Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he,
I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)
The Barn Chapel
The Alyce Family Farm
Evergrace, Texas
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
“How long have you been up?”
“Since three o’clock this morning.” Sitting on one of her husband’s hand-carved wooden benches in their Barn Chapel, ninety-five-year-old Sweet Alyce glanced up from the Bible in her lap to see her ninety-seven-year-old husband, Randle Alyce, walking toward her, dressed in his favorite clothes: a blue-and-white button-down shirt and denim overalls, with a blue cap on his wooly-white head and laughter in his green eyes.
“For once, I thought I had beaten you in here. Evidently, I’m mistaken.” He lowered himself, then sat beside Sweet Alyce, with her long, white braid draped over her shoulder, and grabbed her light-brown hand with his dark-brown hand. Then, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Happy eightieth anniversary!”
Sweet Alyce smiled. “Happy eightieth anniversary.”
“God has been good to us, hasn’t He?”
“All the time, every day.”
Randle released her hand, and she closed her Bible. “Who would have thought that you and I, both retired from the workforce, would be in our nineties feeding, counseling, and ministering to college students through our home ministry—The Grandma and Grandpa Alyce Farm Ministry?”
“Nobody but God,” Sweet Alyce said. “I’m just thankful that He’s blessed us to live this long to make an impact and a difference in the lives of so many young people. There’s nothing I find more rewarding after years of being a nurse and midwife than drawing others to Jesus, the Son, and to God, the Father.”
Her husband frowned, his mouth a grim line. “My only regret is that we’ve reached out and ministered to hundreds of young adults, drawing them to God, but our own daughter and son-in-law have fallen away from the Lord.”
Sweet Alyce put her Bible on the bench beside her, then grabbed Randle’s hand, pressing it against her chest. “We’ve done the best we could with Edith, from childhood into adulthood, raising her in the way of the Lord. But she’s seventy-five now, well beyond the age of accountability. She’s got to work out her own salvation. The same goes for her husband, Elec. All we can do at this point is pray that they dig deeper into the Word of God and experience and encounter God, through Jesus, for themselves.”
Randle looked into her eyes, then smiled. “I’m yet praying, honey, and I’m thankful and grateful that God blessed me with a good, godly woman like you. I’ve been from the military to the farm to the pulpit, and if I hadn’t met and married you after you nursed me back to health in the US Army, these past eighty years wouldn’t have been as happy or as blessed. Every day, I thank God for you and our two children, Edith and Royce; their spouses, Elec and Rubie; their children, Elissandro, Edison, Edmund, Elianne, Rance, Rheah, and Reagan; and all of the great and great-great-grandchildren.”
Sweet Alyce lowered their hands to her lap. “I am thankful and grateful, too, that God has blessed me with such a good, honorable, and godly man as you, and these eighty years by your side have been some of the best in my life, and I can’t wait to see what new adventures God has in store for us.”
Footsteps sounded on the wooden floor. “Is this a private party, or can I join you?”
Sweet Alyce dropped her husband’s hand, then swiveled around to see her eldest grandson, Elissandro, smiling and striding toward her and Randle, wearing a powder-blue shirt and denim blue jeans, holding a round cake box with white-frosted cake inside, with number eighty in gold on top. “Eli! You’re home!”
He smiled. “Happy anniversary, Sweet Alyce, Grandpa Randle!”
“Happy birthday, Eli!” Immediately, Sweet Alyce jumped to her feet, stretched out her hands, and rushed toward him as he sat the cake down on a nearby bench. Soon, they were hugging each other, and Sweet Alyce was planting kisses on his light-brown cheeks.
She stepped back, then checked him from head to toe. “Let me look at my Grandsonshine,” she said. “Something’s different about you today.”
Randle stepped beside her and clapped his hand on Elissandro’s shoulder. “You look happier, like you’ve got some good news to share.”
Elissandro’s green eyes twinkled. “That’s right!”
“What is it? Tell us, then,” Sweet Alyce said.
