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Day Nine - Saturday, June 24

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The middle of the night

Clay twitched in his sleep at the sound of someone calling his name. "Mmm," he moaned but otherwise did not stir.

"Clay," a male voice said clearly in his mind, "get up. You and Kate have to leave now."

Clay's dream self turned at the voice and saw a red-haired teenage boy with Kate's facial features, his build... and one of his hockey jerseys. "Wh-Why...? Who-Who are you?"

"Just go," the boy urged Clay, taking a firm hold of Clay's shoulders. "Take her and go, if you want to get out of here alive."

"All right," Clay answered him, puzzled at the young man's words.

"Oh, one more thing." Clay turned back to the boy, who glanced towards the door of the hut. "Watch that first step. It could be deadly, if you aren't on your toes." With an Aiken-like wink, the boy smacked him fondly on the arm.

With a sudden jolt Clay jerked awake, causing Kate to stir slightly. I've married into it, Clay thought as he gulped in a deep breath of fresh air. I've married into a family of future-tellers and now I'm one of them. Shaking his head sharply to dislodge the dream, he blinked several times in succession. In spite of his efforts, the face of the young man remained firmly in his mind. I would be willing to wager serious money that boy in my dream is our future son. Immediately he turned to Kate and started to gently shake her. "Honey? Kate, wake up."

Kate groaned at the early hour wakeup and opened her eyes. Haunted during the night by nightmares of a mob holding what amounted to a ritual sacrifice in the clearing between the church and the tiny hut in which they slept, Kate was more than happy to be awake. "Clay... what is it?" she asked as she leaned on her elbow. "You have a nightmare?"

Confused by his dream, Clay sat up. "I'm not sure." Hoping it would sort out everything for him, Clay told Kate about the dream, careful to describe the boy down to the last detail.

Kate felt a slow warmth build in her abdomen, as if it came from inside of her. She placed her hand on her stomach thoughtfully, knowing in her heart that she was still pregnant. Our son, she thought with amazement, he dreamed about our son. Her heart gladdened with that gentle assurance from God that He was looking out for all three of them. For a brief moment she thought about telling Clay, but decided to keep the knowledge to herself for now. Let Clay worry about the two of them, and Kate would worry about their unborn child - at least until they found safer quarters than these. "I agree with the boy," she told Clay absentmindedly. "Let's go."

Taking the briefest of moments to put their contacts back in, the couple prepared for their upcoming journey. Kate moved towards the door, but Clay put out a hand to stop her. "Hold it, honey. I want you to wait here until I give you a signal." As Kate cast a puzzled look at him, Clay tiptoed towards the door. Cautiously he peeked outside, keeping the opening to just a crack. Standing in the middle of the clearing between the hut and the church was a Haitian man toting a shotgun, but it didn't take Clay long to realize that it was not their friend from the night prior. Their friend from last night was nowhere in sight, but marks on the ground between the hut and the church showed signs of a serious scuffle. Clay bit his lip with apprehension. Oh no, he breathed at noticing a fair-sized patch of blood on the dirt nearby.

Something in the shadows demanded Clay's attention and he glanced up. He recognized the still and bloody corpse of their host lying crumpled against the defaced church building, staring back at them from one unseeing eye. As a wave of nausea coursed through him at the massive violence that had been done both to the body of the man and the church building itself, he pinched his eyes shut to keep from getting sick on the spot. Clay quickly deduced that the guard in the clearing either killed their friend or was with the group that did. Considering that their sleep hadn't been disturbed during the night, he also thought that it was possible that no one else knew they were in here. Clay gave a silent prayer of thanks to God for His protection as they slept. Briefly he wondered how many of the team members and their families and their parents' friends from church had been praying for them last night, thinking to himself that their safety this morning was nothing less than a miracle.

Clay's mind raced frantically for a plan - he knew they had to get out of there, and there was no way either of them were getting past that guard without a plan. Briefly he pondered some sort of diversion, but it didn't take him long to run out of ideas that would keep the guard distracted long enough for both of them to get by. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Clay knew he was going to have to find some way of taking the man out of commission. Oh boy. This was not Clay's arena at all - to quote the old saying, he was a lover and not a fighter. Fortunately he was a thinker... give him enough time and he would come up with something to help him best a man with a shotgun.

Kate opened her mouth to speak, and Clay quickly put his hand over her mouth. Seeing the shrewd and calculating look in his eye, Kate chose to trust him and remain silent. Silent vocally - in her mind she immediately began to pray for the two of them.

Remembering more than a few movie fights that were handled by someone bringing a liquor bottle or something equally hard down onto a person's head, Clay grabbed a nearby pot. He waited as the man circled the clearing, waiting until he came a little closer to the hut and he once more turned his back before Clay would act. Once more Clay fought the nerves and the nausea in his stomach - he did not need this now. A little closer... a little closer...

When the magic moment arrived Clay slipped out the door and raised the pot over the guard's head. Bringing the pot down with a solid motion, Clay felt the adrenaline rush as the pot connected on its target with a sickening thud. The guard crumpled to the ground, his shotgun underneath him. Clay reached a hand back to Kate, who had been ready and waiting for the signal. Grabbing her hand, Clay took off on a dead run for the edge of the village and the jungle beyond. He didn't look back or show signs of stopping until they had gone for a ways into the jungle and he was confident that they had not been followed.

Once they had finally come to a place where Clay felt they were a little more safe, Clay lost the contents of his stomach while Kate rubbed his back in quiet sympathy. Shakily standing back upright with Kate to support him, he was now solidly convinced that his dream had not been a random occurrence. I wonder how Kate would feel about naming a future son Joseph - between the dreams of the two Josephs in the Bible, the name would be frighteningly appropriate. Clay quickly looked around him. Somehow everything appeared different in the morning light, and after their run from the village, they were no longer on familiar territory. Within a moment or two he knew that he had lost his bearings. "Which way?" he whispered with a shrug, turning back to Kate.

Grimacing with the knowledge that she too was disoriented, Kate looked around. Suddenly a patch of white brightly gleaming against the darkness of the jungle caught her eye. There, a voice in her mind told her. Taking Clay's hand in hers, she walked through the foliage towards it. As the two of them came closer to the source of the brightness, they got a better look at what it was. The couple blinked with surprise at an amazingly clean, fluffy white cat. Kate marveled at the healthy sheen of its fur as the cat met their gazes with keen golden eyes, and she became increasingly certain that this was no ordinary cat. This was their guide through the jungle. "I think we're supposed to follow it," she whispered. "Can you handle that?"

Unable to take his eyes off the cat, Clay nodded. "Yes. I don't know why... but I'm not afraid of it." Taking a deep breath, he addressed the feline. "Lead on. We're ready." At receiving Clay's vote of confidence, the cat turned and led them further into the jungle.

The white cat proved to be a fierce taskmaster, leading them at a harrowing pace through the jungle, over trails when it could find them and through the brush when it couldn't. They climbed over trees and rocks, jumped over streams, and squeezed through narrow passages in the foliage as they pressed on towards their goal of reaching the team. Clay and Kate followed behind as the cat stayed far ahead of them, but never so far that it didn't remain in sight. "And I thought," Kate panted at one point, "that our hike yesterday was vigorous! You ought to consider becoming a personal trainer, Cat!" Casting an amused look at her, the cat pressed on.

