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Prologue - Thursday, June 15, 2006

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Kate sat on the closed lid of the commode, holding her head in her hands. Ooooooohhhhh... she groaned. I don't know how much more of this I can take. For the last week Kate had been absolutely nauseous, sometimes to the point of getting physically sick. Like a few minutes ago, when the remnants of last night's dinner decided to make a hasty and violent exit. What concerned Kate was that she hardly ever got that sick, and certainly not for this long. But if it was what she suspected it was, then her illness was not all that unusual... and it would probably last for weeks to come.

"Is it safe for me to come in?" Clay asked through the door.

Sighing heavily, Kate glanced at the item she had placed only moments ago on the counter - a home pregnancy test. "Yeah. I've taken it."

Clay gingerly opened the door. Immediately he knelt down in front of her, stroking her hair gently. "How are you doing?" When she groaned, he gave her a weak smile. "That good, hm?"

"That good."

"Stand up a minute." Clay waited until she stood before claiming the seat for himself. Gently he pulled her down into his lap, holding her close in his arms. Kate laid her head on his shoulder and shut her eyes as the two of them waited for the results. "Time yet?" he asked after about twenty minutes spent in quiet contemplation.

"Don't know - I'll find out." Kate picked up the test and held it so that both of them could read it. She made a face at the results. Negative... If I'm not pregnant, then why do I have all the symptoms?

"That can't be right - either you're pregnant or you've got a bug of some sort that mimics it completely," Clay frowned, voicing exactly what was on Kate's mind. "Maybe the test was a fluke."

"Maybe. I could have just as easily miscounted my days. Maybe we really are expecting."

Clay sighed contentedly. "I hope so."

Kate chuckled under her breath as she warmly contemplated thoughts of their future family. Her husband, triple-platinum recording artist Clay Aiken, actually had his college degree in special education - he loved children and was quite gifted with them. Truth told, Kate was looking forward to seeing how Clay wore the shoes of fatherhood. She was certainly looking forward to raising their children to become godly adults together.

"I think you need to see a doctor."

"I agree... which is why I had Mom schedule an appointment for tomorrow with Doctor Kelley." Kate tossed the used pregnancy test into the trash. She wanted to be absolutely certain about this. There was one more test tucked away in her dresser, and she had a doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow with her former doctor from back in Kearney. While Kate didn't doubt that Clay's doctor was very good, she had not yet had the opportunity to establish a rapport with him... and she didn't want to trust this to just anyone. Not with their mission trip only days away. "Too many symptoms to just blow it off for the week we're in Haiti. I only hope that we're able to find out for sure before we leave."

"I don't see why not. I've heard the tests are pretty reliable nowadays."

Hoping to recover what was left of a good night's sleep, Kate followed Clay back to their bed. She slid into the bed gingerly, draping her arm over her husband as they snuggled close to each other. "I love you, Clayton Aiken. You know that?"

Clay smiled gently at her, reaching up to stroke her cheek. "I love you too, Kathryn Aiken. More than words could ever say."

Taking a brief moment to reflect, she gazed upon his peaceful face. A little over one year ago they were long-distance friends, but had not yet met face-to-face. A little over three years ago, they barely knew each other. It was amazing what God had brought about in just over three years. He had taken two complete strangers, two complete unknowns, and had brought them together in a life and a ministry that was at once both wonderful and profound in its depth. "Maybe one of your songs might say..."

Chuckling lightly, Clay gave in. "All right." Quietly, gently, he started to sing the song they danced to at their wedding, Steven Curtis Chapman's I'll Take Care of You.

Gently laying her head with a sigh on Clay's shoulder as he continued to sing, Kate recalled some of the memories from their first five and a half months as man and wife...