“I’m a dad!”
Randle lowered his hand, then dropped to the nearest bench. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Sweet Alyce frowned. “Neither was I, Eli. So, maybe you should explain.”
Elissandro grabbed her hand. “I received a letter a week before Christmas from a lawyer, written by Daiana Winters sometime before her death, telling me that she and I had twin daughters that my parents knew about previously and had tried to get her to abort or put up for adoption.”
Sweet Alyce gasped. “I can’t believe Elec and Edith would do such a thing. Especially after all they went through just to convince Elec’s parents they were ready to get married. What were they thinking?”
“Mostly about themselves—protecting the family image, preserving the family bloodline.”
Randle stood back up, his dark-brown mouth in a grim line. “They need Jesus. That’s what they need.”
“Anyway, Daiana left town, married another man, and raised our daughters with him,” Elissandro said. “With the letters, she included three pictures of the girls, Faith and Francesca, as newborns, toddlers, and tweens—twelve-year-olds.” Elissandro released Sweet Alyce’s hand, pulled his wallet from his pocket, then slid out the photos, handing them to Sweet Alyce.
Tears stung Sweet Alyce’s eyes as she looked at each photo. “They’re beautiful.” She ran her finger over the photo of the girls at age twelve. “This one,” she said, pointing to the green-eyed girl, “looks exactly like you too.”
Elissandro grinned. “That’s Faith, and that sparkle in her eyes reminds me most of Daiana at that age, and from the photos I have seen of Grandmother Elisana, Francesca resembles her most.”
Sweet Alyce handed Randle the photos, and his eyes teared up as well. “How old are they now?” he asked.
“They’re twenty-seven years old, with a birthday coming up next month, on February 14—Valentine’s Day. Neither one of them knows that I’m their father.”
Sweet Alyce grabbed Elissandro’s powder-blue shirt sleeve. “Where are they?”
“Francesca lives in Winwood, Texas, and she works in television broadcasting. She’s a co-anchor at the local news station. She’s still single, and she’s firmly attached to the man who raised her, Copeland Palmer.”
“On the other hand, Faith is more than likely in the witness protection program. She witnessed a crime being committed as a teenager and had to testify about what she had seen and learned. A week before the trial, she and her mother were ambushed, and Daiana was killed, protecting her. After the funeral and burial, Faith disappeared, and no one in the family has any clue what happened to her, and some in the family, including Copeland and Francesca, don’t have any problem with Faith being gone.”
Sweet Alyce gently squeezed his arm. “We’ll keep Faith and Francesca in prayer, and we’ll pray for Faith’s protection, provision, and well-being.”
“Thank you.” Elissandro hugged her, then Randle. “I’ve hired a friend of mine, Florencio Villanueva, to find the men who killed Daiana, and I’m hoping once they are captured and arrested, then Faith will be free to come home and reconcile with her sister.”
Sweet Alyce pulled him into another hug. “I’m here for you, Eli, for whatever you need. I know how much you loved Daiana, and I know how much it hurts to find out after all these years that you have children you were separated from, all because of the actions of your parents.
“Even though Elec and Edith were wrong in what they did, keeping you from Daiana and your daughters, I hope you can still forgive them, even if you choose to spend some time away from them.”
Elissandro stepped back, then audibly exhaled, his eyes on Sweet Alyce. “Honestly, I love my parents, but I can’t stand their attitude or behavior. Because of them, I lost the only woman I ever loved, and because of them, I lost the chance to raise my children.” He raked his fingers through his thick, layered, and salted black hair. “The reason I love spending time here at the farm is because you and Grandpa Randle act more like my parents than Elec and Edith Evergrace, and with you, I actually find love, compassion, and peace.”
Randle reached out his hand, then placed it back on Elissandro’s shoulder. “Don’t give up on your parents, Eli. Pray for them, and let God deal with them. He’s the only one who can change a life for the better.”
“That’s what I’m doing, Grandpa Randle. I’m clinging to God, turning all of this over to Him.”
