Paying Attention and Responding

 

            Dmitri woke up twenty minutes before his alarm with a feeling of deep nausea in the pit of his stomach. “Oh, man, this is not good,” he grumbled, “I suppose it is the right thing to call in sick, because I would really hate to infect my office mates with whatever it is that has overtaken my state of physical health.” He reached over, turned off his alarm, sat on the edge of his bed and knew that he would be kneeling in front of the toilet in a few minutes. “Phew, enough of that,” he groaned, “I think I’ll steal a couple more hours of sleep, but I should set my alarm to wake me so I can call in and let them know my current state of health.”

               Fifteen minutes before his normal arrival time at the office, his alarm pulled him from sleep, forcing him out of bed and onto his feet. He dropped his sweaty pajamas in the laundry basket, found loose fitting sweats and t-shirt, a pair of socks and his slippers, trudged into the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee and dialed his boss’s phone number. “Hey boss, it’s Dmitri,” he said, “I woke up sick this morning so I won’t be in the office today, I really hope whatever it is that is plaguing me right now will clear up today and I’ll be into the office tomorrow.”

               “Wow, thanks for the call, Dmitri,” his boss said, “get as much rest as you can, and don’t worry about your responsibilities at work today, I’ll divide your work up between your office mates. Please call me again tomorrow morning, so I know how you are feeling and if you’ll be in for work.”

               “Alright, will do,” Dmitri said. He then hung up the phone, shuffled back into the kitchen, found himself a mild breakfast, finished his cup of coffee and finished his small meal. Pulling himself to his feet, he collapsed on the couch in the living room, put on some classical music, and began wondering how he would feel the rest of the day. “Man, I really hope this clears up sooner than later,” he thought.

               A vigorous knock on the door pulled him from his late morning nap, as he peeked through the viewer, he saw a FedEx man holding a large envelope. He quickly opened the door, received the envelope from the man, thanked him and wished him a good day. Closing and locking the door behind him, he opened the envelope, extracted a letter and a check written out to him for one and a half million dollars. He carefully read the accompanying letter and learned that Uncle Boris had recently reposed. “Uncle Boris,” he thought, “I didn’t know I had an Uncle Boris, this is really awesome, now I can buy some land and build the castle I’ve been wanting to build for so many years now.”

               Placing the letter and the check on the dining room table, he shuffled into his office, and began a search for inexpensive land, preferably somewhere warm with lots of trees. After thirty minutes of searching via the internet, he found the perfect piece of land in northern Nevada. “Well, this is perfect,” he said, “twenty acres with several hills and plenty of trees, looks like it’s time for a phone call.”

               After a brief phone call with the local realtor, he requested that the realtor send him several photos of the land and the land surrounding the property. About an hour after lunch, an email from the realtor arrived with twenty photos attached. Dmitri spent the next fifteen minutes looking through each photo, found the property on a map app to see that the nearest town was relatively empty and decaying after nearly one hundred years of neglect.

               “It would be wise to visit the property before I make an offer of purchase,” he thought, “I need to talk to my boss and see if I can work remotely from out of state and my yet to be built home. I suppose I should find a local company that will build a castle for me in that location and receive a bid on the total cost.” The rest of the day slowly crept passed, the next morning Dmitri called his boss and explained his situation, asking for permission to work remotely now that he had received a large and unexpected check from his uncle.

               At the end of the phone call, he confirmed with his boss that he would be taking a full week of vacation to get everything in order with these recent developments. After breakfast and before lunch, he traveled to the bank to deposit his check, returned home and placed another phone call to the realtor, setting up a time to meet and view the property. After concluding his phone call with the realtor, he purchased a plane ticket to the nearest town closest to his potential new property.

               Four hours after landing at the airport, he and the real estate agent walked through the property, giving Dmitri the opportunity to take more photographs and notes. As they stood together on the side of the hill, at the point he determined would be the best place to build his castle, they looked down upon an abandoned collection of motel cabins at the edge of town. Now thoroughly pleased with the property, he and the realtor returned to the real estate office to do all the paperwork to make an offer on the land. Within an hour, the current owner responded by accepting the offer. With the acceptance of the offer, Dmitri requested that the real estate agent find a local financial company in his home town to take care of the paperwork and the transfer of money.

               Two weeks later, he received a phone call from the real estate agent in Nevada with contact information for the financial company. He quickly responded with words of thanks, called the financial company, set up an appointment to sign the necessary documents and transfer the money. Three days later, the documents were signed, the money was transferred and Dmitri received the official documents identifying him as the owner of the twenty acres in Nevada.

               “Phew, okay, here we are,” he said, “now I need to find a contractor to build my castle.” After two hours of research online, he found three different contractors, contacted each one and requested a bid on building the castle. Within two weeks, he received all three bids, chose the best one, and began dreaming about his new life, his new home, and the freedom that would come from working remotely in a warm and beautiful place.

               After contacting the best contractor, he traveled to his new property, met with the contractor on site, filled out the necessary paperwork, shook hands, thanked them for their willingness to step up and take care of this build for him. After sixteen months, he received a phone call from the contractor, traveled to his property and could feel his heart swelling with joy and excitement of his new home, to finally see a glorious and beautiful stone castle on the side of the hill overlooking the slowly decaying city far below.

               Within three weeks, he sold his condominium, hired a moving company to pack, load and relocate his things into his new home. Now holding only a single suitcase and carry-on bag, he watched as the moving truck drove away, giving him the chance to take the next flight to his new home. He arrived at the nearest airport, rented a car, drove to his property, walked into an empty house that was comfortably warm. Before darkness swallowed the surrounding land, he heard the moving truck pull into his property and the driver knocked on the door. Within fifteen minutes, all of his possession began to be carried inside and scattered throughout the house.

               Dmitri spent the next four days organizing, relocating, and getting everything in order. After living in his new castle for two weeks, he noticed that a great amount of activity was taking place at the abandoned motel cabins at the edge of town. “Hmm, that’s curious,” he thought, over the next several months, each cabin was fully remodeled, the landscape was made beautiful, and a landing strip was installed. When everything was in good shape, he watched a large bus arrive and he saw twenty teenage girls depart from the bus and with his surveillance equipment, he recorded the activity, as one girl was taken to each cabin.

               Each day a plane would arrive, or a collection of large fancy cars would arrive, continuing to record the activity below, he watched as wealthy, middle-aged men entered each cabin to then emerge after about two hours. “Wow, this does not look good,” he thought, “you hear a lot about child trafficking, and I would guess that is what is happening here. I should probably call the FBI about this activity.”

