"What right do we have to capture you, eat you, and sacrifice you?" Nannoc looked at Lily. She seemed dumbstruck by his question and she didn't answer him. He didn't think his question was hard to understand. Maybe Elliott was right. Maybe Outsiders were stupid, mindless creatures who deserved to be put out of their misery by the People.
"What do you mean 'what right do we have?' You don't have a right to do anything to us! We're just the same as you; we're equals! 'Outsiders,' as you call us, should be treated with respect. Instead of taking us captive and slaughtering us like cattle, you should, I don't know, trade with us or something! Something less violent and not involving one party being superior to the other." She looked really worked up about something. He couldn't fathom what.
"What if some of us truly are superior to you Outsiders? Do we have a right to continue as we are then?" She looked at him as if were an imbecile.
"No! You wouldn't because you aren't. None of you. You're all the same as we are. There's no difference. We talk, we think, we feel emotions. None of you are superior to us; neither are we superior to you."
"But some of us are. Several of us can see in very dim light. Others are incredibly strong. A few of us are completely silent when we move. Even fewer can detect even the faintest scent or trail when hunting. And fewer yet have all of those abilities. Like me." Nannoc couldn't help but grin. He was very proud of all his accomplishments. He had taken great care to be able to become an indispensible hunter. Lily didn't seem quite as impressed at his skills as the People were.
"That still doesn't give you the right to treat us any different than you treat your friends and family down here."
"Um..."
"'Um' what?" She seemed irked with him, as though he were going to bring up another "stupid" (valid) point.
"We don't exactly have friends...or family." All her anger dissapated.
"What do you mean by that? Obviously you all have mothers and fathers. You can't be born without them."
"That doesn't mean we know them. We never know who are parents are. We never ask. We're born, then we're raised in nurseries with others who were born near the same time we were. When we're old enough, we're moved into rooms of four with those who are the closest to our age. Adulthood is competitive, though most often the oldest Child is chosen. We are discouraged from making friends because it detracts from our individual performance." Nannoc shifted slightly. As much as he needed to talk to Lily, and as much as he didn't mind so much now, he still didn't feel comfortable disclosing so much information about the People and how they worked. What if someone actually came down here, other than him? Usually no one did, since no one wanted the job of taking care of all the dumb millah, but what if someone did? What if she told them he had been talking to her? He just didn't like it.
"You mean, you've never had a friend?" She sounded like she pitied him. He didn't want her pity; pity never helped anyone accomplish anything.
"I have to had a friend! Elliott is...was my friend." Damn. He sounded like an indignant little kid.
"What happened between you two? Why isn't he your friend anymore?" She reached out and took hold of his hand. He jerked away.
"What are you doing?" Nannoc didn't trust this.
"Oh, sorry. It's just a way of expressing sympathy between friends for the Outsiders." He looked at her questioningly.
"Are we friends?" Lily smiled.
"Of course. Now we are." She was actually kind of pretty, when she smiled.
"Okay." He smiled back. Then his smile faded and he said, "With Elliott, as soon as he was initiated into the Adult Society, he became a pompous ass. He now thinks that he's so much more important than me and he can't be bothered to deal with a mere Child. Though, I'm only his younger by about a month. I want to be the one chosen as Cutter because it would put me at the same level with him again and I would have my friend back. I think." He looked down at his hands. He hoped.
"Nannoc...I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think he'd be your friend again, even when you do become an Adult. Not to mention that the Initiation Ceremony would involve," she involuntarily shuddered, "killing me."
"I know. I don't want to do that, not any more." He fell onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "I just don't know what to do, Lily." He covered his face with his hands. "Especially if I'm chosen as the Cutter." What was he going to do?
Lily crawled over next to him and placed her hand on the top of his head. This time Nannoc didn't pull away, he merely sighed. "You could always help me escape. We could run away together since you don't want to kill anyone. You wouldn't have to be the Cutter and I wouldn't have to be the sacrifice. It works out for both of us."
He pulled his hands off his face, looking directly into her eyes. "Do you think we could pull it off? I'm not sure we could get past everyone."
"Sure we can." She smiled. "I have faith in you."
"Thanks." He reached out a squeezed her hand. It's always interesting, he thought, what emotions can do to change a person. Two days ago, Lily was merely a sacrifice. Today, right now, she was his only friend.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Questions: 5 Installment
All "night" long Nannoc tossed and turned, debating every option he had. Nights and Days were exactly twelve hours long for the People. Night began when the torches that lit the tunnels were extinguished, Days began when they were relit, and neither was necessarily correlated to how time ran Outside. Twelve hours is a long time to toss and turn. By the time the first torches were being lit and everyone was getting up, he had made up his mind. There was no other way he could get the answers he needed; he had to go talk to Lily. He definitely wasn't looking forward to this.
"Hey, Nannoc, you're being really slow today." Aaron was one of Nannoc's roommates, as well as the second oldest Child.
"Is that a problem?"
Aaron grinned, "Not to me. The more you mess up, the more likely I'll be named the next Cutter. So go ahead, screw up all you want." Nannoc closed his eyes. Just the thought of the Initiation Ceremony was making him sick. All this new information and these damned questions!
Nannoc opened his eyes again and watched his other roommates, the three next oldest Children, getting ready with a fervor, excitedly jabbering about the Cutting, laughing at Aaron's comments to Nannoc. Three days ago, he would have been doing the same. There would have been no hesitation in what he was doing. There would not have even been the slightest doubt in his mind. There would have been no way he would do what he was going to. It's interesting, he thought, how much someone can be changed in so little time.
He was the last one to leave the shared room and the last to finish his morning chores. Aaron was right. The more Nannoc messed up, the more likely Aaron would be chosen. He almost wished he could just leave the whole thing to Aaron, but then he knew that Elliott would never so much as look at him again. In a place that discouraged companionship in all forms, Nannoc wanted as many friends, or at least allies, as he could get.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily woke up to someone shaking her back and forth. "Wake up! I need to talk to you." It sounded like her boy-captor. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw that it was indeed her captor. "Good, you're awake now."
"What do you want now? And what happened to not being allowed to talk to me?"
"No one comes down here. They'll never know. And I have some questions for you." This was suspicious. After all that fuss of not being allowed, he suddenly decided to have a chat? What was he up to now?
"What makes you think I'm just going to answer your questions when you haven't answered any of mine?"
"Actually, I did answer several of your questions. You just want to obligate me in to something." Damn. He figured that out quickly.
"Well, fine. I'll answer your questions on one condition."
"What's your condition?" He squirmed impatiently. Whatever he wanted to ask her was certainly bothering him quite a bit.
"That you tell me your name and let me see your face." Ha. She grinned triumphantly. This would prove how much he really wanted to talk. Lily watched as he reached his hands up to his hood, probably to pull it farther over his face.
To her complete and utter surprise, he pulled his hood down. She felt her jaw drop. He showed his face?! Was he serious? Did her really just want to ask her questions? If so, what in the world did he need to ask her?
"It's not polite to stare." She shook her head.
"Yeah, sorry. You just surprised me." His deep blue eyes watched her intensely, studying her? His face was oval shaped and his dark hair was cut extremely short. Actually, he was kind of cute. "That's one part. Your name?"
"Nannoc." His voice had lost all the authority it had had the previous times he had spoken to her. He seemed much more a teenage boy than her mysterious captor. By her eyes, he was probably 17, maybe 16.
"I like that name." His eyes shifted back and forth, as if he still wasn't quite comfortable with doing what he was doing.
"I fulfilled your condition. Now it's your turn to answer my questions."
"Of course. What do you want to know?"
"Hey, Nannoc, you're being really slow today." Aaron was one of Nannoc's roommates, as well as the second oldest Child.
"Is that a problem?"
Aaron grinned, "Not to me. The more you mess up, the more likely I'll be named the next Cutter. So go ahead, screw up all you want." Nannoc closed his eyes. Just the thought of the Initiation Ceremony was making him sick. All this new information and these damned questions!
Nannoc opened his eyes again and watched his other roommates, the three next oldest Children, getting ready with a fervor, excitedly jabbering about the Cutting, laughing at Aaron's comments to Nannoc. Three days ago, he would have been doing the same. There would have been no hesitation in what he was doing. There would not have even been the slightest doubt in his mind. There would have been no way he would do what he was going to. It's interesting, he thought, how much someone can be changed in so little time.
He was the last one to leave the shared room and the last to finish his morning chores. Aaron was right. The more Nannoc messed up, the more likely Aaron would be chosen. He almost wished he could just leave the whole thing to Aaron, but then he knew that Elliott would never so much as look at him again. In a place that discouraged companionship in all forms, Nannoc wanted as many friends, or at least allies, as he could get.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily woke up to someone shaking her back and forth. "Wake up! I need to talk to you." It sounded like her boy-captor. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw that it was indeed her captor. "Good, you're awake now."
