Count the Stars (a short story)

As you might  have guessed from the title of this post, I'm sharing something with all you lovely readers today- a short story! It's one I wrote a few weeks ago, called Count the Stars. 

It really is a short story, only about 1800 words, and it literally came out of nowhere. I was just thinking over some titles/excerpts that I'd written down one night, and one title that I had jotted down somewhere was Count the Stars. I really wanted to use it for something, and somehow, this little story just came to me all at once (which never happens, believe me). Maybe it's not the best idea to start with a title for a story and work your way down, but it seemed to work pretty well this time :)

I wanted to have it in a nice PDF format so you could just click the cover and read the story, but I couldn't get that figured out in time, so you'll just have to read it in this post. You can also check out a little graphics collage I made for the story on my short stories page, along with the updated format and graphics for my other short story, Looking for the Light. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~

The back door closed with a soft thud as Amelia quietly slipped out into the darkness of the spring night. It was one of those nights where you can’t help but feel inspired somehow, out among the quiet stillness broken only by the faint hum of crickets and the soft rushing of the little creek just a few yards away.  However, for Amelia, the loveliness of the night was lost- buried by her own muddled thoughts rushing around in her mind.

She stepped off the back porch into the soft, cool grass. Her toes sank deep into it as she rounded the corner of the house.

She wasn’t even exactly sure where she was headed. She only knew that she could think better outdoors than anywhere else- and thinking was what she needed to do the most right now.

Amelia barely noticed as her feet followed the already-familiar path past the house and small outbuildings, down a gently sloping hill, and into a small, thick grove of pine trees.

She walked past the old tree house built high up among a certain sturdy pine, and over the log that spanned the small rushing creek as a bridge.

She finally stopped where she knew she would end up at. The cluster of huge, rounded pines just beyond the creek hid the entrance to one of her favorite places on earth.

Stooping, Amelia gently pulled back a few select pine boughs close to the ground to reveal a small natural opening in one of the pines close to the bottom, about four feet high. She carefully stepped in and let the branches close back behind her, concealing the opening.  

She was alone in her secret hideout, the one she had discovered nine years ago as an eager, happy seven-year-old playing hide-and-seek in the woods surrounding her new home.

The moment that Amelia had stepped through that opening for the first time, she knew that she had found her secret haven. The group of four large pines were clustered together in such a way that the trunks were quite close together. Due to some cause, the bottom four feet of the tree boughs had been clipped out, forming a nearly perfect round little cave under the cool dark pine boughs. However, that wasn’t even the best part.

Once, while coming to her hideout to think, she had laid back on the soft, cool grass to look up at the dark green limbs above her. To her surprise, pine boughs were not the only thing she could see.

Directly above her, the four trees’ tips came together to form a round hole at the center, about two feet across. Through that little hole, the sky was visible overhead, in all its cloudless blue.

Even as a seven-year-old, Amelia had had enough sense to know that such a place deserved to be kept a secret, and she had faithfully done so all these years.

She had visited her secret hideaway often at first, then, as other things began calling her attention, she had nearly forgotten about her secret hideout under the pines, with its breathtaking view of the sky overhead.

Now, as she once again stepped into her hideaway, it was as if time stood still. The little round room under the pines was unchanged, looking exactly as it had looked nearly two years ago- the last time Amelia could recall visiting it.

Everything was still there- the wooden box containing the treasures most sacred to her girlish heart, the blanket folded on top of the softest patch of grass, and the nail driven into the trunk of one of the pines, which held a small pair of binoculars. She had often used them to gaze up at the birds’ nests which were abundant in the uppermost branches in the springtime and late summer.

Amelia reached down and unfolded the blanket. She sat down, and reach over to pull the wooden box onto her lap.

Opening the lid brought forth a rush of memories.

There was that special necklace her best friend had given her the day that she and her family have moved to Mexico to become missionaries- five years ago. Amelia hadn’t seen Sarah since.

There was that little magnifying glass that she had often used to study ladybugs under, and  a folded handkerchief which contained her stash of sunflower seeds that she had meant to plant every summer for the past four years.

