Sounds Of Silence. Elizabeth White

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      “Isabel, I want you to meet somebody.”

      Eli was standing in the doorway looking at her.

      “Okay.” She smiled and tried to see around him. Maybe he had a new partner, although why he’d have Isabel come all the way over here for that—

      “Come here, Susie-Q,” Eli said, reaching behind his back. He tugged a small child into view by the hand—a little girl so beautiful it made Isabel’s eyes sting. She looked at Eli for an explanation.

      “She’s deaf and doesn’t speak, Isabel, but she showed up at the orphanage yesterday with nothing but the clothes on her back and one shoe. And this.”

      He lifted his other hand to show her a sealed plastic bag containing a closed switchblade knife.

      THE TEXAS GATEKEEPERS:

       Protecting the borders…and the women they love.

      ELIZABETH WHITE

      As a teenager growing up in north Mississippi, Elizabeth White often relieved the tedium of history and science classes by losing herself in a romance novel hidden behind a textbook. Inevitably she began to write stories of her own. Torn between her two loves—music and literature—she chose to pursue a career as a piano and voice teacher.

      Along the way Beth married her own Prince Charming and followed him through seminary into church ministry. During a season of staying home with two babies, she rediscovered her love for writing romantic stories with a Christian worldview. A previously unmined streak of God-given determination carried her through the process of learning how to turn funny mushy stuff into a publishable novel. Her first novella saw print in the banner year 2000.

      Beth now lives on the Alabama Gulf Coast with her husband, two high-maintenance teenagers and a Boston terrier named Angel. She plays flute and pennywhistle in a church orchestra, teaches second-grade Sunday school, paints portraits in chalk pastel and—of course—reads everything she can get her hands on. Creating stories of faith, where two people fall in love with each other and Jesus, is her passion and source of personal spiritual growth. She is always thrilled to hear from readers c/o Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, or visit her on the Web at www.elizabethwhite.net.

      Sounds of Silence

      Elizabeth White

      MILLS & BOON

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      The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but He frustrates the plans of the wicked.

      —Psalms 146:9

      This book is dedicated to the missions ministry

       of First Baptist North Mobile. Keep on

       serving and sharing the Good News!

      I’m grateful for my critique partners—

      Scott, Tammy and Sheri—and my editor,

       Diane Dietz. You make me a better writer.

      Thanks as well to several people who lent their expertise as I researched details for this book. Glenda Perkins, teacher of hearing impaired students in Mobile County Public Schools, read the manuscript and gave great suggestions. ATF agent and former Border Patrol Agent Michael Knoll answered about a million questions with great patience and clarity. Cena Goff helped with nursing issues, and Ken Foster—firefighter extraordinaire—answered questions regarding, well, fires. Susan Howell answered a couple of horse questions. All mistakes are mine.

      My friend and fellow author Jane Myers Perrine

       helped once more with Spanish translation.

       Thanks for your time, señora.

      I would never have been able to give this book

       the richness of detail it deserved, without observing

       and interviewing several of God’s choice servants

       who minister on the Texas/Mexico border.

       Rosie, Aurora, Pastor Pablo, Dennis, Terry and

       others involved with Texas River Ministries—

      I pray for you regularly. Thank you for letting

       me share Christ in your corner of the world.

      Dear Reader,

      Last year I eagerly accepted a spot in the van during my church’s annual trek to south Texas. I knew I was going to set my next book there and could simultaneously research and “do ministry.” I didn’t know it was going to change my heart.

      The poverty, heat and dust were no surprise. But I also found warm hearts, bright smiles and the universal language of kinship in Christ. I discovered how richly blessed we are in the U.S. and that sharing my faith brings unspeakable joy.

      Visiting Mexico prepared me to write Sounds of Silence, as I tried to put myself inside the skin of people not like me. How would it feel to be a traumatized, hearing-impaired orphan? What would it be like to violently lose your husband and then fall in love with a man in his same profession? Going to Mexico helped me to see that all of us experience seasons of deep need and loneliness—and that those in Christ have something to share, whether you’re a Spanish-speaking child or a Texas construction worker or an Alabama housewife.

      Much of this story is filled with the starkness of the Mexican hills and border slums. But often in the greatest deprivation, God reveals Himself to be our true and faithful refuge. I encourage you to go to His Word, the Bible, to find strength and encouragement. If you have questions or if you have something to share with me, I would love to hear from you via my Web site, www.elizabethwhite.net. Or you may write to me at Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

      In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the story! Stay tuned for On Wings of Deliverance, the third book in the Texas Gatekeepers series.

      Blessings,

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter