Authors: Anna Schmidt
Stranger's Gift
© 2011 by Anna Schmidt
Print ISBN 978-1-61626-234-1
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-60742-562-5
Kindle and Mobipocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-60742-563-2
All rights reserved. NO part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.
All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
For more information about Anna Schmidt, please access the author's website at the following Internet address:
www.booksbyanna.com
Cover design: Kirk Douponce, Dogeared Design
Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, OH 44683,
www.barbourbooks.com
Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses
.
Printed in the United States of America
Hurricane Hester Headed for Sarasota
Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
.
M
ATTHEW
5:3
For Ella & Grace.
For Ivan & Merle.
And with special gratitude,
this book is also dedicated to
Doris, Rosanna & Tanya
.
When your fear cometh as desolation,
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind â¦
P
ROVERBS
1:27
I went to the woods because I wished to live
deliberatelyâ¦and see if I could not learn
what [life] had to teach us
.
H
ENRY
D
AVID
T
HOREAU
,
W
ALDEN:
L
IFE IN THE
W
OODS
URRICANE
H
ESTER
H
EADED FOR
S
ARASOTA
Monster hurricane expected to smash Gulf Coast Florida within forty-eight hours
.
Hurricane Hester is expected to make landfall by late Friday afternoon. The dangerous storm is predicted to bring potentially devastating storm surges and dangerous high winds well in excess of one hundred miles per hour. Home and business owners are urged to secure all property and prepare to move inland as soon as possible. Once the hurricane makes landfall, the storm is expected to weaken, but there remains the strong potential for heavy flooding and tornadoes. As a precaution, those residents living inland near any body of water including creeks and canals are advised to be prepared to evacuate and stay alert
.
Chapter 1
W
isps of Hester Detlef's ebony hair escaped her stiff mesh prayer covering, tickling her face as she unloaded boxes of canned goods from the back of a van. In the Mennonite and Amish community of Pinecraft, within the greater borders of Sarasota, several women had formed a kind of bucket line to pass the boxes to other women waiting at a line of tables set end to end along the protected walkway of the shopping mall. The increasingly strong wind whipped at the ankle-length skirts the women wore, reminding them that in spite of the blue skies, a hurricane lurked just a few miles offshore. Hester had just received news that the entire Gulf Coast, from Fort Myers north to TampaâSt. Petersburg, was under a hurricane watchâmeaning that within the next thirty-six hours, it was entirely possible that the storm could move into their area. But with the predicted storm stalled several miles offshore, things could go either way. The hurricane might simply have paused to gather strength before moving east. Or it could weaken to a tropical storm that would bring heavy rains and some wind but nothing like the devastation that a category three or four hurricane might deliver.
“Hester? Shouldn't you let someone else handle this and see to more pressing matters?” Olive Crowder was a large-boned woman of indeterminate age with a permanent expression of disapproval etched into her face. She had never married, and her constant companion was her younger sister, Agnes, a gentle soul who seemed immune to Olive's generally sour demeanor. The sisters were dedicated members of the conservative Mennonite congregation where Hester's father, Arlen, served as senior minister. While women did not usually assume roles of appointed or elected leadership in their church, Olive came as close as any woman ever could to having declared herself an elder of the congregationâthe gatekeeper for all things traditional.
Often when Hester was in grade school and other girls were busy learning homemaking skills, she had tested her teachers with her questions about why certain things happened the way they did.
“But why?” she would ask when the answer she got was dismissive or unsatisfactory.
It was that insatiable curiosity coupled with her stubborn determination to explore as much of God's world as possible that made her stand out in a community where sameness was not only preferred but also expected. It was that same insatiable curiosity that had brought her under the microscope of Olive Crowder's concern.
“Getting these food goods sorted and packed is a priority right now, Olive,” Hester said, forcing herself to smile.
“Well, you know best, I suppose. After all, you are the lead volunteer for MCC in this area.”
The Mennonite Central Committeeâor MCCâwas a national organization dedicated to offering disaster relief, community development, and international aid with no concern for whether or not those who received that aid were Mennonite. The mission of the organization was to build a worldwide community of people connected by their love and respect for God, each other, and all of God's creation. Following her mother's death, Hester had put her career as a registered nurse on hold indefinitely and volunteered to manage the agency's work in and around Pinecraft.
“After all,” Olive continued, “Emma has gone straight to the shelters to oversee the work there.”
Emma Keller had once been Hester's closest friend, but the two of them had grown apart after Hester decided to attend nursing school in Illinois. Emma now held the position of local leader of the more conservative Christian Aid Ministries. CAM was the agency that Oliveânot to mention several other members of Arlen Detlef's congregationâhad suggested might be a more appropriate venue from which a conservative minister's daughter might pursue her desire to serve.
“I understand your concern, Olive, and believe me, I would really love to be able to be in more than one place at the same time. So I am truly grateful that Emma and others have taken on other projects like preparing the shelters.” Hester turned back to her work. “With everyone doing their part, we should have things pretty well covered.”
Olive stood rooted to her spot in the line of volunteers scowling down at Hester until Hester noticed that others were beginning to wonder what was going on. “Besides, Emma and I will both be attending the volunteer organizational meeting at command central later this morning, so I'll be sure to check in with her then. In the meantime, if you wouldn't mind ⦔ She handed a box of canned goods to Olive and nodded toward the woman waiting to receive them and pass them on. Olive's lips thinned into a sharp straight line. “Just because you see this as your little hurricane, Hester, it would behooveâ”
“My little hurricane?”
“Ja. Hurricane Hester,” Olive replied and then turned back to her work.
Certainly Hester could see the irony of a hurricane with her name. Even before she'd learned that this season's eighth hurricane was to bear her name, others had compared her can-do personality to the massive fury of a hurricane. She certainly did not aspire to be linked to something so destructive, but she had to admit that once she latched on to a cause that she believed in, there was no stopping her.
As soon as the van was unloaded and the women began filling smaller cartons with a selection of canned goods, Hester retrieved her bicycle from behind the distribution center. Promising to return as soon as possible, she pedaled off toward downtown Sarasota. At the corner of Highway 41 and Bahia Vista, she waited for the light to change, tapping one foot on the ground as she balanced her bike. Her foot tapping was not an indication of impatience. She was simply filled with energy, ready to face whatever Mother Nature might bring in the hours and days ahead. Hester Detlef was like a warrior prepared to go into combat.
