“Yes and no,” Lori replied. “We don’t know everything yet. But we have come to faith in Jesus Christ since we’ve been here, and we believe that is part of it. I also feel that Carl’s skills are going to be useful to Pastor Jack in his work here at the ranch—especially in light of what’s coming next.”

“What do you mean?” Cathy asked. “What’s coming next? What more could happen?”

Dave Busby laughed. “Hold on to your hats, folks. For the past two days Lori and Carl have been getting a college education in history, prophecy, theology, and everything else you can think of. If you get them started, you may not be able to make them stop!”

“Dave Busby!” Lori laughed. “You’re just an old troublemaker!”

“We really are brand-new at all this,” Carl said, smiling at Dave and Lori, “but from what we’ve been hearing, the events of the past forty-eight hours are dramatic revelations of God’s plan and of His wrath on the earth. If John and Dave and Charley are on track in what they’ve been telling us—and we believe they are—then what’s coming is that Satan is going to run wild on the earth before long. That’s what Lori was talking about.”

“Okay, but what do you mean, Satan is going to run wild?” asked Manuel. “Something has been running wild already, hasn’t it?”

“Good point.” Dave Busby laughed.

“Hey, come on,” said Carl, “let’s sit down. If you and Cathy are really interested, Manuel, I suggest we let our expert here tell us what he feels is coming next. Pastor Jack has been working on this for, well, a long time, and I think you’ll be interested in his take on it.”

As they were settling into their chairs, Maria appeared at the door. She looked at Cathy and asked if she spoke Spanish. When Cathy said she did, they immediately broke into an animated conversation. It was obvious that Maria was welcoming the new visitors.

Cathy translated for those who didn’t understand Spanish. She told the group that Maria had even offered to help take care of the boys and provide some amusement for them while they were there. Cathy thanked her profusely before Maria retired to the kitchen to prepare snacks and beverages for everyone.

John Edwards had been listening intently and decided it was time for a short briefing on what was taking place at El Refugio. “Folks, the world is being torn apart by a series of natural disasters. Clearly, they are the worst in human history. Don’t want to give you all the bad news at once, but I’m expecting a series of volcanic eruptions to come next.