Upon their return to L.A., rather than deal with a blitz of media rumors, Clay had made the shrewd move of revealing his marriage in the first interview he went on and releasing a tiny handful of the digital photographs that Andrew had taken of the secret wedding. (In fact, he and Kate had posted some of them on the Internet themselves... that had been fun.) Granted, there had still been a media blitz, but at least they knew the honorable truth. Before she had married Clay, Kate felt that she could somewhat imagine how isolating his life was with little or no privacy... but now she knew firsthand. The media and the fans dissected their every move, and Kate was amazed that Clay hadn't packed up his proverbial bags years ago. It's like living in a goldfish bowl, Kate mused thoughtfully, where every moment of your life is visible to all. She wasn't sure she was ever going to get used to it... but she was determined to give it her all out of her love for Clay. If she loved the man enough to marry him, then she had to deal with every aspect of his life... and right now, that was God's will for his life.

As Clay continued to make more appearances and interviews, news of his marriage quickly got around, as did pictures of the two of them together at many of these appearances. Most of the fans loved her - they had seen last summer how well she and Clay supported each other, and agreed that whatever Clay believed was best for him was good enough for them. Of course there were the fans that she would never be good enough for... mostly fans who were of the them-or-no-one frame of mind. She had seen a few nasty letters or scathing threads and posts on message boards to know those people existed, and it was unfortunate. But there was no pleasing everyone - and Kate knew that it was her job to please only one person, namely the one she married.

Kate's school, on the other hand, had all been flabbergasted with the news and with Kate's sudden replacement. Most of them (staff and students alike) were in shock for weeks to come... while she had still been "just another teacher", she had still been one of their favorites. Kate's classroom felt it most of all. While Sarah was a gifted teacher, her style differed so much from Kate's that the students felt her absence keenly - Sarah was a very dominant Type-A personality, making Kate look completely laid-back by comparison. Kate knew that most of their feelings were due to the circumstances - give them time to adjust, and everyone would be all right. The students' feelings on Clay and Kate's marriage, however, were mixed - while quite a lot of students in the school were excited for both of them, there were also a bunch of students who found it weird that their favorite pop singer was married to one of their teachers... That much had been evident the last couple of days Kate had been in the classroom with Clay and Sarah - the first day with Clay happily taking over teaching duties for the classroom, and the second day with a good-bye and good-luck party for every class. And a surprise assembly with a formal good-bye to Kate and a couple of impromptu songs sung by Clay. Kate noted later with irony that those two days had the best attendance record that school had seen in years.

Kate had indeed been brought into the tour machine as a backup singer, much to her complete surprise. While she had a good ear and plenty of vocal skill, she was not a "solo voice" and she knew it. One reason she had never gone into the music field in college... But discovering that she was able to keep up with the rest of the backup singers came as a bit of a shock. After learning her parts and rehearsing like a woman mad, Kate made her own solid contribution to the tour crew - both vocally and doing her best to look after Clay's well-being. It was the latter over which she usually got in trouble, having friendly clashes with Clay's tour manager who had her own ideas of what was best for Clay and his wife. Apparently the manager viewed herself as Clay's other mother, and had adopted Kate as a mere extension of that role.

Clay's tour contained songs from his first album, Measure of a Man, his second multi-platinum album, and the movie that he had done with Ruben. (They hadn't performed any of the songs from his Christmas album - somehow it seemed odd to perform Christmas songs during the middle of spring.) Fan favorites included standards like This is the Night, Invisible, and The Way, as well as the more recent material that had been written for him by the likes of Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, and Clay's "Aunt Dizzy" Charlotte Walsh - who, as it turned out, had been writing songs for use in the contemporary Christian music industry for years under another name. The crowds still loved him: fans still wore T-shirts plastered with his picture and supportive slogans, signs still littered the auditoriums, screams still rang out at the sound of his voice, and the occasional pair of underwear still found its way up onto the stage. But while the novelty of seeing or hearing Clay had lessened significantly for the fans (since many had seen at least one concert by now), the fervor of their support had not died down. In fact their support had grown to include Clay's new wife, because they understood her role in his life and his career... and during the tour they had the opportunity to catch just a glimpse of Clay and Kate in their new lives.

