BLOOPER AWARD

I'll admit that most of the stuff I write is supposed to be just a little bit serious.  It may not turn out that way, but it's supposed to be.

That will not be the case here.

Over the desk in my office I have hung a few awards that I have been given over the years.  There is the plaque that I got from the Calera Eagles Football team back in 1980 for "service" given to the Eagles as Athletic Trainer. 

There is one there from the Clanton Jaycees from 1986  which calls me an "Outstanding young man".  I really didn't think I was young back then, but from this vantage point I think they were right, at least I was a young man, not sure how "outstanding I was.

One plaque that always gets attention is a plaque from the Clanton Fire Department.  It is simple enough, just like most plaques.  It says "Presented to Bill Collum 2000, Blooper award.  But on the plaque beside the wording is the gold plated depiction of a donkey's butt.

I've always said that if one could write a book about the funny stuff that happened in emergency services that it would be a best seller.  I know that emergency's are not supposed to be funny...but quite often the things that happen are very funny!  The story of how I received this award is one of those times.

It was mid-winter.  The fire department was accustomed to getting heart attack, stroke, wreck and fire calls during the night.  We were also often awaken from out sleep to "assist a person".  This could be anything from taking a blood pressure, comforting someone who is afraid or picking up someone out of the floor.  That was what this call was all about. 

It seems that an elderly couple had gone to sleep in their separate beds that night.  The tiny little man, we'll call him Pop, slept in his twin bed on one side of the little room.  His, shall we say, "plus -sized" wife, we will call her Mom, slept in her bed across from him.  This arrangement of the beds left a small space between the beds.  It was into this small space that Mom, rolling off of the bed, had fallen into. 

When we arrived, we found her, still face down, clad only in her thin night gown, groaning and complaining. 

"I've been laying here 3 hours", she mumbled.  "He couldn't figure out how to call 911"! It was difficult to hear her clearly because she lay face down in her house shoes her arms at her side pinned between the two beds.

The poor little husband just stood there at the foot of the bed, hands folded looking more like a little boy being scolded by the teacher.

I took a sheet from the bed and covered her.  I knew she must be cold.  It was about that time that the ambulance crew came in.  They always respond to assist.  Charlie, one of the attendants walked into the room, moved toward the lady and promptly stepped on her toe which was now warmly snuggled under the sheet. 

"AW"!, she yelled, "Are you trying to kill me"?

We tried to refrain from laughing at her for her blood curdling yell and at Charlie for dancing around trying not to get on her toes.

This was not my first rodeo.  I had often been called upon to picked up over-weight people.  So quickly I moved into position at the head of the patient telling several of the other guys to fall in along side so we could "hopefully" lift big "Mom" back onto the bed. 

When we were all in place, because I was at the head of the patient and in command of the move, I said, "Ok men, we will lift on three".  I begin to count. "One", the guys were in position.  "Two", they braced for the big lift..."Three" we moved as a well oiled machine.....except.

As I begin my movement to lift "Mom's" head, my left elbow hit a glass of water which had been sitting on the night stand between the beds.  If you have ever watched the old TV show, Six Million Dollar Man you may remember when the hero was supposed to be doing something really fast, the scene would go into slow motion.  There would be a little beeping sound and then the task would be accomplished.

Well, it was sort of like that.  The water glass started to fall, we all stopped lifting and tried to catch it, we moved in slow motion.  The glass hit the top of the night stand and the cold water poured out onto the back of "Mom's" head and ran down into her slippers. 

"Help, I'm drowning", Mom screamed out.  It was over.  No one could lift at all.  We were doubled over laughing at the over sized lady, face down in her slippers, now "drowning" in the ice water.

No, we didn't leave her there.  We regained our professionalism and lifted her back onto her bed.  As we left she was still going on about her stupid little husband, the clumsy ambulance driver and the ......well, you get the idea of the donkey's butt on the plaque now don't you? 

WHAT A GREAT KID!

Tim had gone to sleep at his regular time last night.  He had made sure that all the activities of the day had been put away, his room was clean and all was in its proper place so that when he got up in the morning he would be ready to start a new day. 

He had slept well and as he awoke he lay still for just a moment or two.  His eyes moved but his body reminded in the “I’m still asleep” position.  He took in the pale light shining through his window.  He loved that his window faced the East and as the son peaked its flaming head above the horizon it brought light into his room. 