               Within forty-eight hours, he watched as multiple FBI vehicles converged on the property, arresting and removing the wealthy, middle-aged men. Still recording the activity below, he watched as twenty girls were rescued from the motel cabins, loaded onto a bus, and leave the property. Two hours later, three FBI agents appeared at his front door, identified themselves and thanked him for his phone call. “Thank you making your phone call, Dmitri,” one of them said, “you have behaved as a good citizen of the United States. Your phone call rescued those twenty girls from the abuse of wealthy, middle-aged men. From what we have learned, a company by the name of Dark Stone Productions bought that property, remodeled it as a means to earn money from a number of their wealthy clientele.”

               The three FBI agents then left his home and confirmed that they would stay in contact if there was any need for further information from him. Dmitri watched them drive off his property, cross the open empty space below his home and then he ascended into his tower to look down upon the decaying town below. “Wow, that was a good thing to do on my part,” he said, “I hope those girls weren’t too traumatized by what happened to them.”

               Wondering what would happen to the newly remodeled motel cabins, he hoped that someone else would purchase the property, which would draw more visitors into the town, and hopefully bring some life to the region. Two months later, he received a phone call from the FBI and he informed them that he had surveillance cameras that recorded all of the activity in the newly remodeled motel cabins. He was informed by them that Dark Stone Productions had done the same purchase and remodel work in ten other locations around the country. They thanked him for his initial phone call and confirmed that the FBI managed to locate and shut down the other ten locations, rescuing two hundred girls from a similar situation.

               Dmitri then began researching Dark Stone Productions, learned a great deal about them, who was in charge of these decisions, and then placed a phone call to the real estate agent, informing her about the remodeling work, and his interaction with the FBI. He asked her if she would keep him informed about the remodeled motel cabins and if anyone would be purchasing them and for what purpose.

               Three months later, he received a phone call from the agent, who told him that a real estate company purchased the remodeled motel cabins to be used as a place of vacation. When the purchase was complete, Dmitri watched as many families arrived to enjoy a beautiful location to relax. He was thoroughly pleased with himself for making that initial phone call, trusting that the arrival of people on vacation would bring growth and success to the surrounding region.

               He found himself feeling so good about being able to work remotely, that he finally shared the details of what had been happening in the small town, his interaction with the FBI, and the potential for growth and success. His co-workers congratulated him on his willingness to step up and do the right thing and requested that he keep them informed as everything continued to develop over the next several months.

               As he expected, he saw new homes being built, new businesses opening, and an increase in activity around the once decaying town. He watched as a large swimming pool was dug, built, and used on a daily basis by those who vacationed at the motel’s cabins. Dmitri would spend at least an hour every day, walking around his property, enjoying the beauty of nature and spending as much money as he could at the local businesses. He found himself being approached by many of his neighbors, thanking him for his concern for their community, and his assistance in making the small town begin to thrive.

Abducted and Buried

 

            Jeremy read the news every morning as he ate his breakfast and for the last three months he had heard about multiple abductions of teenage girls in the large city to the north. It was when he heard about the twentieth abduction that he could feel anger building up within him, disappointed that there was nothing he could do to intervene and protect the young and innocent. “Hmm, if I remember correctly, a large white van has been seen at the location of every abduction,” he said to himself, “I need to watch for a large white van anytime I travel into the big city.”

               He finished his breakfast, wrote himself a note to remind himself to watch for the van, placed it on the passenger seat in his car, and prayed that the perpetrator would be caught and imprisoned. The next three weeks passed and it wasn’t until the end of the third week that he saw a large white van lying sideways in the ditch alongside the highway. Stopping his vehicle a safe distance from the damaged van, he placed a call to 911 that a large white van was lying in the ditch alongside the highway. He then waited until the police arrived; he climbed out of his car and had a brief conversation with one of the police officers.

               Jeremy then returned to his car, took several deep breathes and hoped that the driver of his van was the one guilty of the abductions. He watched and waited and eventually saw a very short, very fat, and heavily tattooed man pulled out of the van, and placed in the back of the police car. “Phew, we can only hope,” he thought, “I guess I’ll continue listening to the news and see what develops from this.”

               As the police car drove away from the site of the accident, he pulled out and continued his drive into the city to make a quick stop at the grocery store. About thirty minutes later, he began his drive home, and saw that the van had been removed from the ditch and normal traffic had resumed. He arrived at home and felt like he had contributed to the improvement of society and hopefully assisted in the removal of a dangerous criminal from their area.

               One full week passed and Jeremy heard that the one responsible for the abductions had been arrested and incarcerated. He also learned that the police sent a CSI team to his home and discovered twenty shallow graves which contained the bodies of those who had been abducted. “Oh, glory to God,” Jeremy said out loud, “now their families have an answer about the final state of their loved ones.”

               Jeremy became involved in multiple conversations about the abductions, the discovery of the bodies, and possible motivation for someone to commit such heinous crimes. Two full weeks after the bodies had been exhumed from the property, the CSI team learned that the young girls had been abused and their hearts had been removed and stored in several large glass jars in a garden shed on his property.

               Disgusted and sickened at the suffering these young girls had undergone, Jeremy could not wrap his head around someone committing crimes like this against people who were weak and innocent. After three months in county jail, the short, overweight, and heavily tattooed man was found guilty of his crimes and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

               Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he had placed that call to 911, and thankful that the community would be at rest now that this horrible criminal had been found, arrested, and imprisoned. “Well, we all know that crime doesn’t simply stop when one criminal is removed from society, but unfortunately crime will continue and we can only hope that no more abductions will take place,” he said to himself.

               Jeremy continued reading the news every morning and was thankful to hear that nothing horrible or heinous was happening in the city to the north. “Alright, Jeremy, you’ve done a good thing,” he thought, “I cannot imagine the pain, loss, and suffering the parents of those girls are enduring right now.” The thought occurred to him if the short, overweight, and heavily tattooed man was alone or if he had a family that was depending on him for their needs. “You know, let’s look up the address of that property, see where it exactly is, and see if it goes up for sale. I really hope that he was alone in this horrible criminal activity, if he had a wife and children who were depending on him, they will be left in a bad spot right now.”

               The CSI team completed their exhaustive search of the property, found nothing else that would assist them in the investigation, and departed from the property. One week later, Jeremy saw that the house and the land upon which it sat was now for sale. “I cannot imagine how anyone would be interested in buying a house and property that formerly held the corpses of multiple people,” he thought, “this will be interesting to see how quickly it sells or if it sells at all.”

               Much to Jeremy’s surprise, the house and land sold after being on the market for three months. One month after the house sold, he drove by to see the property, and who currently lived in it. Three years after the short, overweight, and heavily tattooed man entered prison, Jeremy learned that his cellmate beat him to death because of the nature of his crimes against innocent people. “May God have mercy on his soul,” Jeremy thought.

