The significance of the prayer he had just heard leave his mouth came down upon the baron’s consciousness, and the mood of his entreaty turned solemn. Gently he rocked back and forth on his knees, in growing weight of spirit. He knew the hour was late and the cost of true discipleship was increasingly being exacted from those who were numbered among God’s men on the earth.

“Help me, Father,” he continued softly after a moment. “Help me to be more your child and more a servant to those for whom you may want me to lay down my life. Give me courage to do what you set before me. Help me to trust you, Lord. Give me the grace and strength to face whatever may come with utter faith in your goodness.”

He paused to take a quavery breath into his heaving lungs. Tears rolled slowly out of his eyes.

“Be my Father, Lord,” he whispered, weeping quietly. “Make me more the son you would have me be. You know the vulnerable places in this weak and fearful heart of mine. I am not the man to occupy this position. Oh, Lord… why have you placed me here, with so many looking to me for their hope and encouragement and sustenance?

“Let me bear the burden of this terrible time for my wife and daughter, and all these others. Increase my strength where in my own eyes I seem but a child. Increase my passion to know you and my willingness to obey you. Let me serve these people… let me sacrifice myself for them in whatever ways you put before me. Strip away any remainders of my self, that all my being might do only what you would have of me… and calm my fears, my Father, as I contemplate with uncertainty the days that lie ahead. Deepen within my breast the confidence that I reside nowhere but in the palm of your hand.”

His lips fell silent, and the very calm for which he had prayed came over him. He remained, breathing in and out steadily and with rising assurance coming back to him. In a few moments his tears were dry, and he rose to his feet.

He took another deep breath, then turned and left his study.

He walked straight to the remodeled dining facility on the second floor, where he expected to find their new guests.

Sabina was there ahead of him, and she proceeded to introduce him to the Wissen and Kropf families. The baron gave each person in turn a heartfelt welcome.

“But I recognize your voice, do I not, Herr Baron?” said Jakob as the two men shook hands.

“So do I,” added Helga Wissen. “You are right, Jakob.”

The baron laughed good-naturedly.

“You have caught me—I confess!” he said. “You all saw me last night.”

“But where?” asked young Dieder Kropf. “I don’t remember seeing anything, it was so dark.”

Again the baron laughed.