He stepped out of bed and went about the process of getting ready to go downstairs.  With his cloths on and his face washed and his teeth brushed and his bed made, he proceeded down the stairs.  He was sure that in the kitchen he would see his mom, busily making breakfast for him and his dad.  He could smell the breakfast aromas drifting down the hallway.  Most likely, his dad would be sitting at the table drinking his coffee and thumbing through the morning paper.  They would greet him with a smile and a big hug.  They would make him feel loved, and welcome to be there with them.

Tim rounded the corner and sure enough all was as he had expected.  He responded to their greetings, gave a big hug in return and sat down beside his father at the table.

They shared their morning meal and their morning plans.  They listened as each one told of their hopes, plans and work that was to be done today.  There was no radio, TV or computer to jockey for their attention.  All interruptions were removed.   

The conversation quieted and Tim got in a meditative mood for a moment. 

“Dad?”

“Yes son, what is it”?

“Dad, I just wanted you to know how much I love you”. Tim’s words were honest and straight-forward. 

“Oh, Tim, I love you too”.  His dad said.

“And Dad, I just want to do the things that you want me to do today.  Because I want you to be proud of me and I want to be just like you.”

Dad’s heart just leaped within his chest.  His son had ways of making him so very happy. What more could he want than a child who loved him, wanted to please him and wanted to be like him?  He moved from his chair and held Tim in his arms and hugged him tightly. He realized at that moment that he would do anything for his child.

Wouldn’t you like to have a child like that?

 

 

 

So would God.

PLAYING TO THE CROWD

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Jackson, Mississippi to attend a training class for members of the Salvation Army advisory committee.  It was a great learning experience for me.  Over the last 45 years of emergency service I have learned to love and appreciate the work that the "Army" does in emergencies and disasters.  But the Salvation Army is so much more than disaster work. 

Their "officers" are the pastors of the churches (corps) and their members are the soldiers.  Their motto goes something like this:  "To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost and help the needy without discrimination".  I like that. Simple, straight forward. 

While there in Jackson I had the opportunity to sit under the teaching of several Army speakers.  One that I really appreciated was a delightful lady named (Major) Susan Brown.  Mrs. Brown came here from England over 20 years ago and still has that mesmerizing British accent that I love.  I told her, "If I could not understand a single word you said, I could still sit and listen to you speak all day". 

Several speakers told of the success of the Army.  They shared facts like:  (1) 83 cents out of every dollar that is given to the Salvation Army goes directly to help the needy. (2) For every dollar spent in advertising the Army earns $13 dollars. Those are some pretty good stats. There was a little bit of "yeah us" going on until, until Major Brown got up to give here little 10 minute devotion on Friday morning. 

It's good to be successful she said.  It is wonderful to receive the accolades of the community and our fellow workers, but, she said, "we must play for an audience of one". 

I sat there and thought about that statement.  Who do I play for?  Who do I work for?  Why do I do what I do?  I will admit that many times I play to the crowd.  If I think it will please others, if it will make me look good to them, I'll do it. As our Pastor Lyle Geist says, our lives are driven by the opinions of others. 

Sometimes I play for myself.  If it makes me feels good, if it taste good, if it looks good to me, then I'll do it. My life is driven by my wants and desires.

But Major Brown says, play for the One that matters. 

Work for one boss.  Please one master. 

If I would plan my day around His schedule, if I would say my words for His ears, if my songs were sang to Him and not to the audience, if my prayers were to Him and not words to please the crowd, if I played to the audience of THE ONE and pleased Him, then  I will arrive at the end of my journey I will hear the applause of Heaven and a single voice from the throne saying "Well done, my good and faithful servant". 

BUCKET LIST

I bet you have one.  You may not call it that, you may not even realize it, but you've got one.  A list of things you would like to do before you "kick the bucket".  Well, that's your bucket list. 

I don't have an official one.  I don't have one in writing.  But there have been things that I have wanted to do before I die, I've done many of them, but there are still a few items on the list that I haven't quite gotten around to yet. But my wife.....you know about my wife don't you?

My wife is the kind of person that if she knows I want something....she will do her best to make it happen.  And that's the way this story starts. 

I have always loved musicals.  From the days of Danny Kay, Doris Day and Pat Boone I have loved musicals.  If I would have been born with singing skills, and acting skills and talent....I would have wanted to be in a musical.  I have always wanted to see a Broadway musical.

So when I heard that the musical about the 60's singing group, The Four Seasons, was coming to Birmingham, I got online and tried to find tickets.  There were a couple of problems. 

• The tickets were costly
• I am cheep

So, I forgot about it.  I'll watch it if it comes on T.V.

