Senator Carlson spoke. “One can take Jesus’s teaching on forgiveness as valid without embracing all the rest of it. The important thing is that people have the freedom to believe what they want, isn’t it, Abby? Without causing offense, of course.”

She jerked her head toward the senator. “I’m sorry. I was still thinking about…You were saying?”

He smiled patronizingly. “Never mind. We appreciate your sharing your views with us. Quite informative.”

Abby felt disconnected for the remainder of the meal. She responded when spoken to but remained mostly quiet.

The guests left. Lauren retired to her bedroom. Abby trudged up the stairs and opened her bedroom door. Footsteps in the hallway caught her attention. She turned to see Sabin.

“Hey,” he said, “are you all right? You seemed a little distant at dinner.”

They went into her room. Abby slumped into a cushioned chair. “That was a complete failure.”

“A failure how?”

“In…” Abby hesitated, not wanting to jeopardize the only connection she felt with anyone in the States. “In sharing the gospel with those people.”

“The gospel?” Sabin looked perplexed.

“The good news about Jesus.” Abby sighed. Just as at dinner, she spoke the same language as the other guests, but no one seemed to understand her.

“Oh.” He crossed the room and sat down on the bed. “Well, you presented your views. I thought you did fine. It’s not like you were going to change their minds—not that group. Chalk it up as a learning experience.”

She shook her head. “But everything got so tangled up when they started giving their opinions, and I couldn’t answer their arguments—not very well. And that was probably my best shot at accomplishing what I came here for.”

“Which is what?”

Abby looked down at the floor. She hadn’t planned on telling anyone exactly why she had come; she knew that could cause her problems. But Sabin had proven quite supportive since her arrival. “When I was in Lae, I got a message from my grandfather, Ray—”

“But he died before then.”

“Yes, I know. The message was sixteen years old, from him and my grandmother.”

“You got a sixteen-year-old message?”

“My parents’ mission agency forwarded it to me when they heard I was in Lae.” She crossed the room to her suitcase. “Kate left me instructions on how to access it. It’s probably easier if you just see it for yourself.”

Sabin took the instructions from her. “Do you want me to?”

She hesitated. She’d either gain an ally or an enemy…“Yes. Yes, I think so.”

Sabin accessed the message, and they watched it together. When it ended, Sabin kept staring at the space where the image had been projected.

“Wow,” he finally said. “That’s not what I was expecting.” He turned toward her. “You believe God is asking you to restart Christianity here?”