Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
AWAKE O ZION!
Kelly walked slowly back to the tea break. Alan, Rufus and
the others were larking around but the look on Kelly’s face
brought instant silence.
‘Bro’s,’ he said, ‘“Faithful’s” been killed.’ The words hung
in the air. No! It couldn’t be true. Not Steve. Then the truth
sliced into their hearts and they all burst into tears, grown
men just weeping helplessly together. By the end of that day
the whole church had heard and a hush crept over all the
homes. ‘Faithful’ was in heaven — it was almost unbelievable.
Four hundred people were in mourning.
Investigations were made. Evidently he had been struck
down around eleven at night by a goods train travelling from
London. As a railwayman explained to us, Steve couldn’t have
been lying down because his body had been knocked between
the rails. We discovered that two trains passed each other
around 11.00 pm at the point where Steve was killed. Possibly
he was returning from a walk by the canal and as he waited
in the dark for one train to pass, he was struck by the other.
The funeral could never be forgotten. Any grief that had
been bottled up now flowed out as tribute was paid to this
lovable young man. The hearts of the Farm family were
cracked wide open. It was an amazing and awesome time to
live through. Heaven came close. Pride was shattered, and a
new love blossomed, as tough young men sobbed their hearts
out together. The brother who took over Steve’s job mounted
his tractor and wept. How could he ever live up to Steve’s
example of diligence?
Some of the brothers and sisters struggled with their first
experience of grief. Noel was heart-broken, but clung to grace,
stood like a rock, and led them through it. A ring of brotherly
169