Chapter 26
Miracles
The army buses full of Reverend Little’s pilgrims drove up the last two miles to the Bat Mountain Site on a dirt road recently constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers. As they approached the site there was much excitement amongst the pilgrims as God’s cathedral had grown to nearly twenty-seven feet and sparkled in the afternoon sun. As each bus unloaded several park rangers were waiting to guide the visitors down a new path that led to the front of the cathedral and then swung around in a complete circle around the magnificent structure. As they walked along the path, at times it got close enough that each pilgrim could run their hands along the surface of the walls and feel the texture of the crystal.
A reporter and camera crew from one of the networks accompanied the first group. Amongst their group was a middle-aged woman being pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter. When the path brought them close to the wall the woman reached out and ran her hand across the surface. When she pulled her hand back she began to convulse. Her daughter tried to hold her down but she jerked so violently that she fell right out of the wheelchair onto the ground. People gathered around to see what was happening as the camera crew filmed the entire scene.
Finally, the woman stopped convulsing and when her daughter came to her side she waived her off. “Thank you, Lord! I knew you would answer my prayers,” the lady said as she rolled onto her knees as if she was going to stand up. She teetered for a moment and then pushed herself up.
“Oh, my God! It’s a miracle!” someone screamed.
“Mom,” her daughter said wide-eyed. “What’s happening?”
The woman straightened up, smiled and took a wobbly step.”
“Oh, my God! Mom, you can walk!”
“How long has she been disabled,” the reporter asked the daughter.
“She hasn’t walked since the accident thirteen years ago.”
“Glory Hallelujah!” someone said. “Indeed we do stand in the Cathedral of the Lord!”
The woman who had been healed was named Emma Lane and as she walked back to the bus with a large crowd and the media following, her daughter proclaimed. “Look! My mother was crippled and now she walks! Praise the Lord.”
When Reverend Little came across the woman and the crowd, he took her into his arms, hugged her joyfully and swung her around. When he finally set her down he proclaimed, “The power of the Lord is infinite! Thanks be to God!”
Later as Reverend Little walked along the circular path around the cathedral others came up to him to give testimony to their ailments that had been healed by simply rubbing their hands along the walls of the Cathedral. When Reverend Little finally made it all the way around the cathedral he climbed to high ground and addressed the crowd of Pilgrims and the media.
“Pilgrims, friends and members of the Hanson family, the media, who are broadcasting this momentous event to the American people, and General Thornton who is hosting this tour today. . . Behold God’s miracle!” he said with a sweeping gesture of his hands. . . . “Isn’t it magnificent?”
There was applause and several who screamed, “Yes!”
“Today you are all bearing witness, not only to the building of this holy cathedral, but also to its great healing power. Just a few moments ago I witnessed a woman who had been crippled in a terrible auto accident thirteen years ago. Her feet had withered away and she was confined to a wheel chair, yet after simply touching the wall of God’s desert cathedral, she was healed and cast aside her wheelchair forever .”
“Praise be to God!” several voices said in unison.
“And there have been others whose afflictions have been cured here today and there will be many more as God’s power is limitless. All you have to do is believe in Him and the power of the monument He is building here for us mortals to herald the Second Coming of Christ.”
“Now, we all know that money and material things are not important, yet we do live in a world where money is required to operate a family, a business or ministry. To operate this ministry and do God’s work we have to have a little cash to pay expenses. So, if you have been moved by what you have seen today and you want to help us spread the word about God’s Desert Cathedral, then be generous when my staff comes by with donation plates. And remember for every dollar you give, the Lord will reward you sevenfold.
“God Bless you,” Reverend Little concluded and then stepped back onto the path to make his way back to the buses. As he was walking the woman whose mother had been healed and her husband came up to him.
“Reverend. Thank you for healing my mother,” the woman said.
He smiled at her warmly. “It wasn’t I who healed your mother, it was God.”
“Yes, Reverend,” the woman’s husband said,“ but had you not fought for our right to visit this cathedral she wouldn’t have been healed.”
“What are your names, my children?” he asked.
“Bob and Alice Roper,” Alice replied.
“Well, we are all just instruments of the Lord so we can’t take credit for what happens. All the glory belongs onto the Lord.”
“I know,” Bob said, “and my wife and I would like to become instruments of the Lord as well. Could you use our services? We’ve talked about it and we’d like to join your ministry and help you with you work.”
“Excellent. We need all the help that we can get. There is so much work that needs to be done.”
“Good. So, how do we get started?”
“Come to our church office in Shoshone tomorrow and my secretary will do all the paperwork.”
“Wonderful,” Alice said. “See you tomorrow.”