Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Persecuted (08/22/24)
-
TITLE: Amazing Grace | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ellen Janson
08/29/24 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Kinta had been abducted from her small town in West Africa while out collecting water for her family. She had heard of men who snatched up women and children, and even other men, but she thought her village was safe. Besides, her family needed water. Her children’s little legs were far too small to make the arduous journey, so she left them home with their elderly grandma. Promising to return soon.
Despite his bulk, Kinta didn’t see the large man behind the bushes. Her mouth was covered by his massive hand and she was whisked away in a matter of seconds. She was carried onto a ship, thrown into its hull, stripped of her clothes and harshly chained to a filthy plank of wood. Her screams were silenced by whippings and a gun to her mouth.
There were so many people in the hull that it was difficult to move or even sit. The sweat dripping down their dark naked bodies was almost constant in the humidity. Its odor, combined with that of human waste, made many people physically ill. Kinta struggled to prevent her body from purging the small amount of nourishment she had been given.
The rats terrified Kinta, but nothing scared her as much as a drunken sailor descending into the pit lusting for a woman. She would try to make herself as small as possible, pressing elbows and knees into her plank, and avoiding eye contact at all costs. More often than not this worked, but the guilt she felt over another innocent victim being abused in her place was almost as intense as the relief she felt for not having been “chosen”.
Death was all around her. There were so many illnesses spreading around the crowded space, that if a new friend didn’t die of starvation or diarrhea, they often succumbed to a disease. Kinta ached for her own children with a physical hurt, and often tried to give the slave children a morsel of her food or a drink of her water. Sometimes all she had to give them was a hug or a smile.
Even in death the slaves were persecuted. When someone died, they were just hauled away and thrown overboard as a piece of cargo. There was no mourning for a life lost; only regret that “profits” were shrinking.
John Newton owned this wretched slave ship. On the day his eyes were opened and he saw Kinta as a child of God, I’m sure he fell to his knees in desperate sorrow and repentance. How wonderful for me to know that even he was not beyond the reach of God’s amazing grace!
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Thank you
Blessings
Well crafted! The mention of John Newton at the end was unexpected.