Eric called Lucy to have her and Kevin meet him in the living room then he went upstairs to call his two kids while the twins were playing with their toys.
"What's going on dad?" She asked as she sat down with her husband sitting next to her. Simon and Ruthie were on the couch as well.
He rubbed his hands as he sat down on the couch across from them, Annie who still was shocked walked downstairs to listen in on what her husband was going to tell them.
"Some ministers from around the state have volunteered to go on a missionary trip to Iraq."
"What!" His three kids and son in law yell out loud in anger and shock.
"I am going to go to Iraq in late June. " He tells them.
"You can't go. It dangerous and what if you…what if…dad! You are not being fair to us or mom!" His son yells at him sternly.
"Yeah. I heard about the contractors and some missionaries being killed or taken hostage. Dad, it's too dangerous." His elder daughter told him. Annie quietly went back upstairs to her room, closed the door and plopped on the bed while started to cry.
"Dad, why do you have to go? It makes no sense." His youngest daughter asked then told him.
"Because a person has to follow their calling and I feel that God is calling me to Iraq to minister." He tells them.
"But dad, what about your calling to your family? And I'm worried you won't come back alive." She tells them near tears as Simon puts his arm around her.
"I have to go believing that God will keep me safe and I will return to my family."
"How do you know that? That place is worse than the job I have as a police officer." His son in law tells him as the phone rings.
Eric answered the phone while everyone scattered thinking about what the father and father in law had said; Ruthie and Simon went to their rooms while Lucy with her husband at tow went to the garage apartment.
My dad is going to Iraq. Oh man! What if he dies, what if they kidnap or torture him? What's going to happen to us when he is gone? Ruthie thought to herself.
Later that day Eric told his youngest boys that he was going to a foreign country to help with spreading peace and god's message to them. Since his announcement Matt, Mary, Simon and Annie quit talking to Eric while Ruthie and Lucy used up their time to spend time with him when they could as well as the twins. Suddenly late June came and it was time for him to go to the airport with the other ministers and Annie her kids and Kevin went to say goodbye to him as they cried. They gave him hugs and kisses since they had no idea if he would come home alive and as the airplane took off they watched it fly out towards the horizon heading east. Within minutes the plane got smaller at the same time they watched it on a clear blue sky as it became a dot then they went home.
A month later Annie was in bed having a dream—
"Wow. I can't believe how much of a chaos this is." One of the ministers from neighboring Santee said.
"Yeah. I think we should have waited till things died down before going." Eric said in frustration.
"I'm really scared. I can't wait till September when we finally go home." Another female minister said who was from Poway which was a 6 hour drive from Glen Oak.
They were in a van when they drove into Baghdad coming from meeting with the Iraqi people when the van was ambushed—
"NO!" Annie wakes up crying then thought about her husband in Iraq as she laid back down.
She had dreams like that for a month and a half.
I'm worried about dad. Dad has always called twice a week but he didn't call for two weeks which got mom worried. Then just a week ago there was a tape of him and others shown on the news with their captors who wanted ransom for Iraqi POWs. The twins saw it and asked me about it. Simon thought to himself.
Flashback
"Simon! Simon! Daddy's on TV!" Youngest boys of Eric and Annie ran to the kitchen where their brother was eating.
He turned to look at them, they looked scared. He got up, walked to the living room with them in tow and saw their father on TV. He looked scared, dirty, tired, hair messed up he was wearing jeans, shoes and blue crewneck shirt. Eric had stated his full name, where he lives and what country he is from while four masked men stood behind him with guns. They were what looked like an empty room but the TV then went to the news of the chaos going on in Fallujah as well as Kirkuk. Simon turned off the TV, his brothers looked at him, he sat down on the couch, they sat on the table.
"What is going on with daddy? Did they take him?"
"Yes, they did take him, as well as other missionaries." He told them as he looked at their faces of worry.
"Why? What did dad do wrong? Is dad going to be okay?"
"Dad did nothing wrong. There are people who don't want the country to do well. I don't know if dad will be okay. I hope so. I love you guys." He tells them cautiously then they get off the table and get a big hug from their brother.
End Flashback
A few days after that video tape was shown the four hostages who were shown were found dead on a street near Tikrit but dad wasn't one of them. I hope he is still alive.
Simon falls asleep then hours later he is woken up…
"Simon… Simon wake up." He groggily opened his eyes as he turned towards the double doors when he saw the person calling to him.
The moon was out that made the room a lot less dark but he could still see the phantom sitting on the bed then he rubbed his eyes and saw who it really was.
"Take care of your mother, sister and brothers please son. I know you will do a good job." He said as he vanished.
