Cave of Little Faces

      A Novel

      Copyright © 2018 William David Spencer and Aída Besançon Spencer. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Wipf & Stock

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-5082-6

      hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-5083-3

      ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-5084-0

      Manufactured in the U.S.A.

      “The Cave of Little Faces whisks the reader into an adventure in the Dominican Republic. The Spencers truly are masters of storytelling. It feels like you are there. This story could easily be made into a movie. The characters are delightful, unique, and so real. The dynamics of Jo’s family come across in full color and in a relatable manner, and even the scammers are memorable characters. The storyline is captivating, to say the least. I could not put this book down. The vivid descriptions carried me away to another world—one filled with beauty, intrigue, drama, and a few good laughs as well. Bravo!”

      —Jennifer Creamer, School of Biblical Studies, Youth With a Mission

      “From their intriguing title, through a roster of memorable characters, to a string of concluding surprises that crackle like fireworks, the Spencers take us on a spiritual roller coaster ride graced with suspense, humor, and dilemmas of high moral complexity. As their heroine, Josefina, finds her way through the forests and mountains of Hispaniola, we realize that hers is a metaphor for the journey we all share—the pilgrimage of life.”

      —Robert Boenig, author of the award-winning C. S. Lewis and the Middle Ages

      “I enjoyed Cave of Little Faces! The storyline and the conflicts are great and the cross-cultural setting is one of the book’s big strengths . . . I loved the theology and history the authors brought into the book, managing to make arguments about Christianity’s place in history come off as natural arguments, and not advertisements for the faith inserted into the text—a rare feat indeed! I also love the way they did the character descriptions. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful gift with me.”

      —Jasmine Myers, founder and director of the award-winning Still Small Theatre Troupe

      “Awesome characters! I couldn’t wait to get home from work and get together with them again. Once I was getting near the end, I began to realize how much I was going to miss them.”

      —Dawn Samsel, reading specialist in the Beverly, Massachusetts public school system.

      “This story kept me interested from the very beginning. I enjoy novels with a mystery, since I love trying to put the clues together as I progress through the book . . . I was also intrigued to read a novel outside my comfort zone. It is a culture and geographical region of which I know very little. While reading, I found I was immersed in the culture and traditions. The atmospheric prose put me there. At one point, I was shocked when a character used a cell phone. I forgot it was still the 21st century. Present time problems seamlessly merge with the ancient culture. The strong values of faith, family and friends are at the core of this tale. As I was enjoying the story, I was amazed at how much I learned about an important culture and its rich history. Their sense of equality between the sexes is a shining example for all of us. Each character was fully developed and, knowing their backgrounds, their actions were understandable, although not always admirable. Living with Jo as she made her life changing decisions was difficult. I kept wondering what I would have done in her place.”

      —Anne Marie Cullen, Chief Dispatcher (retired), Police Department, Hamilton, Massachusetts

      “Steeped in Taino history and lore, the story features strong and able women among its motley cast of characters and culminates with Jo’s yearning to be part of an intentional community where men and women lead and do life together. I enjoyed reading this mystery, highlighted by the positive light in which the authors cast women.”

      —Grace May, executive director, WOW! (WOMEN OF WONDER), New York, New York

      The House of Prisca and Aquila

      Our mission at the House of Prisca and Aquila is to produce quality books that expound accurately the word of God to empower women and men to minister together in a multicultural church. Our writers have a positive view of the Bible as God’s revelation that affects both thoughts and words, so it is plenary, historically accurate, and consistent in itself, fully reliable, and authoritative as God’s revelation. Because God is true, God’s revelation is true, inclusive to men and women and speaking to a multicultural church, wherein all the diversity of the church is represented within the parameters of egalitarianism and inerrancy.

      The word of God is what we are expounding, thereby empowering women and men to minister together in all levels of the church and home. The reason we say women and men together is because that is the model of Prisca and Aquila, ministering together to another member of the church—Apollos: “Having heard Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and more accurately expounded to him the Way of God” (Acts 18:26). True exposition, like true religion, is by no means boring—it is fascinating. Books that reveal and expound God’s true nature “burn within us” as they elucidate the Scripture and apply it to our lives.

      This was the experience of the disciples who heard Jesus on the road to Emmaus: “Were not our hearts burning while Jesus was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32). We are hoping to create the classics of tomorrow, significant and accessible trade and academic books that “burn within us.”

      Our “house” is like the home to which Prisca and Aquila no doubt brought Apollos as they took him aside. It is like the home in Emmaus where Jesus stopped to break bread and reveal his presence. It is like the house built on the rock of obedience to Jesus (Matt 7:24). Our “house,” as a euphemism for our publishing team, is a home where truth is shared and Jesus’ Spirit breaks bread with us, nourishing all of us with his bounty of truth.

      We are delighted to work together with Wipf and Stock in this series and welcome submissions on a wide variety of topics from an egalitarian, inerrantist global perspective.

      For more information, see our Web site:

      https://sites.google.com/site/houseofpriscaandaquila/.

      Areyto to the Great Warrior

      From the Mother of the Islands,

      on the vast, forbidding highlands,

      watching from the forest fastness,

      eyes of iron, will of stone.

      Futilely pursuing treasure,

      for the distant monarchs’ pleasure,

      furtively, despite their crassness,

      eyes of terror, all alone.

      As their horses’ panting quickens,

      stumbling, as briar thickens,

      whinnying in steps of last stress

      eyes extinguish, falling prone.

      Soon they all discard their armor,

      drag their swords before their harmer,

      craving water, past disastrous,

      eyes