'New season' for Miracle Valley

Gilles and Diane Langevin, his wife, want to operate a Christian ministry on this property near Sierra Vista first made famous by televangelist A.A. Allen and his Miracle Valley Bible College.

During Allen's time, in the late 1950s and '60s, it was prophesied that the property would become "desolate and forsaken," Diane says.

"However, in the last days, Miracle Valley will be restored again and this great revival will start up Miracle Valley," she says.

Others have tried to restore Miracle Valley, but the property has instead deteriorated. Most recently, a bank foreclosed on the Rev. Melvin Harter, who moved there in August 1999.

Another group left in the early 1980s after a standoff with the Cochise County Sheriff's Department in which two men were killed.

But the Langevins, who are originally from Quebec and have spent years traveling and preaching the gospel, say this time will be different. Venture will take "a lot of money"

When approached from the east, Miracle Valley's dome-shaped tabernacle stands out against the stunning backdrop of the Huachuca Mountains.

More than 3,000 worshippers could fit within the church walls, but first it must be repaired. The holes in the roof are visible from the road.

Jeff Allen, A.A. Allen's grandson, supports the Langevins' vision and wants to help with the restoration. He says some others have failed after trying to "make it about money."

"You don't merchandise the Holy Ghost," he says.

But the venture will take "a lot of money," Harter, the last to try there, points out.

Scottsdale-based Landmarc Capital & Investment Co. is asking $1.8 million for the Miracle Valley property, says Diane Langevin. The 80-acre parcel is off Highway 92, southeast of Sierra Vista, in an area known as Palominas.

The couple and their 18-year-old son, Michael, can move onto the property once they can put $50,000 down.

For now, the Langevins say they are waiting on a large donation from an anonymous donor so they can purchase the property. After that, they say they will make it a self-sustaining enterprise but not a business.

The couple say they have never made money on their ministries. Diane, 43, and Gilles, 45, a member of the Algonquin Tribe in Quebec, were born again as Christians in 1995, she says.

Both had been raised Roman Catholic, but when they went through a crisis in 1995 — their son was very sick and money was tight — it was their newfound faith that helped them through.

"The Lord then called us to reach out in the streets," says Diane. She has worked for years as a registered nurse to support the family and is now employed at St. Mary's Hospital, she says.

Gilles says they don't want to borrow money for the property because that would put Miracle Valley in debt again and ultimately lead to its failure.

But trying to revive Miracle Valley without a business plan will not work, says Harter.

"Miracle Valley is a famous place, an historical place and a lot of people, like Gilles, would like to have it because of the name, but in order for it to be successful, you have to have programs," he says.

During the decade Harter was there, he set up the Miracle Valley Child Care Center and Miracle Valley Assisted Living. He hoped to start a charter school.

The electric bills alone were enormous, says Harter, who left the property more than a month ago. Community may not lend aid

Jeff Allen, his wife and their four children returned to Miracle Valley in June 2008 to help rebuild it. They had been working in Texas for R.W. Schambach, who was an apprentice of A.A. Allen, but Jeff Allen says he "felt a calling to return."

"When we got here, things were worse than what we thought they would be," says Allen, 43. He and his family lived on the property and helped Harter with repairing the numerous buildings as much as they could.

Dale Stoner, 66, has been pastor at the Assembly of God Church of Palominas for 22 years. He grew up nearby.

Stoner has watched others try to restore Miracle Valley. He says one mistake is in assuming the community is going to donate money. The population that once supported A.A. Allen has aged now, he says, and people don't have money to spare.

"It's a skeptical attitude that has developed," he says.

John and Pamela Waters have operated the Palominas Trading Post next door to Stoner's church for 16 years. They are encouraged by what they've seen of the Langevin family.

"They are the most honest people I've seen come in here," John Waters says. "I think that they really believe what they are doing."

Gilles and Diane Langevin say once they acquire the property, they want to make it more self-sufficient. They plan to use solar power and build windmills. They want to grow fruits and vegetables to distribute for free to those in need. They want to reach out to indigenous people, people with addictions and the elderly.

Diane says they are not interested in the property simply because of its history. While they respect A.A. Allen, she says they are not trying to recreate his legacy.

Allen performed hands-on healings and claimed to cure the blind, the terminally ill and to perform dentistry through miraculous works. He also says he communicated with the demon world. Allen died in 1970 of liver failure brought on by alcoholism.

"We honor the people who have come before us, and the work A.A. Allen did, but this is definitely a new season for Miracle Valley," Diane says. Two killed in 1982 riot

Bert Goodman, a Saint David resident and retired Cochise County sheriff's captain, says he'd rather forget what happened at Miracle Valley in the early 1980s.

Now 86, Goodman remembers the night in August 1982 when the Miracle Valley property was home to the Christ Miracle Healing Center and Church.

Accounts vary. The black church members said they were harassed by law enforcement and local white residents.

There were also reports some of the Christ Miracle children were suffering from medical neglect. A 6-year-old boy, Theriel Drew, died there in 1981 without receiving medical attention for a hernia.

Tensions erupted when sheriff's deputies brought in a search warrant to look for explosives on the property and a riot ensued. Two Christ Church members were killed. The property was abandoned within a couple of weeks.

Goodman said despite these more disturbing aspects of Miracle Valley's history, newcomers are always welcome.

Diane Langevin says her family is interested in helping the local community.

They do practice faith healing, she says, but "would certainly call a doctor if someone need help." No buyer for property yet

Lenny Traw of Landmarc Capital & Investment Co. in Scottsdale says they will start cleaning up the property in the next few weeks. He wouldn't say whether anyone else is interested in Miracle Valley but says no one has put down money.

"As far as we're concerned, we don't have a buyer right now," he says.

Ray Atchinson hopes the Langevins can make it happen. Now 86, Atchinson moved to Miracle Valley when he was 35 to follow A.A. Allen.

"Now it's going to start coming back up, a new Miracle Valley," he says. "There's a lot of times you know something, but you can't explain it."

"We honor the people who have come before us, and the work A.A. Allen did, but this is definitely a new season for Miracle Valley."

Diane Langevin, who hopes to buy and restore Miracle Valley