At the bottom of the box was something with a soft cover. Amelia reached in and drew  it out. It was her little pocket Bible- the one she had been given for her ninth birthday. She had been amazed that the whole Bible could be printed in a book so small.  

With her fingers still closed around the little Bible, Amelia let the rest of the contents of the box fall to the ground as she laid back on the blanket, her eyes blurred with tears.

All of these memories were almost too much for her to handle right now. Especially combined with all the thoughts already whirling around in her tired, confused mind.

There were just too many choices and decisions and changes coming at her at one time. It was too much. Why had God allowed all of this? Didn’t He even care about what was going on in her life right now?

God, this is too much! I can’t handle all of this right now, on my own. I’m not even sure if you still care. I don’t have the strength-. it’s just too much!

Amelia lay on her stomach with the soft, cool grass underneath her, sobbing quietly to herself for nearly ten minutes. Finally, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and rolled over on her back.

At that moment, her gaze was transfixed. That little round opening in the in the trees above her revealed a sight that she had never seen before- a little round patch of pure beauty. It was the dark night sky, studded with the most clear, brilliant stars that you could imagine.

They were so vivid that Amelia had seen photographs of stars that could not be compared to these. They were beyond anything any photo could ever depict. They were real.

Time stood still as Amelia lay on her back and stared up at that little piece of the night sky so vividly portrayed to her at that moment. She knew that God was trying to tell her something.

Dragging her gaze away from the spectacular view above her, she brought her pocket Bible onto her lap and began flipping through it slowly. She suddenly stopped as her eyes fell on a certain page from Isaiah.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:26-31

Amelia sat with her gaze fixed on the words on the page in front of her. She had heard of God speaking straight to people through the Bible, but up until now, she wasn’t sure if she really believed it or not. After all, the world was so big, and God had so much to do. Why would He bother to speak directly to someone like her?

There was no doubt in her mind now.

God- the same God who had spoken the stars into existence, who had named them all, who kept them all in place- cared for her, and what was happening in her life. The same God who had numbered the billions of stars above had numbered the days of her life, and had planned them out for His glory and her good.

Count the stars, Amelia could feel God whispering to her. Count the stars, if you can. As many stars as there are in the universe, My love for you is infinitely bigger. My plan for your life is ultimately better than anything you could imagine. I care for you more than for all the stars in the sky that I breathed into existence and named, one by one. Nothing is too hard for you- you will not be on your own. I will be with you. My love for you outnumbers the stars.

Amelia sat up slowly and wiped the tears from her eyes again. This time, they were tears of joy.

Carefully, she folded the blanket and tucked it into its spot again. Gathering up the little treasures that had spilled from the box, she scooped them back inside and closed the lid.

She set the box back in its little corner and looked around. Everything looked undisturbed and just as it had an hour before. Everything, that is, except for her heart. It had been touched with a tangible reminder of God’s love in a way that she would never forget.

Feeling for the branches that covered the secret opening, Amelia looked up for one more glimpse of the starry sky above through the round opening. Thank you, Lord, she whispered to herself.

With the little Bible clutched in her hand, Amelia gently pushed back through the secret opening. As the branches closed behind her, her heart felt lighter than it had for a long time.

As her feet traced the familiar path back to the house, she kept her gaze fixed on the night sky above her. Those special words were still echoing around in her head.

Count the stars. I will be with you. My love for you outnumbers the stars.

Girls Like You Around the World

Hello to all my wonderful readers!

Today, I have a couple of "samplings" to share with you. I was going to say "short stories", but these are so short that they really can't be called stories.....
Anyway, I have 3 little samples of what life might be like to a girl around your age living in a different country. I actually wrote these  because of an AHG badge that I am working on, and I thought that they might make for a fascinating blog post.
 Yes, it's not normally in the realm of what I post about, but for me, it was an eye-opening look into life in a different country. After all, it is only by God's grace that we are living where we are, instead of in a dirt hut in Africa!
Just to mention it, I know that not every detail in these paragraphs will be 100% accurate. I tried my best to research and give a thorough, accurate portrayal of a girl's life in these countries, but since I have not visited or lived in these countries, I'm sure that I probably missed something somewhere (something that the Internet didn't tell me. ;)


