After talking with the Distlers, Wy Len ran to Ricen's home. He found her there crying.

"Why are you crying?" Wy Len asked.

"Because," Ricen cried, "I know that after this fire my friends Ryan and Iva will leave and i do not want that."

Wy Len began telling Ricen all that he had seen and done. He left out the part about him being mad at them, for the time being, but told her everything they had said to him that morning. She listened distractedly at first, but as the story wound on, and she her hope of their staying a little longer grew stronger, she listened with renewed vigor and love. When he was done, Wy Len took Ricen to those missionaries for a special purpose. They asked Ryan and Iva Distler to perform the marriage serimony right then and there. And they did.

So it was that Ryan and iva Distler, from the United States, married and discipled Wy Len and Ricen Pukah. After many years of growing their faith - and their crops in the fields - Wy Len decided to move his family back to the U.S. with the Distlers. The Pukah's were only back a year when their first child, Ryan, was born. Having now residency and jobs here in the states, their lives were blessed abundantly. They started attending a church near-by where they could raise young Ryan and continue their studies.

Wy Len knew, from many of the teachings taught to him by the Spirit through Paul, Timothy, Ryan and Iva, that he had better bring young Ryan into a knowledge of his God and Creator. So he began teaching about the Savior Jesus the Christ. At home and at Sunday School and at the Christian Academy Ryan was filled with knowledge about faith, hope and love.

But, on the streets of his home he was taught other lessons. Lessons that eventually drove him away from the saving grace of God.

Ryan and Iva Distler were missionaries sent by Cross Team Vision Missions. There general location was to be the entire Myanmar (Burma) region. Aproximately 800 square miles. After many years of planning and fund raising Ryan and Iva Distler arrived apoximately 2 weeks before Wy Len and Ricen were to married. Ricen knew that it was this fortutous moment she had been waiting for. Two Americans in this region at this exact time was certainly good fortune and she knew it.

She began by attending every meeting they held in their ten-foot by ten-foot hut. Every prayer meeting, every bible study, every luncheon Ricen was certain to be there. She had in mind to at first linger in the back and keep an eye on these two stangers and find out what they could do for her. But as she listened to what they had to say she became intriqued.

This God they kept talking about was like no other God she knew of. He seemed to very personable, very involved in His followers lives. Ricen had only know of the gods with whom her life seemed so distant from. This 'God of Israel' perplexed her mind. For three straight days she thought of little else. Causing much frustration on the part of her family and Wy Len.

Wy Len was consistantly seeking for her affection in a more drastic and desperate way. He wanted to be married to her soon, but above all else, he wanted her to WANT to be married to him. He sought to convince her with poetry - as crude and unpoetic as he was - but she seemed to be always lost in thought. They would go on their evening walks and she would make hardly a sound all night. And when he would bid her good bye she would simple turn on her heels and go inside after their kiss. Wy Len was become suspicious when he finally heard about the two americans she had been seeing. Wy Len became furious. Who did they think they were, trapesing in here with their 'highly educated' minds, thinking they could disuade Ricen from marrying him.

For that's what he thought as he made his way down to their hut. When he was within ten yards of it though, he stopped, startled by the loud noises coming from that area. As he rushed to see what was happening he ran face first into a hard blast of fire and smoke.

All he could see throught the mob of people and flames, was two bundle-up people standing very close the burning wreckage. Ryan and Iva Distler were apparantly not wanted. Wy Len felt a little foolish for his would-be errand. For what was he, a little boy complaining about personal problems that probably knew nothing about. But he was still heated up about why them being here had anything to do with why Ricen now seemed very disinterested with him. He still wanted to know that.

The next morning, as Wy Len woke expecialy early, he ran down to the hut where the Distlers used to live to see if he could find out where they now where heading. For he knew that anyone who had gone through what they had gone through must be getting on the fastest boat away from here. But as he rounded the same corner again where last night he had seen many people gather to watch a house burn, he now saw that same number of people milling around those same two bundled figures. It seems, as Wy Len was told when he asked of those around, that Ryan and Iva Distler were not leaving. In fact they were talking right now how they were planning on rebuilding this same hut, but this time, even bigger.

