War Cry - March, 2015 Page 24

"religion."

I bless their love affairs but

my woman leaves me for my neighbor. I

promise them prosperity but I'm poorer

every day. I offer them healing but now

there's something in my head that will

kill me. This religion is no good. The
bus stopped in front of the courthouse.
Looking out the window, Alex saw a
man walking across the plaza wearing
a white shirt with an "S" on each lapel
and a military-style cap. He recognized
the Salvation Army uniform. Suddenly,
Alex skipped many links in the chain
of his memory, thinking back to his
early childhood. Back then, his mother
had belonged to The Salvation Army and took him
to its Sunday school every week. There he learned
Bible stories and discovered that Jesus had died to
save humanity from its sins. For the first time in de-
cades his mind was at ease. He had found the answer
to the question tangled in the chain of his memory.

He stepped off the bus near his mother's house

and walked briskly to the door, finding her in
the kitchen.

"Ma, I'm giving it all up. Tonight I'm going to

The War Cry | MARCH 2015

uring the llon

ngeest period he spent

i
in oonee place he estaa

t blished a legitimate

b
busiine

ness. Howevverr, the backroom activ-

ittiess w

were illegittim

mat

ate, and corrupt au-

horiitiies threateeneed exposure unless

hee sh

harred his proofitts with them. The

peercen

enttage deman

ndeedd was too high.

It w

wass in

n that town

n th

that

a he left a grown

daug

ughtterr in a broth

hel an

nd never heard

of heer aagaa

g in.

hen

n h

hee crossed in

intoo aa new country,

Alex ffoou

und

ndd aan easy way

ay tto

o ta

t ke advan-

tagee of ssupperstitious pe

peopplee. He used

his ttaleentt

n for acting too ado

dooppt the per-

son

na oof

f a

a spirit mediu

m.. H

Hee blessed a

woomaan

n'ss wooing of a m

man

an; ; he

h promised

finan

nciaal prosperity tto a

a joob

b seeker; he

gave

ve ffoormulas to the

he sic

ickk

k ffor curing in-

cura

rable diseases. At

At fir

irst

st, Alex resisted

performing blackk mag

agic

ic, but eventually

he relented, rea

eallizi

zing

n h

he could make

more money

ey off

ff ttho

hose who wanted to

curse ot

oth

heers

rs.

heee bu

bus Alex was riding careened

around a corner. He ruminated on his

fter receiving bad news at the hos

pital,

Alex boarded a city bus and beca

lost in thought.

So they think it's a

brain tumor,

he brooded. Headaches, dizziness

blurred vision--the prognosis was

life-threaten-

ing enough to prompt him to exam

ine his life.

T e

e
e
e
e
e
e
e

e
e

e
e wo

woma

maaaa

maa

man

n he

hee w

was

a
as

ass

as w

wit

itt

ittth

h ha

hadddd

d ju

just

s
st lllllllef

e tt

t
t

t hi

him

m fo

f r

r
r
r
r a

a
a
a

a
a ne

nee

n ig

igghb

hbbor

o ....

Hee

H h

him

imse

self

l
lf h

had

ad lllllleff

e ttt

t th

thre

ree

e
e
e di

dii

diff

fff

ffffer

e
e en

e
en

e tt

t
t wo

wome

meen

n be

beefo

fore

ree ttttak

a in

ing

g
g
g up

upp w

wit

itth

heer.

r. A

Alle

lexxx

x co

c
c ulld

d noot

t ev

evv

evvvvven

e
e rrrrrem

e
em

emeembe

b
berr wh

whiic

i
ich

h on

nes

es w

wer

ere

e ffr

f om

m w

whi

hich

c ooooffff

he ffou

ur countrries

es he had lived in. He nudge

f
f

t i

riess h

he had lived in. He nudged his thoughts along the

liinkks iin the ch

hain

n of his memory to the various places he had called

hom

mee, some h

herre in his own country, others in the country to the

norrth

h and stilll ootthers in the country to the south. At every other

l
linkk,, a scam oor ddangerous liaison had required him to move, the
moostt prudent pprrocedure for survival.