But not my wife.  She didn't forget about it and for my 62 birthday she bought us tickets to the Broadway musical "Jersey Boys".  We looked forward to going for several months.  When the day arrived, we dressed in our finest.  (Brian and Jamie Leonard would say that I  wore my jeans with no holes in them and a clean t shirt) and we enjoyed an evening at the BJCC concert hall. Scratch another thing off my list.  Thank you wife.  I had a blast. 

Let me give you a brief synopsis of this little play.  The writer of the play laid the story out in four parts.  The beginning was the Spring portion of the story, where things were getting started.  The group formed and put out recordings and struggled to make it.   The Summer acts was when the group was doing great.  They made hit records and lots of money.  They traveled all over the world.  Then came the Fall season and the group started having problems.  Things were not going right. The Winter season brought the demise of the group and each member went his own way.  Appropriately, the group "The Four Seasons" had gone through four seasons of the life of their singing group. 

Great idea for the play-write.  Well, done sir.

Isn't it just like God to teach me a lesson when I'm right in the middle of enjoying myself?  You see, my time here at my job is rapidly coming to an end.  In July of 2014 I will have been involved in emergency services of some sort for almost 45 years.  30 of those years have been spent with the Emergency Management Agency of Chilton County. 

I hate to admit it but I have had some, shall I say, concerns about retiring.  For 45 years, when something went wrong, someone was in trouble, excrement hit the rotating fan blades, I got called.  Hurricanes in the Gulf, tornado's, ice storms, snow storms, haz-mat incidents, fires, plane crashes, train wrecks, helo crashes, truck wrecks, car wrecks, heart attacks, strokes, shootings, stabbings and tire tool fights....it was always something.  But always, someone needed me and I have been blessed by God to be able to respond.

But I've been thinking, that after July, no one will need me.  Younger men will respond.  Smarter people will figure out what to do.  And I will stay at home and watch it on the news.   All the "stuff" that I've learned over these years will be useless information. 

Until, that is, you see it in the light of the Four Seasons.

You see, I have lived through the Spring of my life in old Calera.  The fun times as a boy with cousins and vacations with Dad and Mom in Destin and Fort Walton when they were just little fishing villages. Calera High School, football games, basketball games, track meets, were all part of that season. 

The Summer of my life started early I guess.  Turning 18 and the little thing called the Viet Nam War came into play.  So from the time I joined the Coast Guard, through the birth of my children, volunteer fire department days, Ambulance service days, days when I worked and lived at Higgins Ferry, taught EMS/ fire classes.  First Responder classes, C.E.R.T. classes, CPR classes and so forth. All these were the prime of life and work came hard and fast.

I thought 30 was old.  But I got started in Emergency Management and these were some of my most memorable times as far as service to people in need.  I was sure at 40 it was over for me, but for my 40th birthday my wife again arraigned for me to ride bulls in a rodeo.  Three rodeos attempting to ride three bulls was enough for that little project.  (You know they say you only have to stay on those bulls for 8 seconds.  Heck, I stayed on much longer than that......and then they opened the gate.) At 50 I realized that I couldn't do as much for as long as I used to do, but still I fought fire, worked wrecks and even worked with the Alabama State troopers and trained working off a 100 foot line under their rescue helo. 

I guess Summer and Fall kind of blurred together because now here I am over 60 and winter is rapidly approaching.  For the first time in my life there was something heavy in the office the other day and I said, "I don't think I can pick that up by my self".  That hurt. 

Winter, cold, hard, dark days.  They will come.  But God worked Winter out so well.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and even my anniversary is in the winter.  All things to look forward to.  Winter will not be that long and we will be back to Spring again. 

I hear the Spring flower in Heaven are beautiful. I can't wait until the seasons start all over again.

  

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BOAT

A search and rescue (SAR) crew in Galveston, Texas in the early 70's stayed pretty busy. Hardly a day went by that  there wasn't a boat sinking, burning, lost, or broken down.  We spent many hours on and in the waters around that little island.  But there were occasions when life around the boat house and barracks would be dull. It was awful to have to sit around on a weekend especially, with the bright Texas sun, the Gulf waters and the hundreds of vacationers enjoying that beautiful island resort. 

At times the Officer of the Day would have mercy on us and send us out on "patrol". This was not a rescue mission but just a chance to get those pretty boats out in front of the public and let them see the Coast Guard presence.  We liked that. 

