The Calling

by Deborah A Hodge

  “We’re glad that you could share the holidays with us,” her dad said, as he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her close.

  “I’m glad you’ve put on a few pounds. We knew you were skinny, but we didn’t know how skinny,” her mom said.

  “You knew I was skinny. How?

  Realizing that she had slipped, Cate’s mom looked at her dad, who confessed.

  “I’ve been talking to David.”

  Cate studied her mother and father, “Why… Have you been calling David?”

  “I haven’t been calling him, he’s been calling me.”

  “Okay,” Cate nodded slowly, “he’s been calling you. He didn’t tell me.”

  “He was worried about you honey,” her mother said. “He called your dad to ask his advice.”

  “And, if I may ask, what advice did you give him?”

  “I told him” her father said in his fatherly tone, “to pray for you and be supportive.”

  “And, he was.”

  “I know he was, and Matthew was.”

  Cate rolled her eyes, “He told you about Matthew?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Matthew and David have been great,” Cate admitted.

  “They both are very fine men,” her mother said.

  “Yes,” Cate agreed, “they are.”

  “David called us when they had figured out a way to send you home for the holidays. He and Matthew hoped this would be just what you needed. He told us how skinny you were, but we were shocked when we saw you.”

  “And, what else did he tell you Dad?”

  “He told us that you hadn’t been sleeping and they were very worried about you. And, we were worried too.”

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to worry anyone. Mom's illness and other things were so important that prayer became more of a priority than eating and sleeping. But, I’m doing better,” Cate patted her stomach. “Seeing mom face-to-face has helped me understand how much God has taken care of her.”

  “Honey, your mom and I are very glad about the prayer, and what God has been doing in your life. But everyone was worried about you not eating or sleeping.”

  “My eating and sleeping are fine now.” She defiantly reached over and picked up a sugar cookie.

  “Yes, we’ve noticed,” her mom said, “and we’re glad.”

  “Mom, I’m amazed at how well you’ve handled your tribulations. You are truly an example of courage to me.”

  “And, you are truly an example of love and empathy to me and your father.”

  Her dad nodded, as he hugged her again with arm around her shoulder.

  “Honey, we want you to care and pray, but we don’t want you to sacrifice your health in the process.”

  Cate took a bite of her cookie, “I promise,” and wiped the crumbs away from her mouth.

  “Catie, I appreciate how you stepped in for me and helped your dad prepare for and host the staff party, and all the rest you did to help us prepare for the holidays.”

  “I enjoyed it. It was fun.”

  “Quite a difference from how you use to respond to those types of things,” her dad said.

  “Yeah, but I’ve grown up.”

  “We know, we’ve noticed a confidence and a maturity that wasn’t there before Ecuador,” her mom said.

  “You have a more confident trust in God, and deeper spirituality than when you left,” her dad patted her shoulder, “I can see your faith in your eyes.”

  “I’m glad, but for the last several months I haven’t felt very confident in my trust and certainly not very spiritual. Actually, I’ve felt weak in faith and spent lots of time in Bible study and prayer.”

  “Catie, it’s during those times when the Lord is usually most at work in the lives of his people,” her dad said.

  Finally, the conversation turned to Cate’s love life. Her parents knew that she had been seeing Matthew, but she hadn’t really talked about it since she’d been home. There had been too many other things to discuss. Besides, there was the proposal thing that she had been praying about, and she was still confused. But, her parents were curious.

  “What about Matthew?”

  “He’s great,” she answered. “He’s a godly man, understanding, compassionate. You both would like him a lot.”

  “From all that you’ve written about him, I’m sure that we would,” her dad said.

  Cate paused and bit her lip, “I think he’s going to ask me to marry him.”

  “He is?” her mother glanced at Cate’s father. “What do you think your answer will be?”

  “I don’t know. I wish I did.”

  “Do you love him?” her mom asked.

  “I think so, but…,” Cate began to answer, but stopped.

  “But David,” her mother finished her answer and saw Cate nod yes.

  “Honey, how are things between David and you?”

  “About like they have been for the last six years.”

  “I’m sorry, honey,” her mother said.

  “It’s okay, mom. I just wish I could get over him. My life would be so much better.”

  “Are you sure about that?” her dad asked.

  “Daddy, there’s no hope for us.”

  “Cate, how can you be so certain?” her mother asked.

  “David told me so.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes, he did. Matthew had asked him why he wasn’t interested in me and he told him it was because he was an IMB missionary-and I was divorced.”

  “I see,” her mother folded her hands in her lap. “Honey, I’m sorry. I know that hurts.”

  “Yeah, it does; so you see, I just need to get over him, but I don’t know how. And, I don’t know what I’m going to do if Matthew asks me to marry him.”

  “I’m sure you’ve been praying about it,” her dad said.

  Cate’s shoulders sagged, “Continually.”

  “We’ll pray about it too,” her dad said, as her mom nodded affirmatively.

  “Thanks; I just wish the Lord would give me some clear guidance in this, and I wish He’d take my feelings for David away,” Cate replied.

  Her parents knew the situation was painful for Cate. They prayed with her about it. She appreciated their concern, prayers and support.