After several high-speed hours, the cat paused by a small stream that fed down the hill into the river. Kate knelt by the stream, cupping her hands to drink from them before splashing water on her cheeks and forehead. Strengthened by the refreshing water, Kate knew she was ready to go on for quite a ways yet. "Hon," she turned to Clay as the cat lapped from the stream, "do you want me to..." Kate blinked with surprise at seeing Clay also knelt down beside her by the stream to drink the water from his cupped hands. She watched in awe as he drank without a single sign of discomfort or flinching. Wow.

Clay heaved a sigh of relief, wiping the remaining water droplets off his chin. "I needed that." Turning to Kate, he smiled. "How are you doing, honey?"

Slowly smiling back at him, Kate nodded. "Things are very good."

Nodding back, Clay realized that she had been studying him. Is she still in the mood? he wondered. Not that he was going to complain if she was. Hoping to steal a kiss during the break in the action, Clay moved closer. "Good..." he breathed, leaning in to kiss her.

Finished with its drink, the white cat sprang across the stream and headed towards the next break in the brush. Turning around with an are-you-coming? look on its face, the cat stopped there. It laid its ears back in an annoyed expression at their display of affection, yowling loudly to catch their attention. Clay and Kate broke the kiss, looking at the cat with surprise. The cat glanced at the opening in the jungle, clearly hinting that they should start moving again. "Another minute?" Kate pleaded, with a glance at her husband. The cat hissed at them and darted into the opening. Kate scowled and stood. "All right, all right, we're coming." Taking Clay's offered hand, the two of them hopped across the stream and followed the cat through the jungle. "But you owe us, fuzzball."

That is certainly the most expressive cat I've ever known, Clay mused. If it starts talking, then I'll know we've been watching too much Joan of Arcadia. Smiling wryly at the idea, he helped Kate over another fallen tree.

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The Kinam Hotel, Port au Prince

Sally watched from a poolside table as the others slowly started trickling out of their rooms, looking to see if Pastor Macy was among them. She had tossed and turned much of the night, haunted by the memory of seeing her cousins trapped on a disintegrating bridge and ultimately swept down the river. She was never going to forget that scene as long as she lived. It was about five forty-five when Sally finally gave up a good night's sleep as a lost cause and got up for the day. She wanted to start immediately with seeing what could be done to send out a search party, starting with contacting the local pastor. Unfortunately time crawls for those who wait, and Sally found herself alternating between pacing and attempting to read more from her book.

"Pastor Tom!" she called out when she finally got a glimpse of him. Sally hurried over to where he was, not wishing to hold the conversation loudly across the pool area. "We need to make some phone calls if we're gonna get that search party sent."

Pastor Macy nodded thoughtfully, noting that Sally wasted no time getting right to the point. "I've tried calling the pastor several times already this morning," he informed her. "I can't get through."

"At all?" Sally asked, concerned not only for the Aikens, but for the local church community as well. "Is this one of the usual phone line problems, or is it something more?"

"I'm not sure," Pastor Macy admitted. "I did get through to the ELCH Headquarters, though. Since John is around the Jérémie area he wasn't there, but Marleine was. She is trying to find out what's going on and see if we can't find Pastor."

"That's right," Sally breathed. "John's around Jérémie. Do you think he got out?"

"He's in one of the outlying villages," Pastor Macy told her. "I called him on his cell. He knows to come back to Port au Prince when he's done."

An idea popped into Sally's head as she remembered. "Would there be any way John can help search or start a search for Kate and Clay?"

Pastor Macy mulled that one over for a minute before shaking his head. "He's an American and a known missionary. I'd rather not chance his life in that hot spot any longer than is necessary."

Sally sighed. "Of course you're right, Tom. Sorry for bringing it up."

"Sally, you don't need to apologize. You're showing concern for two of God's children, and you're showing concern for your own family. That's the last thing I'm going to hold against you. But maybe John can give us some ideas for what we can do."

"Good," Sally told him, "because there has to be something. I'm going crazy just sitting on my large behind doing nothing. I feel like there should be something I can do to help find my cousins."

"Well, right now what we can do," Pastor began, "is take an early lunch. I've already arranged it with the Kinam staff and let the rest of the team know. After lunch we'll get together as a group and see what we can figure out. Maybe by then John will have joined us."

The mission team quickly assembled in the Kinam's open air restaurant at the same large table as the night prior, and lunch was served. Sarah heard it called chiquetaille, and was told that it was finely-shredded smoked cod mixed with onions, shallots, chopped hot pepper, lime, and vinegar. With the kick it had, she knew Will was probably enjoying it.

"You don't have to hide that yawn from me, Romeo," Jerome teased Will. "I already know how the two of you spent your evening without that."

"That's right," Sally recalled. "It's open season for rabbits. Anyone in the mood for rabbit stew?"

Jerome guffawed at the reference. "Oh, waiter, there's a hare in my soup."

Sarah snorted as other team members laughed at the mischief of the pair. "I should have seen that one coming," she muttered.

"At least you're taking it well, sweetie," Sally told her. "Of course I don't need to remind you that many of us are already members of the rabbit club."

Will groaned. "That's right, you know the family in-joke."

"And now you are family."

"With friends and family like you," Will teased back, "I should be really worried about my enemies."

"Naw," Jerome told him with a wink at Sally. "You've got the Mafia on your side."

Will took Sarah's hand in his. "I couldn't be any luckier. Sarah and I got a good surrogate family."

Pastor Macy smiled gently, watching as conversation continued with the McLeods and the rest of the team. Healing was going to be slow, but it looked like some had already begun.

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Earlier in the middle of the Haitian jungle

Once again the white cat led Clay and Kate at a breakneck speed through the jungle, over fallen trees and through tangled vines, barely slowing to consider their awkwardness on only two feet. Clay strained to help Kate over the fourth log in the short distance they had crossed since the stream. Are we there yet? he asked in his own mind, chuckling to himself at the lame attempt at humor.

"Hey!" Kate panted as the cat broke into a dead run down the trail. "Slow down, fuzzball!"

Clay groaned as the cat got further and further ahead of them. Gripping Kate's hand tighter, he took a deep breath. "Come on," he breathed, and the two started jogging after it.

The cat stayed at the edge of their vision, not slowing in the slightest when it went over the top of the next hill. Kate grunted. "We can't lose it now," she whimpered as they climbed the hill after it.

At the top of the hill Clay paused. "I don't see the cat," he moaned, looking around. Suddenly his eyes bulged with surprise at the sight of another village below them. His attention was drawn to a gray SUV parked at the edge of the village. "Kate..." he breathed as two men, one Haitian and one Caucasian, walked towards the vehicle. One of them almost looked like...

But Kate had already seen them. A small cry escaped her mouth, and she grabbed tightly onto Clay's hand. Taking off on an all-out sprint, Kate raced down the hill with Clay barely keeping up with her. "John! John Callahan!" she called out at the top of her lungs.

The two men, one of whom was indeed their friend John Callahan, turned at the sound of Kate's voice. "Kate!" John exclaimed, holding his arms open wide as Kate leapt into them to give him a big bear hug. "Kate! Clay! You're alive! You're here!"

"We're out of breath," Clay panted as he stopped just behind his wife.

"It's good to see you too, John," Kate gasped, breaking away from the hug with a broad grin to allow John and Clay their own hug.

"We were just about ready to leave to meet up with the others," John told them, pointing at the SUV. "Hop in, and we'll drive you to the Kinam."

Kate shared a warm and relieved gaze with her husband. "Music to our ears."

"So," John began as the couple climbed into the back of the SUV behind John and the driver, "tell me everything that's happened to the two of you the last couple of days."

