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- Story Listed as: True Life For Teens
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Community / Home
- Published: 05/20/2018
With the blink of an eye
Born 2004, F, from Indiana, United StatesWalking into the Church early in the morning, Hannah yawned. Her mother looked sideways to her and frowned.
“Hannah, don’t yawn during the meeting.” She scolds her. “It would be inappropriate, especially since it’s the last one.” Hannah looks to her mother.
“I know! I’m just not a fan of waking up early in the morning to go to a simple meeting. All of the other meetings were later.” Hannah says. She turns forward again as they enter the church.
The church is empty except for the worship team, who stands on the stage, setting up for an early morning practice before the real thing later that day. They wave at hannah and her mother as they walk in. Hannah waves back, but her mom is too concerned with the time to notice the exchange of friendliness.
“Hannah, come on! We’re already late!” She says and grabs Hannah's arm, pulling her down a hallway. She stops at the last door in the hallway and creaks the door open slowly. People talk in groups, standing around a circle made up of couches and chairs. Hannah’s mother gives a sigh.
“Okay, so we aren’t the last one here.” She says. Vanessa, the group leader who is also the youth leader, notices her and agrees.
“Yeah. I think Remy and her mom are coming soon.” And soon, after grabbing a chocolate muffin from the counter, hannah is seated on a couch next to her mother and one of her youth group friends, Laura. Laura looks to hannah and smiles. Hannah smiles back before Vanesa starts the meeting.
“Well, hi everyone.” She starts. Hannah eyes Cole, another youth kid, and notices that he has bags under his eyes and they droop. He yawns, and Hannah looks away, but it’s too late. She yawns as well, and her mother nudges her, giving her a look. Hannah shrugs and listens back in to what Vanessa is saying.
“So, as you all know, we will be heading to Nicaragua in two weeks.” She says. Hannah is taken aback. Two weeks? She thinks. She hadn’t been keeping track or paying attention, and this missions trip snuck up on her. She looks to the partners of the trip, sitting on a couch across from her. She expects them to nod, but what she sees surprises her. They look oddly grim, while one looks from his shoes back to Vanessa and the other looks at her husband. They make eye contact before looking in separate directions, this time the wife to Vanessa and the other to his shoes.
“So, I’m going to hand it off to Linda and Mark.” She says and points to them. They snap to Vanessa’s attention. Then they nod grimly.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about the civil unrest in Nicaragua at this time,” Mark says. He looks to his wife sadly and looks back to the group, making eye contact with them. “I recently got an email from a staff member whom I fully trust.” He continues. “They...” his voice cracks and his eyes wet, “they quoted that there wasn’t a simple egg or piece of cheese down there.” He looks away, gathers himself, and continues. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to cancel the trip.” He says. The group looks at each other, eyes wide with sadness and fear. Hannah looks to her mother, who’s attention stays forward, then to Laura, who looks back at her. They share a sad moment through their eye contact before looking back to Mark.
“I know. It was looking back a few weeks ago, and then it cleared up for another few weeks. But it keeps fluctuating like this, and unfortunately...” a single tear falls down his cheek and he sniffs. “We’ll have to cancel. There are blockades everywhere, on roads, on driveways, through markets... we can’t go down there. This is the first trip we’ve had to cancel in 9 years, I know. But especially with the kids...” he looks to Hannah, Laura, and Cole, “we can’t risk it.”
Hannah feels tears sting the back of her eyes, but refuses to let them fall. She doesn’t want this to be because of her and her friends. “And, even if it were all adults going down there, I would still cancel the trip.” He says, almost as if reading Hannah’s mind. “Not an egg or a piece of cheese to be found, he said. If those very simple things can’t be found, then we shouldn’t go.” Hannah notes that Mark looks like he’s trying to convince himself that it’s for the better. Mark pauses to let the message sink in. Hannah feels tears, this time closer to the front of her eyes than before. She blinks, sending them back.
The first feeling she feels is anger. Anger at why they had to cancel the trip SHE was on. Anger at the leaders for waking her up earlier just to hear this bad news. Angry that she did the preparation devotional with her mom for nothing. Angry at them for not letting the group HELP people, of all things. Then she feels sadness and disappointment. She was really looking forward to this trip. It was her first missions trip, her first trip out of country, and her first trip playing soccer with kids who spoke only Spanish. She was looking forward to being a part of those kid’s lives. And now, she wasn’t going.