  During her final days at home, Cate cooked meals to help out after she was gone. She made casseroles and things that could be frozen and reheated. She wanted to help all that she could. She also cleaned the house from top to bottom, did laundry and ironed. She wanted to leave them with a clean house and an empty laundry basket.

  Eighteen

  Her last two days at home were New Years Eve and New Years Day. Her parents insisted that she not spend those days cooking, cleaning, or doing laundry. On New Years Eve, she attend a party at the church and slept in on New Year’s Day. They ordered take-out instead of cooking and spent the day talking and watching television together. Late in the afternoon, Cate called her brothers and said a tearful goodbye to them and their families. That night she packed for her trip back to Ecuador. She’d leave at eleven o’clock the next morning.

  The next morning came too quickly. Very reluctantly, she said a tearful goodbye to her mom, as they exchanged numerous hugs and kisses while her dad put her bags into the car.

  “Mom, it’s been so wonderful to be with you. I love you so much.”

  “Same here, darling. Take care of yourself.”

  “I will. You too,”

  “I will.”

  Cate took a deep breath. “Bye mom.”

  “Bye, Cate.

  Her dad pointed at his watch and reminded her that they had to go. As they drove away, she watched through the rear window as her mom became smaller, smaller, and finally she was out of sight.

  Her dad spoke words of wisdom, encouragement and love all the way to the airport. Cate needed to hear everything he had to say.

  “Catie, are you still sure Ecuador is where God wants you to be?”

  “Yes, Daddy I am,”
Cate answered, with firm conviction.

  “Then, you continue to trust and obey God, and He’ll take care of things.”

  “Yes, Daddy,”

  “Catie, you’ll be all right now, right?”

  “Yes, Daddy, I’ll be fine.”

  “Please say thanks for your mother and me to the people who made the visit home possible.”

  “I will, Daddy.”

  “And, Cate,” her dad paused as if he was trying find the right words to say.

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  “Catie, remember that there are times we can’t figure out what God is doing in certain areas of our lives, but He always knows. He always has a plan. He’s always working toward a purpose. Trust him to guide you concerning Matthew, David and everything else,” her dad continued, as they arrived at the airport.

  “Thanks, Dad, I’ll remember and I’ll trust Him. I promise.”

  Her father helped her carry her bags to the terminal and waited for her to check in. After her check in, she proceeded to the metal detectors, but wanted to say one more goodbye to her dad. She turned to see him still standing where she had left him. He was having a conversation with a man who was waiting. His sincere interest in people always amazed Cate. She stood for a moment, simply looking at him, appreciating him. Finally, she caught his eye. He said goodbye to the man and made his way toward Cate for a final farewell.

  As they embraced each other, Cate whispered, “Daddy, I don’t know what I’d do without you. I appreciate everything you said to me in the car. I needed to hear it all. You always know the right thing to say.”

  “Thanks, Catie, but I don’t always. Sometimes with the Lord’s help, I just get lucky.”

  “Yea?” Cate responded, as she shook her head. “It’s not a matter of getting lucky.”

  “It’s not,” her dad said, with a grin.

  “No, sir, it’s not. It’s a matter of having the kind of relationship with the Lord that allows Him to use you.”

  “You just might be right,” her dad smiled.

  “I am right, and I want to be like that too.”

  “You are like that, my dear daughter.”

  “I hope so, Daddy,” Cate hugged him one more time.

  “Bye Catie.”

  “Bye Daddy, I’ll email you when I get to Ecuador,” she walked through the metal detector.

  “We’ll be waiting to hear from you,” her dad yelled, as she began walking down the corridor toward her gate.

  Cate found she was excited as the plane touched down. She knew Matthew, David, or both would be waiting to drive her to Peguche. As the plane taxied to the terminal and the departure ramp was connected, Cate retrieved her carry-on from the overhead compartment and waited to deplane. Walking down the corridor toward the international arrival gate, Cate felt happy to be back. As she presented her passport and customs declaration slip, she breathed a deep breath of satisfaction. I’m home.

  When she walked through the arrival gate, Matthew and David were both standing there with broad smiles. Cate smiled too. As she hugged them both at once, she said, “Thank you, thank you both. You have no idea what the trip meant to me and my family. They made me promise to thank you.”

  “Well, we don’t need to ask if you had a good time, do we?” Matthew responded, as he looked at David and then, Cate.

  “It’s written all over her face,” David said, with a sense of satisfaction.

  Cate smiled even more, and said, “It’s because of you two and Mr. Randall. I wish I could thank him.”

  “Well, as a matter of fact, you can. He’s standing right behind us,” Matthew told her, as he stepped aside so she could see her other benefactor.

  As he stepped toward her, Matthew introduced him, “Cate Jones, this is Edward Randall. Edward Randall this is Cate Jones.”

  “Mr. Randall, I’m so glad to meet you, and I’m grateful for you making my trip home possible. It meant so much to my family and me. They all asked me to thank you,” Cate said, with tremendous gratitude.

  “You’re welcome. I was glad to be able to do it. I hope you found your mother doing much better.”