Taking turns giving the details, Clay and Kate told him the story of the team's frightening escape through the jungle towards safety. They finished up with their own nerve-wracking tale of falling into the river and their hike through the Haitian wilderness.

"Wow. Praise God that He brought you safely here." John heaved a deep sigh. "I'm glad we bumped into you then, because who knows how long it would have taken for anyone to find you. God was looking out for you by bringing you to this village."

Immediately Clay knew why the boy in his dream had been so persistent, and why the white cat had driven them at the pace it had. It was the only way they would have arrived in time to catch John. "He was indeed," Clay breathed reverently.

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The Hotel Kinam, Port au Prince

Once the team was finished with lunch, they went outside to the patio area around the pool. Claiming the same tables and chairs as they had last night for devotions, the group gathered to discuss their options. "I wanted to let you know that as soon as we can gather the help from among the locals, we are going to send a search party to the Jérémie area to see if we can't find the Aikens."

"Or what's left of them," Adam muttered.

Sally glared at him, ignoring the somber looks all the way around the circle. "Hey, this is my cousin we're talking about. She's a scrappy one - don't go counting her out yet, or her husband, neither."

"She's pregnant, she's scrawny," Adam began.

"They're both scrawny," Matt told his friend.

"You're no Arnold Schwarzenegger," Sally retorted.

"She's out of shape," Adam continued.

"You didn't see the kind of pace she kept on Clay's last tour," Sally insisted. "She kept up with all the other professional musicians, she kept up with the dancing, and she even danced on stage with her husband during every concert. That doesn't sound like a woman who's out of shape to me."

Tracy smiled at Sally. "I saw that dance. And they thought When Doves Cry was steamy?" She made a cooing noise before going on. "They hadn't seen steamy until they saw him dance with his own wife, the love of his life."

"You see St. Louis?" Sally asked. When Tracy nodded and fanned herself, Sally smiled. "I thought that was one more feather in the cap of groups like Focus on the Family. Get a couple like the Aikens showing America how marriage can be if you put your full effort towards it, and you've got yourself a powerful advocate."

"Ahem, the point?" Adam interrupted the two women, who glowered at him. "The woman I saw this week tired quick and wasn't capable of lifting things and working hard."

"The woman you saw this week tired easily because she's pregnant and her husband didn't want her working too hard because he was looking out for the health of their child," Sally growled. "I ought to know, I was pregnant four times in my life."

"Four?" Will asked. "You only have two kids."

Sally waved a hand. "Long story. I'm saying that because I know what it's like to be tired and cranky all the time and have your husband watch you like a hawk to make sure you don't pull anything stupid. For all we know, letting her on bucket brigade may have been pushing it."

"Except that Clay was watching her like a hawk," Sarah drawled, "to make sure she didn't overdo it."

"And the prosecution rests."

"Okay, Sal," Sarah began, "maybe she is in decent shape. But this is Haitian jungle we're talking about. All of us hiked through that jungle to know what I'm talking about. If Will and I were the ones out there on our own," she informed her, "maybe we could handle it without getting too badly lost. We're used to roughing it. But Kate has never been athletic and you know it. The fact that she's pregnant makes it all the more unlikely. Even if they survived the river, it would take nothing less than a miracle for them to survive the Haitian wilderness."

Sally smiled confidently. "This is God we're talking about. The most unlikely miracles in the most desperate times are His specialty. As sure as Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian, they could yet walk through that door unharmed."

"If God exists," Will broke in, "then why did He knock those two into the river in the first place, hunh? What kind of God is that? Either He doesn't exist or He's not as good as everyone says He is. Because no good God would do that to a couple who loves Him as much as they do."

"Hey," Sally growled. "Who are you to second-guess God and what He has in mind? Maybe He has some ultimate purpose for allowing that to happen. We just haven't seen it yet." She pointed at Will and Sarah. "Something good came out of it. The two of you are married, and seem happy to be that way."

Will made a face of reluctant acceptance. "All right, I'll give you that. But even Sarah and I might have drowned in that river. I bet even you would have drowned in that river! You saw how nasty it was. You yourself said you wouldn't want to swim in it, and you've been in the pool every night this week!" He held up his hands. "What's the odds of them coming out of that alive?"

"Not good," Lisa admitted quietly, and many of the others shook their heads in agreement.

"So first they gotta survive a nasty flooded river," Will began. "Then there's the jungle itself. They have no tools, no compass, no map, and no knowledge of what plants are good or bad, no knowledge of animals that are out there. And even if they were lucky enough to find civilization, Haiti's in the middle of a coup! We Americans aren't exactly popular with the locals right now! If they could find someone who spoke enough English to communicate, who says they'd be a friend?"

A tense silence ruled the group for several minutes as they considered each of Will's points. "I still want to send out a search party," Sally muttered at last, setting her chin as Will and several of the others reacted unfavorably to her determination.

Throwing up his hands in aggravation, Will growled at her. "They didn't make it, Sally! It would take nothing less than a miracle, and I don't believe in miracles. They don't happen in real life."

"They do too happen!" Sally snapped back. "All the time! You're just not looking for them."

"Darn right I'm not. Because for me to believe in God or miracles, there's gonna have to be a big, obvious one right in front of my face that can't be explained any other way. Got it?"

Sally gave a low chuckle. "Be careful how you challenge God, Will. He just might take you up on that, and when He does that you never know what's gonna happen."

"Give it a rest, Sally," Adam grumbled.

"I agree with her," Jerome told him. "We can't just leave them out there. We have to bring something back to their families, whether it's their remains or whether it's the two of them alive and well. We have to find out what happened to them."

"And that's what we're going to do," Pastor Macy said forcefully, glaring down the most vocal of the dissenters. "When John gets here shortly, we're getting his advice and help to find out what our options are for looking for whatever we can find. And we're looking for anything at all."

"So when is John getting back?" Wayne asked.

Pastor Macy glanced at his watch. "He should be here shortly, barring road blocks or anything like that. I called him earlier on his cell so he would know where we're at."

"Hey, Pastor Tom!" John called out from the entrance of the restaurant. "You lost something."

Gasps, stifled cheers, and breathed prayers of thanks were heard throughout the mission team as Clay and Kate walked hand in hand through the restaurant to stand at the entrance of the pool area. "Oh, praise God..." Pastor Macy responded in awestruck wonder, summarizing the mood of the team in those three simple words.

Sarah was the first on her feet, flinging herself at Kate for a vigorous embrace. "I thought - I thought..." she choked out, clearly on the edge of bursting into tears.

Kate said nothing, merely holding onto Sarah as the tiny woman did indeed start to cry. After a moment she released her friend, giving her a chance to hug Clay as well.

"It's all right, Sarah," Clay murmured as she cried on him too. "We're here, alive and well."

Sarah stood back and smeared the tears all over her cheeks as Will came up beside her. "Will..." she sniffled. "My best friend's alive..."

Will gently gathered her into his arms. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. They're here - they're really here. Alive...

Sally moved in to collect her own lengthy hug from her cousins. "I was so worried..." Sally breathed. "I was almost afraid to hope, but I think I was even more afraid of giving up without good reason to."

"She was the one person," Jerome told Clay and Kate, "who refused to give up hope that you were alive. She was ready to lead a search party yesterday, and was ready to go back there today and look for you guys herself if she had to."

Sally smiled at the bodyguard. "You didn't give up either, Jerome. Who chased them downstream as far as he could go, and agreed that we needed to send someone to search?"

