An Angel Highway?

[Sam]

This is from pages 25 and 26 of “Beloved Wide Spot” by Nona Freeman, copyright 1989. The book tells the story of their pastoring in Rosepine, LA where they served for almost 7 years until they left in March 1948 as missionaries to South Africa. When they came to Rosepine, her husband Bug was 23 and Nona was 24. Bug’s real name was Elpho Letris Freeman but he earned the name of Bug because of the strange way he crawled as a baby. Bug and Nona were married in 1937 and started preaching a couple of years later. They evangelized and pastored including the 7 years in Rosepine. They served in Africa for 41 years. Bug died in 1999 and Nona died December 26, 2009 at the age of 93.

Early one morning Bug sat at the dining room table reading his Bible. When I came through on my way to prepare breakfast, he looked up with a rueful grin, “Well, darling we thought we moved here in the will of God. I hope we did because this is the day we are supposed to pay rent --$17.00-- and I don’t have it. It seems we need a miracle.”

“I know. I woke up two or three times in the night and tried to pray about it. No assurance came about the answer. I certainly have no idea where we can find that much money today.”

For some reason I made a bigger pan of biscuits than usual, and just as I reached for the skillet to fry the eggs, someone knocked on the kitchen door. ..I opened it to find a hobo standing there.

“Madam, I am hungry,” he said, “would you give me something to eat?”

I had a famous weakness for helping “men of the road,” as I called them, and had learned to stay out of trouble by consulting my husband before I agreed to do anything.

“Just a moment, please,” I answered and told Bug, “There’s a cleaner than usual hungry man of the road at the back door. What should I do?”

Since Bug had strong, well-founded suspicions of their ilk, he surprised me by saying, “Why, ask him to come in and have breakfast with us.”

He talked with Bug while I cooked the eggs and made coffee. The man did not tell the routine hard luck story; he displayed uncommon courtesy and seemed well educated. After breakfast, I shook off the odd, unexplainable feeling that I regretted his going, while I washed the dishes.

Before I finished the task, Bug called me and I heard excitement in his voice. “Do you know anything about this ten dollar bill I found in the Bible?”

I shook my head with an astonished, “No!”

He went on, “When our visitor came in, I laid the Bible aside --here by me on the table-- I’m positive there was no money in it before breakfast.”

“It looks like part of our ..much needed miracle!” I exclaimed and picked up the Bible. A five dollar bill floated from it to the table. “And there is more of it!”

Bug grabbed the Bible and leafed through it rapidly finding two one ..dollar bills. “It could not be a coincidence to find the exact amount due for our rent in my Bible,” he said solemnly.

I shivered, suspecting what he would say next.

“You noticed his cleanliness and his good manners: I quite enjoyed talking to him. It took a miracle for him to put the miracle money in the Bible under our noses. Honey, I have cold chills going up and down my spine. Do you realize we had breakfast with an angel this morning?”