Just wanted to have that out there first. With that said, read on and enjoy! :D

A Story from Kenya-

Celia is a fifteen-year-old girl who lives in a rural village in east Kenya.
She lives in a small two-room house with her parents, grandmother, and six younger siblings Celia's parents grew up in the same village as children, and neither of them have been more than ten miles outside of the village!
 Four of Celia’s younger siblings attend the local village school, a mile away. The school however, only goes through basic elementary grades, and no one from her village can afford to attend a bigger school in the city. The school is very simple and has no fancy equipment or books. 
Celia stopped attending school last year, because she is expected to stay and help at home. Most girls in rural Kenya marry young, so Celia must think about learning to care for her family, instead of going to school. ( Her 17-year-old sister is already married).  Boys are considered lucky when they can obtain a higher education. 
.Some of Celia’s daily chores include getting water from the nearby stream with one or two of her younger siblings, gathering wood and kindling for the cooking fire, and helping her mother with the cooking. Baking days are always long and hot, because the outdoor brick oven is going all day. Celia’s family always cooks their meals outdoors over an open fire, and they often have rice every day.Her family also has a few animals, which are highly prized for food, transportation, and many other things. 
Her family owns two chickens and a goat.Most of the families in her small village live with some of their extended family, and everyone helps each other out. 
Sometimes Celia gets to see her friend Mali who also lives in her village, but not very often do they have much free time together.Celia’s life includes lots of hard work, but she hopes that maybe she will get to travel outside her village when she is older!

A Story From Thailand-

Lala is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives on the outskirts of Chang Mai, Thailand. Lala lives in an apartment with her father, mother, and two younger brothers.  Both her parents are from Chang Mai, and Lala has lived there all her life. Her father is employed by the Thai government, and her mother has a day job working at a local cloth factory.

Lala is in her first year of high school. In Thailand, the government provides free education through public schools in the cities. Children are expected to attend at least nine years of school. There are scholarships that are available to students to allow them to attend higher levels of education, including college and vocational schools. If Lala does well, she might receive one some time.

Lala and her younger brothers ride to school each weekday on a bus made out of a pickup truck, although motorbikes are preferred for transportation on Thailand. When they arrive at school, they remove their shoes before entering the building.

In school, Lala learns all the typical subjects along with the Thai language and English. Many people in Chang Mai speak English since many tourists pass through. Once a week, students are expected to participate in Scouts to learn how to be better citizens, so they wear their scouting uniforms to school once a week.

Chang Mai is the second-largest city in Thailand, so there is always plenty to do! On weekends, Lala enjoys going with her mother to the open-air markets, where everything from fruit to cloth to bowls are sold. Sometimes vendors even float out on the river in canoes to attract passing canoeists! Lala especially likes to look at the traditional Thai costumes in display. Most people in Chang Mai were mainly Western-style clothing except on special holidays.

Lala helps her family by doing the dishes, helping her brothers with homework, and helping her mother shop at the market. She is learning how to cook, and enjoys it.
Lala has heard her mother tell stories of her family, and what it’s like to live in a rural village with rice paddies, wild animals, and a school ten miles away. She sometimes wishes she could try that life, but for now she’s glad that she lives in the city. 

A Story from Australia—

Jenni is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives in a small suburban town in eastern Australia with her parents and younger brother and sister. Both of Jenni's parents grew up in Australia, but her father lived in American for a short time in college, then returned to Australia, where he met and later married Jenni's mother.

 Jenni is in the eighth grade, and attends a secondary school near her home. She studies the usual subjects in school- science, math, history, English, and such- but her favorite subject is Literature. She hopes to become a writer one day!

 In Australia, their are public schools in all of the larger cities and towns, and children are expected to attend at least 10 years of school, but most go on to college. Schools are divided into 3 groups—primary school, grades 1-6, high school, grades 7-12, and university.. Her two younger siblings attend the primary school next door. 

When Jenni comes home from school, she normally does some homework, then she and her sister play with their next-door neighbor for a while. This afternoon, Jenni’s mum has to run some errands, so Jenni also helps her brother with his homework. When her mum gets home, Jenni helps her with dinner. After dinner, she and her sister help clean up. 

