Due to the sizable group called to attend this important dinner meeting, the event was held in the lobby of The Team's Compound. It was a veritable who's who of The Team's history. It gave me chills looking around the room at the various attendees.
I sat in the front row. Beside me sat Mabior, Samuel, and Alek. A chair was reserved beside me for General Iverson, who stood at the podium talking with Hadar Gabbai, Giff and Artie's Chief at Mossad, and Akunna, our lead guide on the Nigeria mission to capture Shekau. In succession, the remaining Team members sat: Amani, Deng, Thon, Mar, Dut, Marial, Bol, Dok, Chol, Ali, Kuol, Alier, Jok, Garang, Hosseini, Shermake, Diemba, and Chad, Artie's son. Next, a seat was saved for Hadar next to Artie and Giff. On the back row sat Uncle Wadood, Chan's Uncle, Colonel Petrov, General Chuol (South Sudanese Army General), Harry Oldman, Lachlan Eddington, and the Men Whose Names We Cannot Know.
Fred, Mrs. Akech, Leah with baby Aliza strapped in front, Diemba's wife, Fadoul, Hosseini's wife, Haleh, and all their children, and the Children's Team led by Kafeel and Ismail had all toiled tirelessly to put on a dinner that the finest restaurant in any country could not compete with. I was so proud of these Christians who served without complaint The Team who had no humanly understandable schedules. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such godly people.
As Hadar and Akunna took their seats, General Iverson opened, "Gentlemen," he looked around, taking in the aroma that filled the air, "It will be with great difficulty that we carry on this meeting surrounded by such culinary perfume as this."
Everyone gave a loud shout and a rousing applause at those words as they focused on all the people rushing back and forth carrying food and dishes. Fred, always in charge, ordered the staff to all come out and take a bow. Most of them shyly bowed while their faces turned red from all the praise and attention. We showered them with a standing ovation and whoops and hollers learned from our mutually adopted brothers and sisters, the American Indians.
After the applause and fanfare died down, General Iverson looked at Samuel, asking if he would pray us in. To his mild surprise, Samuel deferred to the young Kafeel.
Kafeel, having been pre-warned, was ready and willing. Wiping his hands on his apron, he asked all to bow their heads and join him, "Our holy of holies Lord Father, we are gathered here in your name. As you promised, when two or more of us gather in your name, you will be there. Thank you, Lord. We are your soldiers carrying out that which we have discerned through prayer to be your will. Please, holy Father, guide us and protect us in this and everything we do in your name. Lead us on righteous paths. Make us bold, yet loving, in battle. Make us into loving and holy examples of your son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Compel us to be conspicuous and above reproach in our service to you, Father. In your son, Jesus Christ's, name, we pray all these things."
The room remained quiet for about a half minute as Kafeel immediately went back to work. All eyes were on this young, but godly... man.
Next, General Iverson nodded to Samuel, who began singing the song "Days of Elijah" by Robin Mark. Immediately, he was joined by the entire audience and the meal staff.
Diemba, normally a quiet and reserved person, was caught up in the spirit. Raising his hands and tilting his head back, he began jumping and shouting continuously, "There's no God like Jehovah!"
Nobody needed invitations; all of us joined in. We were powerfully engulfed by the Holy Spirit assuming control of our meeting. It was chilling - a wondrous moment. This went on for thirty minutes at least. I've never experienced anything as compelling as Christian events that are taken over by the Holy Spirit. At once, it went from zero to an explosive high-octane event. To give an example of the power present at this event, the Jewish men - The Men Whose Names We Cannot Know - got down on their knees and absolutely surrendered to and announced Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior that evening. These men were totally dismantled and reassembled before our very eyes. Samuel and Mabior were as astounded by that event as I was.
General Iverson, with a big smile on his face, said, "Gentlemen, my son, Mark, Chan, and Alexie, I have no doubt, are co-conspirators with the Holy Spirit for this - shall I say, sacred eruption tonight."
All stood at that and applauded, accompanied by stirring shouts for the Holy Spirit and the three beloved missing members.
Still smiling softly with a noticeable tear or two rolling down his cheeks, the General began, "Gentlemen, I'm sure you know, but few broadcasts by news agencies outside of Nigeria have given the massacre of innocent Christian farm workers any coverage. Since 2015, around 11,500 Christian farm workers have been massacred by Fulani, Al Shabaab, and Boko Haram Jihadist Militants. This fact makes them the world's deadliest terror groups. Our organization went into Nigeria two years ago in an attempt to try to eliminate or reduce some of the power of Boko Haram and the Fulani Brigade. As you know, the government of Nigeria is unwilling to do what is necessary to fight these Muslim militant groups. Non-Christian researchers and reaction groups are calling the death figures highly inflated and not meeting the definition of genocide."
General Iverson leaned on the podium with his elbows as he stared down at the floor, thinking for a moment. "All of us gathered here are not people of apathy - passivity. We gathered here attempting to serve our God, our Lord, Jesus Christ, as best as we know how and are capable of. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, was not a man of idleness. Our Lord practiced active faith. He worked long hours. His Mother, Mary, worried about his exhausting schedule. But he had an important and world-changing message to deliver, the Good News. Ladies and gentlemen, we have that same message to deliver to this fallen world. I need not remind you that Nigeria and the situation there has no better example of this degeneracy."
General Iverson took a long breath before resuming, "In our serving and spreading the Good News, in our enthusiasm for our military mission, we must be very mindful of what Abraham taught us, our beloved first to worship one God. He set up a tent in the desert with four openings, one toward each direction. He did this to welcome people no matter where they journey from. In this, he is telling us that people should be shown hospitality, no matter their religion or nationality. Then, when the matter of our God is introduced, they will say, 'Tell us about this God of yours so that he may be ours also.' If treated poorly or with anger, they will not accept the truth of our God."
Few, if any, in this room were any better acquainted with the General than I. I knew how strong and solid his faith as well as how prepared he was to die serving and promoting it. I saw his and Mrs. Iverson's faith on full display when Mark, their son, was killed along with Chan on our Moses Mission to Somalia. They were our rock when even Samuel broke down at the funeral.
General Iverson removed the microphone from its holder to give him the freedom of movement he needed at this moment. With a mic in one hand and the other hand stuffed in his pocket, his head hung in deep thought. He spoke slowly in the beginning, "We are a small detachment. Opinions as to our making any difference in the Nigerian situation are gloomy. That any of you would come back alive - dubious. Shaming the Nigerian government into an elevated reaction has a 50/50 chance of working. Actually, I see it as no chance. But - and it's a big but, when God is applied to the equation, Philippians 4:13 NIV, 'I can do all things through him who gives me strength'. That's exactly how Mrs. Iverson and I made it through the death of our son, Mark. That's exactly how Chan's Uncle Wadood made it through Chan's death. And - that's exactly how we'll go into Nigeria to attack Al-Shabaab and the Fulani organizations. As Christians, we do not face death; we face eternal life as promised by our Lord Jesus. As a Christian, I do not feel as though I might be sending you to certain death. I feel as though I am sending you to certain eternal life. May all of you go forward to serve our Lord with the certainty of our Lord Jesus Christ dying on that cross, then, three days later, rising from the dead."
The room erupted into a joyous chaos that only the faithful can experience.
The General shouted through the microphone in the midst of all this, "A Bengali poet wrote, 'Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them.' Thon, my friend and comedian, I once heard you shout to the enemy in the middle of our fierce firefight in Libya, 'I am not in danger, I am the danger.' I love that. Mabior, our leader, our friend, I have often heard you tell The Team, 'The most dangerous person is the one who listens, thinks, and observes.' So very true. I have carried this Thornton Wilder quote about danger with me since a child of 12, 'Every good thing in the world stands on the razor edge of danger.' I'll conclude with this quote from the Bible that accompanies me everywhere, Psalms 91:4-7 'He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.' We will go to Nigeria. We will do as our Lord wills us to do. We will show our enemy love when he allows it, and show him death when he calls for it. Brother Samuel, pray us to this sensational dinner these devoted servants of our Lord have prepared for all of us here."
Grabbing General Iverson from behind as we joined the serving line, I whispered, "Sir, I'm out of here per plans." The crowd with minds on food never noticed my absence, and The Team expected it.
Exiting through the back door, I opened the door of a waiting car driven by a CIA agent that I recognized, along with Uncle Sam, our familiar CIA confidante. He turned his head backwards, giving me a cordial smile as the car slowly took off. The last thing we wanted was attention. Uncle Sam, remember it's his code name, like the men whose names we cannot know, he let me know all was proceeding as planned at this point. The Gulfstream G550 was fueled and warming her engines as we pulled up next to the plane. Upon seating ourselves inside the plane, Uncle Sam wasted no time; he pulled paperwork from his briefcase.
"James, let's go over these meeting items again. Some minor points have changed, but small details are as important as the larger ones in the intelligence business."
Back at the Team's dinner, Samuel finished his dinner and conversation with those seated with him. He began looking around as if searching for someone. At the same time, he began walking toward the front entrance and out into the dark night, where a vehicle awaited him. Samuel Winston disappeared almost soundlessly into the moonless night as if by magic.
By morning, slowly, quietly, The Team had vanished to some unknown destiny - some unknown destination. Was it by criminal intent, or possibly by nefarious means? Were the thousands of possible villains acquired over the years, with revenge in mind, responsible?
Nobody who had attended the dinner acted as if any of these events were out of place or strange. There were no missing person reports; no persons reported kidnapped, shanghaied, or abducted. Actually, these events went seemingly unnoticed by locals. None of the Yei residents, police, or army officials inquired as to the missing persons whereabouts. In reality, these mysterious cases were treated with what one might perceive as non-events; never happened. In later years, some of the more regular visitors to Yei at this time, thought the residents might have a "screw loose." The Team members were huge celebrities, and they were present regularly in Yei. Visitors never saw The Team, even when staying for several days. Yet residents, when questioned, always answered, "Oh, you just missed them," or "Really, they were just here."
Fred told any traveler passing through and visiting his coffee shop, when asked, "Yes, they are very busy. The Chief, Samuel, and Mabior were in very early this morning, due to their busy schedule, they were keeping wierd hours."
Uncle Wadood was overheard telling a visiting relative, "The team has been held captive by their studies and other training."
The locals attempted to act nonchalant and very convincing when questioned. But, eventually, answers became scripted and repetitive, "The Team and associates are there, you just missed seeing them."
Visitors were visibly concerned about not just The Team's welfare but the entire town of Yei's sanity. It would have become tougher to keep the lid on, were it not for the fact that the vast majority of Yei residents really didn't have a clue where The Team was. They had loyally done as instructed. Tell visitors The Team is here or you just missed them. A few with the need to know - knew - of course.
Where are they? Surely, they have not deserted or quit. But where are they? The whole world wants to know, where are The Team and their associates?