The group held hands and prayed, Vanessa leading.
“Dear lord,” She says, “I pray that you give those people in Nicaragua someone to love them and help them. I pray that you’ll help us realize that we don’t have to be with the people to help them. I also pray, Lord, that you will show us how this was all part of your masterful plan, that this means that you still have something big for us in the future. Amen.” The group sits with their heads down for a while, thinking about everything they could still do in America. Then they all filter out, talking quietly to each other.
Hannah and her mother leave the building and get in the car.
“So, how are you taking all this?” Her mother asks her. Hannah tilts her head to the side and thinks of something to say, some way to appropriately convey her feelings to her mother.
“I...” She says, but then stops and changes her thought. “I think that it’s a shame we can’t go,” She says, “but we should all know that we could do just as much for the people in Nicaragua here, in America, than we could there.” She concludes. Her mother didn’t respond and gets lost in thought during the drive home. Hannah looks out the window. Instead of seeing her reflection or the regular world outside, she sees dirt roads and cracked paved roads. She sees people, mostly all with dark hair, sitting at booths selling goods, and people with baskets buying from them. She watches as they drive past a field of dirt, and kids play soccer with a half deflated ball. She sees herself, playing with those kids. She sees herself being admired by them, as they stroke the blond, unfamiliar color hair that she has. She sees herself smiling at them. Then, with the blink of an eye, they are gone.
With the blink of an eye(Hannah)
Walking into the Church early in the morning, Hannah yawned. Her mother looked sideways to her and frowned.
“Hannah, don’t yawn during the meeting.” She scolds her. “It would be inappropriate, especially since it’s the last one.” Hannah looks to her mother.
“I know! I’m just not a fan of waking up early in the morning to go to a simple meeting. All of the other meetings were later.” Hannah says. She turns forward again as they enter the church.
The church is empty except for the worship team, who stands on the stage, setting up for an early morning practice before the real thing later that day. They wave at hannah and her mother as they walk in. Hannah waves back, but her mom is too concerned with the time to notice the exchange of friendliness.
“Hannah, come on! We’re already late!” She says and grabs Hannah's arm, pulling her down a hallway. She stops at the last door in the hallway and creaks the door open slowly. People talk in groups, standing around a circle made up of couches and chairs. Hannah’s mother gives a sigh.
“Okay, so we aren’t the last one here.” She says. Vanessa, the group leader who is also the youth leader, notices her and agrees.
“Yeah. I think Remy and her mom are coming soon.” And soon, after grabbing a chocolate muffin from the counter, hannah is seated on a couch next to her mother and one of her youth group friends, Laura. Laura looks to hannah and smiles. Hannah smiles back before Vanesa starts the meeting.
“Well, hi everyone.” She starts. Hannah eyes Cole, another youth kid, and notices that he has bags under his eyes and they droop. He yawns, and Hannah looks away, but it’s too late. She yawns as well, and her mother nudges her, giving her a look. Hannah shrugs and listens back in to what Vanessa is saying.
“So, as you all know, we will be heading to Nicaragua in two weeks.” She says. Hannah is taken aback. Two weeks? She thinks. She hadn’t been keeping track or paying attention, and this missions trip snuck up on her. She looks to the partners of the trip, sitting on a couch across from her. She expects them to nod, but what she sees surprises her. They look oddly grim, while one looks from his shoes back to Vanessa and the other looks at her husband. They make eye contact before looking in separate directions, this time the wife to Vanessa and the other to his shoes.
“So, I’m going to hand it off to Linda and Mark.” She says and points to them. They snap to Vanessa’s attention. Then they nod grimly.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about the civil unrest in Nicaragua at this time,” Mark says. He looks to his wife sadly and looks back to the group, making eye contact with them. “I recently got an email from a staff member whom I fully trust.” He continues. “They...” his voice cracks and his eyes wet, “they quoted that there wasn’t a simple egg or piece of cheese down there.” He looks away, gathers himself, and continues. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to cancel the trip.” He says. The group looks at each other, eyes wide with sadness and fear. Hannah looks to her mother, who’s attention stays forward, then to Laura, who looks back at her. They share a sad moment through their eye contact before looking back to Mark.