On the weekends, Jenni likes to ride her bike with her neighborhood friends to a nearby park. She also sometimes goes shopping with her mum, or takes her sister along as she roller-skates to the library. She goes as often as she can!

One weekend, her family went to a local museum, where Jenni got to see all sorts of interesting things about Australia’s history, like 100-year-old boomerangs and stuffed displays of extinct native animals. Her favorite things were the old costumes that native Australian Aborigines used to wear years ago. They are so colorful, and Jenni can just image herself in them. 

Jenni is proud to live in Australia because of its interesting and unique heritage!

I hope you enjoyed these glances into the lives of girls like you around the world.
Have a great weekend!


//Emily

A Quick "Story-Behind-the-Story"

I thought I should explain a little bit more about my story, "Looking for the Light". It is a true story, but I still did write it! I'll try to explain a little better. =)

I first read the story of Arulai and Amy Carmichael about two years ago. I've always loved the example and story of Amy Carmichael, and when I read the short, brief section  in  a biography about the story of Arulai, I was amazed. The biography of  Amy Carmichael that I was reading was not too detailed or specific about Arulai's story.

 Now, I love reading (and writing!) stories that are full of things that make it sound exciting and real,not just fact-upon-facts. I immediately thought that Arulai's story would be perfect to re-tell, with some life injected into it! 

I got as many books about Amy Carmichael as I could, and even re-read a couple of ones I'd already read. Some told Arulai's story in a chapter, some mentioned her as Amy's helper later in life, and some never mentioned her at all! 

So I pieced together the facts from the different books. As you know, no two biographies are ever alike. One contains details the other doesn't and vice versa, which can be helpful, yet aggravating! 

So I basically made the story flow a little smoother, and added in a few minor details, but I didn't come up with the story on my own! It is a true, amazing story of God's power and love. 

(Example: For instance, the  toward the beginning says that Arulai and her friends were playing with a mud ball, and when it broke apart, Arulai flew into a rage. Nothing I read mentioned them playing with a mud ball, but it did say repeatedly that she had an awful temper, and was looking for a Hindu god to help her cure it. So I made up that little scene to make it seem more real. But other things are true details: her little brother dying, her mother not being angry, the pod falling from the tree, her father allowing her to stay with Amy, and other things.) 

One more thing to mention: I recently found out that Amy Carmichael herself wrote  a book about Arulai, called "Plowed Under: The Story of A Little Lover". I have not been able to get this book yet to read in Miss Carmichael's own words Arulai's story. So, having not read her book, I hope that I have not told this story in a misleading way. As soon as I am able to read the book, I will report back here with what I find!
I hope this made sense to you! If you have any questions about the story, please comment and let me know!