"What do you want now? And what happened to not being allowed to talk to me?"
"No one comes down here. They'll never know. And I have some questions for you." This was suspicious. After all that fuss of not being allowed, he suddenly decided to have a chat? What was he up to now?
"What makes you think I'm just going to answer your questions when you haven't answered any of mine?"
"Actually, I did answer several of your questions. You just want to obligate me in to something." Damn. He figured that out quickly.
"Well, fine. I'll answer your questions on one condition."
"What's your condition?" He squirmed impatiently. Whatever he wanted to ask her was certainly bothering him quite a bit.
"That you tell me your name and let me see your face." Ha. She grinned triumphantly. This would prove how much he really wanted to talk. Lily watched as he reached his hands up to his hood, probably to pull it farther over his face.
To her complete and utter surprise, he pulled his hood down. She felt her jaw drop. He showed his face?! Was he serious? Did her really just want to ask her questions? If so, what in the world did he need to ask her?
"It's not polite to stare." She shook her head.
"Yeah, sorry. You just surprised me." His deep blue eyes watched her intensely, studying her? His face was oval shaped and his dark hair was cut extremely short. Actually, he was kind of cute. "That's one part. Your name?"
"Nannoc." His voice had lost all the authority it had had the previous times he had spoken to her. He seemed much more a teenage boy than her mysterious captor. By her eyes, he was probably 17, maybe 16.
"I like that name." His eyes shifted back and forth, as if he still wasn't quite comfortable with doing what he was doing.
"I fulfilled your condition. Now it's your turn to answer my questions."
"Of course. What do you want to know?"
Bad Translator
Original text:
"Seas snakes are the most poisonous snakes in the world."
...30 translations later we get:
"Another snake, snake in the world."
Original text:
"Harry Potter is awesome."...56 translations later we get:
"Milk is not enough."Original text:
"There's a bomb on the plane."
"There's a bomb on the plane."
...56 translations later we get:
"Explosyon"Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
College
Dude, I only have three more weeks until I move in to the dorms at UNI for marching band camp! How in the world did this sneak up like this?? I have one more week of freedom (ish- Mother keeps taking me shopping for things I might need for my dorm room) then a two-week family vacation. That's going to be fun. We get to visit OS1 and her daughters. (1 and 3-years-old) They're so cute! It's hard to visit them often when they live in Tennessee where my Army Man brother-in-law is stationed currently. After that, we're going to Washington D.C. to expand on the trip our school gives us when we're in 7th grade. We're going to be staying with an old family friend who will also act as our tour guide. It sounds like great fun. We get home on the 13. The 15th is my day to move in to UNI and it's the first day of band camp. That's ridiculously close!!!
Sure, UNI should be fun. I'll make new friends, learn new things, prepare for a career, do social things, but it'll be extremely different from my life here. First of all, no in-home day care in college. I really don't think I'll miss that part. Secondly, no siblings at UNI. Not sure if I'll miss them or not. Chances are it'll be a mix of both. Thirdly, I'll have quite a bit of unstructured free time in between and after classes. I'll probably get a job, but I'll also have a ton of homework. I really hope I don't end up with too much homework....That would kinda suck. No, that would really suck.
My roommate seems pretty cool, so there shouldn't be any problems there. She apparently went on a road trip for most of June. She and her sister traveled through thirteen states before ending up back here in Iowa. She sounds pretty nice. I hope we get along well when we live together.
Living in Campbell Hall is going to be interesting. Our room is apparently right down the hall from the laundry rooms. I don't know if this is going to be a good thing or a bad thing. It's on the first floor, so it's not like I have to run up and down stairs all day or anything. Our room does have a sink in it, though the showers and bathrooms are somewhere down the hall. Our dorm is not the special one with air conditioning, so all we have to cool ourselves during the end of August is a giant window and any fans we bring. At least the school year is mostly cold.
When I leave, I don't know if I'll end up with a car with me. I don't know if I'll need it, and it's not actually mine to have. I have it in exchange for running errands for my parents. Not having a car would limit how often I came home, but there are always going to be people heading home on the weekends. Chances are I wouldn't have to look to hard to find someone going near my home to ask them if they can give me a ride. With or without a car, I would definitely have to come home for Christmas Break (not that I don't want to). Campbell Hall is not one of the few that are open in between the fall and spring semesters, so I wouldn't be able to stay in my room for that period of time. Good thing I was planning on going home anyway. That's somewhere around the 16th of December....
Sure, UNI should be fun. I'll make new friends, learn new things, prepare for a career, do social things, but it'll be extremely different from my life here. First of all, no in-home day care in college. I really don't think I'll miss that part. Secondly, no siblings at UNI. Not sure if I'll miss them or not. Chances are it'll be a mix of both. Thirdly, I'll have quite a bit of unstructured free time in between and after classes. I'll probably get a job, but I'll also have a ton of homework. I really hope I don't end up with too much homework....That would kinda suck. No, that would really suck.
My roommate seems pretty cool, so there shouldn't be any problems there. She apparently went on a road trip for most of June. She and her sister traveled through thirteen states before ending up back here in Iowa. She sounds pretty nice. I hope we get along well when we live together.
Living in Campbell Hall is going to be interesting. Our room is apparently right down the hall from the laundry rooms. I don't know if this is going to be a good thing or a bad thing. It's on the first floor, so it's not like I have to run up and down stairs all day or anything. Our room does have a sink in it, though the showers and bathrooms are somewhere down the hall. Our dorm is not the special one with air conditioning, so all we have to cool ourselves during the end of August is a giant window and any fans we bring. At least the school year is mostly cold.
When I leave, I don't know if I'll end up with a car with me. I don't know if I'll need it, and it's not actually mine to have. I have it in exchange for running errands for my parents. Not having a car would limit how often I came home, but there are always going to be people heading home on the weekends. Chances are I wouldn't have to look to hard to find someone going near my home to ask them if they can give me a ride. With or without a car, I would definitely have to come home for Christmas Break (not that I don't want to). Campbell Hall is not one of the few that are open in between the fall and spring semesters, so I wouldn't be able to stay in my room for that period of time. Good thing I was planning on going home anyway. That's somewhere around the 16th of December....
Friday, July 22, 2011
Whoot!
I think it's hilarious that I keep up on my nerd-need for video game information on Dorkly.com. Dorkly is an awesome site with postings on nerdy things people have done, nerdy things that have scared them, or other plain video game stuff. It's good for me cuz it keeps me up on things that otherwise I would not know. Because I don't have any game system between the N64 and the Wii, I've lost out on several games. My boyfriend knows so much more, being an actual serious gamer, and, not wanting to be left out, I decided I should learn some stuff. Dorkly helps me learn about games on the PS3 and Xbox. Oh, and it lets me know more than Younger Brother 1 (YB1) about video games, including the ones he's playing. ;)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Hand Drawing
So, I have a bad habit of drawing on whatever surface is in front of me, including my hand. Here's the latest hand drawing:
This was the very beginning. I did this in the car while waiting for one of my siblings to come out to me.
These were the next photos I took. As you can see, the design expanded just a little bit...
At this point it covered both my thumb, my pinkie, and just a tiny bit of my ring finger. Oh, and the inside of my palm.
So, this is what I managed to do before bed: everything but my ring finger and the bottom of my palm.
This is what I did this morning. As you can see, all my fingers are covered and so is most of my palm.
And this is what it looks like completely finished. Most people were commenting that it looked like I was wearing a black glove.
Unfortunately, right after this point, I was required to take a shower. I hadn't showered in probably two days, so I felt pretty gross. I still have some remnants on my hand, like a ghost of awesomeness. Or it just looks like my hand is diseased until you look closely enough...
Monday, July 18, 2011
Belize (cont.)
Day 6 of Belize: It was our last day doing VBS in Belize. I spent all day playing with Serena. In the morning, we played Captain, Captain (kinda like sharks and minnows) and Toilet Tag. It was sunny the whole day, and it was ridiculously hot. We were sweating like pigs, and this was the day that we happened to run out of water really early in the morning. So all of the tired kids who needed water had none. -____-
Half of our team, by the way, was at the field/park instead to play more serious organized sports with the older kids. They were gone for the whole time we were doing VBS. So, very few of the Johnston team was at the church that day. We were stuck with the Oregon team for our last VBS.
At 11, we started our goodbye service thing. Basically, Pastor Ashley and other members of the church came up and talked to say thank you. Then Erica and Josephine came up and gave their own little scripted talk. It was really lame. At the end we all said our goodbyes to the kids and collected their addresses or gave them our own. I gave Serena my address. She said she'd go home and paint me something to send me that night. I can't wait to get it. =) I wish that I can go back at some point to see Serena. If she sends me something, I'm going to send her some pictures of my college.
