No Greater Love
Page 24
More than Conquerors
Book 2 in the “Extreme Devotion” Series
Prologue
PASTOR HECTOR MANOLO RODRIGUEZ SIGHED WITH relief, as his dilapidated, once-blue station wagon crawled and chugged through the final inches of the hourlong event known as a border crossing. The international station between San Diego and Tijuana saw the heaviest traffic of any crossing in the world, with about 300,000 people making the trek every day - some to work, some to play, some to shop or visit relatives, and some to conduct illegal activities of various kinds. For Hector, it was strictly a venture of love, one he made regularly and yet was relieved when it was over.
It wasn’t that Hector didn’t appreciate the beauty and modern conveniences of his sister city to the north, but he preferred the slower, quieter pace of his humble home on the outskirts of Tijuana, even now in 2008 when crime increasingly encroached on the peace of their existence. He had lived there his entire thirty-eight years, the middle child in a family of nine offspring, and had later married the beautiful Mariana Lopez, who had grown up right next door to him. That she had even noticed Hector never ceased to amaze him, and that she had agreed to marry him was nothing short of a miracle. Now, still living in the same neighborhood where they grew up, they did their best to feed and clothe the three children God had given them, as well as minister to the fifty or so members of their beloved Casa de Dios congregation. To supplement their income, Hector worked part-time in his younger brother Jorge’s shoe repair shop. Though their financial situation did not allow for luxuries, it did provide a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
It was a good life, Hector thought, as he coached and prayed the twenty-five-year-old car through the undisciplined crush of traffic on Avenida Revolucion, the main drag in this burgeoning city of nearly one and a half million people. As always, Hector was anxious to break away from the city’s hub and escape to a quieter, more navigable thoroughfare. Though the quality of the roads would deteriorate the farther out he went, he would be glad to leave the hustle and bustle of the Tijuana tourism trade behind.
He would also be glad to leave behind the sadness that seemed to cling to him each time he crossed the border. And yet he knew his need to continue making the trip would end far too soon …
He shook the thoughts from his mind, turning on the radio, scanning for today’s news.
“Many adherents believe recent earthquake tremors are another sign of a final countdown to the 2012 apocalypse the Mayan calendar predicts …” Hector clicked off the radio with dismay.
Then, of course, there was the situation in Chiapas, which seemed to grow more desperate and dangerous by the day. And his sixty-three-year-old mother, Virginia Correo Rodriguez, was living right outside San Juan Chamula, right in the middle of it all.
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New Hope® Publishers is a division of WMU®, an international organization that challenges Christian believers to understand and be radically involved in God’s mission. For more information about WMU, go to www.wmu.com. More information about New Hope books may be found at www.newhopepublishers.com. New Hope books may be purchased at your local bookstore.
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A distinctive new line dramatizes
Christian devotion around the globe—
“Extreme Devotion” Series by award-winning author Kathi Macias
Fiction with a Mission
Provokes hearts and minds with relevant, true-to-life stories of
romance, danger, and suspense
overcoming faith in the face of persecution
sacrificial love and victorious commitment
Books 1 and 2 AVAILABLE SUMMER 2010