My Father's Gift (16 page)

Oh, How I love you, Jesus

I really love you, Lord

You are the joy of life

Oh, How I love you

I really love you

For all that you are to me.

When they finished singing, the audience erupted with its roar of approval and gave them a standing ovation that ignited a high time of praise.  They intuitively knew how to respond to the crowd, so holding hands and pasting smiles on their faces, they led the group into the next song.  Once the praise and worship service was over, Cal went to sit with his pastor and D’Cerner joined Angela.

“You two were magnificent together!” Angela exclaimed as she hugged D’Cerner.

“Angie,” D’Cerner responded irritably, “Don’t get started.  I’m not in the mood.”

“A bit touchy are we?” Angela raised her eyebrows, and put her hands on her hips.

“He actually had the nerve to touch me,” D’Cerner pouted.

“Oh, let me see! Are there any burns or scratch marks on your hand?  Things looked pretty hot up there.”

“Come on Angie.  Get real.  We have about as much a chance of being together as an ice cube has of surviving the Sahara Desert.”

“You never know.  You never know.”

Both then turned their attention to the speaker who was making a presentation on building youth ministries.  Richard Dennis, a young man from Rochester was pastoring a ministry that specialized in youth of all ages.  Richard’s program was called, “It’s Happening Here” and was widely proclaimed as the greatest method of reaching inner city youth.  He had one concern, to reach the child, whatever the cost.  As a result of his diligence, his ministry had raised over two million dollars to help children from every walk of life, first in the natural, then spiritually. 

Richard knew that it was difficult for a child who was hungry or being abused to believe that Jesus loved them.  He explained how the natural person, the flesh must be appeased in order for the spirit person to receive.  His presentation was clear and concise.  The statistics he quoted regarding the number of children who were either on drugs or selling drugs was phenomenal.  It’s Happening Here helped to develop real jobs that paid real money or offered incentives or jobs to the parents, no matter what it took, whatever it cost.  As a result of his efforts and the trust of those he had served, the ministry was now serving over five thousand members.  At the conclusion of his presentation, he asked for three people to come and join him on the stage.  One person he introduced as his wife, Caroline and the other two were youths who were introduced to Christ through It’s Happening Here.  The first youth he introduced was Luane, a seventeen year old girl,  who had been a prostitute from the age of twelve and the other one was Marcus, a fourteen year old boy who had sold drugs, making over two thousand dollars a day. Richard asked them to share their testimonies with the audience.

Louane had been selling herself to help support her family.  Her father had abandoned the family and her mother was addicted to drugs.  She had two brothers and a sister who were younger than she.  From watching the older girls in the neighborhood, she discovered how she could help feed her brothers and sisters.  For three years she was the breadwinner of her family.  Luane was paying bills, buying food and making sure her brothers and sister went to school warmly dressed and well fed. 

Estelle Jacobs, one of the women in the ministry, discovered what she was doing while visiting someone else in her apartment building.  Estelle stopped Luane and began talking to her.  She did this every time she saw her for about three months.  After awhile, she asked the girl if she were protecting herself and when she said no, she arranged for her to be examined by a doctor and to get birth control and condoms with instructions in how to use them.  In another month, she invited Luane to go with her to visit someone she knew.  The visit was to Monica, a former prostitute, who was now dying of AIDS.  At first, Luane was upset because she thought she was tricked into the visit, but after the visit Estelle never tried to stop her from prostituting.  When she was asked to go visiting with Estelle again, Luane was taken to the hospital to visit Monica, who was now near the end of her life.  Monica whispered for the Luane to come closer to her so she could talk to her.  Barely able to breathe, Monica begged her to stop selling her body so she wouldn’t end up the way she was.  With tears streaming down her face, she told her to try Jesus while she had a chance to reap the benefits of His love. 

“He loves you,” she whispered, struggling with every breath.  Let Him prove it to you.” 