               He continued to read the news, learned the details of the short, overweight, and heavily tattooed man’s funeral. “You know what, I think I’ll attend that funeral and see if anyone else attends or if he has family who will be there,” he said. Jeremy adjusted his schedule, arrived at the funeral home and saw a middle-aged woman with four children sitting alone and crying. “Wow, this is a horrible scene,” he thought. “Imagine having no one in your life other than your immediate family who would care enough to attend your funeral.”

               The casket was carried to the hearse and as Jeremy waited a few minutes, he was approached by the middle-aged woman and her four children. She gave him a hug, thanked him for attending the funeral, and asked him how he knew the departed. “I’m sorry ma’am,” he said, “I did not know the man, I have never met him and I thought it was the right thing to do to attend his funeral and pray for his departed soul.”

               The hearse, the woman and her children in their car, and Jeremy in his car drove to the cemetery and watched as the pine box was lowered into the ground. Feeling sad for the deceased, and for his wife and children as they were now alone with no means of income. He offered the woman a handful of cash and condolences for her loss and that she and her children would be safe and provided for.

               The six of them departed in their vehicles, leaving Jeremy feeling empty and depressed at such a sad situation. “Well, everyone makes choices in life and often times those choices have negative consequences,” he thought. “I wonder what will happen to her and her children?” He drove home, took a shower, ate lunch, and thought through everything that had happened that morning at the funeral home and at the cemetery. “Phew, that was rough,” he thought, “thankfully I have many people who know me, love me, and would be sad if and when I depart for eternity. Thankfully that won’t be for a very long time, I am sure that I’ll have at least forty more years before I am lowered into the ground.”

Wall of Protection

 

            Andrew, the captain of the high school rugby team met with Richard, another member of the high school rugby team and began discussing the need to protect the girls in their school from the numberless abductions that were taking place over the last many decades. “Hey Richard, I was thinking that if everyone on the rugby team met on the front pavement and escorted the girls to their homes, we would be providing safe travel and you can guarantee that their parent’s would be chuffed to bits for our effort,” Andrew said.

               “Yes, that is a great idea,” Richard said, “we should contact everyone on the rowing team to become involved as well. The more young men who are willing to help and protect, the more protection we can offer.”

               “Oh, great idea,” Andrew said, “we need to have those conversations sometime this morning and we need to inform the coaches of the rugby team and the rowing team about what we are planning to do, because if we spend time providing protection and escort service, that time will most likely cut into our practice time immediately after school.”

               “You are absolutely right in that,” Richard said, “we should send a mass text to everyone on the athlete group chat and meet at lunch today to explain what we hope to accomplish.” The two boys stood up from their seated position on the hallway floor, shook hands and walked to their lockers to retrieve their books for their first class. Andrew took his seat in class, and sent off the text to everyone on the athlete group chat, requesting that they all meet today in the gymnasium during lunch to discuss a very important responsibility that he and Richard decided needed to be addressed.

               The first three classes of the day came to an end, the lunch bell rang, and approximately sixty large, powerful young men gathered in the gymnasium immediately after eating lunch. Andrew and Richard stood up in front of the group of young men, shared their idea and the need to protect the weak and innocent from the abductions that had been taking place for so many decades all across London and the area surrounding London.

               Andrew called for a show of hands of who was willing to be involved in providing protection immediately after school, when he made the request all sixty young men raised their hands. The gymnasium became silent and one young man named Basil stood up, called for everyone’s attention, and said that a plan needed to be created with teams of six young men for each escort group and delivery across the city. “Oh, also, we need to communicate this message to all of the girls in the school, so they know that we will be protecting them as they walk home,” Basil said.

               Basil then sat down and another young man by the name of Charles stood up, called for everyone’s attention, cleared his throat and began to speak. “I just had a great idea,” he said, “some of us should contact the professional rugby teams and the professional rowing teams to inform them what we are doing. You can be certain that they will be very proud of our efforts and some of them could possibly arrive at our school and assist in our protective efforts.”

               “Yes, those are excellent thoughts Basil and Charles, everyone needs to speak to as many people as they can throughout the rest of the day, so the girls can be aware of what we will be planning to do,” Richard said.

               “If I remember correctly,” Andrew said, “there are thirty-eight professional rugby teams, can I have four volunteers to contact all of these teams so they can respond if they are interested. Also, I recently performed a count of rowing teams across the UK, there are one hundred and five rowing clubs that we need to contact. I think if we have ten volunteers to contact these rowing clubs, this will give them the opportunity to assist us if any of them are interested. Thank you to everyone for coming to this impromptu meeting, anyone who is interested in volunteering for these responsibilities remain behind and speak with either Richard or myself. I want to add one more comment, we have already communicated this plan to our coaches, so they know that we will be several minutes late for practice immediately after school.”

               When Andrew stopped speaking the majority of the young men rose from their seats, and disappeared into the hallways to attend their next classes. Richard and Andrew were immediately surrounded by two dozen young men offering to help with contacting the professional rugby teams and rowing clubs. The rugby teams were divided evenly among the four young men with the assignment to contact them this evening. The rowing clubs were divided evenly among the remaining young men with the same instructions.

               Throughout the day, Richard and Andrew were approached by several dozen young ladies offering them hugs and words of thanksgiving for being such wonderful young men and protecting them as they walked home. The final class of the day came to an end, and almost one hundred young ladies emerged through the main entrance to find a wall of powerful young men waiting for them. The young ladies effortlessly gathered together based on the location of their homes. The young men had already formed teams of six to accompany them as they traveled.

               One by one the girls split away from the protective group and were watched as they walked into their homes. When the last girl was delivered to her home, the six boys rushed back to the school to see if there were any other young ladies needing protection. After ninety minutes of walking and protection, the rowing team and the rugby team met at the front of the school to happily see that all of the young ladies had been safely delivered home.

               “Did anyone have any trouble with anyone attempting to abduct any of the young ladies,” Andrew asked. A few young men spoke up and commented that they noticed several vehicles following them but thankfully there was no trouble from anyone.

               “This is very good news to hear or not hear,” Richard said. “For those of you who volunteered to contact the professional rugby teams and the rowing clubs, be sure to send off those emails tonight, and hopefully we will receive responses this evening or tomorrow. I will create a group email so that any important information can be communicated right away.”

               The next morning there was a great deal of communication throughout the school, that twenty emails from the professional rugby teams had been received and promises were made that a few of the professional rugby players would be waiting for them immediately after school so that they could assist in the protective efforts. The captain of the rowing team shared that they had received only four responses from the rowing clubs and that a few of the rowers would be present at the end of the day to assist and encourage.

               Richard and Andrew communicated this news to the rugby and rowing coaches that there would be assistance from a few of the professional rugby players and a few members of the rowing clubs at the end of the day. The school day came to an end, the young men from the rugby team and the rowing team hurried out to the pavement to meet and interact with the professional athletes who were waiting for them to arrive.