Looking for the Light, Part 3

Here is the final part of "Looking for the Light". I hope you have enjoyed this amazing true story! 

~~~~~~~ Part Three ~~~~~~~

After this amazing encounter with her father, Arulai's faith grew rapidly. She now lived with Amma, and was thankful everyday for her answer to prayer.

But she had but one more request. Ever since she had become a Christian the year before, she had wanted to be baptized. But she was underage, and she still belonged to her family's caste, even though they had abandoned her.

Arulai knew her father would never give his permission for her to be baptized.

She had not seen any of her family for nearly six months now. She often thought of her younger sister, Mimosa, and prayed that she too, could one day live with them. But every day, Arulai prayed that she could become baptized with her father's consent. Days, weeks, then months passed.

One day, Amma came to Arulai with a look of joyful surprise on her face. "Arulai!", she cried. "A message has just come from your father. He gives his permission for you to be baptized! And he gave no reason at all for doing it!"

Arulai, overcome with joy, knelt down to give thanks to the Lord with Amma. They knew it was a miracle straight from God.

Nearly three years had passed since Arulai had first seen the foreigners in her village and had set down her water jug to listen. She could still clearly recall those words she had heard; "I was a lion, and He turned me into a lamb!" Now she was about to be baptized.

Through her happiness, Arulai was barely aware of the fact that her father agreeing for her to be baptized was a point  from which she could never return.

To a Hindu, having someone in your family who read the Bible was a disgrace. And having someone in your family who prayed to the Christian's God was even worse. But baptism was the stopping point. A person from a Hindu family who was baptized into Christianity had broken caste forever. But Arulai was so happy that she did not realize all this.

After her baptism, Arulai heard nothing from her family for several months, except form her cousin.

Arul  Dasan, Arulai's cousin, had wanted to learn about God too. But when he tried to, his family reacted worse than Arulai's family had. They tortured him for many days to make him give up the idea. But by a miracle, he had found out about God anyway from the ammal and her helpers.

But Arul Dasan could not stay with them, for there was no place for boys, only for young girls.

Thirteen-year-old Arulai was content to stay with Amma and help her with her group of ever-growing young girls just like herself, that Amma had taken in.

But one day, one of Amma's friends decided that if it was at all possible, Arulai and Arul Dasan should see their family one more time.

Arrangements were made, and a week later, Arulai, Arul Dasan, and several of Amma's friends traveled back to Arulai's village.

But when they arrived, things were not good. The whole village had become very hostile to Christians and outsiders, and worse still, Arulai's father reused to see her. It would be breaking caste for him to acknowledge that he had a Christian daughter.

Despite this disappointment, Arulai wasn't swayed.

She had a home now, and a place where she could always live in the light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy Carmichael carefully ascended the rough stone steps and entered the newly-built nursery, carrying a basket of clean blankets in one hand and baby Amethyst in the other.

Her closest helper, Ponnammal, followed with more clean blankets and a pail of hot water for scrubbing the floor.

As Amy walked to Amethyst's crib, another lively toddler made her way quickly to the open door. Another one of Amy's special helpers, a young woman in her early twenties, saw the girl and headed over to her.

"Come here, Lulla", she said, picking the girl up and carrying her outside where most of the other toddlers were playing in the courtyard.

Ponnammal smiled as they left. "Arulai is certainly good with the babies, isn't she?", Ponnammal asked Amy.

"The Lord knew just what he was doing", Amy replied, as her mind drifted back to fourteen   years ago when the little Indian girl had first seen her, and learned of God's love.

From the moment Arulai had first learned there was a Living God, she had strived to "live in the light", rather than in the darkness of Hinduism. And that's what she had done for the eleven  years she had lived at Dohnavur Fellowship, the name of the Christian compound. Arulai was now one of Amy's most trusted helpers and friends.

Amy was pulled back into reality by baby Amethyst's wail. She gently laid the baby in the crib, and walked to the door.

Fifty toddler girls were grouped under the huge tamarind tree in the courtyard, listening to Ponnammal. She was sitting on a large boulder, narrating a Bible story to the girls.

Arulai and three other older girls were waiting behind the tree for their turn to act out the story while Ponnammal narrated.

Arulai was hidden from view from the toddlers behind tree trunk, but from the doorway, Amy could clearly see her.

As she stood next to the tree, sunlight filtered down through the thick leaves and fell on her and the ground around her in a soft gentle light.

Amy smiled. "Living in the Light", she said. "Living in the Light".

THE END

~~~~~~~ PROLOGUE ~~~~~~~

This is a true story from the life of Amy Carmichael, who was a missionary to India for over fifty years in the early 1900's. She rescued countless children from the evils of Hinduism and poverty in India. She was the "ammal" and "Amma" in the story to Arulai.

Arulai stayed at Dohnavur Fellowship for forty more years, serving the Living God who had rescued her from darkness.

She contracted a fatal sickness when she had been at Dohnavur for about twenty years. She was at death's door. Even as her coffin was being prepared, Amy prayed for Arulai. The Lord miraculously gave His child of Light back to them, and she served the Lord for over ten more years.

Arulai was surprised and shocked one day, when her sister Mimosa showed up at the gates of Dohnavur with her three youngest sons, aged seven, four, and one. She wanted to leave her two middle sons with Amy,because her husband was not a good man.

Mimsosa had had a hard life. Like Arulai, her family had shunned her when she continued to believe in God.