After that, we went back to the Compound to eat lunch. Then we went on an hour-long drive to the Mayan ruins at Altun Ha. They really weren't as cool as I thought they were going to be, but that's not saying they weren't awesome. I took some pictures, especially of the Sun Temple. We got to climb a couple of the temples, but the steps were ridiculously steep. You didn't even realize how much work it would be to get to the top until you tried to climb all the way up. Your thighs were burning by the time you got up. But it was cool at the top of the Sun Temple cuz you could see the platform where they sacrificed people. And apparently the movie Apocalypto was filmed there. At the souvenir shops I bought a wallet for me and two coin purses for gifts. I ended with $17.77 of Belizean money.
The meeting took FOREVER. Erica was so dumb. She kept us there for about 45 minutes, part of which she spent giving a rehash of the entire week. Then we had to have a miniature LoveFest. We didn't get to shower until 11, and then we still have to pack. We were so tired. Instead of packing a few things, I donated some. Like my toothpaste and a shirt and my Bible. I think we finally went to bed sometime after midnight.
Day 7 of Belize: (Saturday, travelling home) Katy and I stayed up for way too long on Friday night. We talked for forever. Then we got up at 6:20 because breakfast had been moved up to 7, for some random reason. It was kind of annoying. After breakfast we had spend forever waiting around until we finally left for the airport.
Two hours of flight, and then we were in Houston. It took TWO HOURS to get us all through customs. Took so long. At first YS1 and I were almost sure we were going to get our bags checked cuz we took home some food as a gift for YB and the rest of the family. Luckily, since all we bought were packaged snacks, there was no problem and we got through without a search of our stuff. That would have merely added more time to our length in customs.
First thing we did in the Houston airport was go to the bathroom and flush the toilet paper down the toilet and then dry our hands before we came out. Then we all went to Chile's and ordered fried American food and Mountain Dews (and vegetables for some people). I felt really full. It was a good feeling. I was very glad to be back in the states. We had another 40 minutes left in the Houston airport, so we hung out at the gate. Then it was two hours home. Des Moines is gorgeous at night from the air. I was really hoping to see it. =)
Half of our team, by the way, was at the field/park instead to play more serious organized sports with the older kids. They were gone for the whole time we were doing VBS. So, very few of the Johnston team was at the church that day. We were stuck with the Oregon team for our last VBS.
At 11, we started our goodbye service thing. Basically, Pastor Ashley and other members of the church came up and talked to say thank you. Then Erica and Josephine came up and gave their own little scripted talk. It was really lame. At the end we all said our goodbyes to the kids and collected their addresses or gave them our own. I gave Serena my address. She said she'd go home and paint me something to send me that night. I can't wait to get it. =) I wish that I can go back at some point to see Serena. If she sends me something, I'm going to send her some pictures of my college.
After that, we went back to the Compound to eat lunch. Then we went on an hour-long drive to the Mayan ruins at Altun Ha. They really weren't as cool as I thought they were going to be, but that's not saying they weren't awesome. I took some pictures, especially of the Sun Temple. We got to climb a couple of the temples, but the steps were ridiculously steep. You didn't even realize how much work it would be to get to the top until you tried to climb all the way up. Your thighs were burning by the time you got up. But it was cool at the top of the Sun Temple cuz you could see the platform where they sacrificed people. And apparently the movie Apocalypto was filmed there. At the souvenir shops I bought a wallet for me and two coin purses for gifts. I ended with $17.77 of Belizean money.
The meeting took FOREVER. Erica was so dumb. She kept us there for about 45 minutes, part of which she spent giving a rehash of the entire week. Then we had to have a miniature LoveFest. We didn't get to shower until 11, and then we still have to pack. We were so tired. Instead of packing a few things, I donated some. Like my toothpaste and a shirt and my Bible. I think we finally went to bed sometime after midnight.
Day 7 of Belize: (Saturday, travelling home) Katy and I stayed up for way too long on Friday night. We talked for forever. Then we got up at 6:20 because breakfast had been moved up to 7, for some random reason. It was kind of annoying. After breakfast we had spend forever waiting around until we finally left for the airport.
Two hours of flight, and then we were in Houston. It took TWO HOURS to get us all through customs. Took so long. At first YS1 and I were almost sure we were going to get our bags checked cuz we took home some food as a gift for YB and the rest of the family. Luckily, since all we bought were packaged snacks, there was no problem and we got through without a search of our stuff. That would have merely added more time to our length in customs.
First thing we did in the Houston airport was go to the bathroom and flush the toilet paper down the toilet and then dry our hands before we came out. Then we all went to Chile's and ordered fried American food and Mountain Dews (and vegetables for some people). I felt really full. It was a good feeling. I was very glad to be back in the states. We had another 40 minutes left in the Houston airport, so we hung out at the gate. Then it was two hours home. Des Moines is gorgeous at night from the air. I was really hoping to see it. =)
Belize (cont.)
Day 3 of Belize: It started raining in the middle of the night again. I realized this when it started raining directly through the slats of the window onto my feet. It was interesting that I welcomed the feeling of being cold that night. And the rest of the week, really. But it rained again for most of the day. Around 2:15 it stopped. Then it got really hot. I started dripping sweat from everywhere, and that's a really disgusting feeling. It either needs to be completely covered or not at all, not the in-between stage. The VBS was the same as the day before, and lunch was just as crappy. Today we put glossy paint on top of the "primer" paint we put down the day before. Took a long time, cuz we had to cover the whole floor and we had to be more careful with the gloss than the stuff before. It was nice having a roller this time, so I actually felt like I was doing something. Aaron, Terra, and I make a good team. (We did the entire right side of the floor)
This was the night that we led the youth group. It was really interesting. We played telephone pictionary at first, and that was hilarious. It's always interesting to see how your story changes because of drawing talents. =) The service went for a really, really long time. I was definitely ready for bed by the end of this, but of course there was the full group meeting left to go. (I forgot to mention that at the Monday night meeting, people saw something that looked like a cat on the fence surrounding the Compound. Apparently, it was actually a rat. Yeah, disgusting.)
At the group meeting, Erica each made us say what our highlight of the day was, but first she had to go through the ENTIRE day. It was so annoying. I was falling asleep while listening to her. Finally she was done and the girls got to go shower. (Poor guys. They weren't allowed to shower at night, so they had to go to sleep in all their dirt, grime, and sweat. I felt really bad for them.) Then another night, a little worse sleep though.
Day 4 of Belize: (Just to keep you on track, this is Wednesday) It rained again last night. Sad thing was, it didn't keep raining. The thunder from the storm contributed to a bad night's sleep. I got progressively less and less sleep as the week went on.
For the first time, the sun was out all day. It was so ridiculously hot. Everyone was dripping sweat. Today after Kids' Club, instead of painting, I was out picking up trash with Jesse, Josh, Jessie, and two of the little kids. It was hilarious though; Josh Tindall had to pick up a pair of poopy underwear in a rain-filled ditch. It was pretty nasty. Another time, we found a broken monitor and didn't know what to do with it. One of the kids picked it up and threw it into this nasty black-water pond-thing. It was then that we learned about the crocodile that apparently lives in that water. Then we decided that it would be the place to dispose of a body. No one would ever go looking for it there.
Oh, during VBS that morning, Katy and I learned Creole songs from Laurilee and Laneis. We also tried craboo and genips.
Dah fi mi Jesus
Dah fi mi Jesus, hands mek a clap it (3x)
I want you to know
Dah fi mi Jesus, hands mek a clap it.
Repeat with head mek a nod it
foot mek a stomp it
waist mek a rock it
everything ih gimme
Mek We Sing
Mek we sing (5x) Mek we sing bout fi wi God
mek we sing (5x) about dah tings he do
Fi wi God, how ih good
Fi wi God, he takes no sides
Fi wi God, he tell duh struth
Fi wi God, dah king fah long, long time.
Genips are very good. They're small green fruits about the size of a golf ball. You bite the green shell to break it, then you suck the gooey fruit out of the shell. Then you chew and suck the sour flesh off the seed. Very good.
Craboo are small, berry-like things. They look like small yellow crab apples. I don't know how they taste; I didn't try one.
Tonight we led the regular Wednesday night service at the church. It was okay, but very long. 3 hours long. The sharing session was interesting. I heard a couple of my guy friends' testimonies and was kinda surprised. I was glad that they shared though.
At least we could do the group meeting at Lake Independence Baptist Church. It didn't take near as long as the other meetings. Showers were nice that night. Felt sooooooo good to be freezing.
Day 5 of Belize: There wasn't any rain that night. It was so hot that day. It finally rained near the end. The cold felt amazing.