               Within ten minutes, the one hundred young ladies emerged from the building and were safely escorted home. This became a routine every day, leaving the young men, the professional athletes, and many parents chuffed to bits with the loving effort put in by the young men from the school. After two weeks of their protective efforts, the local media waited on the pavement with the few professional athletes and began reporting about the protective efforts that were taking place each day after school.

               The last day of school arrived and the young ladies were safely returned home. The teams of young men gathered in front of the school, congratulated one another on another great day of protection and they all dispersed to practice for the day. When each boy arrived at home, he learned that a cheque had arrived in the mail as a reward for their self-sacrificial efforts of protecting the young ladies every day after school. They soon came to realize that the financial remuneration was a gift from the professional rugby teams and the numerous rowing teams across the UK.

An Obvious Opportunity

 

                As the Divine Liturgy came to an end, the head priest made an announcement that all of the men of the parish needed to meet immediately after the afternoon meal, as a wonderful opportunity had been revealed to them, which he wanted to share with everyone and anyone that was interested in providing assistance. The afternoon meal was finished, and fifteen men gathered outside near the play area.

               “Thank you for coming together, everyone,” the head priest said as everyone gave him their attention. “I was approached by someone in the parish who has exceptional computer skills and he suggested that we begin watching when men or women are released from prison, which would give us the opportunity to interact with them, invite them to visit our parish, and hopefully draw them into becoming members. We will keep you all informed as this new effort begins to take shape, hopefully we’ll begin to see new visitors from those that we approach. I want to make one more comment, we will not be approaching prisoners who have a history of sexual assault.”

               After the head priest stopped talking, he watched as all of the men dispersed into the building, around the campus, and he watched as a few of them gathered their families and begin their drive home. Over the next hour, the head priest, the second priest, and the two deacons remained in a now empty facility. Every Tuesday of each week came to pass, giving the priests, the deacons, and several other men and women the opportunity to meet the former prisoners as they were released from prison. As they had hoped several of the former prisoners arrived on the following Sunday, and thanked everyone for their hospitality and kindness.

               After three months of this activity, the parish saw a steady increase in new attendees with many excellent and thoughtful questions. After six more months of consistent attendance, twelve people made the decision to be baptized and become part of the parish. Everyone in the parish was thrilled and excited to see the radical change in the new members, with a great deal of friendly interaction, new relationships, and an overall improvement in their quality of life.

               This sudden change in the people who were now members of the parish brought about many opportunities for everyone to be kind, interactive, to offer thoughtful advice and guidance, and provide an example of how to live and how to love. It is a well known fact and genuine reality that everyone has sins with which they struggle, as the historic members of the parish began to interact with the new members, they communicated the truth that everyone sins, everyone has weaknesses, and there is never a good reason to judge anyone else, criticize anyone else, or act as if you are one who has no need for instruction or guidance from others.

               They communicated that one of the most important aspects of being part of the Church is found in the need for regular confession and repentance. The two priests were overjoyed to see the change that was taking place in the new members, as they turned their back on lives of crime, neglect, and selfishness. The number of people who consistently visited each week continued to grow, as some of those whom they had approached many months before were now occasionally attending, asking questions, and expressing interest in becoming members of the Church.

               As the sanctuary became more and more full each week, discussions began to take place about the need for a larger building, more food, and greater efforts at expansion. Someone strongly suggested that a new dining hall should be built which would allow the sanctuary to be enlarged into the current space that was used for dining after each Divine Liturgy. With this suggestion, the parish leaders gathered to discuss the amount of money that would be needed to take on a new construction project, and how long it would take to raise enough money, begin the project, and eventually expand into a new dining hall, allowing for an enlargement of the current sanctuary.

               Three years slowly crept by as everyone watched the bank account continue to grow, all leading up to a time when new construction could begin. The Church leaders watched as the number of people continued to increase until the sanctuary was completely full, with everyone standing shoulder to should, front to back, and suffering through excessive heat and oppressive body odor. Many of the men and women of the parish continued to watch and interact with prisoners as they were released from prison, bringing about a steady increase in numbers.

               Every quarter of each year, the Church received a large anonymous donation, which was remarkably encouraging to everyone as they moved closer and closer to having enough money to begin construction. Overwhelming joy washed over everyone in the congregation as construction of the new dining hall finally began. Within two years of picking away at construction, the new dining hall was finally completed, creating the opportunity for the sanctuary to be expanded into the former dining hall.

               A quarterly report was written and submitted to the bishop so that he could be consistently informed and updated as the parish continued to grow and succeed in reaching those in the community around them. When the construction of the new dining hall came to a completion, the bishop arrived and took part in the blessing ceremony for the new building. The ceremony was a beautiful event with many other Orthodox believers arriving from different parts of North America, South America, and from different countries.

               The original members of the parish stood in awe of the massive number of visitors, dozens of priests, deacons, bishops, and metropolitans that joined them in their celebration of growth and social impact. Several articles appeared in nearby newspapers, on podcasts, and in several magazines throughout the global Orthodox world. After a time period of three months, the priests and the deacons received an invitation to travel to Moscow to meet with Patriarch Kirill, share the details of their wonderful and glorious progress over the past few years.

               Plans were made, details were put into place, and after a brief three-day trip to Moscow, the priests and the deacons returned home with many wonderful memories, beautiful photographs, and emotional and psychological bliss at such a rare opportunity to meet the Patriarch. The large quarterly anonymous donations continued, which moved the Church closer and closer to completing a few other projects for greater expansion, greater social impact, and increased communication with those in the community around them.

               Ten more years passed by, as the construction of a new sanctuary continued, creating more space and greater beauty, with larger numbers of Church members on a steady increase each year. Eventually construction was completed, which created a great deal of news and stories about the steady improvement of the Church and their unstoppable positive influence on the community around them.

               Over time, it became glaringly obvious that this congregation was growing, improving, and taking a radically different path than all other Russian Orthodox parishes across North America and South America. Their continued success allowed them to assist and contribute to the growth of the other congregations in the Americas. Following a surprise announcement from the Moscow Patriarchate office, this congregation was informed that Patriarch Kirill would be visiting them within the next year to congratulate them on their wonderful success and growth.

               Patriarch Kirill and Bishop Matthew arrived six months after the announcement of their visit, bringing with them a massive crowd of visitors from North America, South America, and from many other countries. Following their arrival, a meeting was held between all leaders of the Church, and the following Sunday, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated with a very full room of faithful Orthodox believers.

               The Divine Liturgy came to an end, which was followed by a well prepared and delicious afternoon meal. It was with great sadness that everyone at the parish watched as the Patriarch, and the bishop departed to return to their own parishes and communicate the wonderful success that this small congregation had managed to accomplish. Over the next two weeks, many photos were gathered and organized, to be consolidated into a printed full color photo book, available for anyone to purchase as a reminder of the wonderful event of which they were a part.

