Mission, Interrupted

A few years ago…

My wife texted me. “Call me when you get a minute. It’s about Taylor.”

I immediately stopped what I was doing, closed my office door, picked up my phone, and called.

“What’s going on?”

“I had been wondering why we hadn’t gotten Taylor’s email yet – I just got a call from the Dominican Republic – Sister Antivilo, the mission president’s wife. She told me that Taylor has been in an accident.”

“Is he okay? What kind of accident?” I interrupted, as my heart sunk, and my stomach started feeling queasy.

“I’m not sure…”

——

5 hours earlier…

What makes for a great preparation day? Hanging out with other missionaries, playing some sports, and eating some good food. It had been a good P-Day: Elder Taylor McBride and his companion, Elder Sena, met up with two other companionships, Elders Allen, LeSueur, Diker and Turley to spend the day.

It rained hard all morning, but they decided that since it rains almost every day in the D.R., they weren’t going to let it get in the way of playing some basketball. They met at the chapel early and played on the outdoor court in the rain. They worked up an appetite and went in search of some grilled chicken for lunch.

After they ate, they headed back to the chapel to enjoy a quiet afternoon of air conditioning and dominoes.

They ran through the rain to the church, ignoring the usual catcalls from the local girls. The church building was protected by a ten-foot iron security fence. Elder McBride unlocked the giant gate that slid to open the driveway, and went in first.

Unknown to any of them, when he slid the gate open, the mounting supports that had been weakened from years of rust and corrosion gave way. The heavy iron gate began to fall, as if in slow motion.

“LOOK OUT!” the Elders yelled in unison.

Elder McBride heard them and looked up, just in time to see the iron gate crashing down on him. Even though he took a sidestep to the left, it wasn’t enough to avoid it, and the gate struck him on the back on the head with a tremendous impact.

He instantly lost consciousness. On the way down, his limp body turned and he landed on his back on the driveway. His head whipped back and struck the sharp edge of the concrete curb with a sickening crack that everyone could hear through the downpour.

Blood started pouring from his head, mixed with the rainwater and ran down the gutter into the street.

Elder Allen pulled out his phone to call for help, but it was dead from the rain.

A crowd started to gather.

Then the convulsions began.

To be continued…