“Cathy,” Lori said, “I’m so glad you’ve come. Hanging out with these guys is okay, I guess, but I’ve really missed not having another woman to talk to!” The men all laughed, then quickly admitted that it would be nice to expand their small group with another couple. “We sure sympathize with everything you must have gone through,” Lori continued. “Carl and I were on one of the last flights out of L.A. Thursday morning. We knew we were lucky to get out of there when we did, but now we understand that it was more than just luck. Pastor Jack and Charley and Dave here have been so good to us. We’ve learned so much about ourselves and about what the Bible says about all this. We know now that God was responsible for our getting out of L.A.”

“I feel the same way,” Cathy said.

“We’d like to know more about you folks,” said Carl. “How did you get here?”

They stood in amazement as Manuel and Cathy recounted their incredible deliverance. As they talked, John Edwards led the whole group back up the driveway and into the house. Never missing a beat, Manuel described their flight out to the desert camp, then down to Albuquerque, and everything they had done up to that moment. By the time he and Cathy had related all the essential parts of their story, they were all standing around in John Edwards’s large, comfortable living room.

“Ever since we got out of Los Angeles,” Carl said, “I’ve been haunted by one thought: Why Lori? Why me? You know, I’ve wanted to know why we were allowed to live when so many millions had to die. What purpose was there to our lives? I bet you all must be wondering the same thing.”

“Oh, yes,” Cathy agreed with great emotion. “That’s exactly what I’ve been feeling for two days. I’m very grateful, but I can’t figure it out.”

“Carl,” said Manuel, “when that great big fireball roared down on us, man, I thought we were dead for sure. You better believe we want to know why we were able to live through it. I, too, keep thinking, Why us? Why wasn’t it somebody more worthy than us?”

“Well,” John Edwards said, “none of you should ever doubt that God has placed His mark on your lives. You wouldn’t be here under these circumstances if there wasn’t something very special going on.”

“I believe that,” said Manuel. “But what about you, Lori? Have you found the answer yet for you and Carl?”