Returning Sacred Silent and Stronger

 

            Oliver rolled out of bed that morning, looked at himself in the mirror and was horrified at the extra hundred pounds that hung upon his body that was for the most part void of muscle mass. “Phew, I need to do something different,” he thought, “okay, Oliver, change your diet, exercise every day, and find others who will help you improve yourself.”

               With the approaching weekend, he traveled to the grocery store and made a commitment to himself that he would not buy cheap processed food stuffs, soda, or snacks. “Fruit, vegetables, healthy bread, and everything sugar free,” he thought. As he passed through the check out stand, he was pleased to see that his grocery bill was about half of what it typically was. “Wow, that was a wise move on my part,” he thought as he loaded his groceries into the bags that he brought from home, departed the store, loaded everything into his car and drove home.

               Six months passed by very quickly and he could see a change in himself after each week. “Alright, looking good, Oliver,” he said to himself, “keep this up and you will be stronger, healthier, and feeling better over all.” Having gotten into the routine of baking his own bread, cutting out dessert, and walking at least two miles every day an hour after dinner. “Alright, Oliver, this is your new mantra, come back to a new life where you are healthier, stronger, sacred, and silent.”

               Rising from bed on that particular Saturday, he was thoroughly pleased with his improved health, strength, and loss of weight. “Alright, Oliver, now that you are physically healthier and stronger, now you need to focus on your thoughts, your entertainment, and what things you spend your time thinking about.”  Having moved to a new community with a new set of friends and advisors, he struggled to change his heart, his mind, and his thoughts, in order to be a holy and sacred person. “Your thoughts need to match the things that you say you believe,” he said to himself.

               Oliver spent most of that day thinking about his previous life, who he allowed to influence his thinking, and those from whom he accepted advice and guidance. His mind moved into a place where he began comparing the actions and the words of others around him in his previous life. Now that he had godly, caring, and thoughtful friends, he began observing how they spoke, how they lived, and how they spent their time. “Don’t be a hypocrite, Oliver,” he thought, “you need to put in a great deal of effort to make your thoughts, your interests, and your words match what you say you believe and practice.”

               Two full years passed as he continued to put in great effort at making his actions, his words, and his interests match what he claimed to be and what others thought he was. Now he was a completely different man, with good, right, and holy thoughts and interests, he marveled at how good life had become after so much hard work.

               His greatest struggle was found in training himself not to be judgmental of others, not to condemn others for their bad choices, and to limit his use of time, his use of money, and his concern for others in a way that imitated the godly people over the last twenty centuries. Instead of distracting himself with the silliness, inanity, and emptiness of American culture, he pushed himself to spend his time reading Scripture, reading the lives of the Saints, and praying as often as possible throughout each day.

               Now that so much time had passed, he could see a radical change in his physical form, a change in how he thought about others, and how he used his time and money. Making a concerted effort to positively improve every area of his life, both physically, emotionally, psychologically, and financially, he could not have been any happier with the radical change that had made him into a new and better person.

               “It’s all about self-control, maintaining focus, and spending your money only on those things that are necessary,” he thought. With a focus on goodness, beauty, and truth, he was thrilled at the progress that was being made, now that he had good, godly, and helpful friends, he began creating a list of people, events, and situations from his former life, and then created a similar list of everything as it now stood. “Wow, what a remarkable difference,” he thought, “I am so glad that I put in the effort to make these changes.”

               As he slowly began a decline into old age, he could feel himself growing weaker and more focused on pursuing a life of holiness and truth. Certain that he had no more than forty more years of life ahead of him, he created a long list of things to accomplish, impact to be made on those he loved, places to visit, and time to spend with loved ones. Despite growing older and weaker, he maintained a regular cycle of exercise, healthy eating, and avoiding distraction from the emptiness of the culture around him.

               The corruption of the world around him left him troubled and tormented at the suffering and abuse that so many children experienced from those were supposed to be protecting them. He began to put in time and energy at helping those in need, the children who were being ignored and abused by their loved ones, wondering if there was more he could do to be a positive influence.

               “This is an insane culture in which we live,” he thought, “it seems like everyone is so focused on only pleasing themselves with no concern about the psychological and emotional wellbeing of others. Those who are weak, who are vulnerable, and need to be protected should be not used and abused by those who are stronger.” He continued to watch the news, and was happy to see that some action was being taken by those in authority to help those who were in dangerous situations. “This is all moving far too slow,” he thought, “more prayer, more activity, and more help to those who are being neglected, used, and abused needs to take place immediately.”

               As these thoughts continued to plague Oliver, he made the decision to only spend his money on those things that were actual necessities, and on anything that would increase the value of his home, and positively impact those around him. The consistent cycle of hot summers, cold winters, rainy springs, and rainy autumns made him realize that time is a cycle that will always follow the same pattern. “Okay, Oliver,” he thought, “using the annual cycle of the year as a pattern, create a pattern for yourself for each year on how you spend your time, spend your money, and with whom you interact. Think about the state of your body two and a half years ago, and how you changed your diet to make yourself stronger and healthier.”

               “Now apply that approach to what you bring into your heart and mind, so that your overall wellbeing becomes a stronger, more sacred, and more silent version of you that will be a better version of yourself,” he thought, “spend some time thinking about personal improvement, how to positively influence those around you, and the need and importance for purity of soul and mind.”

               “Here is a thought for you, Oliver,” he said to himself, “would you eat a pizza that was polluted with feces or dead bugs? This is how you need to think about what you take into yourself through your five senses. Filling yourself with empty distraction, foolishness, and cheap entertainment will not lead to a good outcome or a life of quality.”

               Now filled with joy and satisfaction at the positive path that his life had now taken, he committed himself to continuing that path and seeking instruction and direction from those holier than himself. Another decade passed and he marveled at how wonderful life had become now that he was on a good path toward that which was good, right, and true. The more time he spent around others, he continued to remain amazed at how many people spent so little time on things of value, but were content with distracting themselves with foolish activity and pointless entertainment.

               One week after his one hundredth birthday, Oliver began spending more time sleeping, more time with good and holy people, and in prayer. As he knew that his time on this earth was drawing to an end, he continued to be thankful for the decisions he made in the past to begin a new path toward goodness, beauty, and truth, rather than remaining content with entertainment of no value. “Now I am drawing close to eternity, to glory, and toward the presence of God,” he told himself, “I need to pursue holiness, pursue purity, and pursue that which will help me continue moving on this path toward these things.”

Loving Someone Not Like You

 

            Having escaped from a dire situation, over time he came to the realization that life was supposed to be peaceful, quiet, and socially interactive, as a few years passed, he looked over the last couple of decades and began to wonder how everything went so wrong for so long and what the solution to find a peaceful life would look like. It did not take long for him to figure out that the amount of deception that came from those who knew him, interacted with him, and pretended to be friendly was alarmingly large.