Arulai had not seen Mimosa for  thirty years, but every time she had seen her, Mimosa was encouraged.

She had been forced to marry a very lazy and useless man, and Mimosa desperately wanted her sons to have a better life. She wanted them to learn to read so they could read the Bible.

Amy and Arulai  gladly welcomed all of them, but Mimosa insisted on returning home to fetch her oldest son, Rajappan. So Amy took in two more children to care for. In this way, the Lord used Arulai to bring her sister to Him, as well as her cousin Arul Dasan, who was now the grown-up and much-needed boy's house leader at Dohnavur.

Sadly, Arulai died of smallpox when she was fifty-two, in May of 1939.She had been through typhoid and fevers many times, and her body was very weak. She was buried in "God's Garden", the name of the cemetery at Dohnavur.

Amy herself was too sick to attend her beloved Arulai's funereal, but Rajappan, Arulai's nephew, stayed with her to comfort her.

Ever since arriving at Amy's doorstep forty years ago at age twelve, Arulai had been committed to serving God in her homeland.

Looking For the Light, Part 2

Here is the second part of my 2-part story. I hope you're enjoying it! 

~~~~~~~ Part Two ~~~~~~~

But while Arulai was happy in her new found faith, her family was not.

Every day, Arulai prayed to her Living God. She never prayed to Siva again.

And every day, she prayed "Jesus Lord,please, bring the ammal in the white sari to me soon. I want to know more about You from her."

Arulai didn't have any idea where the ammal lived, or how far away, but it didn't bother her. She now knew nothing was too hard for her Living God. She didn't even worry that she had never been out of her tiny village in all her eleven years.

But her family was not pleased. "What shall we do with that child?", Arulai's father complained."She never worships Siva like she should, because she is bewitched by those foreigners and by that Jesus Lord she talks of! It must stop".

Arulai's mother looked thoughtful. "My brother, you know, is a Christian", she said. "And yet he does not let that get in the way of his way of life, and his worships and practices. Let us send Arulai to live with him for a while. He only lives a day's walk away. That should make her rethink all her Jesus Lord talk."

So Arulai was sent on the day's journey to her uncle's village.

Indeed, her uncle claimed to be a Christian, but Arulai was puzzled. Her uncle still fit in with the Hindu life, and she never saw him praying to the Living God.

She tried not to let his Hindu practices bother her, as she went along as best she

could.

She had been with her uncle for several months, when one day, he told her that her father was going to marry her off in a year, to be sure she gave up her new ways. Arulai was devastated.

"O God!", she cried that night, "Living God, I do not want to be a Hindu and I do not want to marry a Hindu! I want to go to the ammal in the sari. Please God, take me to her before my father comes for me! I do not want to live in the darkness anymore!"

A week passed, but nothing happened. Arulai began to think perhaps she had heard wrong about the Living God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One morning, Arulai was sitting outside her uncle's house when an older girl she didn't know came up to her.

"Do you want to know more about the true God?", she asked abruptly. "Yes", Arulai said. "Very much".

"Do you love Him?", the girl asked.

:Oh yes", Arulai said.

"Where did you first hear about Him?", the girl asked.

"In my village", Arulai replied. "Some Indian women and a man and some foreigners were telling about Him, and having meetings".

"One of those Indian women is my mother", the older girl replied. "And I know the others too. They have been gone, but they will come back in two days. They live in the next village, right next to the Christian temple."

Arulai was so excited she could hardly speak. In the next village! The living God had heard her, and the women would be back in two days! She could hardly wait.

Early on Sunday morning, Arulai set out for the next village, eager to meet the ammal in the white sari.

But as she walked along the dusty, sandy path, a thought came to her, and not a very happy one either. "Jesus Lord, I have no offering to give to You. I should never go into your temple without any offerings, but I have nothing to give. I gave offerings to Siva and those dead gods, so it must be more important to give one to You! But I have nothing."

As she prayed, she realized she had stepped on something round and hard. She bent down and picked it up. It was a copper coin!

Arulai wasn't surprised. She knew the living God could do anything."Thank You", she whispered. "Now I can enter Your temple".

When Arulai entered the church, she quietly sat down at the back where some children and some older people were.

She listened as a man preached about love and sin, about God and forgiveness, about salvation and hope.

