I suppose that they must have been dead for about a year as their bleached bones lay randomly in the sand

Their wagon had lost most of its shape and was unrecognisable apart from a blackened apron

As I explored this pathetic theatre I found a damaged prayer book which had belonged to one of group

There was a signature but this had faded under the desert sun and was now extinct

I looked at the prayer book and wondered why God had allowed this evil

What offence had these people caused as they crossed these wide plains

I knew that there must be an answer but it had not been revealed to me

The book suddenly fell from my grasp and fell harshly to the ground

It shattered on impact and its prayers began to scatter caught on the hot desert winds

I tried to retrieve them but without success and left the area soon afterwards without looking back

Many years later I passed through this desert again and found not trace of its history

But I knew that God’s word had travelled far and that these people had not died in vain