Chapter 7: Welcome Home!

Monday, November 30, 2020:

John and Jenny arrived home at around 10:35 AM. They were able to have a look at fourteen feet of snow. It was almost like seeing much of West Seattle without houses.

John and Jenny made their way into the shelter. Billy and the Judge met them halfway from the dining room to the steps, “We survived Uncle John.” Billy was standing at attention saluting.

John returned the salute, “Anything to report?”

“Yes sir.

“Judge, Billy, this is Captain Swanson, Warrant Officer Chesterfield White, Sergeant Roger Gibbins, and Corporal Tie.” John made the introductions, “Gentlemen these two ran the place while I was with you, this is The Judge and Billy my Nephew.”

“Billy actually ran the place along with his cohorts. I sat here and drank coffee and watched.” The Judge had everyone laughing.

“Let’s get a cup of coffee.” John and the others put two tables together. When John and Jenny had their coffees, they sat down. Everybody was ready, “We were successful in getting the General’s foot back on. May God bless him. These three men are here to learn all that we know. So please help them and if you need help and they are nearby then please ask them to pitch in. Okay Billy please report what we missed.”

“The Arabs came while you were gone. They wanted food. We asked God and he gave us to give to them 40 buckets of food. I think they had to make two trips.” Billy said.

“Do you know where they are living?” John asked.

“About three blocks away. It must have taken them a week to dig out a passageway to get here.” Billy answered. When he got the nod from John he continued, “We had a visitor come through the STAR chamber last night.” Billy looked to The Judge.

“I met with the man, he introduced himself as ‘Q’. He said his friend Dar needed your help ASAP.” The Judge shared.

John looked around the table. Peter and Patty were whispering back and forth to each other. Jenny was in shock. The Judge was curious, Sam and Mary knew who ‘Q’ was. The Captain and Warrant Officer knew. Everyone else was curious or indifferent.

“Raise your right hand if you think you might know who Dar is?” John asked pointing his right hand to the sky.

“Why don’t you just say his name?” Lucy asked.

“We are ready for 14 feet of snow. I don’t know if we are ready to battle bad guys yet honey.” John answered, “Sometimes information can draw the wrong kind of attention.”

“You might think differently when you see Peter and Patty stop 10 tennis balls in a row.” The Judge said.

Jenny started laughing, “They must have thought we could so they worked on it until they could.”

“You can’t stop?????? It’s really easy, the mind has to be trained is all.” Peter said as they stood then Patty threw a tennis ball at Peter. It bounced back to Patty and she caught it with her left hand.

“Patty was a pitcher on a soft ball team.” Jenny said quietly.

“Captain, we have some things to learn.” John said.

“What’s the benefit of stopping a tennis ball?” Captain Swanson asked.

“It allows us to learn how to stop a bullet Captain.” John explained, “In my books step one was stopping ten tennis balls in a row. Step two was stopping a bullet. Step three was being able to aim that bullet back to the shooters heart or between his eyes. Sending the bullet back faster than it came.”

Sam and Mary went over to Peter and Patty.

“So, if someone shoots you, you do onto them what they wanted to do to you.” The Captain felt his way through the answer. “If all the shooters are dead and no one shoots then there cannot be war.”

“The Golden Rule in action.” Warrant Officer Chester White said, “I was wondering how I could live by the Golden Rule and still do my job. There has always been a conflict between my beliefs and career.”

“Anything else?” John asked.

“We did a healing of a 14-year-old girl from Syria. Her father is the leader of the Arabs. Got her warm, restarted her heart. She wants to talk to you Father John.” Carol reported with a big smile.

“Doors are all in. The sheetrock and carpet are being finished where we can get to them.” Perry White said, “Things have slowed down because of 16 hours of quiet each day.”

“I knew that would happen, but it is worth it to have 1,000 plus people get a good sleep every day. Anyone still arguing about sharing a mattress daily?” John asked.

“No, everyone has heard we have 600 beds and 1,045 bodies that need sleep every day. They’re a nice bunch Father John.” Nancy shared. She looked around the table, “We’ve done really good. Thank you, Father John, for putting this all together.”

“Your welcome. This has been choregraphed by God.” Billy was nodding in agreement, “Does anyone have any concerns for the days ahead?” John asked.

We’ll need more food, but Ivan and Wilbur have given us a list of what is needed.” Nancy said, “Tony, Willa, Brad and Gloria are working on the list. Three thousand meals a day will require thirty buckets of food.”

“Where does the food come from?” The Captain asked.

“From God!” John said in a very deep voice. John looked over to Sally and motioned her over, “What is your question?”

“Can I stay here?” Sally asked. Sally was a very beautiful young lady. Put her is a ball gown or a party dress and she would be the most beautiful in any group except for his Jenny.

“Yes, until it is safe to go home.” John answered.

The Judge was nodding his head. John had done it right, in front of twenty or more witnesses. No one could accuse John of holding the girl against her will. He was in alignment with the intent of the shelter keeping her safe, fed, and warm. Both the Federal Government and the State of Washington had declared this time period in Western Washington as an Emergency.

“Peter, can you show us again, please?” John asked.

“Father John, we tried stopping a tennis ball because we thought we were way behind the family.” Patty shared.

John smiled and looked up with a big smile, “Show me again, please so I can catch up to you.”

