"Thought I'd come hear what this young man has to
say," said Clyde, before she had a chance to comment.
"How did you know for sure that he'd be preaching
today?"
"I have my ways." Clyde grinned slyly and then added,
"Saw Sam in the plumbing section of the hardware store yes-
terday afternoon. He told me how to fix my leaky faucet
too."
She smiled again as she focused her attention on the view
outside the tall windows up front. Although the mountains
had received another light dusting last night, it was still not
nearly enough to open the ski resorts yet. But the snow was
73.
74Melody Carlson
beautiful, lit by the morning sun and shimmering white
against the clear blue sky. She noticed Jed sitting in the front
row, with Michael and Leah flanking him on either side. She
quickly averted her eyes back to the mountain scene, deter-
mined not to be distracted from today's sermon by Jed's pres-
ence or memories of Thursday night's kiss. But it wouldn't be
easy.
After what seemed a lengthy prelude of music and
announcements, Jed finally stepped up to the podium and
introduced Michael Abundi. Instead of looking at Jed, Maggie
kept her eyes on Michael, smiling to herself as she noticed his
neat white collar and dark tie, barely visible beneath the layers
of sweaters that made him look as round as the Michelin Tire
Man, his expression a mixture of apprehension and excite-
ment. But when he began to speak, his eyes sparking with
joyful exuberance, she quickly forgot his unusually rotund
appearance and listened intently to his words.
"I must thank you all for allowing me to speak in your
--beautiful church today. And I must thank God for bringing
me thousands of miles across the great, wide ocean to your
United States." He continued naturally and with surprising
3eloquence and energy, telling them of the great miracles he'd
seen God perform back in his island village-how he'd wit-
*nessed actual physical healings, miraculous provisions, and
even how a woman was delivered from demons. It was like
stories from the Bible coming to life. And the way he told
-these tales, using actual names and vivid description, sounded
amazingly believable, while at the same time seeming almost
too fantastic to be true. Then he read some portions of Scrip-
ture from the New Testament, describing those similar mira-
cles that had happened nearly 2,000 years earlier. He spoke
of the miracle of faith and how it could move mighty moun-
tains, using the scene behind him as a very realistic visual aid.
And it felt as if everyone in the entire church was sitting at
the edge of their pews, perhaps even hoping that he might