               As time continued to crawl past, he focused on being comprehensive in his thoughts, in his actions, and in his internal monolog, knowing that pursuing a life of holiness, honesty, and love for others would certainly lead to a better life for everyone involved. Thankful for the new group of friends, leaders, and neighbors revealed to him the ability to read what people were actually saying and doing communicated what was genuinely going on within them.

               Over time he looked back and learned to recognize the plastic smiles, the disingenuous words of kindness, and the conversations that went on behind his back, all of which communicated to him that what people said and did was often times the opposite of what they actually thought. He performed numberless conversations with himself over many years and began to pay careful attention to what his heart and mind dwelt on, eventually bringing to his mind the reality of the direction of his life.

               Frustrated and angry at the lies that had surrounded him for so long, forced him to change the contents of his heart, what entertained him, and what things he spent his time thinking about. When the final break took place, he spent more time watching how others interacted, how others behaved, and how the single women around him non-verbally communicated. There were many decisions to be made, gestures, actions, and subtle hints that needed to be understood as he continued to move forward in life.

               The idea of remarrying, finding someone else to love, and begin a new chapter made him realize the awkward state of ‘loving someone not like you’ was a reality he needed to come to terms with. The more time he spent with people, the more he realized that people would say one thing, act one way, and mean the exact opposite, which left him frustrated and disappointed with the normalcy of dishonesty.

               As time continued to creep past, he came to the decision that life needed to be simple, honest, and focused on being holy, focused on loving God, and focused on loving one’s neighbor. “You know,” he thought, “instead of focusing on making my life as comfortable as possible, I should direct my energy and attention on being one who contributes something of value to those around me.”

               All that he had learned over the past thirty-five years brought him to a place where he understood that being honest, being genuine, and being one who brings value was the best path to follow, rather than painting a picture of oneself that would make others feel a certain way when there was always changes to be made to one’s path in life. Now that life had re-started, he worked very hard at choosing those with whom he would spend his time, knowing that the input from others would have a direct impact on the quality of his life.

               Like the athlete who puts his time and energy into daily exercise and healthy food, he knew that the comments, thoughts, and input from others from certainly influence his heart, his thoughts, and the direction of his passions. The man who only eat fast food, processed food, and drinks cheap beer will see the influence of these things on his physical physique. Having someone else very close to him would bring about a change in the direction of his life, the direction of his thoughts and desires, and the content of his goals.

               As time continued to pass, he stepped back, reassessed his thoughts, his desires, and his passions, knowing that having a good handle on these things were an important part of following the right path toward that which was good, right, and true. “You know, having a few good friends who will help direct me toward holiness,” he thought, “will be far more valuable that taking on another spouse who will re-direct the quality of my life.”

               “Focus on wisdom, focus on love, and focus on being a good influence upon those around me,” he thought, “I need to work at keeping my thoughts, my heart, and my passions good and pure.” After several years had passed, he made the decision to write out a monthly plan, a yearly plan, a five-year plan, and a decades long plan so that he would be thoughtful and considerate of pursuing that which was good, right, and true. Now with a specific and thoughtful plan in mind and on paper, he committed himself to following this articulate plan.

               “Alrighty then,” he thought, “now I can say, ‘loving someone not like you’ is my new approach to life.” The long-term goals now written down, thoughtfully considered, and aggressively pursued, he made the decision to not worry about finding another spouse, and trusted that God would work out all things for his good and for the good of those connected to him. Disappointed with the last few decades, he finally came to the realization that deception from those around him seemed to be a normal part of life and interaction he received from others.

               As the age of retirement continued to draw closer, he focused his time, money, and energy toward taking care of his responsibilities until he was in a position that he could retire and enjoy the remaining decades of his life. He then created a comparison chart of his earlier life goals with the new goals he just now came to realize and understand were far more important that the childish goals he made in the past. “Visit places, meet people, do good for others, and be a light to those around you,” he said out loud. “There is no going back, there is no value in returning to what was lost, and there is nothing beneficial about trying to hang onto what was lost because of someone else’s dishonesty.”

               As the years continued to flow past, he watched as others made decisions, some good, and some bad. “When someone thinks only of themselves,” he thought, “they will eventually come to realize that each decision will impact the quality of their life, and the eventual end goal after making those decisions.” Feeling somewhat guilty for recognizing and acknowledging the path others chose to follow, knowing that the future they previously imagined would not turn out how they had hoped.

               Like watching a short video of someone making bad decisions, which would eventually lead to a slightly disastrous end and laughing to oneself as they fall victim to their own mistakes. When he came to this realization that watching others make bad decisions, he refocused his attention on his own life, his own decisions, and his plans for the next thirty years, hoping to be good, true, loving, and kind to those around him. “Don’t worry about other people,” he told himself. “Put your time, your money, and your energy toward making the world a better place, and positively impact those in your social circles.”

               Now painfully aware of his former mistakes, he vowed to not return to his previous errors, his previous mis-directed thoughts and passions, and promised himself that he would change everything he was taking into himself, both nutritionally, academically, and for entertainment. “Focus on what is good, true, right, and beautiful,” he said to himself, “what you put in what you will get out. The goal here is to be honest, holy, and a positive influence, not wealthy, not comfortable, but focused on an eternity in the presence of God.”

On the Corner and In the Pew

 

            Cassandra stood on the corner with ten of her fellow prostitutes, as the evening had begun to grow dark, she watched as most of the other girls climbed into cars as each vehicle approached the corner. Finally, a car approached her, called out for her company, invited her to climb in and visit a local motel with him. When asked about her fee for one hour of her time, she communicated that one hour of her time would cost him two hundred dollars, as they spoke, she realized that the man looked very familiar, and within minutes she recognized him as the pastor of a local mega church.

               Within twenty minutes of driving, he parked the car, walked to the office to rent a room, while Cassandra waited for him to return. When she saw him emerge from the office, she exited the car, met him on the walkway that led to the motel rooms, offered him a sweet smile, followed him into the room, and she requested payment before they started interacting.

               When the door closed behind them, she immediately began removing her clothing to lay them on the chair near the desk, she slipped the money into her shoe and turned to face the man who was also removing his clothing, holding a condom and eager to get started. “I was thinking you should start with some oral activity before we begin,” he said. Following his instruction, she dropped to her knees, and followed his direction.

               Cassandra then climbed on the bed on her hands and knees and could see him sliding the condom onto himself in the reflection on the glass of the cheap artwork on the opposite wall. He then knelt behind her and began his adulterous behavior for about twenty minutes to then climax and release an audible groan. “I need to go take a shower,” he said, “you can join me if you like.”