Back in the spring of 2004 when he had gone on the Independent tour with Kelly Clarkson, he had performed Prince's When Doves Cry to a very sensual dance with one of his backup singers by the name of Angela. (Kate was sorry she missed that one.) This past spring there had been another song with another sensual dance... only this time Clay had told everyone in no uncertain terms that he would dance with his wife or not at all. (The fan boards had gone crazy with posts over Clay's "diva" demand, but it was a demand that many of them thought wasn't all that unreasonable.) Fortunately the powers that be had respected Clay's adamant wish to dance with his wife, and they had attempted to teach the two of them the dance. That had been a farce... Even if Kate got over her two-left-foot tendencies enough to get all of the steps right on any given night, she was so completely self-conscious about dancing that way with her husband in front of an audience that Kate was positive that it had come across as less than convincing. Except for the night in St. Louis - Kate had been so incredibly "in the mood" that it had taken everything in her power to reign it in. That night they steamed up the stage, and the depth of their married relationship had been obvious to everyone. It took a lot of willpower for them to finish both the show and the meet-and-greet, but they managed it. Then the two of them disappeared for the next two and a half hours... much to the amusement of the tour crew. Needless to say, that concert had the fans talking amongst themselves for weeks to come.

Since they finished up the spring tour, Kate had endeavored to make their house feel more like a home... namely unpacking and decorating. Preparing for the tour had eaten up a lot of their time, and they had only unpacked the necessities it took to keep them living day to day. Once the tour was over, that had lasted all of a week - Kate had attacked the project with a vengeance once she had recuperated enough to have her energy level back to normal. In spite of their still-busy schedule, Kate found the time to unpack and sort the things from both of their old homes before finding a new place for them in their new home... and in order to make sure they spent time together, she had begged, prodded, cajoled, and pleaded with Clay until he agreed to help her. She refused to spend the rest of their lives together living out of boxes - boxes didn't say "stability" or "family" to her. Kate also tried to involve Clay in the decorating of their home too - she knew that her new mother-in-law was an interior decorator, and wanted Clay to have a say in how his own home would look. Like most men, Clay had tried to leave a lot of those decisions to Kate. At least he had until Kate had threatened to decorate the place in cats...

As for Kate's students back in Kearney... the newlyweds along with Sarah had cooperatively come up with several creative ideas to incorporate their new life into the learning experience. Using her access to her high school's intranet, Kate included tales from their new life that were written in the language she wished her students to be reading. The students had to be able to read and comprehend the stories in order to take the quiz she had tacked on at the end. Or some days, there was a sound recording with Kate speaking in the target language the students would listen to for their news before taking the quiz. If the students translated and understood enough of what was happening to get a certain passing percentage on the quiz, they would get a reward - either a photograph or video clip of Kate or Clay or both of them that was also housed on the school intranet. Many students did the assignment from home so that they could download the reward file to their own computers. Hey, incentive was incentive... Kate wasn't about to argue with results. There was a quote from Mr. Holland's Opus that said, "I will use anything from Beethoven to Billy Holiday if it will help teach a student to love music." Kate may not have been a music teacher, but she received a lot of inspiration from Mr. Holland's innovative techniques. If dangling Clay and Kate's adventures in front of the students as the proverbial carrot on a stick was enough motivation to inspire ONE student to learn something, then Kate felt it was worth it. Learning was supposed to be fun.

Much of this last week Clay and Kate had spent finalizing things and packing for their trip to Haiti. They made sure their passports were in order and that they were up to date on their immunizations. They had arranged for Kim to take care of Raleigh and the house while they were gone. And then they had packed their bags. Bibles, clothes, bathroom supplies, sunscreen and bug repellent, flashlight and batteries, cameras and film, pocket notebook and pen for journaling, snack foods and water bottles, choice medications (including Imodium, Pepto-Bismol, and their malaria prescriptions), tools and treats to give away to the native Haitians, Kate's ever-present deck of cards... some of the things that she had learned from last time were absolute necessities. Careful to keep them out of Clay's sight, Kate also packed a few other items into her luggage, items that she couldn't explain but felt that she should bring them - a full bottle of Aloe Vera sunburn gel, a brand-new sample bottle of contact solution, a brand-new box of Ziploc sandwich bags, and a pair of swim trunks that would fit Clay. She had learned years ago that while she didn't have to understand her gut instincts, it really did pay off to follow them.

