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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Worship (corporate) (10/04/07)
Natasha

I met my new foster parents for the first time, after I climbed from a plane I hoped never to see again. The flight from the Ukraine started out so exciting but now I was beat.
I was here for six months to see if I could adapt to life in the United States. If I could I would be put up for adoption at the end of that time.

My new parents knew two or three words in my language, I knew about five in theirs. My mom was as nervous as I was, my new Dad on the other hand picked me up and spun me around gave me a big hug and started tugging me out of the airport. They loaded me into the car and took me to a wide open place called a park for a family reunion.

Everyone hugs at these and asks your name, I’ve never said my name so many times in my life, and all I want to do is sleep.

Later in the day after the sun had baked me into a zombie state, my new dad hulled me into his arms carrying me to the car. Tucking me into the back seat he handed me a drink closing the door behind me at last I thought I could finally sleep.

My next conscious thought was my mother calling to me as we pulled into a large parking lot. Cars and people were everywhere. They swarmed around us like flies, all of them buzzing and stretching out their hands to touch me. Ducking behind my mother I peaked out behind her skirt like a toddler instead of a nine year old child. I saw so many people my head was swarming.

Finally my mother took me by the hand and let me down a wide cool hallway.
We entered a large room I later learned was called a gymnasium. All the kids here looked to be around my age. Some were building, some coloring, some playing, others were just standing around talking.
I crept back behind my mother’s skirt. Before me was the only adult in the room, her eyes were friendly, but darting quickly around the room, watching everyone at once.

She was just a head taller than me, but her smile was a happy and friendly one, it even reached up to her eyes. The children kept interrupting with questions; her smile never wavered, till she tried to pronounce my name. After saying it fifty times today I was really hoping she’d get it right in the first try. She succeeded the second time around.

The lady, my mom called her Cheri, turned on her microphone, calling to all the children. They all went to sit on the chairs as she talked to them. My mother and I sat on the cold metal chairs watching as five kids were chose to come to the front of the room, with their teacher, when the music started I knew the tunes they were very familiar to me.

I finally realized where I was. I was at church. I didn’t know the words they were singing but as I watched the kids start to worship I knew God was there, the love shining out of some of their eyes, the joy on their faces as they raised their hands in worship.

How utterly amazing, I might be far away from all familiar to me, the words for now just a blur, but God was here. Their worship was real. I may be alone in a far away land, but I was in God’s hands.
No matter how far away from familiar I am. God is here. I am never far from God and His Love.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Martha Kirk
10/12/07
What a lovely way to express how God's love is the same in any language and culture! I worked in Ukraine for several years and this touched my heart. Your story was well thought out and well written. Thank you for sharing!
P G
10/12/07
Good article from an neat perspective. Good attention to detail. There are a few grammatical errors of punctuation (note the fragment sentence in the last paragraph) and I think you meant hauled instead of hulled. You may want to take off the last small paragraph as it essentially restates the end of the one before it.

Good angle of writing, though, and a neat look at what binds together Believers everywhere.