As we cruised through the waterways,if we saw a boater who might be speeding through a "no wake" zone or someone who looked like they were doing something unsafe or illegal we would turn on the "blue lights" and stop them.  We would board their vessel and inspect for proper fire extinguishers, life vest, etc.   

Often during these "excursions"  the minds and eyes of the 18,19 and 20 year old boys performing that task would wonder.  The young ladies occupying those pleasure craft would,on occasion be attired in clothing which might not have an ample amount of material to "cover the topic".  One can understand the proclivities of a young man under those circumstances. Our minds and eyes would wonder.

When that would happen it was common to hear these words coming from one of your crew members, "Hey, keep your eyes on the boat". You see the Coast Guard was concerned about the focus of it's crew.  The U.S. Coast Guard wanted it's men to keep their attention on the important points of operating a vessel.  They didn't want their crews to be distracted by other things.

I don't believe the Coast Guard operated on the Sea of Galilee. Nowhere in the Word does it tell us that Jesus ever was a member of the "bathtub Navy" although He did record a number of hours on the water.  But God has the same concern for His people as the Guard has for it's sailors.  He wants those who call themselves by His name to stay focused. He wants them to look in the right direction and not be distracted. He wants them to keep their attention on the important aspects of their journey.

Let me give you a couple of scriptures to prove my point. 

In Hebrews 12: 2 we are told we need to be "..looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith". We are not to compare ourselves to pastors, or other Christians.  We are not supposed to follow new movements and ideas.  We are to "look to Jesus" and keep our eyes on Him. Follow His example and walk in His steps.

Doctor Luke records the words of Jesus in Luke 9:62 when He said, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God"

None of us are worthy or fit for the kingdom but it's obvious that if one starts out serving God and then turns away and returns to the "flesh pots of Egypt" that they would be even less "fit for the kingdom" but Jesus goes farther than that. He is concerned about our focus.  He is concerned about what captures our attention.

Where are you looking today?  What is occupying your attention?  Straying from the narrow way is not hard, especially if we are looking at the wrong things or in the wrong direction. Focus on His Holiness, look at the life of Jesus, set your sights on Heaven. Please don't get mad at this old "Coastie" today if I just stop by and reminded you to "keep your eyes on the boat"?  
 

CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD

ACTS 16: 25-34

I.  A LESSER GOD: 

It is easy to see that Paul and Silas served a God of miracles.  Time and time again in their ministry we see God not only showing up but “showing out”. 

In 1986 there was a movie that came out entitled, Children of a lesser God.  Although the female star of the movie won an Oscar for her performance , I personally didn’t think it was that great.

It was sort of a love story, built around two characters, one a male teacher at a deaf school.  The other a female janitor or custodian at that same school. 

Although I didn’t care for the movie I loved the idea of the title.  It alluded to the premise that if you were deaf your God was less than the God that hearing people served,  thus the title “Children of a lesser God”. 

That is really a foolish notion isn’t it? 

But do you and I think the same thing?  To look at my life and listen to me talk sometimes you  would think that the God I serve is a lesser God than the God served by Paul and Silas. 

Paul’s God would respond to his prayers. Paul’s God could shake the foundations of a Roman jail, break open the barred doors, supernaturally loose the iron shackles that held their hands and feet and cause the stocks to spring open like an old time “jack-in-the-box”. 

His God would work miracles that others saw.  They recognized that God was at  work.  Their knees shook like a teen-age girl at a horror movie. 

The miracles that Paul’s God worked were not only miracles of nature but they were “spiritual miracles” that made grown men fall at Paul’s feet and cry out “What must I do to be saved”?  Miracles that changed lives and families.

QUESTION:  How long since that happened to you and I?  Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.  Because you and I serve a “lesser God”.  We can’t expect miracles can we?

If we were honest and truthful we should ask Gene to put this message on the sign out front:

                                                                    Our goals are short-sided

Our faith is too flimsy

Our God is too small

 

Don’t come to our church expecting miracles.  Don’t come to our church expecting your children or your loved ones to be saved.  Don’t come to our church expecting God to deliver your family from habits, addictions, or the chains of sin.  We serve a lesser God.

 

·         Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t believe that YOUR God can forgive your sins do you?

·         Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t believe that YOUR God can give you His Holy Spirit and deliver you from the chains of sin so you don’t serve sin, do you?

·         Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t believe that YOUR God can change the lives of your loved ones do you?

Do you really believe that God can make such a change in you that you can live a life with the “differential advantage” that Bro. Lyle spoke about on Sunday?  Can YOUR God so touch your life that you will live differently and act differently and talk differently and THINK differently than you do now?!