               “No, thank you, I’ve done all that I plan to do today,” she said. “I’ll get dressed while you clean up and then you can give me a ride back to the corner.”

               After ten minutes of listening to the shower run, Cassandra quickly dressed and waited for the hypocrite to return and get dressed to receive a ride back to her corner. “Thank you for the ride back,” she said, “will I see you again some time?”

               She climbed out of the car, joined the three girls that remained at the corner since her departure, and felt sick at the hypocrisy of the ‘supposed man of God’. She watched him drive away and then fell into friendly dialog with another girl who was still waiting for a customer.

Midnight came around and Cassandra and the three girls returned to their apartments to get enough sleep to be rested for the following morning. Upon returning home, Cassandra took a shower, slipped into comfortable pajamas, and immediately fell asleep to be wakened the next morning as a great deal of activity was happening in the apartment from her five roommates.

               She crawled from her bed, shuffled into the kitchen, found a bowl and filled it with breakfast cereal to join her roommates at the dining room table. “I had an interesting customer last night,” she said, “he paid me two hundred dollars for one hour of my time. When he approached me, I recognized him as the pastor of that megachurch on the other side of town.”

               “Eww, that is really messed up,” one of her roommates said, “you can be sure that he is married with children, I wonder what the leaders of that church would have to say about his late-night activities? It’s amazing to me how these men can create a story in their mind that they think justifies their adulterous activity.”

               “Before I went sleep last night, I had a thought,” Cassandra said, “I think we all should go visit that church, sit in the front row wearing mini-skirts without panties, no bras, and clearly visible nipples, I can almost guarantee he will recognize me, which will give us the opportunity to flash him while he is in front speaking.”

               “Yes, that is a great idea,” one of her roommates said, “we need to get him in trouble with the leaders, with his wife, and with his friends, I am definitely interested in joining you to make that visit.”

               “I’ll look up the time that their church service starts and let you all know, if anyone else is interested in coming with me,” Cassandra said, “make sure you wear an outfit that is very revealing which will draw his attention as he speaks, and will turn the heads of everyone else in attendance.”

               Cassandra researched the start time, communicated her findings to her roommates and they rode the bus to arrive fifteen minutes early and made the effort to sit in the front row. After the musical entertainment finished, the pastor walked to the front and Cassandra and her four friends raised their knees to give him a clear view. She watched as his eyes moved across each one of them.

               He spoke for about forty-five minutes, repeatedly glanced in their direction, and approached them when the service was over. He gave his usual friendly smile to each one of them, thanked them for coming and asked each one of them what drew them to this particular church.

               “None of us had any type of religious upbringing,” Cassandra said, “all of us were talking yesterday morning and thought it would be a good idea to try to connect with a church and see if any of them were friendly and inviting.” As she spoke with the pastor, she noticed that all of the middle-aged men, their wives, and the teenage boys gave them a great deal of visual attention. After about thirty minutes of dialog with the pastor, with the elders, and a few other people, the five women left the building, walked to the bus stop and rode back to the bus stop near their apartment.

               “Wow, that was an interesting experience,” Cassandra said, “I would argue that all men are the same and like to look at beautiful, scantily clad women. Also, did you notice the looks of hatred and judgmentalism coming from all of the women there? I had another idea, we should make an effort to reconnect with the pastor, the elders, and do our best to seduce them and video record our interaction.”

               “I really like that idea,” said one of her roommates, “we need to find their names, their addresses, if they’re married and where we can find them and seduce them. Everyone needs to get into research and find these details. Yeah, I get it, we all know that all men are the same, but to put on a public face of being a religious leader and then do stuff like this in secret is seriously deceptive.”

               Three days passed and Cassandra and her roommates found the names and the addresses of those in leadership at the megachurch. “Okay, let’s put together a plan,” Cassandra said, “there are five of us, there are five leaders, so we’ll each take one and develop a plan to seduce them and hopefully record the interaction that can be delivered to the local news stations and anyone else in positions of authority.”

               Being incredibly successful in their efforts, all five women managed to find and seduce the five leaders, record their interaction, and deliver the videos to those who needed to see the behavior of the church leaders. Within two weeks’ time, they began seeing news reports about the five men being removed from their positions of authority at the megachurch and the church was eventually closed with no new leadership.

               “Woo Hoo,” Cassandra said, “we succeeded in exposing what these men have been doing and you can be sure that each of their wives will be filing for divorce. We all need to continue watching what happens, if anything, at the megachurch. I really hope that they close the doors permanently and never re-open.”

               “Oh, I have a friend that is very skilled at hacking into computer systems,” one of her roommates said, “I’ll have him research the internet and watch for divorce proceedings and if anything happens with these men. Now that they have been exposed for their hypocritical behavior, you can guarantee that they will be finding other work not related to religious activity.”

               One month passed, and one of Cassandra’s roommates shared that her friend had uncovered that all five men had been divorced by their wives and were on their way to prison for several years. “Oh, also,” she said, “the megachurch is no longer functioning as a church and has been sold to an adult film company as a location to record more films.”

               “If I remember right,” Cassandra said, “when we visited that one time, there were very few people in the audience, now that they are closed, I’m sure the other people have found other churches to attend. Oh, please have your friend maintain an active history on these five men, where they go, and when they’ll be released.”

               “Yes, that is a great idea,” her roommate said, “I’ll talk to him and keep everyone updated as he communicates what he learns. It is weird that it is considered a megachurch when there were so few people there.”

               Three months passed and Cassandra’s roommate shared that the five men were incarcerated in a prison on the south side of town and would not be released for three more years. “I am looking forward to see what these men do when they are released from prison, what kind of work they’ll go into and if they maintain contact with their former spouses and children,” Cassandra said.

               On the day that the five men were released from prison, Cassandra and her roommates borrowed a friend’s car, drove to the prison main entrance and secretly watched the five men emerge. They crossed the parking lot, climbed into a single vehicle, and were immediately followed by Cassandra and her roommates, giving them the opportunity to see where the five men would live. Thankfully, they traveled to a shared apartment relatively close to Cassandra’s apartment.

               One week after they returned home, one of Cassandra’s roommates received an email from her computer hacker friend, informing them that the five men were making the effort to start another church in an abandoned building in the most derelict part of the city. “Yeah, good luck with that,” Cassandra said, “the chances of anyone interested in listening to them after their years of deception is highly unlikely.”

               One month later, Cassandra and her friends located the new church and found that there was no one in attendance, other than three homeless people. When all activity came to an end, the five girls drove back to their apartment before the pastor and the elders left the building.

Communication

 

            Pavel’s house stood at the edge of the small town on the side of a small hill, allowing him to look out across the town and see all of its activity, both good and bad. The property had belonged to his family for at least seven generations, now he lived alone, he was the only child to his parents who also were only children. He surrounded himself with domestic animals, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and an enormous chicken coop which provided him with approximately thirty eggs each week.