She then closed her eyes and stopped breathing.  Luane ran from the room crying.  Estelle stayed in the room and prayed looking at Monica’s still body, laying on the bed totally emaciated from the disease.  When she left the room, she found Luane at the end of the corridor. 

Estelle didn’t ask her anything other than where she would like to go.  Luane replied she would like to go find this man Jesus that supposedly loved her.  She wanted to ask Him why, if He loved her so much, how He could allow her family to be in such terrible shape.  Estelle took Luane to the church and there she heard a message about God’s love and freewill choices.  The message made such an impact upon her that she changed her entire life.  She introduced her mother to Estelle, and the ministry was able to get her mother into a rehabilitation program and to find suitable employment.  The family moved into another neighborhood and began life again as a “whole” unit, not in pieces.

Marcus’s testimony was similar to Luane’s, as he told the audience about his selling drugs, until his conversion to Christ.

Both Luane and Marcus expressed how no one tried to push Jesus down their throats, but had just helped to make their lives easier and were there when they needed them.  There were both now, actively involved in the ministry, helping to reach other children and as a result of their efforts, they were awarded this cruise.  By the time they finished talking, the audience was on its feet, glorifying God and praising them for their efforts.

Everyone now knew about, It’s Happening Here.  His wife gave a brief message of encouragement and after a question and answer period, the session was over.  D’Cerner had met Richard and his wife before, but she was not aware of the magnitude of the work they were doing.  She spent a little time with him after the session and they exchanged addresses.  Angela was introduced and then they all went to lunch.  Instead of eating in the dining room, they decided to go to the buffet on the Lido deck.  D’Cerner felt she really needed to be in the fresh air.  Angela knew what was bothering her, but she didn’t know how to help.  So she asked her how she felt about Mr. Hollins.

“He’s a nice guy, but not really my type.”

“And what is your type?”

“I’m not sure anymore, but I know he isn’t it.  He did ask me if he could escort me to the Captain’s Ball tonight and I agreed to go with him.”

“That’s a start.  And if you try real hard, you might even discover you like him.”

“Okay, I’ll try to keep an open mind.  So, who is your escort?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Oh!  Don’t worry about me; you’ll know when you see this fine hunk of young blood.” Angela grinned mischievously.

“Angie, you’re crazy! You know that don’t you?” D’Cerner asked smiling.

“Yep.  You got a problem with that?”

“No, I don’t.  But he might.”  D’Cerner’s usual playfulness returned.

“I’ll handle my business, you just take care of yours.”

They both started laughing and again, at least for the moment, D’Cerner was smiling.

After D’Cerner presented a mini workshop for those interested in street evangelism, they spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Key West.  Although D’Cerner wasn’t in the mood for a great deal of shopping, being with Angela took her mind off Cal and his pastor.  And that was a welcome relief.  Their favorite spot of the day became a coffee shop that sold fudge.  The proprietor, Joe, attempted to flirt with D’Cerner and when he discovered she was a preacher, it didn’t daunt him because he said he didn’t believe in God.  Between Angela, and D’Cerner and the customers who kept traipsing in, they were able to effectively witness to him and cause him to doubt his unbelief.  D’Cerner didn’t have a bible with her, but she did have a copy of one of her books and she gave it to him with a special inscription about Jesus being sweeter than his fudge, which was pretty sweet.

When they left Joe’s shop, they danced outside the door rejoicing at how the Lord used almost everyone who came in the store to witness to him.  All the way back to the ship, they were praising God for the victory and a soul being saved.

After dropping their packages in their room, they went to the upper deck for a while to relax before getting ready for the Captain’s Ball.  D’Cerner left Angela on deck a little while later to start getting dressed.  While she was in the shower, she wondered if anything good was going to happen that evening.