  “She is much better. Thank you for asking.”

  “And, I take it you enjoyed your trip home very much.”

  “I did indeed, Mr. Randall. I enjoyed it more than I can say.”

  “I’m glad, Miss Jones. My company and I were glad to help.”

  “I hate to interrupt,” David said, as he pointed to his watch, “but we need to be going. We still have to claim luggage and people are waiting for us at home.”

  “I’ll say goodbye then,” Edward replied. “Once again, Miss Jones, it’s been nice to meet you and I’m glad things are better at home.”

  “Thank you again, Mr. Randall.”

  “My pleasure,” he said.

  They picked up Cate’s luggage, and drove home.

  When they arrived in Peguche, Kim and Miss Janet had put together a small welcome home party. Sarah, a few of the teachers from the school, and the Garcias were all waiting to greet Cate.

  Nineteen

  Christmas break was not over until January sixth, and Cate had a couple of days to adjust to being back in Ecuador and to get prepared to go back to school. She slept until about eight o’clock, had a leisurely breakfast and, checked her e-mail to see if her dad had e-mailed her back from the night before. He had. She smiled as she read his e-mail and the p.s. that her mother had written. All was well. Even though her mother was still sick, things were great with her parents, and things were great with her. Bright sunshine, sapphire blue skies, with a few billowy white clouds beautifully adorned the day. She decided to go for a walk.

  Cate loved the fact that a person could walk in the little village of Peguche without concerns for safety. Peguche enjoyed the reputation as one of the safest villages around Otavalo.

  She loved the genuine friendliness of the people, and enjoyed chatting with the villagers as she walked. Before her visit to Kansas, she often walked down a secluded path that led to a waterfall, where she felt free to pour her heart out to God.

  Today was different. Surely, prayer was just as important, but today she did not have a heavy heart. Therefore, she reached out to those she met on her way with a smile and a warm hello.

  Everyone in the small village knew Miss Cate. They still considered her the new teacher. She would have to be there a couple of years to lose the title of new teacher, and teaching at the mission school for years and years would be wonderful.

  Mrs. Ramos, whose grandson was a student in Cate’s class, stopped to ask about her mother’s health.

  “Miss Cate, your madre is mucho better, si?”

  “Si, Señora Ramos. Mi madre seems much better. Muchas gracias. How is Juan?”

  “Muy bien, Miss Cate. Would you like some tea?”

  “Claro que si.”

  They drank tea and talked, about family, school and the village. After twenty minutes, Cate said goodbye and continued her walk.

  Once again, Cate breathed in the beauty of her surroundings. Even though she would not have traded anything for the opportunity to be with family during the holidays, she enjoyed being back where she believed God wanted her. In the midst of thoughts, she heard Matthew’s voice.

  “I figured I’d find you out walking.”

  “Yep, you know me so well,” Cate said, with a little laugh.

  “I know you’re fond of walking,” he increased his pace, “and that you’re hard to keep up with.”

  “Am I now?” Cate playfully bumped him.

  A serious expression took over Matthew’s face, “Yes, you are, and I’m glad that I found you.”

  Afraid that something had happened to her mother, Cate stopped, “Is there something wrong?”

  He realized he’d scared her with his attempt to be playful, “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything’s right. You’re back in Ecuador. That makes everything exactly right.”

  Cate’s worried expression turned to an express
ion of appreciation for his tender affection.

  “That’s sweet, Matt.”

  He pulled her close and hugged her, whispering in her ear, “I’m glad you’re home. I’ve missed you.”

  Cate responded to his affection and whispered back, “I missed you too.”

  As he let go of the hug, his eyes found hers, “I wish we were walking in a more secluded spot. I‘d like to kiss you.”

  Cate blushed, embarrassed by what he said. He hugged her tightly again, but this time she did not respond as she had before. Realizing he made her uncomfortable, Matthew released her.

  “I’m sorry—I made you uncomfortable.

  “It’s just,” Cate nodded toward a nearby house, where several people were watching them.

  “Oh,” Matthew grinned, “Is it okay if I hold your hand while we walk?”

  “I guess.”

  He slipped his hand around hers and they began walking again.

  They soon ran into David and Sarah. Sarah was skipping while David was holding her hand. When Cate saw them, she called out, “Hello, there. What are you two up to?”

  “We’re going to Mama Rosa’s for lunch,” David answered.

  “Daddy, can Cate and Mr. Matthew come?”

  “Sure, if they’d like.”

  Cate looked at Matthew, and Matthew nodded.

  “Yea!” Sarah responded.

  Sarah slipped her free hand into Cate’s hand while Matthew held Cate’s left hand. David held Sarah’s right. They laughed and paraded their way to the restaurant.

  Like always, Mama Rosa greeted them and escorted them to their favorite table.

  “Your table is available. Right this way por favor.”

  “Muchas gracias Mama Rosa, Kim will be joining us, so we will wait to order.”

  “Muy bien Señor David.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Kim entered the restaurant. “Hey, guys I’d like to introduce you to someone. Could you come outside a minute?”

  “Sure,” David said, as he got up to go with her. “You heard the woman Matt. Let’s go.”