Page 162 - Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman

Unseen Hands
Brother Ikerd read the passage of Scripture to those in the meeting and explained the leading of the Lord. Thir teen preachers and the two missionaries voted to disfellowship the five rebellious men and wrote official letters stating their decision to each of them according to his position.
Amare kept the school, and creating the next crisis, Teshome refused to return the expense money that Brother Harris had brought or any of the funds in the church account. The preachers who had come from various distances had neither food nor means to return home. The missionaries had given all they could to Teshome and could not give more. Sad countenances faced Tekle.
"We have to trust the Lord, brothers," he comforted. "He knows our need."
At that moment Sophia knocked on the door. "The Lord told me to give you this," she said holding a thou sand birr. "You will know where it is needed."
He knew!
The missionaries returned to Kenya after appointing a new board: Tekle, superintendent; Bekele Feyye, treasurer; Hailu Wolde-Tsadik, presbyter; and Erkenesh, secretary and Ladies Auxiliary leader. Although lacking in natural resources, they had oneness of spirit and pur pose. The open sewer running under Tekle's house made services unpleasant, and he lost many members who tolerated Amare in order to worship in a nicer room
rented from Workei. Tekle's work made slow progress, while the church under Amare expanded rapidly.
Upheaval and violence in the city touched the church. A man with a machine gun burst into Tekle's house dur-
160