This was the day I met my friend. Her name's Serena and she's 9-years-old. She's so cute and fun. She was doing "magic tricks" today to fool Aaron. She would tap his neck and duck down behind the bench. When Aaron found her then, she'd have me tap his neck while she hid a row or two back. When he still found her, she'd do the same thing, just a little different. She was hilarious. Then she showed me how she "levitated" by jumping and flapping her arms and then by holding herself up on the pews. Then we made crafts together. It was a necklace and an anklet made by twisting a length of cloth and threading a nut onto it. Then you tie the ends together and voila! A stylish necklace.
This was the night we had free time after dinner. Our group ended up going out for street ministry. I was in a group with Scott and Justin. (I think he's going to be a great youth pastor for us) We talked to Michael and Clayton outside a restaurant. Well, Michael was the only one talking, but we still only understood about half of what he said.
This was the night that we led the youth group. It was really interesting. We played telephone pictionary at first, and that was hilarious. It's always interesting to see how your story changes because of drawing talents. =) The service went for a really, really long time. I was definitely ready for bed by the end of this, but of course there was the full group meeting left to go. (I forgot to mention that at the Monday night meeting, people saw something that looked like a cat on the fence surrounding the Compound. Apparently, it was actually a rat. Yeah, disgusting.)
At the group meeting, Erica each made us say what our highlight of the day was, but first she had to go through the ENTIRE day. It was so annoying. I was falling asleep while listening to her. Finally she was done and the girls got to go shower. (Poor guys. They weren't allowed to shower at night, so they had to go to sleep in all their dirt, grime, and sweat. I felt really bad for them.) Then another night, a little worse sleep though.
Day 4 of Belize: (Just to keep you on track, this is Wednesday) It rained again last night. Sad thing was, it didn't keep raining. The thunder from the storm contributed to a bad night's sleep. I got progressively less and less sleep as the week went on.
For the first time, the sun was out all day. It was so ridiculously hot. Everyone was dripping sweat. Today after Kids' Club, instead of painting, I was out picking up trash with Jesse, Josh, Jessie, and two of the little kids. It was hilarious though; Josh Tindall had to pick up a pair of poopy underwear in a rain-filled ditch. It was pretty nasty. Another time, we found a broken monitor and didn't know what to do with it. One of the kids picked it up and threw it into this nasty black-water pond-thing. It was then that we learned about the crocodile that apparently lives in that water. Then we decided that it would be the place to dispose of a body. No one would ever go looking for it there.
Oh, during VBS that morning, Katy and I learned Creole songs from Laurilee and Laneis. We also tried craboo and genips.
Dah fi mi Jesus
Dah fi mi Jesus, hands mek a clap it (3x)
I want you to know
Dah fi mi Jesus, hands mek a clap it.
Repeat with head mek a nod it
foot mek a stomp it
waist mek a rock it
everything ih gimme
Mek We Sing
Mek we sing (5x) Mek we sing bout fi wi God
mek we sing (5x) about dah tings he do
Fi wi God, how ih good
Fi wi God, he takes no sides
Fi wi God, he tell duh struth
Fi wi God, dah king fah long, long time.
Genips are very good. They're small green fruits about the size of a golf ball. You bite the green shell to break it, then you suck the gooey fruit out of the shell. Then you chew and suck the sour flesh off the seed. Very good.
Craboo are small, berry-like things. They look like small yellow crab apples. I don't know how they taste; I didn't try one.
Tonight we led the regular Wednesday night service at the church. It was okay, but very long. 3 hours long. The sharing session was interesting. I heard a couple of my guy friends' testimonies and was kinda surprised. I was glad that they shared though.
At least we could do the group meeting at Lake Independence Baptist Church. It didn't take near as long as the other meetings. Showers were nice that night. Felt sooooooo good to be freezing.
Day 5 of Belize: There wasn't any rain that night. It was so hot that day. It finally rained near the end. The cold felt amazing.
This was the day I met my friend. Her name's Serena and she's 9-years-old. She's so cute and fun. She was doing "magic tricks" today to fool Aaron. She would tap his neck and duck down behind the bench. When Aaron found her then, she'd have me tap his neck while she hid a row or two back. When he still found her, she'd do the same thing, just a little different. She was hilarious. Then she showed me how she "levitated" by jumping and flapping her arms and then by holding herself up on the pews. Then we made crafts together. It was a necklace and an anklet made by twisting a length of cloth and threading a nut onto it. Then you tie the ends together and voila! A stylish necklace.
This was the night we had free time after dinner. Our group ended up going out for street ministry. I was in a group with Scott and Justin. (I think he's going to be a great youth pastor for us) We talked to Michael and Clayton outside a restaurant. Well, Michael was the only one talking, but we still only understood about half of what he said.
I'm Baaaaaaack!!
I just got home yesterday night from my week-long trip to Belize. It was one heck of a trip. Instead of trying to summarize it in one long paragraph, I will instead type several sections, each describing one day. That way my disorganized mind will find some organization so that other people know what the heck I'm talking about.
Day 1 of Belize: It started at 4:30am when YS1 and I left for the airport. We got there by 5 and then we waited for everyone else in the group to show up. Goodbyes were said, and we headed off into the lines for security. At 6:40 our plane left and our trip officially started. The plane was pretty small, with only 12 full rows and half a 13th. We actually took up most of the room since our group consisted of 22 people. 21 at that point because our assistant youth pastor, Scott Anderson, had to get his tickets later than the rest of us, so he wasn't on the same flight. His left at 6.
We landed in Houston airport with a 4-hour layover. Cool thing was that we didn't have a gate right up to the airplane, so we got to go down the steps. So, even though it was only about 9:00, we went to Chile's to eat lunch. But apparently they don't serve Chicken Crispers until after 10. (WTF?)
So, finally time to get on the next plane to Belize. Funnily enough, this one was a 737 and a LOT bigger than the one from Des Moines. Oh well. The flight was smooth and perfect and we touched down in Belize about 2 hours later. The first thing that most of us noticed was that Belize was hot and the airport lacked air conditioning. (At least, the part where we were did) We had to go through the security to get into Belize and then went through customs. All incredibly easy. YS1 and I got to go through together because only one form per family was needed.
Now we were in Belize. After leaving the airport, we found a huge group of others also with the same missions organization that we were with: Praying Pelican. (We found out the last day why they're named that. Apparently, when there's not enough food to go around, a mother pelican will slice open her own stomach so that her babies can eat her insides; a sacrificial bird. The organization thought the parallel with Jesus' sacrifice appealing, hence Praying Pelican.) We all loaded our luggage onto buses by church group and then we drove off to the Central Assembly of God Church and school where we were staying. Rupert was our bus driver and he had mad skills.
As we were driving, the first thing I noticed was that almost every building in Belize City had some sort of fence around it. Even the more shack-like houses had fences. Also, it seemed that there were very few traffic laws there. You were vaguely supposed to stay on the right-hand side of the road and you had to stop at stop lights. But passing wasn't regulated, cars stopped whenever, bikers went wherever the heck they wanted whenever they wanted, and pedestrians walked into the street when it pleased them, making cars stop. It was crazy.
When we got to the school, our JEFC group was the last to get there. We had to set up our rooms and then get changed for church services with our various churches that night. Another group and we were driven by Rupert to Lake Independence Baptist Church, the only church with two groups. (Our first church had fallen through, so we got stuck with the group from Milwaukie, Oregon) The church service was just about 2 hours long. The Belizeans were very friendly and open and Pastor Ashley Rocke was very welcoming. All in all, it was a pretty nice church.
Finally, at about 8pm, it was cool enough to be comfortable. It was especially nice after we got to take our nice cold showers. Which, by the way, are outside and covered by a flimsy shower curtain that blew away with the slightest breeze. Needless to say, after that first night, all the girls learned that showering was definitely to be done with swimsuits on. (The JEFC girls had all worn their swimsuits and I couldn't imagine why anyone would assume you didn't need to wear your swimsuit...)
The rooms in the school where we were staying were pretty much bare concrete floors. Our room had a rug on one side, but that was it. (Girls were upstairs for sleeping, guys downstairs) The windows had no screens, just slats that you could open and close, and they had iron bars over the outside as well. That first night, everyone passed out pretty much immediately.
Day 2 of Belize: It was pouring Monday morning when we woke up. I was pretty happy about that, because rain makes everything cool down a lot, and in a semi-tropical place like Belize, that's a really good thing. I got a pretty good night's sleep, having passed out immediately and didn't wake up until 7:15.
Breakfast was served at 7:30, or so they said. All week they said that, but it was really served at 7:45. We got very good at waiting until the last minute to wake up and get ready. That first breakfast was a type of frybread with powdered sugar, scrambled eggs, and a chunk of cheese. It was basically a funnel cake for breakfast; it was very nommy.
We left from what we lovingly called "the Compound" at 8:30 so we could be prepared for our VBS/Sports Ministry at 9. Like I said earlier, we were paired with a group from Milwaukie, so they were the ones actually running the VBS. My impression after the first day was that they had never done this before. They weren't exactly organized. Our group did the games as our "sports ministry," but because it was still raining, we could only do inside things. The kids loved it still, especially Duck, Duck, Goose. That first day, there were only about 15 kids.
