A few months later Joseph reappeared at church asking for a seat down front, which she gladly accommodated. After service, while she was picking up random hymnals and returning them to their appropriate positions in the pewbacks, when he spoke to her for something more than a seat. “Good afternoon, Sister. Thank you for the way you serve in the house of God. By the way, my name is Joseph.” She spun around just in time to see his smile as he left the sanctuary. “Joseph,” she thought to herself. “He shares a name with someone favored by God.” That summer was campmeeting and Joseph was there. The entire 10 days. So was Adora. She was delighted when she saw he had volunteered to teach the teens during the time. This put them both in the teen tent for the entire time and gave Adora a front row seat to watch Joseph’s humor, wisdom, and relatability with them. Along with his familiarity with the Word and provocative articulation of it. It was only natural that Adora agreed without hesitation when Joseph politely asked if he could share a meal with her. Their conversation was full of finishing one another’s sentences, laughter, sharing insights, and tearful recounting of their experiences of giving their lives and accepting Jesus as their Saviour. As she went to sleep that night, daydreaming of seeing Joseph the following day, Adora had no idea that Joseph had been in 3 other relationships that started off the very same way. Adora had no idea that Joseph had no sort of relationship with God or any other holy being. Adora certainly had no idea that Joseph’s being at her church and asking for the seat down front was all a part of his carefully constructed ruse that he had used on the 3 women who came before her.4 And she definitely had no idea that Joseph had quit his last job and moved to a new state to find a new woman to take care of him. The next day at the teen tent, no Joseph. During lunch the previous day, Joseph and she had exchanged numbers so Adora called him after the session. She was instantly concerned when she heard his troubled voice on the other end. Probing, she heard Joseph tell her about a situation with a sick relative that God had moved upon him to immediately attend to. Although he knew people would be disappointed, he was willing to endure the conflict to be obedient to God’s will. Adora was drawn even closer to Joseph at that moment and asked if she could be of any help. Joseph said all he wanted was her prayers, for her to share ILLUS
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