The young Indian girl did not understand most of what was being said, but she listened to every word. When the offering plate was passed, she gratefully dropped in the copper coin.

After the sermon, she was delighted to find the ammal in the sari. She eagerly listened while the ammal explained the story of Jesus. Arulai listened for a long time. When she had heard the whole story of Jesus, she accepted Him as her Savior with great joy.

She thanked the ammal for telling her about Jesus, and hurried back to her uncle's village.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But now that she was a Christian, Arulai had more questions than ever, questions about being a Christian. At every chance she got, she journeyed to the next village to ask her questions or to hear more Bible stories.

But one day, she came to the ammal with news. "My father is coming to get me. My family wants me home for four days", Arulai told her."I will be back in four days. And I will tell my family all about Jesus! I want them to know they can live in the Light too.".

Arulai was eager to tell her family about her faith, but her family was far from interested, all except her younger sister, Mimosa.

Mimosa wanted to hear more about God, but their father refused to let Arulai talk to Mimosa at all!

When Arulai arrived back home to her village, her family did not let her go back to her uncle's village.They forced her to return to the Hindu practices she hated. And they planned for her to be married to a Hindu very soon!

Arulai was grieved. She prayed often, asking God to help her through this time. She knew He would.

One day, Arulai was pounding corn in front of her family's hut, when a breathless woman hurried up. Arulai dimly recognized her as one of the women who had been with the ammal.

"Why are you here?", she asked. the woman told Arulai that the ammal had a message for her father. "She wants Arulai to come back and see her", the woman said.

When Arulai's father heard the message, he angrily refused. But her mother had different ideas.

"That woman put a spell on Arulai", she said."Maybe if we let her go back, the ammal will take it off".

To Arulai's surprise, her father agreed that she could go see the ammal that day. But just for a day.

Mimosa pleaded to go too, but her father refused.

Arulai excitedly set off for the ammal's village. She reached the village the next morning.

As she approached the ammal's house, Arulai became aware that she had a terrible headache. By the time she reached the house, it was worse.

The ammal opened the door to find a dazed young girl standing there, sweating and moaning.

Arulai was very sick. She had a very high fever and could not stand up. She had become sick while being mistreated in her village.

For a week, Arulai hung between life and death. Her family allowed her to stay at the Christian's house while she was ill, only because she was too sick to come home.

For three weeks, the Christians nursed Arulai back to health.

When Arulali's parents found out, they allowed her to live in her uncle's village until she was completely well, so she could be close to help if she got sick again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+++~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, Amma!", Arulai cried. "I am so happy I can live nearby and come and talk to you every day!"

Arulai now called the ammal in the sari "Amma", which means mother in the Indian language Tamil.

And indeed, Arulai considered her Amma to be her mother in her new faith.

Arulai, now twelve, was excited to learn as much as she could from her Amma.

But one day, soon after her recovery, Arulai was inside her uncle's house, getting ready to go see the ammal again.

She suddenly heard voices outside. Voices of two men, arguing loudly. She peeked through the window and saw her father and her uncle outside!

Arulai ran to the back of the house and fell on her knees.

"Oh Lord", she prayed, "Please do not let him take me away! I am living in the light, and I do not want to go back to the darkness!"

Suddenly, Arulai seemed to hear a voice, saying "I will never leave you, nor forsake you".

"Thank You, God", she prayed.

A great peace settled over her as she calmly walked outside to greet her father.

She kissed her father, and greeted him kindly.

Her father was shocked. He was very angry, and tried to grab Arulai's arm. But his arm fell at his side! He turned to run, but it was as if he was forced to turn around and speak. "I cannot do anything against your powerful God. Read to me from your Book" he said stiffly, surprised at his own words.

Arulai joyfully read to her father from the Bible, and prayed for him.

Then her father said weakly, "I will never take you away again if you do not want to go. I fear your powerful God. You may stay with the ammal."

Then he walked away, leaving a stunned but joyful Arulai behind.