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Recently ordainedti auctioned on eBay—in sohed at the very idea, but was intrigued He’d been waiting patiently for an assignht it couldn’t hurt to take a look at the place hiet out of town for a day and see so different He’d heard Northern California was very beautiful

The first thing that struck hi beauty of the mountains, redwoods and rivers The toas a little washed out and the church was a wreck, but there was a peacefulness and siet It seemed uncomplicated, fresh

No one really noticed him in the little town; the local men he’d seen either had hair shorn in military fashion or ponytails and beards, just like the fisherht in—he wore scuffed boots, his jeans were almost white ear, ripped here and there, his denim shirt was thin on the elbows and frayed around the collar and cuffs His black hair was too long and curled over his collar; he planned to get it cut the second he was assigned a church of his own But for now, he fit right in, looking like any other laborer after a hard day’s work He was fit and toned like the local Virgin Rivernets, hauling in tons of fresh catch will do that

The church had been easy to locate and he hadn’t needed a key to get inside—it was boarded up and appeared to have been abandoned for years, but the side door wasn’t locked The place had been stripped bare and filled with years of trash, probably litter from transients who’d taken shelter there at one time or another Al covered over with plywood But when he got to the sanctuary, he discovered a stunning stained-glass , boarded from the outside to keep it safe It had been left untouched

Afterward, he had driven the neighborhoods in tohich hadn’t taken long, had a cup of coffee at the only eating establishot back to Seattle he contacted the wo the church on eBay, Hope McCrea “That church has been boarded up for years,” she said in her gravelly voice “This town has been without religion a long time”

“You sure the town is in need of religion?” Noah asked her

“Not entirely sure,” she answered “But it could damn sure use soround An empty church is bad mojo”

Noah couldn’t agree more

Despite being busy at the college where he taught, Noah couldn’t get Virgin River, or that church, out of his mind

He took the idea of buying the church to the presbytery and found they were already well aware of its existence He showed thereat potential Placing a minister there appealed to theation and it was the only church in town But the renovation, not to h There was no way they had the budget They thanked Noah sincerely and proet his own church real soon

What the presbytery didn’t knoas that Noah had recently come into some money To hie of eighteen had been slaving and studying While attending the university, he’d worked on boats, docks and in fish o his mother had passed and, to his surprise, had left him a hefty portion of her inheritance

So, he offered to lighten the presbytery’s financial burden by taking on the renovation costs of the church as a donation if they would see fit to assign hi one for the Presbyterian church

Before closing the deal, Noah called his closest friend, and thehiht he’d lost his e was a retired Presbyterianfor the last fifteen years at Seattle Pacific University “I can think of a thousand ways for you to throay that as, put it all on red Or finance your own o looking for one”

“Funny that church is still standing there, useless, like it’s waiting for a rebirth There must be a reason I happened to see it on eBay,” Noah said “I’ve never looked at eBay before in my life”

After e conceded, “If it’s structurally sound and the price is right, ittax write-off with the donated renovation cost, and a chance to serve a set cell-phone reception Sounds perfect for you”

“There is no congregation, George,” Noah reminded him

“Then you’ll have to gather one, son If anyone can do it, you can You were born to do it, and before you get all insulted, I’ about pure talent I’ve seen the way you sell fish, I always thought there was a e there Go—it’s what you want Open your doors and your heart and give it all you’ve got Besides, you’re the only ordained ether”

So Noah inked the deal with the presbytery and hoped his rave Truth be told, she’d always quietly supported him when, years back, he had been deterood reason Noah’s father was a powerful, se man Noah had run ahile his mother could not

If soo, when he fled his father’s house at the age of eighteen, that he would one day be a preacher hihed in their face Yet here he was And he wanted that church That wreck of a church in that peaceful, uncomplicated mountain town

Several weeks later Noah was in his fifteen-year-old RV, which would be his ho his twenty-year-old faded-blue Ford truck En route to Northern California, he called George’s office, placing the call fronal was lost in the in River, George”

“Well, boy—how does it feel?” George asked with a deep chuckle in his voice “Like you pulled off the sweetheart deal of the century, or like you’ll be dead broke and out in the street before you knohat hit you?”

Noah laughed “Not sure I’ll be tapped out by the tiation, I could be back in Seattle throwing fish before you know it,” he said, referring to an old job of his working the fish e fish across the e had discovered hiht away and trust the presbytery won’t leave me out in the cold if no one shows up to services I mean, if you can’t trust the church…”