“May I Tell
You a Story?”
osé always does whatever
his wife, Ruthie, tells him to
do. Well, mostly.
This time was different. Ruthie
sat José down and gave him an
ultimatum. No options or delays.
The state of Maryland was sending
a social work supervisor to their
house—a person who would be
inspecting every closet, checking
every door, and making sure that
their house would be an acceptable
home for foster children who
needed a new place to live.
28 November 2023 AdventistWorld.org
“They will check our water
faucets, look in the refrigerator,
and make sure I've cleaned under
the beds,” Ruthie told him. “And
they will check the door that goes
down to the basement. The one
with the broken latch. The one I've
been asking you to fix for several
months. The social worker will be
here sometime Tuesday afternoon,
which means you will be fixing the
door Tuesday morning”
The timing was terrible.
ALTERED PLANS
As director of the Office of
Volunteers for the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, Pastor José Rojas
had helped send more than 100,000
volunteers around the world. For
this reason Pastor José had been
invited to the United Nations build-
ing in New York City on Tuesday
morning to celebrate the United
Nations “Year of the Volunteer”
Instead, Ruthie was “requiring”
that he stay home and fix the
basement door.
The day had been carefully
planned! He would take the train
from Baltimore to New York City
and enjoy a long breakfast at the
Windows on the World restaurant
at the very top of the World Trade
Center. He had always wanted to
eat at the restaurant in the Twin
Towers, and this was his chance!
Then, after watching morning
arrive from the windows high
above the city, he'd catch a taxi for
the short ride to the United Nations
building and the special ceremony.
“Fixing the door” was not in
José’s Tuesday plans.
They argued about it. José
explained how important it was for
him to be at the ceremony. Ruthie
reminded him of how important it
was for him to go to the hardware
store. José apologized for not fixing
the door, and then reminded her
how important it was for him to
represent the church at the cere-
mony. Ruthie accepted the apology,
but stayed firm about his needing
to stay home and fix the door.
It was the worst argument of
their marriage, and probably the
only time Ruthie had made such a
definite demand. José listened, and
decided that somehow, fixing the
door was God's will.
José stayed home.
Instead of breakfast at the Win-
dows on the World restaurant, he
shared breakfast and watched the
news with Ruthie at their kitchen
table in Maryland.
The day was September 11, 2001,
and the morning news filled José
and Ruthie with terror and thanks-
giving. They watched in stunned
awe as smoke rose from where a
jetliner had just flown into the New
York World Trade Center’s North
Tower, just below the restaurant. The
day took on even greater meaning
as they watched another airliner fly
into the World Trade Center’s South
Tower, then watched both buildings
collapse, killing everyone in the
restaurant and thousands more.