The kids left at noon so we could eat our lunch and then get to our service projects. Lunch was disgusting, so most of the Johnston group had bananas for lunch. (Our group seemed to be the most put-out by the food all week long) The Milwaukie group left for their service project while we got to work, painting the sanctuary floor at our church. It got boring after a little while, because we didn't have enough painting supplies to have everybody actually doing something. Erica (our Praying Pelican leader) would get mad at us for sitting, but there seriously was nothing to do. We really found her very trying the entire week long. As a person, she's great, but as a leader, she got pretty much no respect from any of us. We all went by what Jeff and Scott said was okay.
This was the day that I found out how much things cost in Belize. I had forgotten my water bottle, so I had to get a Gatorade from the store to use the bottle. It cost $3Bz. I gave them two American dollars, and got one Belizean dollar back. (So, $1Am=$2Bz) All their money, paper and coin, has Queen Elizabeth II on it (Just so you know, Belize used to be an English colony). The dollar coin is octagonal and has ridges on every other edge. (paper and coins) I brought home a $5-bill, a $10-bill, a $1 coin, a 25-cent piece, a 5-cent piece, and a 1-cent piece. YS1 was lucky enough to get a 50-cent piece, which they didn't give out a lot.
After supper, most of the Johnston group went to the store to get Pringles and cold Coca-Cola. (It was the habit of going before or after supper, every day, to get food that earned us a reputation of always eating.) Although, this was the night that supper was the best. They figured out what picky Americans wanted and gave us mac&cheese, mashed potatoes, and boneless chicken.
Without air movement, the Belize air is stifling.
Day 1 of Belize: It started at 4:30am when YS1 and I left for the airport. We got there by 5 and then we waited for everyone else in the group to show up. Goodbyes were said, and we headed off into the lines for security. At 6:40 our plane left and our trip officially started. The plane was pretty small, with only 12 full rows and half a 13th. We actually took up most of the room since our group consisted of 22 people. 21 at that point because our assistant youth pastor, Scott Anderson, had to get his tickets later than the rest of us, so he wasn't on the same flight. His left at 6.
We landed in Houston airport with a 4-hour layover. Cool thing was that we didn't have a gate right up to the airplane, so we got to go down the steps. So, even though it was only about 9:00, we went to Chile's to eat lunch. But apparently they don't serve Chicken Crispers until after 10. (WTF?)
So, finally time to get on the next plane to Belize. Funnily enough, this one was a 737 and a LOT bigger than the one from Des Moines. Oh well. The flight was smooth and perfect and we touched down in Belize about 2 hours later. The first thing that most of us noticed was that Belize was hot and the airport lacked air conditioning. (At least, the part where we were did) We had to go through the security to get into Belize and then went through customs. All incredibly easy. YS1 and I got to go through together because only one form per family was needed.
Now we were in Belize. After leaving the airport, we found a huge group of others also with the same missions organization that we were with: Praying Pelican. (We found out the last day why they're named that. Apparently, when there's not enough food to go around, a mother pelican will slice open her own stomach so that her babies can eat her insides; a sacrificial bird. The organization thought the parallel with Jesus' sacrifice appealing, hence Praying Pelican.) We all loaded our luggage onto buses by church group and then we drove off to the Central Assembly of God Church and school where we were staying. Rupert was our bus driver and he had mad skills.
As we were driving, the first thing I noticed was that almost every building in Belize City had some sort of fence around it. Even the more shack-like houses had fences. Also, it seemed that there were very few traffic laws there. You were vaguely supposed to stay on the right-hand side of the road and you had to stop at stop lights. But passing wasn't regulated, cars stopped whenever, bikers went wherever the heck they wanted whenever they wanted, and pedestrians walked into the street when it pleased them, making cars stop. It was crazy.
When we got to the school, our JEFC group was the last to get there. We had to set up our rooms and then get changed for church services with our various churches that night. Another group and we were driven by Rupert to Lake Independence Baptist Church, the only church with two groups. (Our first church had fallen through, so we got stuck with the group from Milwaukie, Oregon) The church service was just about 2 hours long. The Belizeans were very friendly and open and Pastor Ashley Rocke was very welcoming. All in all, it was a pretty nice church.
Finally, at about 8pm, it was cool enough to be comfortable. It was especially nice after we got to take our nice cold showers. Which, by the way, are outside and covered by a flimsy shower curtain that blew away with the slightest breeze. Needless to say, after that first night, all the girls learned that showering was definitely to be done with swimsuits on. (The JEFC girls had all worn their swimsuits and I couldn't imagine why anyone would assume you didn't need to wear your swimsuit...)
The rooms in the school where we were staying were pretty much bare concrete floors. Our room had a rug on one side, but that was it. (Girls were upstairs for sleeping, guys downstairs) The windows had no screens, just slats that you could open and close, and they had iron bars over the outside as well. That first night, everyone passed out pretty much immediately.
Day 2 of Belize: It was pouring Monday morning when we woke up. I was pretty happy about that, because rain makes everything cool down a lot, and in a semi-tropical place like Belize, that's a really good thing. I got a pretty good night's sleep, having passed out immediately and didn't wake up until 7:15.
Breakfast was served at 7:30, or so they said. All week they said that, but it was really served at 7:45. We got very good at waiting until the last minute to wake up and get ready. That first breakfast was a type of frybread with powdered sugar, scrambled eggs, and a chunk of cheese. It was basically a funnel cake for breakfast; it was very nommy.
We left from what we lovingly called "the Compound" at 8:30 so we could be prepared for our VBS/Sports Ministry at 9. Like I said earlier, we were paired with a group from Milwaukie, so they were the ones actually running the VBS. My impression after the first day was that they had never done this before. They weren't exactly organized. Our group did the games as our "sports ministry," but because it was still raining, we could only do inside things. The kids loved it still, especially Duck, Duck, Goose. That first day, there were only about 15 kids.
The kids left at noon so we could eat our lunch and then get to our service projects. Lunch was disgusting, so most of the Johnston group had bananas for lunch. (Our group seemed to be the most put-out by the food all week long) The Milwaukie group left for their service project while we got to work, painting the sanctuary floor at our church. It got boring after a little while, because we didn't have enough painting supplies to have everybody actually doing something. Erica (our Praying Pelican leader) would get mad at us for sitting, but there seriously was nothing to do. We really found her very trying the entire week long. As a person, she's great, but as a leader, she got pretty much no respect from any of us. We all went by what Jeff and Scott said was okay.
This was the day that I found out how much things cost in Belize. I had forgotten my water bottle, so I had to get a Gatorade from the store to use the bottle. It cost $3Bz. I gave them two American dollars, and got one Belizean dollar back. (So, $1Am=$2Bz) All their money, paper and coin, has Queen Elizabeth II on it (Just so you know, Belize used to be an English colony). The dollar coin is octagonal and has ridges on every other edge. (paper and coins) I brought home a $5-bill, a $10-bill, a $1 coin, a 25-cent piece, a 5-cent piece, and a 1-cent piece. YS1 was lucky enough to get a 50-cent piece, which they didn't give out a lot.
After supper, most of the Johnston group went to the store to get Pringles and cold Coca-Cola. (It was the habit of going before or after supper, every day, to get food that earned us a reputation of always eating.) Although, this was the night that supper was the best. They figured out what picky Americans wanted and gave us mac&cheese, mashed potatoes, and boneless chicken.
Without air movement, the Belize air is stifling.
Questions: 4th Installment
Damn that girl! Nannoc was furious. He kicked the side of his bed in frustration. He had been doing so well, getting so into scaring her. It was great fun, and he forgot all of his doubts. Then she had to go and ask that damn question! He had been angry enough with her because of her incessant inquisitions, but asking him why the People had the right to sacrifice millah? The idea was ridiculous. Of course they had every right to do what they were doing! But these damn doubts! He slammed his fists against the wall and sank down on to his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Why did she place so many doubts in his mind? Why was she so difficult to handle from all the rest of the special ones he had dealt with already? He sighed, his mind swirling with questions. The stupid girl's habit of wondering about everything had apparently worn off on him. Deciding to place all these doubts out of his mind once and for all, Nannoc got up and began walking to Elliott's room. Of all the people who could make him sure in his duty to Sephirin, Elliott was the best.
The way to Elliott's Adult room seemed very long. He could hear Lilly asking her question, the words bouncing around in his skull: What right do you have to treat us like this? After what seemed like forever, Nannoc was in the Adult section of the caves, right in front of Elliott's room. Shaking his head to clear it, he walked in to his friend.