"All right," Jerome muttered as Sally moved back to let the next person greet Clay and Kate. "Will and I did a little looking."

The team took turns giving warm hugs and shows of support to the triumphant but bedraggled Aikens as well as to John. Sheila was one of these who gave them an especially warm one, with she and her husband having bonded somewhat with the young couple. "You realize," she told them as she held their faces in her hands, "that we're going to have get the entire story over dinner."

Clay quickly shook his head. "Nope. I have something else in mind." Smiling at her puzzled expression, he winked. "We still have tonight's devotion to plan."

Sheila's eyes lit up at the idea. "Let's talk about it later. I want to hear what you have in mind."

Last, Jerome and Will came up to the couple. "Man, we thought you two were goners," Will told him as he exchanged a manly hug with Clay before giving Kate a more gentle one.

"Reports of our deaths," Clay chuckled as he exchanged a hug with Jerome as well, "have been greatly exaggerated." He gave a sheepish grimace. "Though mine would have been a little closer to truth, if Kate hadn't been so fast on her feet..."

"What?" Jerome asked, staring hard at the younger man.

"I almost drowned yesterday," Clay said quietly, taking Kate into his arms when he noticed her eyes misting over again at the memory.

"Please tell me you aren't serious," Sally breathed, having overheard Clay's statement.

"Unfortunately, I am," Clay mumbled, shrugging lightly. Seeing the shocked looks on the faces of the team members, he winked at her. "I promise I'll tell everyone the full story during devotions."

"Speaking of story," Pastor Macy grinned, glancing at the newest pair of newlyweds, "we have some news to share with the two of you."

"Oh really?" Clay asked, sharing a curious look with his wife. "Go on."

Will and Sarah exchanged gently embarrassed grins. "We're married now..." Will chuckled.

Jaws both hanging slack, Clay and Kate stared at the two of them. "What?? When? I mean," Clay shook his head sharply, "congratulations. When?"

"Yesterday," Sarah giggled, "when we thought that we lost the two of you in the river."

"Life's too short to be without the one you love," Will explained. "We got Pastor Macy to marry us. I don't know how legal it is back home, but we're legal here."

Pastor Macy shook his head. "We're going to have to redo it back in the States since we didn't have a license for this one."

"Why?" Kate asked. "Full-blown pastor, plenty of witnesses... Vows were said, right?" As everyone around them nodded, Kate shrugged. "What's the problem?"

"Red tape," Wayne muttered, and Kate rolled her eyes in complete understanding.

"Say no more," Clay drawled.

Kate grinned at her best friend. "Look at it this way, Sarah: we now know for a fact that your wedding dream is going to come true."

Sarah laughed delightedly. "Your dad will give me away, and the two of you will be our honor attendants. That's my dream, all right."

"Well... now that I know you two are safe and sound," Sally said, "I'm going swimming. It's a typical June day in Haiti, muggy and hot."

Slowly taking in a deep breath, Kate studied the pool for a minute with nervous eyes. "I'll join you," she said at last. "If I don't face this while everything is still fresh and new, I'll never go swimming again. And I don't want to add water to my current fears."

Clay joined the rest of the team members in staring wide-eyed at Kate. "What do you mean?"

"Clay... we just went through the most traumatic event of our lives," Kate told him. "Right now as I stand here looking at that pool, I'm shaking. I'm shaking in my shoes. I have to deal with it today or I never will. Never." She looked at the pool with determination. "As soon as I clean up a little, I'm going into the water with whoever else is in there."

Oh my goodness... Clay breathed. Kate's fear was actually a fear of bridges, and she faced that by trying to cross the bridge with him. But they had been thrown into the water... and she was very right in saying that if she didn't deal with it now, she never would. He marveled at her determination and her bravery. If you can face your fears... he thought as he took in his own deep breath, then so can I. "Do you think they would let someone into the pool wearing a spare pair of shorts?" Clay asked gingerly.

"As long as they were clean," Sally pondered, "I don't see why not."

"Good," Clay sighed. "Then I-I'm j-joining you."

Kate gaped at him as Sally squawked. "What? I thought you were afraid of the water."

"I - am," Clay mumbled. "But I... I have to face this sometime." He met Kate's eye. "We did promise to stick with each other through everything life throws us. We faced the bridge and the river together - we can face this."

Now I understand... Kate took in a sharp breath. "Clay... you aren't going in there without a proper swimsuit." Noting the disappointment flickering briefly in Clay's eye, she continued. "Which is hidden at the bottom of my backpack."

"Oh my heck..." Sally shook her head sharply. Things were going a little too fast for her to follow it all, but it seemed that God was way ahead of the game as usual.

Clay stared at her in shock, and for a brief moment she thought he was going to faint or something. "You're serious... you brought a swimsuit for me to Haiti knowing about me and water?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. I had no idea why until now, but I did. As soon as I get my hands on my backpack, I'll show you."

"You're on."

Pastor Macy placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Pardon me for interrupting you two, but we have some phone calls to make... namely to your worried parents."

Clay and Kate exchanged a sheepish wince. "Oh - yeah. Let's go do that." They quickly followed Pastor Macy to the front desk area where the phone was located. At their request Pastor Macy put the call through to his mother first, since it was later for her than it was for Kate's parents. Handing Clay the phone, Pastor Macy spoke to the desk clerk about securing another room for Clay and Kate.

"Parker residence," Faye answered.

"Hi, Mom," Clay smiled. A loud thudding sound came across the line, and Clay suspected she had dropped the phone - especially after he heard her crying softly on the other end. "Mom? Mom, are you all right?" he asked, the concern audible in his voice.

"Clayton..." Faye gasped, "I am so thankful to hear your voice again. How are you doing? Is Kate with you too?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm doing fine, Mom, and Kate's standing right beside me." Clay winked at Kate, who wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'll tell you the full story later when we're back home, but I wanted to give you a call and let you know we're all right."

"Thank you," Faye told him hoarsely. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Probably won't," Clay admitted, "until I'm the one getting phone calls from wandering children."

Faye laughed warmly. "That's a good way of putting it, Clayton. I wish I could keep you on the phone longer, but you need to call Kate's mom next. She's every bit as worried as I was, in spite of her gift of insight."

"All right. Love you, Mom."

"Love you, Clayton."

They dialed Kate's family next, and in very much the same manner Kate reassured both of her parents that they were alive and well. Once more the conversation remained brief, and when it was finished Kate handed the phone back to the desk clerk. Sighing with pure contentment, she laid her head on Clay's shoulder and nuzzled close. For the first time since they had left Jérémie, the two of them were truly safe. And there in Clay's arms, Kate felt all the more safe and secure.

Pastor Macy handed Clay a key, telling him what room they were in. "There you go. It's a suite - hope you can handle that."

"A suite?" Clay asked with surprise. "Is that all they had left?"

"No," Pastor Macy told him with a smile, "but after what you two went through, I thought we'd give you some nicer accommodations. I have a suspicion that last night's bunk was nowhere near as nice."

Kate snorted. "Try a straw mat," she mumbled, "and we were happy to have it."

"And you'll be happy to see these," Sally told her, holding up the backpacks and belt pack that she and Jerome had been caretaker to in their absence.

"Oh, yes!" Clay cheered as he handed Kate the key and took the bags from Sally. "It will be nice to have clean, dry clothes again."

"And a shower..." Kate agreed.