What? Why would they stay? Don't they know that this next building will be burned down, too? Even worse, though, because it will be a waste of even more lumber. Wy Len was very confused. He waited until many of the crowd had left to make his way closer to hear what the Distlers were saying. It seems that they were not leaving because their 'God' had told them that it did not matter if your house was burned by ignorant people, but that the Children of God were more important than a few scrapes and burns and lost personal posessions. Wy Len stood and listend as they taught of forgiveness and faith. As they taught of kindness, peace, patience and gentleness. But mostly they talked about love. Wy Len understood love. He love Ricen like no other. And if someone had burned down their newly owned acres, but they themselves were still alive, Wy Len knew that he would still be happy. And then, he could do anything, like rebuild and restart their lives. Only keeping Ricen alive and knowing her safe would be enough for him.

Yes, he understood that.

It all started with Kynam's Grandparents. Actually, it all started with God. But for reasons of time constraints, let's start a little more recent.

Wy Len Pukha and Ricen Ling were to be married in the usual way. Wy Len was like many Burmese teenagers in the 1920's, scraping by on only enough food to pass the day. He had, however, come recently into a bargain that would lend him 20 acres of fields for farming. With that land he would be elevated to "well off" standards in southern Burma. With this information, Wy Len took advantage of his time before aquiring this land to take a wife.

He had had his eye on Ricen for sometime and had asked her previously to marry him. Ricen came from a much poorer family and had less prospects than even Wy Len. She had fervently denied him, though. The family was eager to see their only daughter - only child, for that matter - marry into such a "wealthy" family, and what with the bargain coming up soon, they wanted Wy Len to have as much help in planting and reaping when the time came as he could. They pleaded with her to marry him. They even began to accept his proposal from him for her, as was their right.

But Ricen did not refuse Wy Len for concerns of money, or concerns of love for that matter. For she had loved him from the start. When he had come to her on their first encounter with a hand full of lillies, she had fallen deeply, and drasticly in love with him. She cared for him for the whole long while it took for Wy Len to establish enough money to marry, and even now loved him more deeply than the beginning for his craftiness in making this bargain. But she did not refuse him for money, but for love. She did not want to be stuck to live and work the rice fields for the rest of their lives. She wanted more for him. In fact, she yearned so much for a better life than the one they were destined to live, that it became a driving desire to see that they leave this place of desperation.

In Burma, then as well as now, life expectancy and hope were intrinsicly low and ultimatly tied to one another. Ricen saw this, and for love of her soon-to-be-husband, she searched for more. If life continued as it was, they would marry. They would work his 20 acres, and prosper. They would have children and grow them. And they would be stuck. Ricen did not want to waste the extreme potential she saw in Wy Len and ached for more in life than what they had been given. 

And she found it. Or, rather, it came to her. Their names were Ryan and Iva Distler. And they were missionaries.

to be continued...

This is the set-up for my story. I’d like it to last a while, so this is just the beginning. The story is at the bottom of the list. EnjoyJ

The storyline: 6 young people (all friend but one - Dylan) are taken from their homes and lives to take part in a final battle against darkness along side the angels. They grow and live the rest of their lives with God fighting evil in and out of the Spiritual realm.

The characters:

The kids:

Jair –  God-chosen leader, given the Power

Anorah – sister of Jair, given the Power

Josiah – best friend of Jair, second in command, reluctant, given the Power

Grey – best friend of Jair, love interest of Crystal, given the Power

Crystal – head of Human force, love interest of Grey, given the Power

Kynam – third in command, task force leader, given the Power

Dylan – self-appointed leader of darkness counterpart

In heaven:

Jesus: messiah

Michael: archangel

David: warrior, king

Ezra: worship leader

In darkness:

Satan: angel

Demons: high level

demons: low level

On Earth:

Light:

Pastors, parents, other kids, other adults

Darkness:

Goblins, trolls, other kids, other adults

And now, the story.

THEY ARE GATHERED

Michael stood at the gates of heaven and waited. He had just been at the foot of God in His Throne. The command he had received was simple enough. But he couldn’t help wondering what was to come next. The Lord rarely gave directives that Michael didn’t fully understand, but He always knew what He was doing. God ALWAYS knew what He was doing. Michael, like all other angels, had been created to glorify God and serve. But Michael was set apart. He had since creation enjoyed working on the assignments God gave him. Some, on Earth, he actually took great pleasure in. That wasn’t really odd though, taking great pleasure; but he wasn’t created for pleasure. But God did create him with the ability to have pleasure. Jonathan kept telling him that he should use that ability, but Michael had better things to do than waste time on such fancies.

Such as waiting for men.