Chapter Twenty-one

Cal was in his stateroom wondering the same thing, but for different reasons.  He kept getting locked in his stateroom.  He had called his cabin steward and made him aware of the problem, but nothing was done about it.  He didn’t understand how some faulty mechanism in the lock would not let him out of his stateroom.  At first he’d had a problem getting in, now he had a problem getting out of it.  He made another call for someone to let him out, again.  This time, when the cabin steward came and opened the door, he devised a makeshift doorstop out of an empty juice can to keep the door from closing and demanded that the lock be repaired before the end of the evening.  He didn’t like being at the mercy of someone else to let him out of the stateroom.  Fortunately, he had already showered before discovering he was locked in and was just relaxing before getting dressed for the Captain’s Ball.

Unfortunately, his pastor had cornered him and asked him to escort her.  And while he had agreed to do so, he couldn’t keep his mind off D’Cerner.  He thought about how he had held her hand earlier that morning.  Though it had not been planned, it was a natural reaction in response to the applause from the audience.  He remembered the searing heat he had felt in his chest as his heart prepared for the explosion sure to come.  He knew she felt it too because their palms had started perspiring profusely, but he had not wanted to let go of her hand.  He also knew she was extremely upset with him, but now that he was here, he had to find a way to explain things to her and he had to do it tonight, since this was their last night on the ship. 

He lay back on the single bed wishing that it were a double and that D’Cerner were with him.  As he stared at the ceiling, he prayed that the Lord would provide him with the means to speak to her alone, if only for a few minutes.

Glancing at his watch, he realized that it was time for him to get dressed since he would officially go his pastor’s stateroom to pick her up instead of meeting her.  He groaned inwardly at the thought of spending his last evening on board the ship with his pastor and made up his mind that as soon as he possibly could, without appearing to be rude, he would excuse himself and find D’Cerner. 

At the thought of seeing her, he picked up his pace dressing.  He was departing from his usual suit and was wearing a white tuxedo.  He smiled as he thought about what D’Cerner might wear, but it didn’t matter because he knew that whatever it was, no mere clothes would ever overshadow her beauty.  Taking a last look in the mirror, he grabbed his wallet and left, kicking aside the juice can.

*****

Angela was wearing a floor length white sheath, trimmed in black and gold braid with gold twin strapped sandals.  Her hair was pulled back and hung in spiral curls down to her shoulders. 

D’Cerner was the very epitome of elegance.  She was wearing a floor length black two-piece dress.  The choke collar and bodice of the dress were trimmed in pearls and with it she wore a matching midriff jacket. The front panel of the dress was separated by splits on each side revealing slim, shapely legs to the knee.  Her high-heeled black satin sandals peaked from beneath her dress with each step she took. Because it was a special occasion, she had used pearl-trimmed hairpins to keep her French twist in place. 

They made a stunning duo as they walked to the elevator on their way to the lounge and men and women alike took notice of them.  Mr. Hollins and Angela’s escort, a young minister from Atlanta, were waiting for them outside the lounge as they had previously arranged.  The two men were visibly appreciative at having such stunning women to escort.

Mr. Hollins was a delightful person, but unfortunately, Cal’s presence with his pastor, put a damper on D’Cerner’s spirit.  After an hour of pretending to enjoy the evening, she excused herself from the festivities and left the lounge. 

Cal was watching her from across the room and when he saw her leave, he mumbled an excuse about having a headache and that he was going to have to cut short the evening.  His pastor was in such an animated conversation with the group they had joined she barely acknowledged him, which suited him perfectly.

Cal followed D’Cerner discreetly, watching the sway of her dress.  He wanted to wait to approach her when there were no people around so she couldn’t ignore him.  He finally saw his chance and took it.  She was standing by the rails, looking out to sea again, seemingly lost in thought.

“This is the second time I’ve watched you looking out to sea and each time I’ve wondered what you’re thinking,” he said softly as he stood next to her.

She turned to face him and not seeing anyone else she could talk to, resigned herself to talking to him.

“Cal, this is a not a good time.”

“There is no good time.  You’ve made that perfectly clear.  I just want a chance to explain some things to you.”

“I see your watchdog has let you out of her sight, or should I expect her soon?”

“No.  I excused myself for the evening.  D’Cerner I have to talk to you.  There are some things you don’t understand.”