The couple quickly unpacked their backpacks and showered up, enjoying the clean water, the soap, and each other's company before their pool time. Grabbing her own clean one-piece swimsuit from the remnants of her luggage, she heaved a relieved sigh. She also pulled out the plastic bag containing the man's swimsuit, tossing it to Clay.

Clay caught it easily and opened the bag to retrieve its contents. He released a slow sigh through pursed lips as he considered the swim trunks. "It's been a long time..."

"I know." Already wearing her suit, Kate smiled at him. "I have faith in you."

"I can tell." Clay quickly put on the trunks, and took in a deep breath. "Well... here we go." Picking up a couple of pool towels and their room key, they walked down to the pool area.

Kate laid their towels on the patio table where a few of the other team members were relaxing. The fact that Clay was standing this close to the pool was amazing in itself... it was mind-stunning that he was planning to go in. Knowing that it was a deep-rooted fear, Kate wasn't going to push him. Nor was she going to be surprised when he reached his limit, whenever that was. "Ready?"

Studying the gentle steps leading into the shallow end of the pool, Clay nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah." He smiled weakly as Kate took his hand, gleaning the needed confidence from her gesture. A few steps at a time, the two of them walked toward the pool. Clay swallowed, shutting his eyes and taking deep breaths as he realized that he was less than two yards away from being in the water.

"You all right?" Kate asked. When Clay nodded again and opened his eyes, she knew he was ready to go on. Kate led the way, carefully piercing the water with one slender foot and then the other. She stood for a moment on the top stair, holding onto Clay's hand as he stood on the lip of the pool. Kate glanced up into his eye to see if he was willing to continue and saw that he was. Turning sideways to see both Clay and where she was going, Kate took another step down into the pool. For a brief moment as their arms stretched out, she wasn't sure if he was going to follow. Taking a shaky breath, Clay placed his own feet in the water one at a time.

"Wow," Sally said gently. She was close by, but remained out of their way. "I'm impressed. Are you able to climb a little further in?"

"I... think so," Clay croaked nervously, and he followed Kate down another step and then another. As Clay and Kate descended deeper into the water, his grip on her hand tightened. In a seeming answer, Kate matched his tightening grip with her own.

At last both of them were standing on the bottom of the pool, and Clay took several slow, deep breaths to keep himself calm. "You're doing great, honey," Kate told him as she held on to his hand with both of hers. "I want you to go at your own pace. The last thing I want to do is push you beyond your comfort level."

"I'm already beyond my comfort level," Clay answered, his voice cracking. "That's what this is about, remember?" he asked her. "Challenging my comfort level. I want to face this together... I don't want to leave you to face it alone."

"You're never alone, Clay," Sarah told him. "Neither one of you are ever alone."

Clay smiled, immediately remembering back to the river crossing. He and Kate had prayed together for God's help to face the river, to face the bridge crossing it, and He had delivered both of them. The suspension bridge had broken, yes... but they were not. They had been thrown into the river, yes... but they had emerged from the river alive. Moreover, they had crossed several more bridges and rivers on the way to Port au Prince and were fine. God had preserved them and continued to preserve them. He was watching them now, as the two of them walked around in this pool... and a swimming pool didn't have any currents to carry you downstream. God was in control, and his friends from the team were here to keep watch over both of them. Including a certified lifeguard. "Thank you, Sarah. I needed that." He squeezed Kate's hand once and forced himself to relax his grip. If he had let it get any tighter, he probably would have started cracking her knuckles. "C-Can we walk around a little?"

Kate smiled gently at him. "Sure." Letting him decide where he wanted to go and how fast, Kate remained close by Clay's side as they walked around the shallow end of the pool. She was amazed at how much easier this was to deal with as the two of them faced it together. Somehow Kate doubted that she was going to swim any more than she had before their ordeal... but she didn't think that she would end up swimming any less. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

Adjusting himself to the sensation of the water lapping around them, Clay slowly nodded. "I'm doing all right," he told her.

"How much more do you want to do?" Kate asked. "I want to push myself a bit more, but the last thing I want to do is push you into something you're not ready for."

Clay glanced up at her. "Name what you want to do, and maybe I can try it too."

"Well..." Kate chewed her lip. "For one, I want to go under."

Oh gosh... Clay started shaking at the mere thought. But he was here, wasn't he? He was here and he hadn't drowned yet. And Sarah and Sally stood close by, and both Jerome and Will sat watching from the table they had just claimed. Clay couldn't help noticing that Will seemed unusually attentive - almost as if he was watching for his own sake as well. That's got to be your imagination, Clay told himself. I don't see why Will needs to watch you flounder around in the shallows... Slowly Clay nodded. "I want to try," he told her at last.

Kate blinked at him with surprise but recovered quickly. "Do you want to go first, or second?"

Clay gave it only a moment's thought before he made his choice. "I'll go first."

"All right," Kate agreed. "Just remember I'm right here for you, hon. I'm not letting go of your hand."

Reassured by her words, Clay nodded again. Since he didn't want to take in a deep lung-full of water on pure reflex, he planned on covering both his nose and mouth with his free hand. Giving himself a moment to prepare, he took and released several breaths before taking the big one. Holding it in while he clamped his hand over his nose and mouth, Clay intentionally went underneath the water. Immediately he popped back up again, exhaling the breath he had taken earlier.

Kate's eyes lit the entire pool area as he came up. "Wow... that was great, honey."

He hadn't been under that long, and as far as Kate was concerned he had set some sort of underwater record. Then again, in some ways he had. Taking another few breaths to steady himself, Clay quickly decided he wanted to challenge himself further. "I want to see if I can't stay under longer this time."

A light cry of surprise came from Kate before she smiled at him. "If you think you want to. I'm right here for you, honey."

Once more Clay prepared himself to go under before holding that deep breath and taking the plunge. This time Clay remained underneath the water for the mental count of three before breaking the surface with a gasp. "I think that's good for today," he told her as he attempted to catch his breath.

"It sure is," Sally marveled, completely amazed at what she had seen.

"Wow, Clay." Sarah shook her head. "I never thought I'd see this day, much less be here for it."

Kate's eyes once more shone at Clay, but this time they shone with tears. "I'm... proud of you, honey," Kate whispered hoarsely. "You're my hero, in so many ways."

Clay blushed at Kate's words. "Please tell me you aren't serious."

"Want me to start listing the ways in which I am?"

He didn't need to - the longer he read her eyes, the more he could see that she was completely serious. "But I'm just me, honey. I'm just an average guy. Nothing special, nothing heroic."

"An average guy," Kate nodded, "with a godly heart and a beautiful soul, the voice of an angel, and courage that comes only from the Lord. That makes you both special and a hero in my book. If getting us out of that first village didn't make you heroic enough, this does."

Clay's blush grew deeper as Sarah and Sally continued to stare at them. "Honey, I'd rather not discuss that right now..."

"You want to save it for tonight." Kate smiled. "I can handle that." She considered him through half-closed eyes. "In exchange for a kiss..."

In the middle of a swimming pool, she wants to kiss me. "All right," Clay agreed, and they carefully gathered each other into their arms. Making no quick moves, Clay leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his wife's lips. As he pulled back, he smiled lightly. There was something sexy about that... Maybe he'd have to try it again after Kate went under the water. "You said you wanted to go under?"

"Yeah. If you don't want to hold onto my hand while I go under, you can hold onto Sarah or Sally or even the edge of the pool," Kate offered.

Firmly Clay shook his head. "You didn't let go of me when I went under - I'm not letting go of you."

"Oh my gosh..." Sarah murmured in awe.