          He was ordered to wait for the men at the gates. That was just seconds ago, but they weren’t there yet. So he waited. And then they appeared. Michael had been told that they had been interviewed and selected by God’s purpose. It was normal procedure for the angels in charge of that sort of thing. The Body Brigade - as they were named - searched the planet for God’s chosen. Angels on a mission from God. It always made Michael smile when he thought of how God used his creation to bring glory to Himself. The Body Brigade did a wonderful job; most of the time.

          Looking at the group in front of him, Michael thought the BB’s messed up. For the children – and that’s what they were, the oldest couldn’t have been more than 16 – really did look the worse for wear. Their clothes were worn with small tears in places. Their faces were dirty and bruised. One boy had a cut above his right eye. They were all sweating. Some of them squinted at the totally surrounding light. Others just stared straight ahead. They all huddled together, hugging and holding on as if their lives depended on it. What did the BB’s put them trough to look like this? No matter, Michael thought, they have been chosen, and now they are here. May God be praised. May His light shine through these men.

            A large, booming voice suddenly spoke. Not yelling at all, but still heard clearly and loud as if right next to the ear. The voice itself commanded confidence, and demanded attention. The children, already afraid, froze in terror. They were about to be initiated into a plan wholly unthought of by anyone but God Almighty.

          “Hello, My children. I am the Lord your God. You have been brought to me for a very special purpose. Michael, and all of My angels, are here to help you and guide you in these days. Let him take you into My house. He will show you what needs to be done. Be on you guard, for the Deceiver is listening, and he is plotting to stop you. Follow Me in all you ways. I will be victorious. Go.”

          With that, God’s voice was gone. The children went from fear in the beginning to be slightly more courageous enough to stand erect and listen intently. They showed little sign of trembling as they looked at Michael, now.

          “Are you ready to go?” he asked. They looked around at each other for a while, then one of them spoke.

          “Are you Michael?”, the boy with the cut said.  He didn’t seem very sure of himself, but he was the most confident.

          “Yes. Do you have a question for me?”

          He took a moment to think. He look around at the gates of heaven. He didn’t seem shocked, just curious. He focused on the gold plates inlaid with etching of the creation of the Earth and of the battles won for the Light. The boy stepped forward and walked along the gates. He hesitated at one of the scenes and stopped. Staring at the David and Goliath picture, he reached out to touch it. Michael stepped forward to stop him, but didn’t need to. The boy only reached out long enough to hover over the art. He brought his hand back and rubbed his fingers together.

          “I can actually feel the… the power. I mean, the light and heat and love and…power! Where…? Is this really happening?” He partly said that last to himself, but Michael answered anyway.

          “Yes, it is.”   

          “But, we were just…just in our home. Me and my sister, Nora.” He glanced over to the group of people. One of the girls looked up. She had some of her clothes ripped. She had been one of those squinting. When she looked at Michael and her brother, she winced and quickly put her head down and folded her hands and prayed. “We had a dream. The same dream. How could we have the same dream? She walked into my room and we cried. And then we…then we were here. What’s happening? Why are we all here?” He motioned to the others. He was getting rather bold now.

          “You are to be a part of God’s Design. We will talk about this inside. Are you ready to go?” He pointed to the gates and the people slowly turned and stared at the ominous gates. They probably thought they were going to die. The boy, still standing in front of the David picture was only interested in Michael though.

          “Are we going to die? Is that what we were brought here for? Is that God’s plan? Is that…?” Michael cut him off.

          “YOU ARE NOT TO QUESTION THE LORD ALMIGHTY! You are only to do as He says! On Earth you had free will, and that is also how you got here. You chose! I will not let you speak as you did then here, so close to God’s Holy of Hollies! We are in the presence of God at all times, and we will not allow that!” Michael stopped and took a deep breath. He did not need to yell here. His voice carried well enough, but it’s what was required of him. He was to guide these children, and best it start with how to stay reverent. He started again, “You are to come with me and begin your duties. Are you ready?”

          They all had been frightened by his outburst, but they all saw the right of it. The group on the ground began to stand and walk closer to the gates. The boy, a little more humble than before came closer as well. “I am sorry. Please forgive me.”

          “It is not my position to forgive. Ask that of your Lord and Savior. Now, follow.” As Michael turned to lead them through the gates, the boy closed his eyes and started praying. Muttering, it seemed to Michael. He would need to do that a lot in the coming days (that and more), if he was to become what the Lord required him to be.

Lord, help me, and all your angels to guide these children in your sight. Let your name be praised. Amen.

Michael opened the gates, and the battle was begun.

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