"Del," remarked Dietrich one Thursday morning. "You*ve seen all the filmstrips, and I*ve told you all I know." He sat down at his desk and arranged his notebook in preparation for class. "But still you have many questions that I haven*t answered."

"You*ve done very well, Dietrich," Del replied. "You*re not a minister, so why should you know all the answers?"

Del*s eyes grew big. Perhaps, he thought, I*ll find the answers after all.

"He*ll help you," Dietrich continued as he looked his friend in the eye. "I told him about you the other day. He said he*d like to meet you and Abi. Charles wants to come too."

"Elder Stoac . . . that*s his name . . . told me that you could see him tomorrow night." Dietrich watched the teacher enter the room. "Would you like to go?"

"Fine," Del returned. "I*ll bring my list of questions."

Abi was excited too. "I hope," she laughed as they rang the doorbell, "he hasn*t been fasting all day."

Elder Stoac, nearly 70, overweight and with thinning gray hair, looked at them with twinkling brown eyes. His short, stubby fingers lovingly toyed with the pages of his Bible. After offering a simple prayer requesting God*s presence, he smiled at Del. "O.K. young man . . . shoot."

Del marveled at his manners. When Del asked a question from his list, Elder Stoac would thumb through the Bible and say, "Let*s see what the Bible says." And, amazingly—considering Del's previous experience—the text clearly answered the question.

The two hours they*d arranged passed all too quickly, and soon it came time to leave. Del felt dazed. His curiosity had been satisfied beyond his fondest dreams. Why did this evening have to end?

"Del," said Elder Stoac as they approached the door. "I*m sure you have more questions. Why not come again next week. I*d be happy to study with you some more."

"Sure," grinned Del. "I*d really like to do that. I*ve learned a lot here tonight."

A week can pass quickly when the mind anticipates a good experience. Before they knew it, Friday night arrived and Del and Abi again sat at Elder Stoac*s table.

"We didn*t say something last week," Del began, "because we didn*t know you very well, and . . . well . . . we didn*t want to embarrass you."

"Don*t be afraid of embarrassing me," Elder Stoac smiled. "I*ve gotten used to tight places."

"Not long ago," Del hesitated, then surged ahead, "we went to a Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was our first time, and . . . frankly, we still can*t believe what happened." Del told the story . . . the late start, the mothers* flowers, the boring lesson study, the loud organ, the four offerings, the disjointed sermon, the lack of hospitality. When he finished he looked at his hands. "I didn*t care if we ever entered a Seventh-day Adventist Church again."

Elder Stoac frowned. "That*s terrible," he said. "I*m sorry you went there. Don*t let a bad experience like that take your eyes off Jesus."

"I*m sure it did." Elder Stoac glanced at his wife, then back to Del and Abi. "Why don*t you come to church with us tomorrow. You*ll have a very different experience."

"We*d love to," Del returned.

The clock struck midnight before Del and Abi left Elder Stoac*s house. They had never known such a godly person . . . so filled with the oil of Christian kindness. At last God had led them to the right man.

The church door stood open when they arrived 15 minutes before starting time. Many people already sat in their pews. The Sabbath school program was meaningful, and included a story from the mission field. Del and Abi attended the class taught by the church pastor. He didn*t speak in a superficial manner, though he taught from the same lesson book as the man they heard the preceding Sabbath. This pastor centered his discussion in the Bible. Del could see that he knew his Greek and Bible history well.

Back at the Stoacs* house, Mrs. Stoac treated them to a vegetarian dinner. They marveled at the variety possible when meat did not appear on the table. Del and Abi had quit eating meat when they began keeping the Sabbath. At first Abi didn*t know what to do other than cook simple vegetables. Now she realized the never-ending possibilities.

The visits to Elder Stoac*s home continued weekly . . . sometimes twice a week. Del and Abi never left before 11 p.m. and often stayed as late as 2 a.m.

"You shouldn*t keep him up so late," scolded Dietrich. "He*s retired officially, but he still works full time. He helps people from all over the state make out their wills. He leaves home every morning at 7 a.m."

"That*s terrible," agreed Del. "I didn*t know he had to leave that early."

"Whew!" Del scratched his head. "I won*t keep him up late anymore."

Elder Stoac often spoke at churches in different parts of the state. Sometimes he invited Del and Abi to accompany him on these trips. This gave them even more time to discuss the many items that still came into Del*s mind.

Chapter 13