Or, or, ……are you a child of a “lesser God”?

Oh, that we as a church, as a people, as individuals would fall at the feet of Jesus and asked the God of Miracles to do that in our lives. 

He is the “Omni’ God:  Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent

II.  A FLIMSY FAITH:

But we talk a good game don’t we? 

When I was playing ball all of this “trash talking” was not allowed.  We were expected to show “sportsmanship”.  It wasn’t “in your face”, finger pointing, end-zone dancing ball.  You proved yourself on the field.  You let your playing do your talking. 

Not so today.  If a sack is made, it looks like a tribe of Indians are dancing around the quarterback.  All the pointing and yelling and strutting.  Personally, I don’t like it.  It’s not the way I was taught to play ball.

We do our share of trash talking at church too. We talk about our God who can do anything.  We talk about how He can heal the sick, and provide money for those in need.  We talk about how He can touch the lives of our children and loved ones and save them.  Oh, we talk a good game……but where is our faith?

Our faith is so flimsy we don’t expect God to answer our prayers at all.  Do you remember the story we studied just a few weeks ago of the church that was praying for Peter to be released from prison and when God ACTUALLY freed him and he walked up and knocked on the door…..they wouldn’t even believe it was him. 

Praying for rain is good, but praying for rain and then bringing your umbrella is faith. 

It’s wonderful that we pray and ask God for the things we need…..but where is your umbrella? 

Our faith is too flimsy.  Paul had eyes of faith that could see the Big Picture and see the big goals.

  

III.  SHORT-SIGHTED GOALS:  I wasn’t there that night in the jail at Philippi.  I know you think I am that old, but I’m not.  I don’t know exactly what Paul and Silas prayed about, but I just bet my tractor against your long handled hoe that they didn’t pray:  “God, bless us today.  God, help us to do better.  God, help us be better Christians”

I doubt that they even prayed for God to release them from the chains.  I think Paul and Silas were praying that God’s Kingdom would be lifted up by the things that were happening to them. 

Their goals were not short-sited goals.  They prayed for eternal goals.  God’s goals.  They didn’t look at what made them feel good or their comfort.  They looked at KINGDOM GOALS…..and then PRAISED GOD and sang songs to let folk know where their hearts were.  (THE PEOPLE HEARD THEM)

And when they prayed, and sang and praised God…….THEN CHAINS FELL OFF!

“God my back hurts”, “God I need some money to pay my bills”, “God my car won’t run right”

Oh, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pray for things like that.  God can and will answer “little prayers” but are we so “short-sighted” that we can only see our little needs?

Where are the BIG PRAYERS? 

“GOD FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT SO THAT MY LIFE WILL GLORIFY YOU”

“GOD SAVE MY CHILDREN”

“GOD SAVE MY SPOUSE”

“GOD DELIVER MY LOVED ONE FROM THE ADDICTIONS AND HABITS”

CONCLUSION: 

Our God is not a “lesser God”.  We serve the same God that Paul and Silas served.  The God, according to His own Word that is “the same, yesterday, today and forever”. 

·         The God who sucked up the Red sea so His people could walk across on dry ground

·         The God who delivered color and light to blind eyes

·         The God who made cripple feet walk, NO LEAP AND RUN

·         The God who fed 5000 from a little boy’s lunch box

·         The God who made dead hearts beat and dead lungs breath again

·         The God who shook jail houses and opened chains and stocks

 

IS THE SAME GOD YOU AND I SERVE TODAY! 

Don’t ask God to “bless you” when He wants to bless the world through you.

Don’t be satisfied for a little “buzz” when God wants to give you an earthquake.

 

 

 

PEPI'S NEW HOME

Pepi had lived in this tiny village all of his life.  For as long as he could remember his family had lived, slept, ate and played in this minuscule one room hut near the edge of the river.  It’s walls were made of mud and straw.  The floors of the hut were nothing more than the  ground on which it was built.  The roof was thatch and was always needing to be re-treated and repaired to keep out the rains.  In the eyes of most of us, this would have been a horrible place to live.  In Pepi’s eyes it was simply home. 

Pepi however had a dream.  I guess you could say his dream was passed on to him by his older brother.  For all of his life his brother had talk about this wonderful place that they would all go someday.  As they sat around the fire at night, he would tell the stories of this far off place where instead of huts the people lived in massive houses.  The floors were not made of dirt but made of beautiful wood which shined and looked clean and beautiful.  Other floors, in the same great house, were as soft as the moss in the forest.  “And the roof” he would say, “the roof is solid and will not let in the rain”. 

