As I walked up to the Shields Date Farm in Desert Palms, I met a family of four walking out with date milk shakes made with flavoring made from dates grown on the farm.
"How's the shake?" I asked.
"Great, but a whole shake is too much--it's quite sweet."
I told them I was from Colorado Springs, and we exchanged some small talk.
Then their son, about eighteen, asked, "How did you lose your fingers?"
"Blew them off with a dynamite cap," I said. "That's shrapnel right there, I pointed out."
"Do you mind if I pray for you fingers?" the son asked.
"No. I said"
He raised his hand over my head and said with a quiver in his voice, "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I ask in Jesus' name that your fingers grow back.
"Do you think that will help?" he asked.
"I think it might work," I said politely.