Randle smiled. “Then, don’t worry. God will work it all out in your favor, for your good.” He lowered his hand, then handed the photos back to Elissandro, who tucked them back inside his wallet. “Now, tell us, Eli, what are your birthday plans?”
He smiled. “Hanging out, eating some cake with you and Sweet Alyce, if you’ll let me.”
Sweet Alyce lifted the cake box from the bench. “You’re always welcome here, Eli. This is home, just like Wintergrace Manor.”
“Thank you.” He clapped his hands. “So, what do you need me to do?”
“Pull one of those sixteen-passenger buses around so we can stock up on some more supplies before the college students, young adults, and ministry staff start arriving,” Randle said. “The keys should be in the glove compartment. Sweet Alyce and I will meet you at the barn doors.”
Elissandro nodded. “That, I can do.” He grabbed the cake box from Sweet Alyce, saying he would put it in the kitchen refrigerator before getting the bus. Then, he walked away.
Randle looked at Sweet Alyce, and she looked at him. “Can you believe it? We’ve got some new great-granddaughters.”
Sweet Alyce smiled. “God is good, God is just, God is love, isn’t He? All this time, we thought we would never get any great-grandchildren out of Elissandro, especially after he lost his first love, Daiana. Now, we find out that he and Daiana do have children together, and they’re the most beautiful gifts God could have given Elissandro for his fifty-sixth birthday too.”
“His best day will be when he’s finally face-to-face with his daughters, and he can greet them as their father,” Randle said. “I know Eli; so do you. He won’t be content to stand on the sidelines, watching his daughters from a distance. He’ll want to be involved in their lives on a daily basis. That’s just how he’s made—to be a hands-on parent.”
Sweet Alyce laughed. “He’s just like us, isn’t he?”
Randle nodded. “How could he not be? Growing up, he spent more time with us than his own parents, than even his younger brothers and sister, Edison, Edmund, and Elianne. Why else would he want to share his birthday with us and a bunch of college students and young adults instead of them?”
Sweet Alyce grew serious. “These girls are just what he needs, so I’m praying before the year is out, he’ll be able to spend time with them, not as strangers but as family.”
“That’s my prayer too,” Randle said. “My daddy always told me, too, that the family that prays together stays together.”
Sweet Alyce chuckled. “My daddy always told me that if we take care of God’s business, He’ll take care of our business.”
“Sounds like your daddy was hanging out with my daddy.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” she said. “In God’s family, in the Body of Christ, great minds think alike.”
“That’s because a family isn’t always the one you’re born into, but it can also be the one that is made or created through you.”
“You’re right!” Sweet Alyce said. “That’s why the college students and young adults who pass through here feel comfortable enough calling you Grandpa Randle and me Grandma Sweet or Sweet Alyce. They know we love them, and we care about them all like family.”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
“That’s Eli!” Randle said, putting his hand on his wife’s waist. “Let’s go!”
Outside, Elissandro opened the passenger door of the white sixteen-passenger van, and then he and Randle helped Sweet Alyce step inside. Then, Randle slid the side door of the white van open and climbed inside, sitting on the second row behind Elissandro in the driver’s seat.
Elissandro turned the key in the ignition, starting the van, and praise and worship music played softly from the radio. “So, where are we going first?” he asked.
Randle leaned forward and put his hand on the back of Elissandro’s seat. “Carolain’s Diner, so I can treat you to a homemade birthday breakfast and my sweet wife and myself to an amazing anniversary breakfast.”
Sweet Alyce put her hand over her heart. “That sounds great! Thank you, Randle. I love Carolain’s.”
He smiled. “I know.” He leaned back in his seat, then buckled his seatbelt.
Facing forward, Sweet Alyce buckled her own seatbelt.
“To Carolain’s Diner it is,” Elissandro said, shifting from park, then driving away from the Barn Chapel toward the Alyce Farm gate, and eventually onto the highway stretching into the heart of Evergrace.