Elliott didn't notice at first that Nannoc had come in. Nannoc had always prided himself in being the quietest of the Children; he feet never made a sound against the stone floors or on the surface of the Outside world. He hoped to be a Hunter when he was made an Adult. It would be a good use of his skills. Now, he snuck up behind Elliott and stood right behind his him. Lowering his mouth to Elliott's ear, Nannoc said, "Anom," as a greeting, then watched as Elliott nearly flew three feet in the air.
Nannoc lowered his hood so his friend could see it was just him, and Elliott's expression of surprised anger became that of mere boredom. "So," he said, "You decided to come visit me to see how Adult life is and express your wondrous awe?" Nannoc had realized that Elliott had become pompous, but this was a new level.
"No, Elliott. I merely wanted to ask you a question." Elliott seemed to deflate a little.
"Oh. Alright then, what do you need my Adult advice on?"
Rolling his eyes, Nannoc asked, "Why do we sacrifice the Outsiders? What makes them so different from us that it's not a form of murder?" Elliott looked as though Nannoc was the stupidest being on the entire planet.
"What makes us different? What makes us different?! Seriously, Nannoc, I thought you were supposed to be one of the smarter Children! Honestly!"
"Will you please just answer my question?"
Elliott looked as though he thought such a question was beneath him, but he said, "Fine. We're better than the Outsiders."
"Why?" Elliott looked like he might explode into another outburst. "Please, just answer the question."
"Because Sephirin says we are, and our god is always correct."
"Does Sephirin also say we must sacrifice, breed, and eat the Outsiders?"
"How can you be so dumb, Nannoc? The Elder tells us what Sephirin says and we carry it out. The Elder said a long time ago that Sephirin wished us to sacrifice the special Outsiders and to use the others as food. It's as simple as that."
"But why couldn't we just use the cattle-things that the Outsiders use for food?" Talking with Elliott wasn't going the way he planned. "And, just think, what if the Elder was wrong, or what if he was lying to us?"
Elliott's face drained completely of color. Nannoc could see the fury in his posture and could hear it in his voice, though it was obvious he was trying to control it, "How could you even think that? I could turn you in to the Elder and you could be put to death for saying something as blasphemous as that." Though he didn't, Nannoc wanted to say that blasphemy is only for doubting a god, and the Elder was certainly not a god. "Nannoc, where have you been getting these dangerous ideas? Who have you been talking to? We need to turn them in to be punished for saying such things to you, a mere Child."
Getting angry with the constant patronization by a person so near his age, Nannoc let out, "I am not a mere Child! I am nearly the same age as you, I'm the eldest of the Children, and nearly an Adult. Don't treat me like a little kid. And the ideas aren't from any of the People." They both stood, glaring at each other.
"Then where did you get those ideas, from your own head?" Then a look of comprehension crossed Elliott's face, and his eyes narrowed even further. His voice came out as a furious hiss, "You've been talking to the millah?!"
Feeling defiant, Nannoc crossed his arms. "So what if I have?"
"Nannoc, that's completely against all the rules of both the Elder and the Council! You can't just be doing these things!" Looking furtively around to see if anyone had heard any of their conversation, Elliott practically shoved Nannoc out of his room. "Don't come back here. I can't have someone like you ruining my chance of becoming a great person within the Adults. Leave, now." With that, Nannoc turned and left, fuming at the betrayal and lack of understanding by someone who had been his best friend. As he traveled the tunnels back to the room he shared with the other older boys, he felt very alone. But I'm not alone, he realized. There's someone else who thinks the same way I do.
Why did she place so many doubts in his mind? Why was she so difficult to handle from all the rest of the special ones he had dealt with already? He sighed, his mind swirling with questions. The stupid girl's habit of wondering about everything had apparently worn off on him. Deciding to place all these doubts out of his mind once and for all, Nannoc got up and began walking to Elliott's room. Of all the people who could make him sure in his duty to Sephirin, Elliott was the best.
The way to Elliott's Adult room seemed very long. He could hear Lilly asking her question, the words bouncing around in his skull: What right do you have to treat us like this? After what seemed like forever, Nannoc was in the Adult section of the caves, right in front of Elliott's room. Shaking his head to clear it, he walked in to his friend.
Elliott didn't notice at first that Nannoc had come in. Nannoc had always prided himself in being the quietest of the Children; he feet never made a sound against the stone floors or on the surface of the Outside world. He hoped to be a Hunter when he was made an Adult. It would be a good use of his skills. Now, he snuck up behind Elliott and stood right behind his him. Lowering his mouth to Elliott's ear, Nannoc said, "Anom," as a greeting, then watched as Elliott nearly flew three feet in the air.
Nannoc lowered his hood so his friend could see it was just him, and Elliott's expression of surprised anger became that of mere boredom. "So," he said, "You decided to come visit me to see how Adult life is and express your wondrous awe?" Nannoc had realized that Elliott had become pompous, but this was a new level.
"No, Elliott. I merely wanted to ask you a question." Elliott seemed to deflate a little.
"Oh. Alright then, what do you need my Adult advice on?"
Rolling his eyes, Nannoc asked, "Why do we sacrifice the Outsiders? What makes them so different from us that it's not a form of murder?" Elliott looked as though Nannoc was the stupidest being on the entire planet.
"What makes us different? What makes us different?! Seriously, Nannoc, I thought you were supposed to be one of the smarter Children! Honestly!"
"Will you please just answer my question?"
Elliott looked as though he thought such a question was beneath him, but he said, "Fine. We're better than the Outsiders."
"Why?" Elliott looked like he might explode into another outburst. "Please, just answer the question."
"Because Sephirin says we are, and our god is always correct."
"Does Sephirin also say we must sacrifice, breed, and eat the Outsiders?"
"How can you be so dumb, Nannoc? The Elder tells us what Sephirin says and we carry it out. The Elder said a long time ago that Sephirin wished us to sacrifice the special Outsiders and to use the others as food. It's as simple as that."
"But why couldn't we just use the cattle-things that the Outsiders use for food?" Talking with Elliott wasn't going the way he planned. "And, just think, what if the Elder was wrong, or what if he was lying to us?"
Elliott's face drained completely of color. Nannoc could see the fury in his posture and could hear it in his voice, though it was obvious he was trying to control it, "How could you even think that? I could turn you in to the Elder and you could be put to death for saying something as blasphemous as that." Though he didn't, Nannoc wanted to say that blasphemy is only for doubting a god, and the Elder was certainly not a god. "Nannoc, where have you been getting these dangerous ideas? Who have you been talking to? We need to turn them in to be punished for saying such things to you, a mere Child."
Getting angry with the constant patronization by a person so near his age, Nannoc let out, "I am not a mere Child! I am nearly the same age as you, I'm the eldest of the Children, and nearly an Adult. Don't treat me like a little kid. And the ideas aren't from any of the People." They both stood, glaring at each other.
"Then where did you get those ideas, from your own head?" Then a look of comprehension crossed Elliott's face, and his eyes narrowed even further. His voice came out as a furious hiss, "You've been talking to the millah?!"
Feeling defiant, Nannoc crossed his arms. "So what if I have?"
"Nannoc, that's completely against all the rules of both the Elder and the Council! You can't just be doing these things!" Looking furtively around to see if anyone had heard any of their conversation, Elliott practically shoved Nannoc out of his room. "Don't come back here. I can't have someone like you ruining my chance of becoming a great person within the Adults. Leave, now." With that, Nannoc turned and left, fuming at the betrayal and lack of understanding by someone who had been his best friend. As he traveled the tunnels back to the room he shared with the other older boys, he felt very alone. But I'm not alone, he realized. There's someone else who thinks the same way I do.
Questions: 3rd Installment
Everyone was finally gathered along the edges of the meeting room. Conversations were kept to a low, expectant hum. The People were all waiting for the Elder to arrive. Nannoc thought it was interesting that the Elder had no other name. Perhaps he had at one point, but no one new what it was now. In fact, none of the Council had names either. He wondered when their names had been taken from them. Not that it truly mattered, for it wouldn't bring the names back. He would probably also get in trouble for asking any questions, so he cut off that line of thought.
His attention was called to the ledge above the fire by the Elder's escort. The room was entirely silent now except for the small crackles and pops from the fire as it threw bizarre shadows across the cavern. Leaning heavily on his maplewood cane, the Elder appeared from the shadows. He walked to the very edge of the platform and stopped. In his deep and raspy voice, he addressed the congregation, "My People. You may have heard that some of our men caught a fresh millah." He paused as some of the crowd murmured their assent; some of them had heard that.
"You've heard correctly." The people began to whisper excitedly. The Elder continued, "In precisely two months time, we will once again have an Initiation ceremony to invite one of our Children into Adulthood." Everyone in the room cheered at the news. The Elder held up his hand for silence and said, "However, we have not yet chosen the Cutter. There are many Children who qualify, and the Council and I will be watching them for the next two months to see which one will become the next Adult." The crowd sighed, disappointed. "Don't be disheartened," the Elder told the People, "Two months will go by more quickly than you think. On the night before the first day of Initiation, I will announce to you the one who has been chosen. Now go and start the preparations."
