Letters from a Chinese Angel: Heavenly Messenger

By Charles Walter Wooten

John C. McBryde, a college professor, on a climbing vacation in Switzerland,
is suddenly confronted with the imminent disaster of a rockslide, headed
his way. However, he escapes certain death by circumstances beyond his
understanding. - A coincidence?-Or, was there some other explanation?

An American physician, working at a hospital in Tibet, is kidnapped
and spirited away by mercenaries to an isolated kingdom in the Himalayas,
only to find unexpected occasions for service, friendship, and her rescue. Can
these things be explained merely as coincidence, or as blessings-in-disguise?

A lady-skier, an expert in her favorite sport, is miraculously saved from
certain doom when she is snatched from the path of a fatal avalanche in the Colorado Rockies by an alert Ski Patrol team, with future results that no one
could have possibly anticipated. ---Coincidence, or another incident in the grand
design of the ultimate scheme of things? -All observed by a Mysterious Stranger.

Who is this Stranger? -a person, or a supernatural being whose message we
would all do well to heed.?--If so, what is it?--The answers to these and other
questions will be discovered by the reader, amidst surprises that await around
every corner.----Read on!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 28, 2006
• ISBN: 9781462826865

Book preview

Copyright © 2007 by Charles Walter Wooten.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Preface

Prologue

Part One

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Part Two

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Part Three

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Afterword

About the Author

Are they (angels) not all

ministering spirits, sent forth

to minister for them who shall be

heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:14, KJV)

Dedication

To my wife, Millie,

Without whose encouragement, prayers, advice,

And perseverance with me through the years,

This book could not have been written.

Genesis 24:67… she became his wife and he loved her (KJV)

Acknowledgements

A s I have clearly indicated in the Introduction, this

book is a work of fiction, in which I have drawn upon my own personal experiences in Mainland China and Taiwan for my inspiration for the story. However, in formulating the historical context and background, I have relied upon research into the books I have in my personal library, reading such splendid authors as: Randy Alcorn (Safely Home), David H. Adeney (China: The Church’s Long March), Nora Lam (China Cry), John King Fairbank (China: A New History), J. Edwin Orr (Through Blood and Fire in China), and Fredrick Kaplan (The China Guidebook, 1990). From these and others, such as C. K. Thong, I have gleaned much valuable information for the development of my book. To all of these, I give my sincere thanks!

Last, but not least, my appreciation goes to my wife, Millie, my best friend, for her wise input and good advice, also to my family—daughters Cynthia and Christine and son, Chuck, and daughter-in-law, Justina, for their encouragement and valuable input.

Finally, my appreciations to the folks at Xlibris Corporation, for their excellent publishing and copyediting services and to Jurine Franc (publishing consultant), and to others who have helped guide me through the process.

To all my friends, who have supported me with your encouragement and prayers, my thanks; you know who you are!

Introduction

T he author sat in front of his computer. He wondered,

How does one begin to write his first novel? This was a story that needed to be told; it had to be right! He closed his eyes and let his imagination run. The story would write itself! He would only be along for the ride.

I have had the special experience of traveling in China, teaching English, and making friendships that have lasted unto this very day; and these experiences, along with research, have provided my inspiration for the writing of this book. However, let me be clear, this is a work of fiction. All individuals mentioned as characters throughout the book are fictitious. Likewise, the school named in the Prologue and the university in southern China with its students are fictitious. Some historical persons and events are mentioned, but I have made up the story itself. Any resemblance to actual persons in China or elsewhere is purely coincidental.

Preface

May 1989

M illions watched their television sets, first in

amazement, then in horror, as many hundreds of Chinese students and workers demonstrated in Tiananmen Square for freedom, reforms, and democracy. Tiananmen means heavenly harmony, and the joyful expression on the faces of those young people spoke of the hope they carried in their hearts for change in their country from oppression to democracy. Then this demonstration finally reached a point where party leader Deng Xiaoping and his hard-line comrades could tolerate the situation no longer and ruthlessly cracked down. The People’s Army was brought in, and there was brutal bloodshed taking place in Tiananmen Square and in other areas of Beijing, where hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Chinese citizens were killed by their own government, undoubtedly fearful of losing control and power over the masses. It became abundantly clear to the world that the Communist Party was not about to let that happen.

However, let us remember that when Jesus Christ walked upon the earth, some two thousand years ago, he declared, My kingdom is not of this world. Many Christian believers, inside and outside of China, are serving him by helping to bring freedom to the oppressed and hope to the hopeless. There are signs today that hope in China is growing again despite the events of Tiananmen Square.

This well-known occurrence provides some of the background and historical context for the fictional story, which follows.

Prologue

Zermatt, Switzerland, on the Slopes of the Matterhorn, Late Summer 1992

P rofessor J. C. McBryde, Aspen International University,

paused, took a deep breath in the high thin air of this incredibly beautiful yet dangerous mountain in the Swiss Alps, and reflected upon his precarious position, some 14, 685 feet above sea level. He had climbed most of Colorado’s Fourteeners, but this famous mountain was somehow more severe and challenging. Why? Ascending the Hornli Ridge, he and his Swiss guide made it all the way to the summit, taking in an astonishing view of the surrounding Pennines Alps from the top. He remembered reading wise words from Edward Whymper, the first man to climb this daunting peak in 1865, in his book, Scrambles in the Alps:

Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are naught without prudence, and a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime.

Do nothing in haste, look well to the next step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.

Good advice for life, as well as for mountaineering, he mused.

Whymper’s successful ascent had ended badly when a tragic accident had caused four members of the expedition to plunge to their deaths on the way down.

Now, using appropriate caution, Professor Mac and his Swiss guide were making their way down the mountain when suddenly they heard an ominous, rumbling sound and were struck with suffocating feelings of fear and dread from a virtual explosion of rocks up above! The rockslide seemed to be gathering momentum and headed their way, getting closer and closer! Time seemed to freeze for them; their blood turned cold; they were totally at a loss to know what to do! How could they escape from their seemingly inevitable collision with the cascading rocks?

Mac prayed, Oh, God, help us!

Just then, a mysterious stranger, looking Chinese but somehow different, appeared out of nowhere and quickly directed them to the shelter of a crevice in the mountainside. It was just large enough to protect them from the falling rocks. The potentially disastrous rockslide thundered on down the slope past them, where they had huddled out of harm’s way. They had miraculously escaped injury from a rockfall that could have given their otherwise-splendid outing its own tragic ending. When finally down from the climb in safety, McBryde turned around to thank his Asian-looking companion; but he had quietly vanished.

Remarkably, the full significance of this incident would come later. It went like this…

Part One

Chapter One

September