Kate smiled at him as he continued to hold onto her hand. "All right." Taking a few minutes of her own to prepare, Kate held a deep breath and submerged for the count of three before coming back up.

"Good job, honey," Clay told her as she wiped the excess water from her eyes. Cautiously he wrapped his arms around her again. "Very good."

Noting the way he was studying her mouth, Kate gave him a lopsided grin. "Good enough for a kiss?" she asked.

"Yup." Clay gave her a longer kiss this time, feeling more confident that the two of them were going to remain firmly anchored in place. As they broke the kiss, he reflected that he had been right. Having Kate wet too added something to it. But for now, he was definitely ready to get out. "I think I'm done, honey. Are you, or do you want to swim a little more?"

"I was thinking of swimming back and forth a time or two," Kate acknowledged, indicating the length of the pool. "Nothing major, just a few lazy strokes to push my limits a bit more."

"Don't let me stop you," Clay told her.

The two of them turned towards the stairs to exit, but were surprised by Jerome, Will, and Pastor Macy entering the pool, Pastor Macy holding up one hand to halt their progress. "Hold on just a moment, Clay. Your presence has been requested."

"Hunh?" Clay asked, clearly bewildered at the turn of events. "What...?"

Will blushed fiercely, convinced that everyone already knew. "I requested."

Clay cocked his head uncertainly, glancing once at his equally puzzled wife. "Care to elaborate?"

Will chose not to clarify right now, knowing that the truth would become apparent soon enough. "Sarah..." he began as the three of them walked farther into the pool. "Sally... you too. I want all of you here for this."

Clay and Kate exchanged another curious glance but joined the two women around the three men.

Quietly Will stood in place, knowing that none of them but Jerome and Pastor Macy had any idea what to expect.

He thought he had it all figured out. Most of his life Will had been completely and utterly convinced that God didn't exist. Will's youth consisted of an abusive, alcoholic mother who would have left them if she hadn't died first, and a loving but ineffective father that died of a broken heart only a short time later. The two boys had been left to fend for themselves during their junior high years. Will couldn't see any evidence of the existence of God in a situation like that.

Then he met Clay, and through Clay and Kate met Sarah. All three believed in a loving, merciful God... and did their best to show that side of God to Will. Being the realistic, down-to-earth man Will was, he told them he needed proof before he would believe in a God. He wanted something visible, something tangible. He wanted rock-solid evidence that could not be refuted or denied.

It didn't take long for Will to be talked into going on the mission trip with the Aikens. Between his skill with children and the fact that Sarah was going along, he was one of the better candidates. Will thought he was just going to go quietly on the trip, do his job watching the Aikens, help the kids make their puppets and things, and enjoy a little time with Sarah in the process. End of story. But that was before Will saw how the rest of the world lived. The things that Will had seen this week shook his world at its core. American poverty was infinitely preferable to third-world poverty. You didn't have much more, but you did have more. And yet these people had hope... they had hope because they knew of the God who loved them and cared for them, and promised them an eternal life greater than any of their present suffering. It was the love of this God that drove the mission team members to give up a week of their time and their vacation to come to an often violent and destitute nation. And for all he had seen and heard, Will had started to ponder the existence of God.

He had watched as the story of God unfolded in front of him, in front of the children. He had watched as the team members bridged gaps of language and culture to reach out in love. He had watched them deal with less-than-stellar conditions for a cause. He had watched two Christian couples interact with each other in loving, healthy ways. He had watched two longtime friends as the friends fought and made up again. He had seen both the best and the worst of human nature on this trip. If God cared about the welfare of people like these, just maybe he might care about the welfare of Will too.

Then the bridge broke. Will wanted nothing to do with God after that. Either God did not exist, or God was really mean and didn't care about people at all. A caring, loving God like the other team members believed in would not toss a couple as happy, faith-filled, and in love as the Aikens without warning into a raging river. A caring, loving God would not send this couple to their deaths in such a pointless, violent manner. That meant that God either did not exist or God did not care. He would have staked a year's worth of wages on that.

Like the rest of the team, he had been stunned speechless when the Aikens had walked into the hotel alive. Alive and unharmed. He had never believed in miracles, and now he had seen one happen in front of him. Clay and Kate Aiken were alive... And what was more, they were determined to face the very things that were known fears. The very things that had tried to take their lives. Will wanted to watch that, too... watch and see how their lives had been affected by their experiences.

Although neither Clay nor Kate had given out much information yet, Will could tell that the two of them had gone through the fires of life and death together. That much was quickly apparent upon their return to the group. It was in the way they looked at each other, the way they talked, the way they interacted in general. Their love and trust seemed that much stronger. Their bond in general seemed that much stronger, both as friends and as a couple. Will was anxious to hear their story to see what events had transpired and how it had affected them.

But he didn't have to wait clear until devotions to see the changes. Fresh from what she had claimed was a traumatic experience, Kate headed for the pool... and much to everyone's surprise, Clay was indeed at her side - wearing a swimsuit, no less. And most everyone on the team had gathered to witness this for themselves, many of them watching from various discrete vantage points to give the couple some semblance of privacy. Will had even seen Lisa hidden with the videocamera...

They hadn't been disappointed. As Will watched in wordless amazement, both Kate and Clay slowly went into the pool. Will could tell that Clay was still frightened, but he was keeping that fear under tight control with reserves of strength that left Will at a loss to understand. It reminded him of the experience at the river - both Clay and Kate were facing deep-seated, longtime fears... yet somehow they found the strength and courage to face them. But how?

"God never ceases to amaze me," Jerome had told him without preamble. "They prayed for strength to cross the bridge and He not only gave that to them, He gave them whatever else they went through to give them an even bigger challenge." He had held his hand out to indicate the Aikens walking around the pool. "If God can do that, it makes it a lot more easy to buy a story like parting the Red Sea or feeding thousands of people."

It was at that moment Will realized he was watching another miracle - namely that while God may not answer prayers the way a person thinks He should, He still answers. Will had asked God for proof of His existence, and God had answered. God had answered out in a way that shouted out to Will, "I'm here, and you can see that I do care. I care for them, and I care for you."

Whether that was really God's message or not, Will heard it loud and clear. For the first time in Will's life, he could see and touch proof of God's existence and God's very real love. Love for the Aikens, love for the team. Love for Will McLeod. Cut to the heart, Will decided he was ready to know God better.

After exchanging a handful of profound questions and their answers, Pastor Macy had suggested baptism to Will. Rather than waiting until tomorrow or later yet, Will had requested to have it done here and now. Water and the pastor were both available, and all the people he wanted present were already in the pool. Why wait?

It was these circumstances that brought Will into the Hotel Kinam swimming pool surrounded by the pastor, both Aikens, Jerome, Sally, and Sarah. He couldn't forget Sarah - his true love, the woman who had moved his heart and stirred his soul. He wanted her present at this occasion... his "faith birth", as Pastor Macy had called it.

Pastor Macy beckoned the others closer for the administering of water and the Word. In the interest of location and other special considerations, he chose to keep things short and succinct. Directing Will to bend down so his forehead was closer to the water, Pastor Macy dipped his hand in the water and poured a handful on Will's forehead with each person of the Trinity he named. "Will, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

"Amen," Sally whispered in response.

