Mark said.
“Please pray for Judd and
330
Sam and that we'd find a way back to the States as soon as possible. I want to get back and help you guys with the schoolhouse.”
Vicki took a deep breath.

After a few moments Mark said, “You all right?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Vicki said quickly. “Have you heard anything from Carl?”

“He's checked in a couple of times. He's still in good with the GC and they don't suspect anything. He did say they found Traickin along the side of the road somewhere in Tennessee. He'd been stung.”

“What a surprise,” Vicki said.

“They must have gotten some information from you guys because they arrested a bunch of people from Johnson City, and they're looking for a hideout in Illinois, but Carl doesn't think they're even close to us.”

“Is there anything we can do for the people in Tennessee?” “Carl said they're waiting to be processed as rebels.”

“What will the GC do with them?”

“Maybe some kind of reeducation facility. Or the GC could try to make an example of them and put them in prison. Or worse.”

Vicki groaned.

“You can't blame yourself. You rescued those people from the GC once.”

“Yeah, but what good did it do? They're in jail. Can you do me a favor?”

“Name it.”

Vicki gave Mark Omer's name and asked if Carl could find out any information. “I'm afraid Omer might try something stupid to get his mom and the others out.”

“I'll get on it and check back with you when you guys are on the road tonight.”