At that, everyone began filing out of the meeting room. Nannoc was disappointed in the Elder's choice not to announce the one who would be the Cutter. He was hoping with all his heart that he would be chosen. But, it would not be wise to question the Elder's choice, and so Nannoc started off into one of the caves to do his chores. The People were going to be very busy for the next two months; they had no time for someone who didn't do his chores.
The first thing he had to do was sweep out the room for the older male Children. Since there were only four per room, this chore didn't take very long, though Nannoc tried his hardest to drag it out. He didn't want to get to his last chore; it was his duty to take care of the millah. He hadn't minded this duty, in fact, he thought it a great honor to be taking care of the People's meat supply. Until now. Now that she was here. He didn't want to go down to meet her. She made him uncomfortable, like what the People were doing was wrong. He knew that wasn't the case, but the way she said it made him doubt. He hated that feeling of doubt in his most deep-seated beliefs. Nannoc decided that he would be very glad to see the end of the two months waiting period.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Deep down in the tunnels of the nursery, Lily could hear the dull roar from the cheering. She figured it must be about her. She wished she knew what they were going to do to her, but anything, anything, would be better than staying in the nursery. She had no way of keeping track of time and could do nothing to entertain herself. She curled up in the fetal position on the cold stone floor. She could hear sounds coming from other areas of the nursery; moans and screams traveled through the dank air and into her ears with merciless accuracy. She couldn't help but cry at the hopelessness of her situation. Her family would have no idea where she went, and they definitely wouldn't find her down here. She had heard of the men and women living in groups of caves who clothed themselves in black robes and called themselves the People. She had heard stories of people being abducted and never being seen again. It was rumored that they had been stolen away to be sacrificed and eaten by the People in worship of their god. She knew now that these weren't merely stories, legends, and rumors. She had become one of those abducted.
Lily opened her eyes at the slightest noise from the side of her little room. There she saw her boy-captor putting down a small metal tray. She saw him look over at her and swear under his breath. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed him before that point. She crawled over to the tray and watched him begin filling it with some foul-smelling meat or bread substance.
"Please, sir, isn't there something better to eat?" She looked up at him, but that damned hood kept his face in shadow still. She wanted to know the identity of her captor.
"No. Eat this or go hungry." He sounded annoyed and uncomfortable with her so near.
"What's your name?" As she watched his shoulders tighten she realized he was truly uneasy when she talked.
"That's none of your concern." He grabbed another metal tray from a burlap sack she had missed seeing before.
"Well, you're my captor. I should say it's my concern." Lily received no answer but the turning of his back as he swept out of the room with the sack. No wonder she hadn't noticed when he arrived. His movements were completely silent. The only reason she heard him at all was the unavoidable sound the metal trays made when they touched the stone floor.
She began to wonder why he had filled one tray and not the other, when all of a sudden he was beside her again, this time with a water pitcher. When he started to fill the tray with water, she again harassed him with questions.
"May I see your face at least, mysterious warden?" Again he didn't answer.
When the tray was full, he started to walk out of the room, and she tried one more question, "Sir, why am I here? What are you going to do to me?" This time, she got a reaction.
He stopped in the middle of the room and asked her, still facing the opposite direction, "If I tell you why, will you shut up and stop asking me questions?" He sounded angry this time, making her hesitate.
"Uh...yes. Yes, I will. If you will please explain why I'm here." At that, he turned and sat down next to the stake in the middle of the room. He was spotlighted by a small shaft of light the came from high up in the ceiling. Then he began his story.
He spoke in a voice so quiet, that Lily had to strain to hear over the others in the nursery. She had to keep scooting closer and closer until she was right next to him.
"You are here because a few of the hunters went out looking for new millah to breed. Some of our older ones are dying and are no longer viable."
"To...breed? Like cattle?" She could not disguise the horrified disgust in her voice even had she wanted to.
He nodded, "Yes, like what you call cattle. That is what Outsiders are to us. Just as you raise your cattle for food and to breed, so we raise millah- Outsider-cattle."
"That's what we are to you? Cows? Nothing more than filthy animals?!" Now Lily was more angry than frightened. These people had no right to use people like her in such a way. And how could he be telling her this in such a calm, flat voice?
"That's what Outsiders are. They are no more. Except..." Now she could tell his eyes were directly locked on to hers.
"Except what?" She felt a trickle of dread running down her back, flooding out the anger.
"Except that a few outsiders are better than the others. They are more lovely in our eyes, for they resemble our god, Sephirin, or his wife, Ophelia. Those are the special ones. When we find them, we are more careful. We make sure they do not get hurt on their way down to their special rooms in our nursery."
Lily felt her anger flaring up again. "Don't get hurt?! I was thrown all over the place on my way down!"
She then fell over to the ground. He had slapped her across the face.
His voice was no longer the calm, even tone. She could hear the fury as he said, "I let you be disrespectful once, but I will not allow it again. I would not mind if you were merely disrespecting me, but now you disrespect the Elder and the Hunters. That is not allowable." He then waited until she picked herself up and sat down in front of him. She was sure he could feel her anger seething towards him. When he spoke again, his voice was back to normal, "As I was saying, the special Outsiders have different rooms. They are fed a special diet to keep them strong, for their strength is needed for the Ceremony."
"What ceremony?"
"When a Child is to become an Adult, they have a large Initiation Ceremony. These only happen whenever the Hunters bring back the special ones, so they are not very often. The very end of the Initiation is the Cutting."
"What's that?" Lily tried her hardest to keep her fear from showing, but her voice still shook.
She heard the evil smile in his voice as he continued, "The Cutting is the sacrificing of the special one by cutting off the head, then drinking the blood to take in its strength. This is why the strength is kept up until the Ceremony."
She was speechless. She had never heard something so horrible as this. She was to be sacrificed and then eaten. She looked up to where he had all but vanished out of the room and shouted after him, "What gives you the right to treat us this way?" All she heard was the moaning and groaning of the other millah.
His attention was called to the ledge above the fire by the Elder's escort. The room was entirely silent now except for the small crackles and pops from the fire as it threw bizarre shadows across the cavern. Leaning heavily on his maplewood cane, the Elder appeared from the shadows. He walked to the very edge of the platform and stopped. In his deep and raspy voice, he addressed the congregation, "My People. You may have heard that some of our men caught a fresh millah." He paused as some of the crowd murmured their assent; some of them had heard that.
"You've heard correctly." The people began to whisper excitedly. The Elder continued, "In precisely two months time, we will once again have an Initiation ceremony to invite one of our Children into Adulthood." Everyone in the room cheered at the news. The Elder held up his hand for silence and said, "However, we have not yet chosen the Cutter. There are many Children who qualify, and the Council and I will be watching them for the next two months to see which one will become the next Adult." The crowd sighed, disappointed. "Don't be disheartened," the Elder told the People, "Two months will go by more quickly than you think. On the night before the first day of Initiation, I will announce to you the one who has been chosen. Now go and start the preparations."
At that, everyone began filing out of the meeting room. Nannoc was disappointed in the Elder's choice not to announce the one who would be the Cutter. He was hoping with all his heart that he would be chosen. But, it would not be wise to question the Elder's choice, and so Nannoc started off into one of the caves to do his chores. The People were going to be very busy for the next two months; they had no time for someone who didn't do his chores.
The first thing he had to do was sweep out the room for the older male Children. Since there were only four per room, this chore didn't take very long, though Nannoc tried his hardest to drag it out. He didn't want to get to his last chore; it was his duty to take care of the millah. He hadn't minded this duty, in fact, he thought it a great honor to be taking care of the People's meat supply. Until now. Now that she was here. He didn't want to go down to meet her. She made him uncomfortable, like what the People were doing was wrong. He knew that wasn't the case, but the way she said it made him doubt. He hated that feeling of doubt in his most deep-seated beliefs. Nannoc decided that he would be very glad to see the end of the two months waiting period.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Deep down in the tunnels of the nursery, Lily could hear the dull roar from the cheering. She figured it must be about her. She wished she knew what they were going to do to her, but anything, anything, would be better than staying in the nursery. She had no way of keeping track of time and could do nothing to entertain herself. She curled up in the fetal position on the cold stone floor. She could hear sounds coming from other areas of the nursery; moans and screams traveled through the dank air and into her ears with merciless accuracy. She couldn't help but cry at the hopelessness of her situation. Her family would have no idea where she went, and they definitely wouldn't find her down here. She had heard of the men and women living in groups of caves who clothed themselves in black robes and called themselves the People. She had heard stories of people being abducted and never being seen again. It was rumored that they had been stolen away to be sacrificed and eaten by the People in worship of their god. She knew now that these weren't merely stories, legends, and rumors. She had become one of those abducted.