He told of streets there that were constructed of firm, solid materials that Pepi had never seen.  No walking through mud and water, no stumping your toe on rocks and limbs, but clean stable streets and roads would lead you to the homes of others who lived near you.

“Don’t forget the walls” his brother would say.  “The walls have beautiful paintings hanging there”.  The only thing hanging from the walls of Pepi’s home were his older brother’s bow and quiver and a few cooking utensils.  Pepi was told of the  windows in those homes.  Windows made of crystal clear material which you could see through.  In Pepi’s home if you wanted to see outside the hut you had to walk outside. 

“What a wonderful place this must be”, Pepi had thought as his brother told these stories over and over.

“Yes.  One day I will go there, Pepi and I will send for you and you can come and live with me”.  His brother told him. “ Work hard, don’t forget what I’ve told you and promised you. I will prepare a place for all of you and when the time is right I will call for you to come to be with me.  I will not forget you”.  Those were the last words his brother had said to him before he left for that wonderful place. And Pepi vowed to never forget those words. 

But the years crept by with no word from his brother.  Pepi grew up and married.  He and his wife had a fine family.  Pepi and his family lived in the same little place where he had always lived.  They worked hard and enjoyed their lives there.  Pepi made a little garden in which to grow vegetables for his family.  He loved his time there beside the river and loved the time he and his family spent together.  But always in the back of his mind was “that place” that his brother had told him about. 

Pepi would tell the stories to his children as well.  He tried his best to describe this land as his brother had described it to him.  He instilled in them, as best he could, the desire to go to this wonderful place someday.  “When the time is right”, he would say, “When my brother sends for me, I will go and then dear children, he will prepare a great house for you as well.  You all can come to live with us there”.  

The older Pepi got the more it seemed that the time would never come. His back grew weary from the work in the garden.  His eye sight grew blurred from the long nights of trying to see in the little dark hut.  His hands grew callused and sore from all the work he had to do. And the vision of that wonderful place grew dim. It seemed that his brother had forgotten him. It seemed that the place he was told of and promised was just a dream that would never come true.  "Why not just forget about the promised place and be satisfied with what I have here by the river".  He thought.

 Until one day a courier came to Pepi’s house.  Pepi had never seen a courier before.  He had a letter for Pepi. Pepi had never had a letter send to him either. The letter was from Pepi's brother in that far away land.  It simply said this:

“It is time my brother.  You house is finished as I promised and ready for you to move in.  Don’t bring anything with you. I have all you will ever need.  All if prepared.  Come as quickly as you can”.

Pepi was so excited.  “Finally, after all these years I can go to that wonderful place”, he said. 

But suddenly, as soon as his family heard that Pepi would be going to join his brother, they became sad for him. 

“Pepi”, they said, “What about your hut?  What about your beautiful garden with all the good vegetables?  What about your children and your friends?  Are you going to leave all this to go to a place where you have never been before?”

“Yes”, Pepi replied, “I have been dreaming of this place and talking of this place and preparing to go to this place all of my life.  I must go now.  You all can come later when your place is ready.  My brother will send for you”. 

“But Pepi, we will be sad to see you go.  We will miss you.  Who will take care of your little garden and who will re-thatch your hut when the rains come?  Pepi, we need you to stay with us.”

“That work is left to you now, my family.  I am going to a place that has been prepared for me.  I have dreamed of that wonderful place all of my life.  Yes, we will be separated for a short time but soon, very soon, your house will be ready and you all will be able to come to where I am”.

Some of Pepi’s family grew angry.  “His brother had no right telling Pepi all that stuff”, they said.  “He was just building him up for something that can never be. Pepi will lose all that he has worked so hard for, for no more than a promise.  I will never believe in some magical, place that none of us have ever seen.  That is foolishness.”

Others said, “Pepi is being selfish.  He is not thinking of those of us who are left here.  We will be left to do his work”.

Still others said, “I would never give up my hut and my garden and my place here by the river for something that I am not sure about.  As for me, I will just be satisfied with what I have here in my village”. 

Soon the day for Pepi’s departure arrived and his friends and family gathered around to see him off.  There were a few tears and some long hugs.  But Pepi was ready to leave. 

“I will see you all again soon”, he said.  “You too will have a place and you will get a message when it is your time to come and live there.  Keep doing your job.  Keep loving each other.  Keep working hard.  Brother will send for you when the time is right.  I am going to my new home.”