“I know. It was looking back a few weeks ago, and then it cleared up for another few weeks. But it keeps fluctuating like this, and unfortunately...” a single tear falls down his cheek and he sniffs. “We’ll have to cancel. There are blockades everywhere, on roads, on driveways, through markets... we can’t go down there. This is the first trip we’ve had to cancel in 9 years, I know. But especially with the kids...” he looks to Hannah, Laura, and Cole, “we can’t risk it.”
Hannah feels tears sting the back of her eyes, but refuses to let them fall. She doesn’t want this to be because of her and her friends. “And, even if it were all adults going down there, I would still cancel the trip.” He says, almost as if reading Hannah’s mind. “Not an egg or a piece of cheese to be found, he said. If those very simple things can’t be found, then we shouldn’t go.” Hannah notes that Mark looks like he’s trying to convince himself that it’s for the better. Mark pauses to let the message sink in. Hannah feels tears, this time closer to the front of her eyes than before. She blinks, sending them back.
The first feeling she feels is anger. Anger at why they had to cancel the trip SHE was on. Anger at the leaders for waking her up earlier just to hear this bad news. Angry that she did the preparation devotional with her mom for nothing. Angry at them for not letting the group HELP people, of all things. Then she feels sadness and disappointment. She was really looking forward to this trip. It was her first missions trip, her first trip out of country, and her first trip playing soccer with kids who spoke only Spanish. She was looking forward to being a part of those kid’s lives. And now, she wasn’t going.
The group held hands and prayed, Vanessa leading.
“Dear lord,” She says, “I pray that you give those people in Nicaragua someone to love them and help them. I pray that you’ll help us realize that we don’t have to be with the people to help them. I also pray, Lord, that you will show us how this was all part of your masterful plan, that this means that you still have something big for us in the future. Amen.” The group sits with their heads down for a while, thinking about everything they could still do in America. Then they all filter out, talking quietly to each other.
Hannah and her mother leave the building and get in the car.
“So, how are you taking all this?” Her mother asks her. Hannah tilts her head to the side and thinks of something to say, some way to appropriately convey her feelings to her mother.
“I...” She says, but then stops and changes her thought. “I think that it’s a shame we can’t go,” She says, “but we should all know that we could do just as much for the people in Nicaragua here, in America, than we could there.” She concludes. Her mother didn’t respond and gets lost in thought during the drive home. Hannah looks out the window. Instead of seeing her reflection or the regular world outside, she sees dirt roads and cracked paved roads. She sees people, mostly all with dark hair, sitting at booths selling goods, and people with baskets buying from them. She watches as they drive past a field of dirt, and kids play soccer with a half deflated ball. She sees herself, playing with those kids. She sees herself being admired by them, as they stroke the blond, unfamiliar color hair that she has. She sees herself smiling at them. Then, with the blink of an eye, they are gone.
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Hannah
08/13/2022As of today I have not been to Nicaragua, but I have been to Guatemala on a similar missions trip where we built stoves for the women of a village! It was an amazing experience. I did get to play soccer with kids who only spoke Spanish. A little girl got hit in the face with a soccer ball from one of my friends and I invited her to goal with me despite knowing very little Spanish. Overall one of the most fun, rewarding, and eye opening experiences of my life.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
JD
05/20/2018I'm sorry you didn't get to go to Nicaragua this year, Hannah. The situation there sounds dreadful. I hope that it improves a lot SOON. And I hope that you and your friends, and your church, will find a way to help make a difference now without physically travelling there. The more help they can get now, the sooner more people, like you, will be able to travel there again to offer help in person. Thanks for sharing your story. : )
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
05/20/2018Hannah,
You did very well. And there is nothing wrong about feeling sad that you couldn't help folks. Nor is there anything wrong with being mad that you can't help folks who need help. What shows in your story, is that a lot of kind, caring, and loving people are out there trying to make the world a little bit better place. And with folks like you in it, it will be. Keep writing. Keep growing. Keep stretching those writing and thinking wings- they will reach Nicaragua someday. Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Hannah
05/20/2018This is all a true story, all of those people are real people, and this happened this Sunday. This was a missions trip to Nicaragua, and we were going to help the people there. We would have gone to several different villages. But, the trip was cancelled because of the Civil unrest there right now. We are finding ways to help right here in America, though. I hope you enjoy the story.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Hannah
05/20/2018And, I just took at shot at third person. Or second person. Just something other than first person. And I think I did decent!
COMMENTS (5)