Am I Crazy?

The way the weekend went, I certainly wondered if I was—or perhaps if I was dreaming! We had opened the Sabbath evening by witnessing the baptism of two friends, with whom we had studied over the last several weeks. Sabbath day and Sunday morning Kristina and I had the blessing of attending the annual elder’s meetings together at Indian Creek Camp. After the last meeting, we dashed to the car and drove straight home, just in time to grab my canvassing bag and rush to an appointment at a nearby church, where the members were eager to buy a set of books. I showed the Bible Story, My Bible Friends, and the Bible Reference Library to an eager group of church leaders and Sunday School teachers, and the church gladly paid cash for the set!

Every day and every door is a fresh experience, and if I’ve come to have any expectation, it is to expect the unexpected. Monday, as an older gentleman greeted me at a door, a pair of small dogs rushed out and one bit me on the ankle! I made no comment but stepped inside the small trailer home at his invitation. As I came into kitchen, I said a cheery “Hello!” The man’s wife, apparently not aware that I had entered, nearly fell on the floor in surprise upon seeing a stranger in her home! I asked again for the name on the lead, and she took me into a back bedroom, where her deaf son and daughter-in-law lived along with their infant son. She translated into sign language as I explained about the books, and although they didn’t buy, it was a profitable visit!

Sometimes it seems impossible to even get a canvass in spite of heroic attempts, and other times it seems as though people are ready to buy the books without me trying to sell them! Monday evening, I drove up two almost impassible driveways following a single lead, and at the end had to leave my car in the driveway and walk through the mud to the home. The family was friendly, but had no money and weren’t interested in seeing the books. Backing down the rutted driveway in the dark was even more difficult that coming in, but the angels must have guided the car and I came out without mishap. The last stop of the day was a very old fair lead, and I doubted whether it was even worth following, but it turned into a delightful visit and the family, though poor, purchased a large set!

I have always wanted to see my guardian angel, and I think on Tuesday I did—well almost anyhow. I was advertising a larger hospital, and was delighted to see that the advertising I had left before was still there, and the books were being read! I quickly worked through the section I had been through before, and then worked my way into a new wing I hadn’t advertised. I found a small waiting room on the first floor, and an elevator. I do remember seeing a sign, something about “Adult Behavioral Health,” but I generally only pass quickly through the hospital areas and only leave books in the publicly accessible waiting rooms. I rode the elevator to the second floor and quickly left a book in the waiting room there as well. I noticed on each end of the waiting room were a set of double doors. The room was closed off by itself other than these doors, the elevators, and a doorway to the staircase. I turned to re-enter the elevator, but found that instead of a button, there was only a key lock for the elevator. I tried the stairs, but found that the staircase was also locked and set with an alarm! I tried each of the double doors, but they were securely locked as well! I could see a few nurses through the doors, but couldn’t get their attention, and quite frankly did NOT want to draw attention to the fact that, as I now realized, I was trapped inside the psychiatric ward! I began to pray—and pray hard! I knew eventually someone would find me, but I certainly was not looking forward to the inevitable interview as to how I had come to be there, or whether in fact I might certainly belong there! Suddenly, the elevator doors opened again. A sigh of relief, and also new concerns, filled my mind! Who would be coming up, and how would I explain to them that I needed to get on the elevator? But to my surprise, the elevator was empty! I wasted no time in boarding the elevator, although it seemed to take an eternity for the doors to close and the elevator slowly sink back to the ground level, and freedom!

“Unbelievable!” I thought as I walked back to my car. At the risk of some who read this, perhaps, wishing me back in the place I had just come from, let me just say that I think I had just seen my guardian angel! Not that I had seen him personally, but who else would have pressed the button to open the elevator doors, just when I needed it?

I can’t begin to tell all the other experiences! Later in the afternoon, a lead for one house again led me to a street for another lead that the GPS couldn’t find. Despite finding no one home at the lead, a certain home seemed to stand out in my mind, so I went back and met a woman named Veronica and her husband Marvin. That very day her daughter-in-law was struggling in the hospital for her life and the life of her baby. As I showed the books and had prayer in the home, Veronica told me over and over, “God sent you here!” At one home I was attacked by a snarling dog, but the angels protected my and I wasn’t hurt!