They had only driven for twenty minutes when they saw a dark blue four-door van on the side of the road with its emergency flashers on. Immediately, Elissandro stopped behind the van and shifted into park and turned on their flashers too. “I’ll check it out and see if we can help,” he told his grandparents.
Sweet Alyce touched his arm. “Be careful, all right?”
Elissandro nodded, opened the driver’s door, and stepped out of the van.
Sweet Alyce went into prayer mode. “Heavenly Father, we pray for Eli’s protection and for the well-being of whoever stands in need of help or assistance in this disabled vehicle. Please, supply every need according to Your riches and glory and Your grace and mercy in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
“Amen,” Randle said.
Within minutes, Elissandro returned to their van with a tall man with Caribbean blue eyes and dark brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and dark blue pants.
Sweet Alyce pressed the button, rolling down her window, and Elissandro placed his hand on the door, standing beside the dark-haired man. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Sweet Alyce, Grandpa Randle, this is Judah Goodwin. He and his pregnant wife, Netanya, and their four children, ten-year-old twins Israel and Eitan and eight-year-old twins Saraiah and Miriam, were on their way home from an out-of-town trip when one of their rear tires blew out. The car went into the ditch, and Netanya’s water broke, and she went into labor. She’s nine months pregnant, and she’s carrying twins, and the last time we checked, her contractions were five minutes apart. They need our help.”
Elissandro stepped aside, and Judah stepped forward, peering through the window. “Hello! We’ve already called for an ambulance, but Evergrace University Hospital is miles away, and I don’t think they’ll make it in time. These twins are coming fast.” He combed fingers through his hair, clearly concerned. “Elissandro said you were a retired nurse, a midwife too. Is there any way you can help us?”
“Of course I can.” Sweet Alyce unbuckled her seatbelt and faced her husband. “Randlle, do you mind helping Elissandro and Judah get Netanya into this van so we’ll have more room and privacy for her?”
“I’m on it!” He unsnapped his seatbelt, then slid the van door open and climbed out, walking with Elissandro and Judah back to the disabled dark blue van. While they were gone, Sweet Alyce opened the passenger door, stepped down, and then closed it.
Soon, the three men returned carrying a woman with massive dark-brown curls and light-brown eyes, with a bulging belly, wearing a white and blue floral dress and white slide-in tennis shoes. They carefully stretched her across one of the long seats in the van; then, they stepped from the van, giving Sweet Alyce some room to work and offering Netanya some privacy.
“Her contractions are two minutes apart now,” Judah said. “Please, help my wife! Save my babies!”
Randle put his hand on Judah’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, son. We’ll do everything in our power to help your wife and save those babies.”
Elissandro volunteered to watch the kids in the car while Judah stayed behind to comfort his wife, and Randle stayed behind to offer assistance to Sweet Alyce.
Sweet Alyce sent her husband to grab some blankets from the back of the van for Netanya and the babies and to open some of the bottled water, too, so she could wash her hands.
Judah climbed into the van, then positioned himself so he could hold his wife’s hand and offer love, support, and encouragement.
Sweet Alyce introduced herself after covering Netanya with a blanket, then washing and drying her hands. “Hello, Netanya. My first name is Sweet, but everybody calls me Sweet Alyce. Today’s a great day too. It’s my grandson Elissandro’s fifty-sixth birthday and my husband, Randle’s, and my eightieth wedding anniversary.
“I’m ninety-five years old, and I’ve spent a good portion of those years working as a nurse and a midwife here in Evergrace, bringing countless numbers of babies into this world. So, don’t worry about yourself or these twins. You’re in good hands and good company.”
“Nice to meet you,” Netanya said, her olive-tan face wet with sweat. “You look too young to be ninety-five years old, though, and I love that long, thick, wooly white braid slung over your shoulder. It makes you look Native American.”
Sweet Alyce smiled. “Thank you, and you’re not mistaken. My grandmother on my mother’s side was Native American—Cherokeean specifically.” She glanced at Judah. “Are you a praying man?”