Peter and Patty moved apart by about twenty feet. Peter nodded and Patty let loose on a perfect throw of one of the tennis balls. The ball stopped about two feet from Peter’s chest and bounced back towards Patty.

Everyone was on their feet clapping as Peter and Patty hugged. All John could say was, “WOW!”

Corporal Tie was on his feet. When he got near Patty and Peter, he asked them to teach him. Corporal Tie’s uncle had dabbled with magic. Tie learned everything from his uncle, “Tie, form an invisible shield in front of you.” Peter suggested.

Tie nodded and Peter carefully felt for the shield. Once he found the invisible shield he looked to Patty and nodded. The ball flew then stopped and bounced away. Tie’s shield worked.

Curtis ran to the Star Chamber.

The two Sheriff’s Deputies asked what was going on. Once they found out, they got involved.

The Captain tried his phone, surprised that it worked. His orders from the General was to call him if anything important happened, “General they have figured out how to stop tennis balls.” The General had read book 1 of ‘A Thousand Years of Peace!’ He was now into book 2.

“They have done well then!” The General had a thousand ideas go through his head, “Keep me informed. How are your Grandparents?”

“Yes Sir. They are excited about being alive and healthy again. The food here is pretty good they say. It is warm and dry.”

“I can relate to that.” The General smiled, “Call me when you have anything else.”

“Yes Sir.”

Curtis came back with a bucket. It was full of tennis balls. Soon the main hallway and the dining area was full of people learning to stop tennis balls. As more people learned to stop tennis balls young and old, it became easier for the rest.

John and Jenny both got up. They moved towards Peter and Patty, “Can you two show us please how to do this?” John asked.

Jenny figured it out in a short time. John’s mind was all tied up and he was getting nowhere. The main players all took a shot at teaching John the teacher. It was Corporal Tie and Peter that had John relaxed enough to form a shield. The time was almost midnight and it was way after the quiet time had started so all cheering would have to be done tomorrow, “Why was that so hard for me?” John asked. Carol and Jenny both smiled and shook their heads.

“I think you just had to work through the block in your mind. Be nice to yourself.” Jenny giggled. Last night was totally different than the first time but was just as wonderful.”

John’s ears twitched, “Someone is here. Let’s go to the Star Chamber.” John and Jenny both stood along with Carol. They started down the second hallway. About halfway down they passed the Judge laying on a cushion reading A Thousand Years of Peace Book 2. He had a little reading lamp. Jenny bent and kissed him. John and Jenny continued and opened the door to the Star Chamber. Two men and a woman were standing just inside, one with a gun pointed at the other two, “What’s going on here?” John asked. In that instant John thought ‘Shields UP.’ The gun barked sounding ten times louder than John remembered any other gun sounding.

John and Jenny both flinched. John’s mind said he had been shot. The man with the gun went to his knees then hit the floor face first as his pistol fired again, “That was to be our bodyguard.” The other man said.

“Mr. Q, I presume.” John asked, “How is Dar?”

“We may be too late. His body is shutting down.” The man said, “We have had quite the battle. We have lost 12 agents and had another 6 wounded.”

“Take us to where Dar is.” John said.

The man’s eyes were enormous, “All of you?”

The Judge was there, all the disciples and Peter and Patty, “Yes.”

Sam and Mary were at the doorway.

“Run the place Sam and Mary. Don’t know when we’ll be home.” John said as the transport happened. As John had guessed, they were deep inside the White House. They stepped out of a giant STAR Chamber. It must have been 20’ by 20’ and almost 16’ tall. It was made with 3” coper pipes. There were giant crystals all around. They moved to another room and there on the table was a very big man. The Judge moved to the man’s head. The others went around the table with Jenny on John’s right and Carol on his left.

“Mr. President, do we have permission to make you well again?” John asked.

“Yes John, I’m the one who asked for you to come here.” The President said weakly.

“How do we start?” John asked.

“The Lord’s Prayer.” Was said by almost all.

“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be His Name, His Kingdom Come, His will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For this is our Father’s Kingdom, and His power, and His Glory, for ever and ever. We are most Grateful for this experience.” John said.

He diagnosed the wound. In through the side then hitting the backbone hard enough to knock one of the lower vertebrae out of alignment.

The light in the center of the circle grew until it was so bright those outside could not see what was going on. John focused on the area where the bullet had entered. An area about 6” to 8” became blue, “Carol reach in there and heal everything as you slowly pull your hand out.” She did exactly that. Carol was amazed as the opening healed over leaving no trace of ever being there.

“Roll him over on his stomach.” John lifted up his shirt and made a rough circle with his hands, “Jenny reach into that circle and pull the bullet out. Heal everything as you back out.” Jenny dropped the bullet into a small glass jar, “Now everyone put your right hand on top of mine.” John waited for a count of ten, “See the hand of Christ on top.”

There was a very loud snap, “Another happy vertebra.” Carol laughed.

“Mr. President. How are you feeling?” John asked.

“I’m much better thank you. It’s almost like it didn’t happen.” Dar looked at John, “Nice to meet you Reverend Taylor. What do I owe you?”

“A MEGA hat for me and each of my assistants.” John smiled, “I am a Democrat that has become a big fan Sir! Thank you for restoring the rule of law in our land and making our Constitution mean something again.”

Four hours later:

The man named Q set a small jar on the President’s desk.