Church: Asian Branch President

… Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous…

Besides, you know that Gordon needs me.”

To my shame, I did actually quote Eliot to my old friend and ecclesiastical leader.

His response was exactly right: “Andy, you know this doesn’t come from me. You go talk it over with Him, and get back to me when you’re ready.”

If you think I’m exaggerating or making it up, ask Valerie: she was there.

Eliot

So, we went home. Kneeling by our bed, after thanking Him for each other, we offered what may be the least sincere petition I’d ever formulated. I pointed out that I’d worked in some pretty diverse rôles in the Restored Kingdom, and that I’d become conversant with the rules and the hows and the with whoms, and that I was exceedingly grateful for the strength and guidance I’d received from the Spirit, in all these dispersed contexts. But that I’d never devoted five minutes of contemplation to the peculiarities of the Church’s ministry to Asia, nor to the Asians. Then we turned in.

About two in the morning, an adrenalin rush sat me upright, brain whirring with the kind of rapidity that terrified the enemies of Grandpa Henry II Fitz-Empress who knew how far he had been away, just yesterday. The content of the whiz? What does one need in order to minister effectively to people who’ve been bereaved and driven from their homes and half-way around the world by a tyranny of political power guided by a Satanic doctoral dissertation from the Sorbonne?

The next Sunday, Mitt and I sat together on the stand in Lynnfield and contemplated a meltingly-lovely array of young Cambodian faces. And I fell in love. And then it was all right.