He nodded. “Every day, in and out of the military, in Yeshua’s holy name.”
“Who’s Yeshua?” she asked.
“Jesus in Hebrew.”
Sweet Alyce clapped her hands. “Praise the Lord! We’ve got some Jewish believers, and where two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, there He’ll be in the midst.” She turned her attention back to his wife, Netanya. “Don’t push until I tell you to, all right?”
Netanya nodded.
Sweet Alyce prayed aloud, her eyes on Netanya. “Heavenly Father, we come to You today thanking You for this beautiful family that You’ve introduced us to and these beautiful babies that You’re about to bring into this world. We ask for the safe delivery of these twins and their complete health and well-being, and we pray that You would encamp Your angels around them and keep them in all their ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Sweet Alyce braced herself, then looked beneath the blanket and saw one baby’s dark head. “All right, Netanya. I see the first baby’s head. Push!”
Within minutes, Netanya had delivered a squalling son, whom Sweet Alyce wrapped in a blanket and handed to his teary-eyed mother, who kissed him before passing him to his father. Judah kissed his son’s forehead, then prayed for him aloud, blessing him in English and Hebrew from Numbers 6:24–26, saying, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Seven minutes later, Netanya delivered the second dark-haired baby, this time a girl, whom Netanya kissed, then passed to Judah, who also kissed and blessed her in English and Hebrew with the same verses from Numbers chapter 6.
As Sweet Alyce poured water onto her hands, cleaning them, Netanya and Judah held their babies, both of them smiling at the babies wrapped in blankets. Netanya held the girl, and Judah held the boy.
Finally, Netanya glanced up, looking at Sweet Alyce. “Thank you. God bless you too.”
“You’re welcome,” Sweet Alyce said.
“I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t been here,” Judah said. “I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done.”
“Have you chosen names for the babies yet?” Sweet Alyce asked.
Judah nodded. “This baby boy is Noah, and that baby girl is Naomi.”
“Those are good, strong names,” Sweet Alyce said. “My prayer is that Noah and Naomi be loved, be encouraged, and be blessed.”
“Thank you,” Netanya said. “Our prayer is that you, Elissandro, and your husband be the same.”
“From now on, you’re all part of the Alyce family too,” Sweet Alyce said. “So you might as well get used to calling me Grandma Sweet or Sweet Alyce and my husband Grandpa Randle.”
Sirens blared in the distance, and soon, flashing lights were drawing near.
Standing beside the white van, Randle laughed. “I guess the ambulance is here.”
“About an hour too late.” Elissandro stepped beside Sweet Alyce and then draped his hand over her shoulder. “You’re amazing, do you know that?”
Tears stung her eyes. “God has been so good to me; I just love blessing people.”
“Today, you were supposed to receive the blessing.”
She smiled at him. “I did—love, laughter, and life. I even gained some new friends and two new great-granddaughters by way of you—my Grandsonshine.”
Elissandro kissed her cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, and I can’t wait to meet your daughters, Faith and Francesca, and welcome them into this family of ours.”
Elissandro sighed. “God willing, that reunion will be sooner rather than later.”
The ambulance stopped beside the van, and two paramedics stepped out: a tall black man with dark hair and brown eyes and a shorter Hispanic woman with short light-brown hair and light-brown eyes. Swiftly, they got Netanya strapped onto a gurney, and they got the twins, Noah and Naomi, secured as well.
Before they lifted the gurney into the ambulance, Netanya reached out her hand, grabbing Elissandro’s arm. “Wait! Please!”
“What’s wrong?” Elissandro asked.
“Your green eyes,” she said, clearly excited. “I just remembered where I’ve seen them before.”
Elissandro frowned, clearly confused. “What do you mean?”
“My friend, Freedom Forrester, is a military veteran—a former combat photographer in the Air Force—and she has the same green eyes as yours, almost the same light-brown complexion and facial features too. You wouldn’t be related to her, would you?”
