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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: The Manuscript (04/29/10)
Joe grabbed the garbage can from the local park getting ready to dump the contents into the pungent garbage truck, when there it was; an old plastic shopping bag filled with various pieces of paper, each with writing on it. He was Intrigued and something inside told him to look at it further. He put it aside and continued emptying cans till his route was finished.

Tired and not smelling too fresh, he arrived home. His German shepherd greeted him with several licks, rolling over to have her belly scratched. Once she was fed and let out, he sat down and started looking at the bag of papers. The top note said:

Oct 18, 2006
I think my days are at an end, I am very sick. This is my good bye.

How sad, Joe thought; but wait, that is today! He continued to through the scraps of paper. Each one was a receipt tag labeled Blackwell Mission with the date on it. The first one read like this:

Blackwell Mission – 4/15/06
Donation: $20

Each paper had similar type markings. There were hundreds of them, each with different dates and dollar amounts going all the way back to 1982. In the bottom of the bag, there was a note paper with journal entries written on it.

Oct 5, 1981
I’ve lost my job and my family because of alcohol. I’ve been kicked out of my apartment, so here I live in the woods.

Oct 18
A nice teenager at the Blackwell Mission has been giving me sandwiches and water at night. I really want my drink; it’s hard to get money to pay for it. I've started returning bottles and cans for money.

Oct 20
Her name is Cindy, from the mission. She gave me a coat today. She talked to me a little about the bible. She is very kind.

Oct 21
Cindy told me about Jesus today. I prayed, asking him to come into my heart but I don’t feel no different.

Nov 4
I am drinking very little alcohol now, I am feeling much better. Cindy and I talk every day. I had to hide from some teenagers on Halloween, but they didn’t spot me.

Nov 15
Why Jesus? My beautiful Cindy died in a car accident with a drunk driver. Once again the one I love taken away from me.

Nov 17
I would go to Cindy’s funeral but I don’t know where it is and I wouldn’t want to shame her. I am going to do my best to help others like Cindy did the rest of the time I am here.

Sincerely,
Ellie Lark

Joe got this sick feeling in his stomach. Could that poor woman be out there, alone in the woods dying? He quickly hopped in his truck and went back to the park. He ran through the woods searching until he found a little shack; it was barely standing. He went inside not knowing what to expect, but there she was, a thin elderly woman trembling, laying on an old blanket. He called 911 and held her hand until the paramedics came and took her to the hospital.

He spent that night going through the receipts. He figured out that she gave Blackwell mission over $90,000 in the 24 years she donated to it. Amazing!

The next morning Joe went to the mission and inquired about the donations. Looking at the records, they found that each of her donations was made in the name of Cindy. Joe explained Ellie’s situation to the manager. He was so moved, that he opened up a room especially for her at the mission.

She spent her last year there as her health was rapidly failing. Joe and the others loved and cared for her as her family. The Lord took her peacefully in her sleep one night. Her funeral was a beautiful celebration of a humble servant’s life. People at her funeral may not have been dressed fancy and there were carnations instead of roses, but she was loved very much by those that attended.

A picture was found of Ellie and Cindy sitting together. Both of these women’s lives intertwined bringing about good results. It was well known that both of them loved Jesus and talked about him everywhere they went and were truly disciples. The little bits of paper left behind by Ellie may have told a story, but to those around her, her life was a manuscript of how to be a servant.
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This article has been read 722 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
angelos2 wark
05/06/10
Good Job!
I like that the manuscript was written on the pages of ones life.
Joanna Stricker
05/07/10
I didn't expect to find a 'from trash to treasure' story, but I enjoyed it greatly.
Joanna Stricker
05/07/10
Clarification: my trash to treasure comment--meant that I found it unexpected but loved how the story was pulled together, unique with some surprises.
Jan Ackerson
05/07/10
What an intriguing premise! I definitely wish I could have read more of this woman's tragic life.
Mildred Sheldon
05/08/10
I loved your story. Again, thank God for Kleenex. Oh, to be a humble servant of God. I enjoyed this from beginning to end. Keep writing and God bless.