On the morning of April, 5, 1991 I was awakened by Charles Dukes, a friend of the family, banging on our bedroom door, shouting "fire ,fire," I quickly dressed and ran out in to the hall way of our three bedroom, upper level apartment, where my wife Grace including myself, along with our five children made our residence.
I entered the hallway from our bedroom to investigate the commotion. Visibility was limited by the black toxic smoke that engulfed the residence, at that moment is when I realized the seriousness of the matter.
I observed the flames as waves, protruding from the kitchen area. The fire had started spreading quickly out on to the ceiling in the living room. A scene closely resembling ripples of fire on briquet's of burning coal. I screamed out in horror for my children, and their three teenage friends who had spent the night, to evacuate the premises immediately. I watched intensely as they all made their way out the front door of the apartment to safety.
I was confident that everyone was safe, when suddenly it occurred to my wife Grace, that our son Israel was missing. "Where's Israel?, where's Israel?" she cried out ! My 15 year old was unaccounted for.
I desperately started to search for him, shouting his name as I made my way through the crowd of neighbors, who had assembled themselves outside the property to witness the burning structure.
Frantically I combed the grounds adjacent to our property in the hope of finding my first born son safe from the burning inferno. Israel, was nowhere to be found.
I rushed over to the south side of the building, and looked up towards the second floor, and observed the kitchen windows bursting from the intense heat, followed by a cloud of black smoke that funneled through the shattered glass.
"Israel get out son !" I began to shout, "please get out,!" my wife joined me at my side and we both begged him to save himself. We were both convinced, that Israel was trapped inside, and there was nothing at that moment we could do, but watch helplessly, as a combination of fire, and smoke began filtering out through his bedroom window.
We started to hear the sirens of emergency vehicles getting louder as they approached the residence.
In what seemed an eternity, the Eureka Fire Department arrived at the scene. Immediately the firefighters started rolling out their hoses, following all the necessary procedures in order to neutralize the emergency situation.
I ran over towards in the direction, where the fire trucks were stationary. I reached out, and grabbed the first Firefighter I encountered by the sleeve of his fire retardant coat, and began to lead him in the direction of the stair well, on the east side of the structure.
"Hurry! my son is trapped inside his bedroom, Please hurry." He looked up, towards the upper level of the burning complex , the fireman appeared to be stunned by what he witnessed, he turned his face back towards my direction, and I saw an expression of hopelessness in his eyes.
Meanwhile Firefighter Jim Christian, had started making his way up an aluminum ladder to the second floor bedroom on the south side of the building, diving head first through the window into the burning structure,Christian discovered Israel wedged in a corner of his bedroom,
Jim Christian : “I couldn’t stand up because of the heat. I grabbed his right arm and tried to pull him toward me. The burned skin on Israel’s arm came off in my glove. I laid across the bed and grabbed his upper body and somehow got him over the bed to the floor near the window. I could hear Captain Ballard taking the window frame out to give us room.
I was dragging Israel toward the window when Mike Bakke came crashing through it. I was never so happy to have someone jump on me in all my life. We dragged him to the window and lifted him gently as possible through it. It was the first time I could actually see Israel Jaure."
A firefighter approached my wife and I ,his countenance, filled with sorrow "we got your son out." I couldn't find the courage to ask him if he was alive, being sorely afraid of what his response would be, I simply nodded my head.
I embraced my wife, Grace, "there is another body waiting for him in glory," She refused to believe that our son had perished in the flames. "No! No! my son isn't dead !" I bowed my head at that moment, and began worshiping the God of the universe
Meanwhile, Israel, was having the greatest experience of his Life:
“There were flames everywhere and there was so much noise,I panicked and screamed. I knew there was a way out through the back door of the kitchen and I opened the door to my room. A horrible blast of heat knocked me down. I was flopping like a fish out of water. It was like drowning and being burned at the same time. I kept saying ‘God, help me’ over and over.
I could see the flames all around me; I could hear my mother screaming for me downstairs, even over the noise of the fire. Then the pain stopped and all I could feel was peace. I took the deepest breath of my life and when I let it out, my eyes dimmed, my hearing went away and I knew I was about to die.”
Suddenly, Israel found himself in a place of total darkness, where he was transformed to nothing more, then a mere thought, he cried out" Jesus" he recalls hearing what would best be described, as the screeching of a heavy steel door being opened.
Israel, was lifted out from obscurity, and placed before the presence of the creator of all things. He was incapable of lifting his head to look upon the one that sat upon the throne, but recalls, being placed upon a plateau, where he observed an ocean of people dressed in white garments. All of them in reverence to the one who sat upon the throne. He turned to look upon the source of the light that shined brilliantly on the inhabitants, he was strictly forbidden to do so, "Its not your time"
Feeling destitute, he came across a caravan, composed of a small group of people, who appeared to be carrying all of their earthly possession's in the back of wooden wagons. The leader of the group was wearing military combat fatigues, he was highly decorated with various campaign medals.
As Israel drew closer, he observed a glow illuminating from the man's face. Israel enquired of him, the reason as to why he was prohibited to look upon the light, The leader simply responded,"Its not your time"
He heard a voice, that was similar to the noise of thunder, that shook the heavens, He was told of a precious gift that was to be bestowed upon him. He observed a sphere of light descending upon him, it entered into him, and rested in the vicinity of the heart.
Israel was forewarned of the consequences, of being the recipient, of such a great gift. and cautioned that he was to encounter a great deal of thieves, and adversaries along his journey through life.
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