“How old is she?”
“She’ll be twenty-eight on February 14—Valentine’s Day.”
Elissandro traded glances with Sweet Alyce and moved closer to Netanya. “It’s possible, then, that we’re related,” he said. “Do you have a photo of your friend?”
Netanya nodded. “We were together on New Year’s Eve, and Judah took some photos of everyone there.” She glanced at her husband, Judah. “Would you show Elissandro the photos you took of Freedom?”
“No problem.” Judah pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his photos until he found those he had taken on New Year’s Eve. “Here she is—Freedom Forrester.” Judah leaned closer to Elissandro, Sweet Alyce, and Randle and pointed to a stunningly tall and beautiful woman in a gold-sequin dress with cape-like sleeves, emerald-green eyes, long dark golden-brown curls, and a serious expression on her face.
Instantly, Sweet Alyce knew they were looking at Elissandro’s daughter—Faith, and she glanced at him and saw tears glistening in his eyes too. “This is Faith, isn’t it?”
“That’s Faith—Daiana’s daughter.” Elissandro reached for his own cell phone. “Do you mind sharing that photo with me, Judah?”
“No problem,” he said. “Just give me your number.”
Elissandro nodded, then shared his contact number, and Judah sent him the photo electronically.
“So you know Freedom?” Judah asked, tucking his phone back into his pocket.
“We’re related—family,” Elissandro said. “But she’s never met me.”
“That’s right!” Judah snapped his fingers. “Freedom said her mom died tragically when she was sixteen, and she got adopted by a military family, and they were deployed overseas in Japan for a few years before they returned to the States. Now, they’re living in Heaventon Hope.”
Sweet Alyce grabbed Judah’s arm. “She’s living in Heaventon Hope too?”
Judah shook his head. “Freedom hasn’t spent that much time with her adoptive family since she turned eighteen and enlisted in the military, and since she’s been discharged recently from the military, she doesn’t have a permanent home yet, so she’s been camping out in motels or staying with some of her closest friends. Her most recent landing place is here in Evergrace with another couple of friends, Wei-ming and Chosen Song.”
The black paramedic stepped closer. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got to get your wife and the babies to the hospital. Are you coming with us or staying behind?”
Judah frowned, his mouth in a grim line. “My car’s disabled, and I have the other kids to look after too.”
Sweet Alyce released Judah’s arm. “You and the kids can ride to the hospital in the van with Randle, Elissandro, and me,” she said. “While you’re in the hospital with Netanya, Randle and I will gladly babysit the kids until you have time to find someone else to care for them or get them home.”
Judah’s Caribbean blue eyes got wide, full of tears, too, as he glanced from Sweet Alyce to Randle and Elissandro. “You’ve just met me and Netanya, and you’d do that for me on your anniversary and birthday too?”
“We’re family,” Randle said. “Children of God—brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.”
“Thank you.”
Judah told the paramedic that they would follow the ambulance to the hospital; then, he rushed to his dark blue van and got his four kids, Israel, Eitan, Saraiah, and Miriam, out and herded them into the sixteen-passenger van.
“What do you want to do about your van?” Randle asked.
“I’ve already called a friend of mine—Jaime Buenaverde—who’s a car mechanic, and he’s agreed to drive over here and check it out, then tow it to his garage until I can pick it up.” Judah climbed into the van and buckled himself in.
Next, Randle climbed inside, then shut the van door.
Sweet Alyce pulled Elissandro aside and kissed his cheek. “Happy birthday, Grandsonshine! We just found Faith.”
Elissandro grinned from ear to ear. “Happy anniversary, Sweet Alyce! We just found your great-granddaughter, too, and now, we know her new name.” He hugged her, then helped her climb into the passenger seat in the van. After she was buckled inside, he jogged to the driver’s side, then opened the door and climbed inside. Soon, they were all buckled in, listening to praise and worship music on the radio and following the ambulance all the way to Evergrace University Hospital.