Lily opened her eyes at the slightest noise from the side of her little room. There she saw her boy-captor putting down a small metal tray. She saw him look over at her and swear under his breath. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed him before that point. She crawled over to the tray and watched him begin filling it with some foul-smelling meat or bread substance.
"Please, sir, isn't there something better to eat?" She looked up at him, but that damned hood kept his face in shadow still. She wanted to know the identity of her captor.
"No. Eat this or go hungry." He sounded annoyed and uncomfortable with her so near.
"What's your name?" As she watched his shoulders tighten she realized he was truly uneasy when she talked.
"That's none of your concern." He grabbed another metal tray from a burlap sack she had missed seeing before.
"Well, you're my captor. I should say it's my concern." Lily received no answer but the turning of his back as he swept out of the room with the sack. No wonder she hadn't noticed when he arrived. His movements were completely silent. The only reason she heard him at all was the unavoidable sound the metal trays made when they touched the stone floor.
She began to wonder why he had filled one tray and not the other, when all of a sudden he was beside her again, this time with a water pitcher. When he started to fill the tray with water, she again harassed him with questions.
"May I see your face at least, mysterious warden?" Again he didn't answer.
When the tray was full, he started to walk out of the room, and she tried one more question, "Sir, why am I here? What are you going to do to me?" This time, she got a reaction.
He stopped in the middle of the room and asked her, still facing the opposite direction, "If I tell you why, will you shut up and stop asking me questions?" He sounded angry this time, making her hesitate.
"Uh...yes. Yes, I will. If you will please explain why I'm here." At that, he turned and sat down next to the stake in the middle of the room. He was spotlighted by a small shaft of light the came from high up in the ceiling. Then he began his story.
He spoke in a voice so quiet, that Lily had to strain to hear over the others in the nursery. She had to keep scooting closer and closer until she was right next to him.
"You are here because a few of the hunters went out looking for new millah to breed. Some of our older ones are dying and are no longer viable."
"To...breed? Like cattle?" She could not disguise the horrified disgust in her voice even had she wanted to.
He nodded, "Yes, like what you call cattle. That is what Outsiders are to us. Just as you raise your cattle for food and to breed, so we raise millah- Outsider-cattle."
"That's what we are to you? Cows? Nothing more than filthy animals?!" Now Lily was more angry than frightened. These people had no right to use people like her in such a way. And how could he be telling her this in such a calm, flat voice?
"That's what Outsiders are. They are no more. Except..." Now she could tell his eyes were directly locked on to hers.
"Except what?" She felt a trickle of dread running down her back, flooding out the anger.
"Except that a few outsiders are better than the others. They are more lovely in our eyes, for they resemble our god, Sephirin, or his wife, Ophelia. Those are the special ones. When we find them, we are more careful. We make sure they do not get hurt on their way down to their special rooms in our nursery."
Lily felt her anger flaring up again. "Don't get hurt?! I was thrown all over the place on my way down!"
She then fell over to the ground. He had slapped her across the face.
His voice was no longer the calm, even tone. She could hear the fury as he said, "I let you be disrespectful once, but I will not allow it again. I would not mind if you were merely disrespecting me, but now you disrespect the Elder and the Hunters. That is not allowable." He then waited until she picked herself up and sat down in front of him. She was sure he could feel her anger seething towards him. When he spoke again, his voice was back to normal, "As I was saying, the special Outsiders have different rooms. They are fed a special diet to keep them strong, for their strength is needed for the Ceremony."
"What ceremony?"
"When a Child is to become an Adult, they have a large Initiation Ceremony. These only happen whenever the Hunters bring back the special ones, so they are not very often. The very end of the Initiation is the Cutting."
"What's that?" Lily tried her hardest to keep her fear from showing, but her voice still shook.
She heard the evil smile in his voice as he continued, "The Cutting is the sacrificing of the special one by cutting off the head, then drinking the blood to take in its strength. This is why the strength is kept up until the Ceremony."
She was speechless. She had never heard something so horrible as this. She was to be sacrificed and then eaten. She looked up to where he had all but vanished out of the room and shouted after him, "What gives you the right to treat us this way?" All she heard was the moaning and groaning of the other millah.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Current Events
So, it's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy in the meantime. The biggest thing was my youth group's missions trip to Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Basically we run a vacation bible school for the Indian kids in three towns: Winner, Ideal, and White River. In addition, a work team builds on to the playground they've built for the kids every year.
This year I was on the Winner team, just like every year before that. It was going to be really weird for our team, because all of the leaders were new. However, it wasn't going to be too bad, seeing half the seniors have been on the Winner team for four years, so we all knew roughly how things should work. And then Mother Nature decided to have fun with us. For the first three days, it rained during the day time. It has NEVER rained during the Kids' Club before. It only presented a problem this year; the year after certain allegations were made against someone who was related to the man who's in charge of the Community Center that we've always used before. Obviously, they weren't exactly happy with us this year, so we could only use the Community Center on the first day. It wasn't too bad, as the rain didn't start until Kids' Club was almost over.
So...second day, pouring rain, and we have nowhere to go. We can't stay at the park when it's freezing and raining. So, that morning, our leaders were frantically calling all the buildings in the area to see if they would let us use something. Finally, we were able to get the Middle School gym. It was weird- we had never been inside all day. EVER. We managed to get through it, and, it actually seemed to be nicer than staying out at the park all day anyway.
Second day, we didn't have the gym. Again there was frantic calling and we got the Armory gym this time. Now, this gym was nice. It worked incredibly well. Everything there went smoothly and we all loved it. About this point in time, I was acquainted with Lucas. Lucas is a little Indian boy about 1.5-2 years of age. He's the most adorable thing ever. He became my little buddy for the rest of the week. He was really attached to me. It got to the point where I had to go do something, and I tried to leave Lucas in someone else's arms. He wouldn't go. When she finally got him off me, he started crying and so I grabbed him back. I ended up leaving him with his older sister, Shaylyn, before I could go do what I had to. The next day we ended the Kids' Club with a barbeque for us, the kids, and their parents. I cut up Lucas' food and was feeding him. In the middle of eating, he started falling asleep. He ended up falling asleep in my lap. It was so adorable!!! He was still sleeping when I handed off to his mother.
The next day, when we were driving home, Shaylyn (from our group) was talking to Shaylyn (Lucas' older sister). Shaylyn was saying that Lucas had been crying all morning, saying, "Lanie, Lanie!" :( I was tempted to tell Kate to turn the van around and go back. I felt so bad leaving the little dude. He was MY Lucas. :(
But, all in all, Rosebud was a good one. :)
This year I was on the Winner team, just like every year before that. It was going to be really weird for our team, because all of the leaders were new. However, it wasn't going to be too bad, seeing half the seniors have been on the Winner team for four years, so we all knew roughly how things should work. And then Mother Nature decided to have fun with us. For the first three days, it rained during the day time. It has NEVER rained during the Kids' Club before. It only presented a problem this year; the year after certain allegations were made against someone who was related to the man who's in charge of the Community Center that we've always used before. Obviously, they weren't exactly happy with us this year, so we could only use the Community Center on the first day. It wasn't too bad, as the rain didn't start until Kids' Club was almost over.
So...second day, pouring rain, and we have nowhere to go. We can't stay at the park when it's freezing and raining. So, that morning, our leaders were frantically calling all the buildings in the area to see if they would let us use something. Finally, we were able to get the Middle School gym. It was weird- we had never been inside all day. EVER. We managed to get through it, and, it actually seemed to be nicer than staying out at the park all day anyway.
Second day, we didn't have the gym. Again there was frantic calling and we got the Armory gym this time. Now, this gym was nice. It worked incredibly well. Everything there went smoothly and we all loved it. About this point in time, I was acquainted with Lucas. Lucas is a little Indian boy about 1.5-2 years of age. He's the most adorable thing ever. He became my little buddy for the rest of the week. He was really attached to me. It got to the point where I had to go do something, and I tried to leave Lucas in someone else's arms. He wouldn't go. When she finally got him off me, he started crying and so I grabbed him back. I ended up leaving him with his older sister, Shaylyn, before I could go do what I had to. The next day we ended the Kids' Club with a barbeque for us, the kids, and their parents. I cut up Lucas' food and was feeding him. In the middle of eating, he started falling asleep. He ended up falling asleep in my lap. It was so adorable!!! He was still sleeping when I handed off to his mother.
The next day, when we were driving home, Shaylyn (from our group) was talking to Shaylyn (Lucas' older sister). Shaylyn was saying that Lucas had been crying all morning, saying, "Lanie, Lanie!" :( I was tempted to tell Kate to turn the van around and go back. I felt so bad leaving the little dude. He was MY Lucas. :(
But, all in all, Rosebud was a good one. :)
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