A half-hour later, when the last of the eggs, sausage, wheat toast, and fresh fruit had disappeared from their plates, Manuel and Cathy recounted for Charley the highlights of their ordeal atop Mount Wilson.

The usually loquacious coach sat in stunned amazement, then shook his head and said, “You folks have seen the pit of hell and lived to tell about it. How did you survive?”

“We are alive today because of the hand of God,” Cathy answered softly.

Manuel nodded assent. “It’s true. We have no other explanation.”

“That’s wonderful,” said Charley. “Are you both believers?”

“Yes, we are,” Cathy said. “A couple of days ago, I’d say we were just casual church-goers. But, after what the Lord has taken us through, my husband and I are all His. And the boys too. Every part of us belongs to the Lord. I suppose you might say we were ‘born again’ on that mountain.”

“I watched a lot of television news while you folks were asleep,” Charley responded. “A huge tidal wave and massive earthquakes have been hitting all over the Pacific. Nobody has any clear idea yet how bad things really are, but the preliminary guess is that maybe five hundred million people have died since this thing started.”

Cathy and Manuel reacted instantly to the huge numbers. “No, Charley,” Manuel said. “That can’t be possible!”

“I’m afraid so, Manuel. And property damage is—well, it’s so enormous they stopped counting at ten trillion dollars. It looks like huge portions of California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska are gone. The U.S. death toll, according to what I’ve been hearing, is something over thirty million—and that’s just a preliminary guess.”

He looked at his two guests. “Manuel, you and Cathy don’t have any idea how special and how blessed you really are.”

Manolo’s eyes clouded over as he tried to take in the magnitude of the situation and the realization that, for some unknown reason, he and his family had been spared. “Charley,” he said after an emotional pause, “it’s almost too much for us—all this—all we saw—all that’s going on in the world right now. We’re here today in your beautiful house, eating breakfast and drinking coffee as if nothing happened. But all our friends and neighbors, all our relatives, all the people we loved back in California are . . . now dead.” He brushed tears from his eyes. “There has to be some purpose in this. There just has to be—and some way we can pay back what has been done for us.”

“Manuel, there is a purpose. And, what’s more, I’m absolutely certain that you and Cathy will find it before long. That’s the way God works.