Still, they would check it out. It wasn’t something to be taken lightly or to take a chance on. If the Lawtons moved out of their present location with all their possessions in a rented truck, they had to be sure they had some place to go, and not end up out in the street, homeless. It could take as much as several months to find another church in Secundaterra.
“With this concern in mind, Durwin and Canda drove one day to the nearest border crossing, and asked to see the supervisor in charge there. The supervisor was a very congenial man who listened to their plans and concerns with interest. ‘Sit down in the waiting room for half an hour or so,’ he invited them. ‘I know there are some special provisions for clergy, but it’s so seldom we have to refer to it. I’ll read up on it in the rule book while you wait.’
“He went across to the other side of the large room and into his glassed-in private office in the corner. Taking a big book about four inches thick off the shelf he sat down to read. After twenty minutes or so he came back across the larger room again. ‘Yep,’ he said with a smile, ‘you can do it that way, just as the woman in the other office told you.’
“‘So,’ asked Durwin, ‘if I come here to this border crossing driving a rented truck load of my belongings, and my wife behind me driving our car, we will be able to enter Terraprima, no problem?”
“‘That’s right,’ responded the supervisor. ‘According to the book there should be no problem. Tell you what,’ he continued, ‘I’ll write down for you the days of the week and hours I’m on duty. Can you arrange to cross the border on a day and within the hours I’m on duty?’
“‘Yes I can,’ said Durwin delightedly. So they arranged that the Lawtons would cross the border on a Tuesday morning in approximately a month’s time. The Lawton’s were assured by this very cooperative officer that if everything was in order after the usual inspection, there would be no problem in crossing the border with all their possessions. He also told them that within ten days of the arrival at their destination they would be required to put in their applications for residency at the office in the state in which they took up residence.
“The Lawtons came away from the border crossing much more assured, but not totally. There was one more assurance Durwin would seek. He had two telephone numbers for twenty four hour seven days a week information regarding immigration procedures. One number was for the office in the state he had already dealt with on his visit, the other for the office in the state which he would now have to deal with.
“One evening he called the first number. After some delay due to the line being very busy, he connected with a woman who seemed quite conversant with immigration procedures. Durwin carefully outlined all the circumstances of his pending move. Knowing there were questions about mental illness on the papers later to be submitted, he was very careful to mention that he once had what was termed at the time, some brief nervous breakdowns. ‘Would that pose a problem for me?’ he asked.
“‘How long ago since you have had the last breakdown?’ she asked.
“‘Approximately ten years,’ replied Durwin.
“‘That will not make any difference after all that time. You will have no problem with it.’ she assured him.
“In actual fact it is debatable whether Durwin Lawton ever had a nervous breakdown. He had experienced some trouble to be sure. The psychiatrists whom he had first consulted termed it a mental illness caused by childhood problems. The psychiatrists who attended him in his later bouts termed it as excessive exhaustion brought on by too much stress with difficult people. His treatment for it in the latter cases was rest and sleep with the use of medication for a brief period.” Collin paused, then smiled, “Sounds familiar to some members of this group, eh!”
“Very familiar,” said Gilda Emerson, and the others agreed.
“But,” continued Collin, “Durwin didn’t want to enter into a debate about it on the phone at that time. Rather, to be sure, he went for the worst scenario, a nervous breakdown, received a satisfactory reply and thought that would be the end of that. He had no reason to think otherwise.
“Durwin then phoned the second number, for the city where he now would have to report. This time a man came on the line. Durwin explained to him the plans and circumstances of his pending move, including the information about his supposed nervous breakdowns, and that the last one was approximately ten years ago.”
“‘No problem,’ said the man in his obviously jolly, perhaps flamboyant manner. ‘Just get in your truck and come on down. Then report to the office here within ten days as you were previously told.’
“Durwin was almost convinced that everything was okay for his move. Still other peoples stories of difficulties with immigration in Terraprima came to his mind. He would try for one more assurance, he decided, by calling the same number on the week-end when likely there would be different persons on shift to give information. On the weekend Durwin phoned again, and a man answered the call. Not recognizing the voice, Durwin again outlined his plans and circumstances.
“The voice on the phone responded, ‘What you again?’ he said cheerfully, ‘come on down man. I told you earlier in the week you will have no problem. We are nice people down here, and we like you people of Secundaterra, you are just like us. Come on down and be at home.’
“This information officer had spoken in such a friendly reassuring way that all doubt left Durwin’s mind. He would not question the matter further. After thanking the person most warmly, Durwin came away from the phone feeling sure all would be well. He and Canda were delighted. They felt assured.
“There was one more assurance they were pleased with also. Some of Durwin’s colleagues in ministry who perhaps knew, from stories of others, more about the pitfalls of such a venture than did Durwin, took steps to protect his future in case he wanted or had to return to Secundaterra. They had his name placed in the record as on leave of absence from his present denomination, rather than removed and transferred to another denomination. Durwin was very grateful for this. Later, it would give him badly needed security as you will understand later in the story.
“There was opposition to this leave of absence status by belittlers of the Secundaterra church, but they weren’t in control and were overruled, to Durwin’s advantage. Later, however, when staff was changed, it left Durwin out on a risky limb in Terraprima, as I shall explain more fully later on in the story.
“Most people wished Durwin well on his new venture. One well meaning colleague, however, made a statement that Durwin didn’t understand at the time. Later, it would have much meaning for him. The colleague said to Durwin, ‘We don’t have any ministers from here go down to that denomination of Terraprima anymore. We have several who have gone there to other denominations and done well. I wish you well in your venture though,’ he said, shaking his head gently.
“On the pre-planned Tuesday morning the Lawtons set out, Durwin driving their large size rented truck, and Canda following behind in their car, having had the truck loaded by experienced movers the previous day. After going through immigration and customs at the border under the friendly, respectful and efficient facilitation of the supervisor, the Lawtons drove uneventfully along the highway to a new yet very different life than ever they had expected.
“Durwin had previously notified the people at his new church in Terraprima that he and Canda were aiming at arriving at the church at approximately six p.m. They came close to that, arriving at six-thirty p.m. There was a welcome reception for them for which they were a little late. The half hour delay was caused by a final gas-up and truck check which could have been eliminated had they known they were only twenty miles from their destination instead of the sixty they
