04 • 25 20 guidemagazine.org True Stories Pointing to Jesus Jesus to Pointing Stories True A new continued story That Awkward Conversation Home Alone COLONEL RANKIN’S CHRISTY WAS SOMETHING WILD RIDE TOO TONGUE-TIED DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT TO ATTEND THE FUNERAL Holding an Angel’s To order, call 1.800.447.7377 Guide phone: 208.465.2500 Hand Fax: 208.465.2531 t was the last day of my mother’s life. Email: [email protected] Cancer had stolen so much of her Unsolicited manuscripts welcome Istrength that she couldn’t even move her head, but I knew she was passing the time by imagining what it would be like to open her eyes and see Jesus’ face. As I sat Facebook.com/ guidemagazine.org GuideMagazine.org by her bed, I noticed something unusual: her arm was propped straight up, and her hand was cupped. EDITOR Lori Futcher “I think she’s holding her angel’s MANAGING EDITOR hand,” I whispered to my dad. Laura Sámano That night I was awakened with the DESIGNER news. She was gone. As I washed our Brandon Reese breakfast dishes before a day of funeral COPY EDITOR planning, I realized that, for the first Rhonda Christiano time, I understood the phrase “peace that CLERICAL SUPPORT passeth understanding” (see Philippians Gricelda Blanco 4:7, KJV). SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Yes, I was sad. Yes, I miss her to this Rebecca Hilde day. But the overwhelming feeling I WEBMASTER associate with my mom’s death is peace. Kim Peckham How grateful I am to have a heavenly CUSTOMER SERVICE Marianne Daugharthy hope so that I may grieve with peace. APRIL 25, 2020 • VOLUME 68 • NUMBER 17 Guide® (ISSN 0017-5226) is a Christian story magazine primarily for readers ages 10-14. It is provided by Seventh-day Adventists and is published weekly Lori Futcher, Editor by Pacific Press® Publishing Association, 1350 N. Kings Road, Nampa, ID 83687-3193. Periodicals postage paid at Nampa, Idaho. Copyright © 2020 by Pacific Press® Publishing Association. Printed in U.S.A. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Order through your church’s Sabbath School secretary, or call toll-free 1.800.447.7377. Yearly subscription: $61.58. ADDRESS CHANGES: Supply old and new addresses eight weeks in advance to P.O. Box 5353, Nampa, ID 83653-5353. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Guide Circulation, P.O. Box 5353, Nampa, ID 83653-5353. Unless otherwise noted, Bible texts in this issue are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Unless otherwise noted, all prominent photos © 2020 Thinkstock.com. 2 | GUIDE | guidemagazine.org Colonel Rankin’s Wild Ride By Kim Peckham arine pilot William Rankin saw the giant thundercloud in front of him and thought, No problem. He pulled back on the control M stick of his F-8 Crusader jet fighter and climbed through 46,000 feet. He would just go over this bad weather—or so he thought. He heard a loud bump and a rumble from the engine. A fire warning light came on. His flight was over. He pulled the ejection handle and was blown into the thin, cold air of 47,000 feet. Decompression caused blood to flow from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In seconds he had frostbite from the -58 degrees Fahrenheit temperature. He fell into the thundercloud he had been trying to avoid. “I saw that I was in an angry ocean of boiling clouds, blacks, and grays, and whites,” he remembered in his book The Man Who Rode the Thunder. When his parachute came out, he thought his ride was over, but it was just begin- ning. Air currents in the cloud yanked him up, down, and sideways. He saw lightning, which he described as “blue blades several feet thick.” “Sometimes I was falling through heavy water—I’d take a breath and breathe in a mouthful of water. Sometimes I had the sensation I was looping the chute. I was blown up and down as much as 6,000 feet at a time.” At one point he was thrown up into the parachute, and he felt it drape over him like a sheet. At times he was pelted by hailstones that were big enough to leave welts. The battering by the wind, rain, and hail continued for 40 minutes; then he drifted out of the clouds down to a forest of evergreen trees. Colonel Rankin had what may have been the scariest parachute ride ever, but he survived. Maybe you’re going through scary times at home or school. You may feel anxious or depressed. But these times will pass. You have a God who loves you and will be with you through the storm and help you land on your feet. April 25, 2020 | GUIDE | 3 BY Christine Collier NAME THAT STORM “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his under- standing. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses” (Jeremiah 10:12, 13, NIV). Test your knowledge of the following weather events by matching the correct answer with the definition. Tornado Hurricane Volcano Tidal Wave Asteroid Comet Earthquake Tsunami Avalanche 1. A violent rotating column of air 2. Places where lava, ash, or gases escape to the surface at the present or have escaped to the surface in the past 3. Frozen gasses, rocks, and dust that heats up and spews its contents when it gets close to the sun 4 | GUIDE | guidemagazine.org NAME THAT STORM 4. Chunks of rocks or fragments of planetlike material of different sizes that orbit the sun 5. Shallow water changes caused by the imbalanced gravitational influences of the moon, sun, and planets 6. Series of catastrophic ocean waves generated under the water caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or landslides beneath the ocean 7. Trembling and shaking of the earth’s surface. Most are minor tremors. Larger ones take the form of violent shocks and end in lessening forces called aftershocks. 8. A deadly force of snow, sometimes called White Death, descending with lightning speed down a mountainside 9. A very powerful, often violent storm with strong, high winds and heavy rain Answers on p. 27 April 25, 2020 | GUIDE | 5 That awkward conversation BY Christy Heitger-Ewing 0 ILLUSTRATED BY Chris Danger Christy wanted to comfort her friend, but she didn’t know what to say. zzzz. My heart dropped into the pit I looked at my phone of my stomach. B just as a horrifying text How could this be? I had just seen popped onto the screen. her. She was so happy, so alive. “Did you hear about Erica?” it How could she be gone? said. “She died in a car crash last “Are you going to the funeral?” night.” my friend asked. 6 | GUIDE | guidemagazine.org That awkward conversation I thought about Steph, Erica’s what was there to say, really? sister and my good friend. “Sorry” didn’t exactly cut it. Still, “ Yeah,” I texted. “I’ll be there.” I wanted to go to support Steph. But honestly I dreaded it. Filled with sad music and somber faces, hursday afternoon I funeral homes creeped me out. combed through my closet People would hug and cry, but T looking for a suitable out- April 25, 2020 | GUIDE | 7 fit. I slipped into khaki slacks and I breathed. I fidgeted. I cleared a dressy shirt with a scarf. During my throat. And the longer I stayed the drive to the funeral home, in the car, the more my courage my mind swirled with reasons waned. I should ask Mom to turn back I checked the time again: 5:35. around. I thought about homework and Steph will probably be busy talk- other stuff I needed to get done. ing to other people. “Let’s just go,” I said. It might make Steph uncomfort- “ What? You’re not going in?” able for me to see her so sad. Mom asked. “Honey, why not? I’m Let’s face it: I look ridiculous in sure Steph would love to see you.” this scarf. “I don’t know what to say,” I When we finally pulled into whispered as tears sprang to my the parking lot, my eyes stayed eyes. focused on the door of the funeral “Then don’t say anything. Just home. Two girls and a guy were give her a hug.” standing outside. A family with “I can’t,” I said, my voice trem- young children stepped inside. An bling. “Can we please go?” older couple came out. I glanced Mom could see that I was a down at my phone. It was 5:15 mess, and I sensed she didn’t p.m., visitation time. want to push it. I unbuckled my seat belt, and “Sure, sweetie.” my heart started thumping. “Thanks, Mom! I love you,” I I opened the car door and said. felt the sharp wind hit my face. “I love you, too, Christy,” Mom I quickly pulled the door shut said, reaching over to put her again. hand on top of mine. “Always.” “ What is it, honey?” Mom Throughout the entire drive asked. home, I felt like a coward. I could feel my heartbeat in my How could I chicken out of some- throat.