Kate glanced up at the alarm clock on the nightstand - still early. It was still a good four hours before they got up, and another two and a half before they would fly back to Kearney. Heaving another sigh, she laid her head back down on Clay's shoulder. Kate was convinced beyond a doubt that this was going to be a special, life-changing trip for the two of them and their friends... she could feel it. She knew Clay and Sarah's faith well enough to guess the ways it would likely strengthen them, and same with her cousin Sally. She wished she knew Jerome and Will enough to have an understanding of their faith walk. Well, she would certainly discover in time the impact of this mission trip on the two of them.

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"Hi there, guys!" Patricia Kirche grinned as she held out open arms to embrace her daughter.

"Hey, Momma!" Kate pulled her mom into a big bear hug.

Patricia turned to Clay next. "It is good to see you guys again!"

Clay grinned as he hugged his mother-in-law. "It's been long enough."

"Hello again, Mrs. Kirche," Will said politely, extending his hand to shake.

Patricia gave it a slight glance. "Now-now... you get a hug too. After all, you're dating Sarah, and she's one of our family."

Will hid an embarrassed smile as the tiny woman embraced him warmly. "Thanks." Though he was embarrassed to have the attention, he was glad to hear how Patricia and the rest of the family still accepted Sarah as one of their own.

Finally Patricia turned to Jerome. Being under five feet tall compared to Jerome's approximately six and a half feet, she looked almost straight up. Fortunately with her own husband being well over six feet, she was unshaken by the difference. "You must be Jerome."

"How do you do?" Jerome said, politely shaking her hand.

"Good, thank you. The pleasure is mine to meet you." Patricia pointed towards the minivan, winking lightly at Will. "Sarah wanted to come along, but I knew we would need all the room we could for five people and all the luggage. Let's get going so that you can relax at the house."

They quickly packed the minivan and climbed in to return through town to the farm. Pulling the luggage from the minivan, everyone brought their bags inside the house. Patricia gave everyone instructions as to where they would be sleeping the night, and they quickly scattered to find their rooms.

By the time Will had placed his luggage in his quarters and returned to the living room, Sarah was already down there waiting for him with lights in her eyes. "Hey, Princess."

"Hey, ya big oaf." Sarah eagerly leapt into his arms and embraced him warmly.

Jerome chuckled. "This is one interesting romance, if that's the usual way they greet each other."

Clay nodded, grinning at him. "It's a big improvement over what we saw the first day they met."

"Think Beatrice and Benedict from Much Ado About Nothing," Kate told him. When Jerome gave her a funny look, Kate shrugged. "How about Sam and Diane from Cheers?"

"Hm," Jerome said thoughtfully. "I wish I would have had ringside tickets for that." He nodded at the duo. "They certainly have the Sam-and-Diane attraction down."

Immediately Kate turned to see what Jerome was talking about. Catching a good look at them, she flushed with embarrassment as they shared a shockingly steamy kiss in the middle of the living room. Talk about speaking in tongues - I'm surprised that they haven't choked each other with the way they're kissing. She grimaced as they held each other so close that she couldn't have slid a piece of paper between them. If Kate didn't know better, she would have said that it was the kind of kiss shared by two people who were physically intimate with each other - or wanted to be. Glancing at Clay, she noted the expression on his face that suggested he was equally uneasy at the display of affection. He winced and quickly met Kate's eye, exchanging a wordless conversation with her through that medium. Sensing that Clay felt the same way about it that she did, silently Kate vowed to ask Sarah about it later.

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Sarah moaned in her sleep, tossing and turning at the images that assaulted her mind. At last she woke up with a jerk and a gasp, the dream still vividly etched in her memory. Sitting up in bed, Sarah shook her head to dislodge the nightmare to no avail. Why am I having bad dreams about the trip? Sarah wondered. Is something going to happen, or am I just afraid? For a brief moment she debated sneaking into Will's room to wake him in order to talk to him about it, but decided against it. He needed his sleep after losing two hours of time in the flight to Nebraska.