               He would rise early each morning, gather eggs, seek for ripe fruit on the trees, and read through the Gospels as he ate his breakfast on his front porch. Occasionally distracted by seeing the constant decline of the small town below into ever deepening depravity, he could feel himself growing cold and frustrated inside, wishing that he could do something to help those who were clearly lost and confused.

               He completed his work for the day, and spent a few hours touring his property and seeking for answers as to how best impact those around him. “I guess I only have two options,” he thought, “I can either leave the peace and solitude of my property to enter into the corruption and depravity of the town below and offer my wisdom, my guidance, and be willing to answer any questions asked of me, or I hope that anyone below will seek me out, approach me up here in the peace and quiet away from the ugliness of the other world.”

               Walking slightly uphill to enjoy the cool beauty of the small stream that flowed from the hills and through his property, he removed all of his clothing, laid down in the cool, flowing water and could feel himself relaxing and drawing nearer to holiness and away from the corruption of the world below. Rising to his feet after nearly thirty minutes, he kept himself standing on the large rocks at the edge of the stream, put on his sandals, retrieved his clothing and crossed through a large open prairie to enter his house, find a new set of clean clothes and ascend to the second floor to look, once again upon the town below.

               Feeling bright, feeling alive, and feeling encouraged, he made the decision to pursue both avenues to hopefully reveal himself to anyone who was interested in becoming a better person. He returned to the main floor, caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and realized that he looked more like a senseless savage rather than one to whom others would seek wisdom and guidance. “Wow, I need to do something about my appearance,” he thought, “I need to appear as someone who can offer wisdom, offer guidance, and offer help.”

               After taking a quick shower in his master bathroom, he combed through his hair, trimmed it into a reasonable form, trimmed his chaotic beard and found a presentable set of clothing. “Okay, time to make the short walk into town, I guess,” he said to himself. Before leaving his home, he filled a bag with apples to give away to those he met as he weaved through town. Finally reaching the bottom of the hill upon which his home was built, he walked for one hundred yards to the edge of town, happily greeting each person he encountered and offering them an apple.

               As he completed his walk through every street in the entire town, he found himself with an empty bag, feeling as if he had done a good deed for those in need. He eventually reached the small park at the center of town, began a game of chess with an elderly gentleman and after eight moves, he defeated the old man, to find out that he had defeated the current chess master of the town.

               As he continued to interact with numberless people throughout the park, on the sidewalks, and in the grocery store, he realized that the hour was getting late, and darkness had begun to settle, forcing him to return home before he could no longer find his way. Concerned about the danger of being on the streets with so much crime at every corner, he hurried to the edge of town, across the open prairie and ascended the hill to slip inside of his home.

               Excited and proud of himself for stepping out and away from the peace and solitude of his property, he hoped that his new friendships and connections would seek him out and ask for wisdom and guidance. Rising early the next morning, he enjoyed his breakfast on the front porch and saw a small group of young men approaching his home across the open prairie. Quickly finishing his meal, he rushed his dishes inside, and met the group of young men as they began their journey up the walkway to his front door.

               Each young man introduced himself as they approached Pavel, with questions about how to succeed in life, how to find joy, how to find satisfaction, and how to be good people. Pavel and his four new friends walked to the back of his property, sat in the shade of the fruit trees and began a series of questions and answers.

               “The most important thing young men is to always seek to love your neighbor, help those who are in need, and be willing to give up your own pleasures so that others can begin a path toward life, toward love, and toward success,” he said. “I believe that I need to meet with each one of you individually so that your specific questions and needs can be addressed. Please stay seated here while I speak with you individually, think carefully about your own questions, and I will be prepared to answer them and provide the best direction I can offer.”

               Pavel rose to his feet, pointed at one of the men to join him under a distant apple tree. “I can see your heart and your struggles young man,” he said, “what is your name?”

               “My name is Alexander,” he answered, “can you give me wisdom and guidance about how to help my family find peace and comfort?”

               “Yes, of course,” Pavel answered, “Think of your life like a long journey up a mountain, if you are carrying a bag of stones upon your back, you will find that leaving them before you begin your journey, you will make good progress. There is no sense carrying anger, carrying disappointment, and carrying memories of previous mistakes. Learn to leave these things behind, focus on the end goal, and do not concern yourself with being wealthy or being comfortable. Your focus needs to be on loving your neighbor, caring for those under your responsibility, and doing good to everyone you know.”

               Pavel and Alexander stood up at the same time, returned to the other three men, Alexander sat down, and Pavel invited another man to join him under the distant apple tree. “Come with me, please,” he said, “what is your name young man?”

               “My name is Dominic,” he answered, “I am struggling in a terrible way with lust and anger, what wisdom can you give me to help me break free from these things?”

               “Yes, I can see these things in your eyes,” Pavel said, “there is a darkness about you and you will need to make a great effort to control your thoughts, your passions, and the time you spend with young women. Learn to drive away thoughts, dreams, and lustful desires, and instead focus on the good that can be done for those who are closest to you. At every possible moment, you need to repeat and speak out loud this simple prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ This will drive away these passions that you call uncontrollable.”

               Pavel met with the third young man to learn that his name was Jeffrey and he was struggling with the passion of violence and destruction. “These are the things that I am seeing in you, Jeffrey,” he said, “you cannot love your neighbor if you are always focused on violent thoughts against him or the destruction of his or others property. When you feel these aggressive thoughts come upon you, replace them with actions that will help others, and assist others as they move through life.”

               Pavel and the fourth young man moved themselves to the shade of the apple tree and watched as the other three young men descended the hillside to return to their homes. “Thank you for taking the time to teach us and guide us,” Jamal said, “now that my three friends have left us, I wanted to ask if I can stay here with you in this beautiful place. I find myself constantly struggling with numberless bad thoughts, corruption, alcohol, and crime, please make me your student so that my life can be something that is beautiful and productive.”

               “That is an excellent choice, Jamal,” Pavel said, “you need to do one thing first, go home, speak with those who know you and will miss your presence. Come back tomorrow morning and I will have a place set up for you to live and be at rest. You have made a wise decision to move away from the corruption of the world.”

               “You are choosing a very good path, Jamal,” Pavel said, “if one can flee from the corruption of one’s culture, you will find that the silence, the peace, and the solitude will make you a better and stronger person. Please promise me that you will gladly and willingly follow the instructions that I give you each day. There will be consistent work and the pursuit of knowledge.”

               “Yes, sir, I will,” Jamal answered. “After listening to you speak when we first arrived, my heart burned within me with the desire to stay here forever and help you make this place even better and more beautiful. I trust that you and I will be able to positively influence even more young men, if they will come to sit at your feet and learn to be good and kind.”