Will glanced up at the others, noting the expressions on their faces and in their eyes. Clay clearly still wanted out of the pool, but the pleasure at witnessing Will's baptism apparent in his broad smile kept the discomfort at bay for just a moment longer. Sarah's eyes were glistening with moisture as Sally squeezed her shoulder warmly, a private message just between the two of them. Will wondered if Sarah had shared any of her concerns for Will with the others. It would not surprise him if she had. "You all right, Princess?" he asked quietly as Clay and Kate carefully slipped by him for the stairs.

"Couldn't be happier," Sarah responded, her voice quivering slightly.

Considering how much Sarah's faith meant to her, Will believed that. "I need to get out of this pool," he told her. "I'm wearing my only change of clothes for the day."

Sarah laughed warmly. "So you wouldn't be too happy with me if I dunked you."

"I'd like to see you try it."

Eager for a challenge, Sarah attempted it. Before long the two of them were roughhousing in the shallows, at least until Will picked her up in his arms and gently tossed her a few feet to land with a splash.

"Gutsy," Sally chuckled, "with the size difference between you two."

"Don't kid yourself," Will smirked. "I'll pay for it later tonight."

"I'm not about to ask how," Sally told him as she headed for the stairs.

Before long the pool had emptied itself of mission team members, who quickly cleaned up and dressed for dinner in the restaurant. Another table had been added to the long table in order to accommodate the addition of the Aikens and John to their number, and the atmosphere was merry. The mood was properly serious during the group prayer, when they prayed for Haiti's current political situation and the congregations of Jacmel, Les Cayes, and Jérémie. Pastor Macy made sure to give plenty of thanks as well, thanks for Will and Sarah's marriage, Clay and Kate's safe return, and Will's faith birth in the Kinam swimming pool. He finished up with giving thanks for the food that would be served before giving the Amen.

Familiar with the pumpkin soup from Jérémie, Sarah dipped her spoon into her bowl as the conversation flowed freely among the team members. She noted that Clay and Kate were remaining annoyingly quiet about their experiences in the jungle. This devotion of Clay's had better be good. Somehow there was little doubt in Sarah's mind that it would be anything else. Glancing up, she smirked as Clay ate ravenously and Kate seemed to savor every bite. Briefly she wondered the last time the couple ate, and speculated that this might be their first meal since yesterday's lunch. Chuckling under her breath, she watched Clay polish off his spicy salad before starting on the one Kate had shoved to the side. I wonder how long it will take him to fill one leg before he starts packing it into the other one.

"Oooh," Kate cooed as the wait staff brought out the main course, which turned out to be some sort of local white fish. "This looks good."

"It does," Clay agreed. "Is it spicy?"

"No," she told him after her first bite. "It's good."

Clay nodded with satisfaction. "If you're still hungry after eating yours, you can have some of mine since I killed your salad."

Kate shot him a look. "I've never eaten as much as you have, hon. Advantage of a small appetite is that it takes less to fill me."

"If he offers, feel free to take him up on it," Sally told her cousin. "After all, you're eating for two."

"True," Kate agreed, not seeing the worried look in Clay's eye.

But Sally had. Giving Clay a curious blink, she cocked her head to the side as if asking the unspoken question. Clay shook his in response and mouthed the word, "Later."

"Just be thankful, Katydid," Sarah told her, "that you weren't here last night. We had barbecued chicken, and it was very spicy."

"Barbecue?" Clay asked, disappointed.

Sarah nodded. "You might have liked it, Clay, but Kate would have hated it."

Kate made a face. "Uh... yeah. Me and little one both."

"How soon do you two want to start having children?" Tracy asked Will and Sarah.

Will and Sarah exchanged a sheepish glance with each other. "We're ready to start now."

Snickering, Kate cast a sly smile at her best friend. "It's catching, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Will admitted. "You two are just too cute."

Pastor Macy gave them a wicked grin. "It wouldn't be the first time a couple on the mission team has conceived in Haiti."

Sally laughed warmly at the memories. "That's right, those two did have a honeymoon baby."

"Oy," Kate chuckled. "Too bad we don't have any of Payton's goodies left - we'd give you some."

Sarah turned towards Kate and Clay with a naughty wink. "Thanks for the offer, Katydid, but they obviously didn't work for the two of you."

"Watch it..."

Clay stifled the deep sigh he felt. I wonder if we still have a child or whether we have to start over. Gently he took Kate's hand, threading his fingers in between hers. When he lifted it up to his mouth to brush her knuckles with his lips, Kate turned away from her bantering with Sarah. With a puzzled expression she watched Clay for a moment as he continued to kiss her hand all over.

Sally chuckled at his amorous attentions. "Any wonder why it didn't work?" She was rewarded with a brilliant blush from Kate and laughter from the rest of the team.

As everyone finished with the meal, Pastor Macy addressed the others. "Why don't we have devotions in twenty minutes? We're having them beside the pool tonight, so everyone meet there." The group whispered with amazement amongst themselves, talking about Clay's well-known fear of water and how most of them had watched him in the pool earlier with Kate... and with Sarah, Pastor Macy, Jerome, and Will during the impromptu baptism. Pastor Macy turned to Clay. "I think you'll have their attention."

Within fifteen minutes the entire team was gathered next to the pool, most of them in the chairs at the lounge tables. Pastor Macy caught their attention with little trouble and invited Sheila and Clay to begin.

Sheila shined a flashlight onto the pages of her bible. "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God." Sheila paused to find the rest of the text, as the rest of the group listened in complete silence. Finished with the first three verses of Psalm 69, she skipped ahead to pick up again at verse 13. "But I pray to you, O Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes." Upon finishing verse 18, Sheila turned her attention to Clay.

Holding onto Kate's hand to anchor him firmly to dry land, Clay crouched down beside the pool. As the rest of the team watched in breathless amazement, Clay dipped his hand in the water, moving it back and forth for a minute before standing upright again. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak. "Yesterday morning I could not have done that to save my own life... much less anyone else's." He gave Kate a gentle smile and squeezed her hand. "All of you remember the events of yesterday - how we had to leave immediately if we wanted to live to see another day, and how we made that trek through the jungle. And you remember the bridge." Blinking somberly, Clay went on. "Kate and I were terrified. For years she's been afraid of bridges, and I've been afraid of water. God gave us the strength to start crossing that bridge together... trusting in the love and support of each other, and in our God. And for a while it looked like we were going to make it across. It looked like we had done it, with God's help." He bit his lip. "And then the bridge broke."

"I had been knocked out by a tree branch or something," Clay continued, "so I don't remember anything after that. But Kate told me that we were swept down the river for miles before she finally pulled us out." He smiled warmly at Kate. "When she told me the story about how she pulled us out, Kate gave all the glory to God, saying that He was the one who provided the branch and gave her the strength. That's an amazing God... and an amazing woman." Taking delight in Kate's modest blush, he continued. "I should have drowned in that river. If it weren't for that rope tied around our waists, I probably would have, because Kate would never have been able to find me in time. Yes, Sarah - your trust rope. Thank you for bringing it." Biting his lip again, Clay took a deep breath. "Kate told me that when she finally found me, I was floating face down in the water... and that after she pulled me out I wasn't breathing." He smiled wryly before he spoke again. "She had to use CPR on me - and I missed it..." The group chuckled at the playfully disappointed look on Clay's face as he watched Kate blush even more deeply. "And it worked. I woke up coughing."

"After that," Clay said, taking a deep breath, "we took off through the jungle to try to catch up with you guys. We didn't know how far we had been carried downstream, so we went as fast as we could. But it was a farther distance than we thought, and we ended up spending the night in a remote village. There was a... Christian church, I think, there that was guarded by a Haitian man with a shotgun. He didn't speak any English and we didn't speak any Creole... we spoke entirely with hand signals, but I told him our story and he invited us to sleep there in his own home."