Tiptoeing lightly to make sure she woke no one, Sarah crept down the stairs to go make herself a glass of warm milk. Expecting darkness, she blinked with surprise to discover a light coming from the kitchen. Puzzled, Sarah followed the light into the kitchen to see who was up at this crazy hour. Sitting at the table drinking a steaming beverage was Patricia, Kate's mother. Patricia looked up as Sarah entered the kitchen and sized up the expression on her face in an instant. "You can't sleep either?"

"No," Sarah admitted. "I've been having nightmares about the trip."

Patricia drew a breath in through clenched teeth before speaking again. "I was afraid of that. Come, join me. Your company will be welcome - even if our dreams would happen to be the same."

"Thank you." Sarah sat in the chair next to Patricia's as the older woman poured a second cup of decaffeinated tea for her. Smiling as Patricia placed the cup in front of her, Sarah began. "You're having nightmares about the trip too?"

"Yes." Patricia smiled weakly. "I have been for the last couple of months."

"I've been having the same nightmare the last couple of weeks," Sarah told her. She rubbed her face, hoping to ease some of the tension she felt. "I keep hoping that the dream will go away... but it's not."

"Sarah, as a fellow dreamer, I understand how it is. Sometimes it's a gift, sometimes it's a curse. Nights like this we would wish it away in a heartbeat." Another wan smile crossed Patricia's face. "Unfortunately we can't. God gives the gifts to whom he chooses... and He also gives responsibility right along with it."

"I wish I could just ignore it," Sarah moaned, "but I can't. It's just eating away at me. I don't want the dream to come true at all. I just wish that for once one of my dreams was wrong..."

Patricia sighed, a queasy feeling in her stomach telling her she wasn't going to like what Sarah had to say about her dreams. Not that hers were any better. "Can you tell me about them?"

Sarah gently shook her head. "It's just the one dream, but I keep having it over and over again. I've been dreaming about a bloodthirsty mob led by a handful of voodoo priests. They keep saying, 'Death to democracy! Death to Christianity!' They start knocking down the walls to the orphanage that we spent all week building. They deface the church with voodoo symbols and profane graffiti. And then they start chasing us through the jungle."

"Go on."

Encouraged by Patricia's unblinking focus, Sarah continued telling her about the dream. "They chase us and chase us until we finally find ourselves in the capital city. Will and Jerome and I turn around to see if we lost the mob... and not only is the mob gone, so are Kate and Clay." Sarah looked up into Patricia's eyes, the worry apparent on her face. "Mom Kirche, I keep looking for every little bit of news I can find about Haiti to reassure myself that my dreams mean nothing at all. But for every article that says that things are finally starting to look up in Haiti, I see one more that reminds me that Aristide supporters and other hoodlums are still out there trying to cause trouble. I am so afraid that my dream is going to come true. Usually I tell Kate everything, but I didn't want to tell her about this."

Very gently Patricia placed her hand on Sarah's and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Sarah sweetie, I don't blame you for that - I don't blame you at all. I haven't told my daughter about my dreams, either... but I'm going to tell you now in hopes that the knowledge will equip you for what you need to do." Patricia took a deep breath and began. "I too have been dreaming about a mob of voodoo worshipers and priests chasing your mission team through the jungle. Your team is going to face great danger - but God will protect you. Unfortunately the details I've seen in my dream are a little different than what you've seen in yours." Staring off into the distance, Patricia pondered over how much more she wanted to share with Sarah. There was much, much more she had seen in her dreams - dreams that had given her insight into why Sarah had seen them disappear in hers. Patricia knew that if she shared too much about her dream, there would be consequences. But she didn't dare keep her silence, either.

Sarah studied Patricia's eyes. Somehow she knew that Kate's mother was going through some inner struggle over the nature of her own dreams. "What details? Tell me."

