No one around me suspected the manner of evil that lurked among us. The praise service started. The prophecies began. I could not take one more second. I had to leave. I went to the women’s bathroom to splash water on my face. The wife of the elder we loved who had taken us in as her own children followed me in to the women’s bathroom. She told me Ernie had sent her. Ernie knew something was wrong. He wanted her to bring me back to his office for the rest of the service. His office was in a section of the building that was closed off and heavily guarded. I told her no. I had to get back to my ex husband.
She begged me to tell her what had happened. She said the elders were scared for me and my husband. There had been other promising young families come to them just like us. It was widely known there was a strong call of The Lord G-D on our lives. They had all had something happen to them. They all left the church and many of there were divorced. None of them were active in church anywhere anymore. Some had forsaken their faith and turned apostate. Ernie was convinced it was some sort of spiritual attack from within the congregation. He was sure it has happened to us. We had all the tell tale signs. She begged me to tell her what it was so no more couples would come and be hurt has we had been. She asked me to think of my children. She asked me to preserve myself. She just did not know what it was that was happening to the members or who was picking us off one by one.
She begged me form all angles she could think of. She grabbed my arm and pleaded with me to stay and meet with Ernie. I broke loose from her and left the women’s bathroom. I sat down with my ex husband. He wanted to know what took me so long. When I told him he went to get the girls out of the nursery. As the service ended we charged for the door. The son of my friend the elder’s wife was an elder like his dad. He physically tried to restrain us from leaving. He said Ernie was in his office and wanted to see us.
My ex husband was a big man. He told the elder who had been our friend that if he did not step aside he would knock him down. The elder slumped and stepped aside. I charged past him with my two girls. Other elders blocked our way to the exit doors at the back of the auditorium. My ex husband ran down the hall on the left towards the pastors study and the back entrance. When we got there, other deacons tried to stop us. My ex husband pushed his way through their barricade. I followed close behind him. We ran out the back door. I was sobbing uncontrollably as we reached the car. We piled in. I held the girls as we sped off.
We drove around for hours and hours afraid to go home. They knew where we lived. Of course. We held meetings there for the church every week. No place felt safe. Not even our home.
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