"The next morning I woke to the strangest dream... a dream about a young man who looked for all the world like he should be our son. And if the Kirche family 'gift' has rubbed off on me like I suspect it did this morning, some day that young man will be our son. Some day." Blissfully unaware of the significant glance that Kate and Sarah shared with each other, he kept telling the story without stopping. "He was telling me that we needed to leave right then. I told Kate," Clay smiled, turning to her, "and with all her experiences with hunches and dreams, she believed me. So we left." With a somber frown on his face, he sighed. "Unfortunately... this morning we discovered that our host had... uh... gone to a place where he will discover what God meant when He said, 'Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me'." Aware from the expressions on their faces that the team understood his meaning clearly, Clay chose to spare them the details of their escape from the village and went on with the rest of the story instead.

"We weren't sure which way to go... until Kate saw a white cat in the jungle." Clay smiled wryly. "It wasn't scrawny like the other Haitian cats we've seen - it was clean and well-fed. Its fur seemed to shine with a light of its own. I-I can't explain it, but I wasn't afraid of it. There was something about the cat that didn't make me afraid of it..." He bit his lip again, deep in thought. Shaking his head, he went on with the story. "That cat could have been a drill sergeant, because it sure put us through our paces!" Chuckling along with the rest of the team, Clay winked at Kate. "It drug us up and down hills, over trees and streams, through the brush..." Making an exhausted face, Clay let his shoulders hang. "It led us on a high-speed chase through the Haitian jungle, stopping only for one water break before bringing us to another Haitian village - " He turned to indicate John with his hand. " - and to your very own missionary to Haiti, John Callahan... who would have left without us for this place, if we had been but two minutes later."

Clay paused, letting the rest of the team ooh and wow in wonder. "God is good. He preserved our lives out there, by bringing us to John." He turned to glance at the pool. "Earlier this afternoon I joined Kate for a swim in that very pool. Sure, I was still terrified. But with His strength and Kate's support... I got in the water. I got in, I walked around..." Clay took a deep breath. "I even went under the water for a minute, with Kate right beside me. And during Will's baptism I stayed there in the water the whole time. Does that mean I'm cured of my fear?" Quickly Clay shook his head. "No. Not yet. But it means that He is giving me strength and courage to face my fears, and maybe over time I just might be cured of them. I've heard a saying that says sometimes God calms the storm... while other times He calms His child." Looking Kate in the eye, he smiled. "This week God has given my wife and me some amazing experiences... including those at the river. I won't speak for Kate, but after this week, I know that I will never be the same. Praise God for that."

Pastor Macy nodded. "Praise God for that. Wow," he breathed, shaking his head in amazement. "That's an incredible testimony you have, Clay. I hope you get plenty of opportunities to share it when we return to the States."

"I think I will," Clay grinned at him. "My first appearance after the trip is with Regis. He seemed quite interested in the mission trip when I talked about it a year ago. It wouldn't surprise me if he asked about it this time."

Sarah smiled gently. "Nothing like national television to get a story out."

"And it's live," Clay nodded.

"Clayton Aiken," Kate complained, "you mean you're going to tell everybody what a hero you think I am for pulling you out when that was clearly God's hand at work, and say nothing about your own feats of heroism? How after I had that miscarriage scare yesterday in the middle of the jungle, you carried me on your back for an hour until I could walk again? How when we got to the first village, you insisted on standing between the man with the gun and me?" Taking note of his embarrassed blush, she continued. "How this morning, when you noticed that the guard in the clearing was a different person than last night, you knocked the guy out with a pot in order for us to escape the village?"

"I was only looking out for you," Clay protested weakly as the awestruck group murmured between themselves. "I love you, Kate, and I don't want bad anything to happen to you. Any man in love would have done what I did. I didn't do anything heroic at all."

"No," Kate mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Nothing heroic at all."

"Exactly," he told her, not seeming to notice Kate's sarcastic tone of voice.

"Just make sure that's part of the acceptance speech for your medal of bravery," Sally told him.

After the prayer led by Sheila and about thirty minutes of conversation about the Aikens' experiences in the jungle, the group broke up for the night to go to their rooms, and Clay gathered Kate into his arms. Stroking her face with a somber expression, he sighed. "How are you doing?" he asked gently.

Kate cocked her head to the side, puzzled by his question and the look in his eye. "I'm doing fine, honey. We're back with the team safe and sound, we're healthy, Sarah and I have made up, Sarah and Will are married..." Sighing deeply, she shook her head with amazement at the last one. "Things are pretty good right now. Certainly better than they were earlier. Wh-what's on your mind?"

Clay turned his gaze to her stomach with another sigh before returning it to her face. "I guess you can say I'm worried about little one. Whether our child is all right. Whether our child is even alive..."

At last Kate understood where his mood had come from - in the rush of activity that had occurred since they returned to the group, Kate had accidentally neglected to tell Clay that she had not miscarried after all. Fortunately that was an easy problem to solve. She smiled warmly at him, and placed her hand on his cheek. "Clay... our child is fine. I didn't lose him."

Blinking with surprise, he studied her eyes to discover a clue to the origin of her certainty. At last he gave up - there were way too many things that she knew without a logical explanation. "I'm afraid to ask... but how do you know?"

"I just do, honey. Like everything else, I can't explain how I know... but I just do." Kate shrugged. "I'll still want to go to the doctor when we get home to make sure he's okay, but I know he's fine."

"Gut feeling?" Clay asked.

Kate nodded. "Gut feeling." She snickered. "Literally."

That response was exactly what Clay needed to bring cheer to his spirits. He laughed warmly. "Gut feeling. I got that one."

"And in spite of your humility," Kate told him sternly, "I will insist to anyone that will listen that you were a hero in the jungle. My hero, and our child's."

Clay snorted. "I'm no hero, honey..."

"Will you at least allow yourself to be mine...?"

He sighed, shaking his head. The idea was both embarrassing and flattering at the same time. If he was going to be even remotely comfortable with anyone looking at him as a hero, it would have to be Kate. Or his kids, maybe... that was different. "All right." Staring deep into her eyes for several moments of intense silence, Clay once more reached up to stroke her cheek. "So much has happened to us the past few days. There's just not enough time to process it all." He bit his lip. "Is it all right with you if we just hold each other and talk a while tonight, nothing more serious than that?"

Too much information - his microprocessor is on overdrive. Kate nodded, the smile she gave him this time gentle and understanding. "Of course. Like you say... so much has happened to us. There's all the things related to the mission work, the stuff we see and experience because of where we are." She met his eye. "And then there's all the things related to relationships and life-and-death experiences." Kate lowered her voice. "I'm not in that mood tonight either, for the same reason. I'm not ready for that tonight. But I am ready to think, and I am ready to talk. And I want very much just to be close to you."

Clay quickly pulled her into a deep embrace. Maybe we're soul mates after all - we sure know each other's minds and hearts like soul mates. "I want to be close to you too, honey. For the rest of our lives."

Kate held him close, the beating of her heart echoing his own. "I love you, Clayton."

"I love you, Kathryn." Clay kept one arm around her as he started escorting her to their quarters. "Come on, darlin'. Let's head up to the room for the night and see how late we stay up talking..."

"It's a date," Kate sighed contentedly, laying her head on his shoulder.

Go to the next day, Day 10 (June 25)

Go to yesterday, Day 8 (June 23)

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