Patricia debated a minute more before deciding to keep the information to herself for now. She knew that Sarah meant well, but she was too close to the situation - Sarah would not be able to be impartial when the time came because of the girls' fierce loyalty to each other. "Something very deep and profound is going to happen to Clay and Kate while you are in Haiti, Sarah, something that will change their lives forever. Those two are going to face their worst fears on this trip... and it's either going to break them or make them stronger." Patricia turned her gaze to Sarah. "Sarah... I place my children into your care, into Will's care. It's up to you to help look out for the welfare of my children... and of my future grandchildren. Encourage them and pray for them. Minister to them. I guarantee that you will not regret it if you do. If those two are able to face their fears, their faith and their love will be strengthened tenfold. If they are not..." Patricia's glance fell into her cup as her jaw trembled.

Instantly Sarah knew what Patricia meant. Their very lives would depend on how well they would be able to cope with whatever challenge was thrown their way. Moreover, Patricia's guarded expression told Sarah that she had dreamt and seen a lot more than she was telling. Had she seen details of what Clay and Kate would be facing in Haiti? Sarah reflected for a moment. The only fears she knew the couple had were the obvious - Kate's fear of bridges and Clay's fear of water and cats. Unless there were other fears she didn't know about... and considering their unique personality quirks, that was entirely possible. Sarah was going to have to study this further. Either way, Patricia had appointed Sarah to look after them. It was her job to keep their spiritual welfare in mind. "I will do my best, Mom. Promise me that you'll pray for all of us, and I promise you that I will try to look after them."

Patricia chuckled lightly. "You can count on me to pray and for God to answer. And when that time comes, if it comes, I will mobilize every other prayer warrior I can reach on the phone. With that many men and women of God praying for all of you... how can God help but hear?" Once more she squeezed Sarah's hand. "If God wants to take my children, that is His choice. I will grieve for them on that day - but I have hope in knowing that they will be waiting for me in Heaven. Their faith in the living God has made their hope of that certain. But if He has a deeper purpose yet to be revealed in their lives... then all I can do is trust Him that He will preserve them and that everything will unfold as He has designed. Have hope, Sarah. Have hope."

Sarah smiled for the first time tonight since the dream had woke her from her deep sleep. "Thanks, Mom. Thanks for listening, and thanks for sharing your wisdom." Pausing for a moment, Sarah decided to share some information of her own. "I'm glad it was you I talked to instead of Will. Will is a wonderful man and I love him... but he doesn't have a living faith yet. He believes only in things that are real - in things that he can see and feel and hear. I've made the suggestion to him that God exists and is real, but he told me that God will need to prove His existence to him before he'll believe it." Sarah glanced down into her own cup. "Will wouldn't have understood my dreams or my fears the way you do. He certainly wouldn't have had the faith and hope that all will turn out according to God's will that you do."

A thoughtful expression lit Patricia's eyes. "It sounds like we need to be praying for him, too. Thank you, Sarah. I'm glad you shared that." She smiled gently. "Thank you for talking with me, Sarah. I've been worrying about this... but our conversation helped me remember who is really in charge. Maybe now I'll have a better time letting go of the situation."

Sarah blinked with surprise. Patricia's faith always seemed so solid. It was moments like this when she shared her inner struggles that reminded Sarah that Patricia was just another ordinary woman... who placed her faith in an extraordinary God. "Um, you're welcome."

"I should be able to get back to sleep now," Patricia said surely. "Are you all right, or would you like me to keep you company for a while?"

"I should be fine," Sarah told her. "I think I need some time alone to think."

Fortunately Patricia seemed to understand. "Make sure you get some sleep," she urged Sarah as she gave her a hug. "You may not have to deal with the jet lag those other four have, but you still have a long week ahead of you."

"Yes, Mom," Sarah sighed as Patricia turned to leave the kitchen. She really is like a mother to me, Sarah thought, like the mother I should have had. She smiled warmly, feeling very loved. Reflecting in thoughtful silence, she pondered her dreams and her conversation with Patricia until she heard voices and odd noises coming from upstairs. Now what? she frowned, wondering who else was up at this bizarre hour - and why. Curious and wary, Sarah rose, turned off the kitchen light, and followed her ears to discover the source of the noises and murmuring.

Go to the next day, Day 1 (June 16)

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