Temple of Praise

Twelve

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((I'm posting the thread a bit early.

PM me if you'd like to join [if you weren't already invited].))


It was a Sunday morning. The pastor was preaching a health-and-wealth sermon.

"Right. If it works like that, why aren't you rich?" Chad thought. Looking around, he saw that everyone else probably thought the same. They were all dressed up, and sat motionless, staring at the pastor as he spoke in the same monotone the entire sermon. Next to Chad sat his father, known as Jeff, who was clearly disagreeing with the sermon--shaking his head slightly, whispering silently to himself objections as the pastor spoke. Chad looked at his watch. The preacher's sermon was running extra-long this week.

They had recently moved into Mountain View--and there certainly were views of mountains. Chad's father now worked as the new youth minister for the church. Neither was very happy with the church; Chab wondered why they moved here in the first place. Jeff told him that he felt that God was calling them to the church.

Already Jeff had plans to take the youth group to a CIY summer youth conference. Somehow, he managed to convince Chad to come along.

The preacher finally ended the sermon, closing with a prayer that seemed twice as long as the sermon. It was the same thing every week. No doubt the prayer was burned into the preacher's memory.

Jeff stood, nodded to the preacher, walked to the stage, and stood behind the podium.

"I would just like to remind those of you who'd like to know: I will be taking the youth group on a trip to a Christ In Youth conference," he said, "We'll be leaving today, so for any of you last-minute people, just give me a call before two o' clock. Uh, that's everything for now, so uh...have a great week!"

He stepped down off the stage. People began getting up from the pews, and leaving the church building, in the same fashion as every single week before. Jeff looked around, shaking his head in disapproval. The church was dead.

"Why did you send me here? There's no helping this church. It's beyond dead," he prayed silently. He noticed Chad get up and leave, disrupting the usual paths of several people along the way. Jeff hurried to follow him, unintentionally bumping into people just as Chad had. Like father like son.
 
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searchingsoul

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Kirsten had been waiting for Jeff, the youth leader, to get done and file out. She came up to him and said, "I have the form ready. Here" she said, handing him a sheet of paper that he had handed out in youth group the month before. "I'm really looking forward to the trip. Well, see you later, Jeff!" she waved goodbye, before moving out of the church. She had been listening to the sermon with her head on her hand - a usual relaxed position. The sermon, she felt was boring and lacked enthusiasm. Wasn't a person suppose to be on fire for God if they were saved? She much prefered to get her REAL "God juice" watching another pastor on Angel network during the week. She rarely missed him. He said things that touched her "where it hurt" in almost every sermon. He was lively and encouraged out-of-the-ordinary fellowship when you worshiped God. She'd be far worse of, spiritually, if she hadn't found that TV pastor. Pastor Eric Hanson... you are truely one of the greats She thaugh. She continued on to the car and waited for her parents to get done talking. While she was waiting, however, she took out her book and her iPod and got comfortable. It wasn't out-of-the-ordinary for her parents to be at it for 15 minutes at a time. If it was on the phone it could verywell last for and hour or so...

She sat up streight a while later. This was beginning to get boring. She took out her cell phone, and dialed Chab's cell. It picked up after the 5th ring. "Hi, Chab. How are you? Are you looking forward to this afternoon? I know I am. I've been marking down the days until the trip."

((I would much prefer Chad. I guess Kirsten could call him Chap as a joke. Bwa ha ha!))
 
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Twelve

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((Some don't refer to others by nicknames at all, so it wouldn't be a problem if you referred to him as Chad, considering how similar the names are.:) Or Chap.;)))

Jeff had nearly reached the door, and was apologizing to an elderly lady whom he'd bumped into, when he turned around to find Kirsten handing him a sheet of paper, saying, "I have the form ready. Here. I'm really looking forward to the trip. Well, see you later, Jeff!"

He glanced at the paper. It was one of those youth trip forms. "Oh, uh, thanks," he said with a quick smile, waving back as she left. He looked at the form. "Do we really need forms?..."

************

Chad walked quickly to the car, opened the car door, sat down, and slammed the door shut. He wasn't in the best of moods. Today was his birthday. One year ago, his mother had been held at gunpoint, and told to denounce her God. She refused, and Chad saw the man pull the trigger.

He shut his eyes, desperately trying to block out the memory. A cell phone rang. He rarely used his phone. Mainly because he rarely spoke at all, but he had always thought of cell phones as a nuisance, only for emergencies. He answered the phone.

"Hi, Chab. How are you? Are you looking forward to this afternoon? I know I am. I've been marking down the days until the trip."

It was Kirsten.

"Hi Kirsten," he answered, sounding enthusiastic, "Yeah me too, I can't wait." In truth, he couldn't wait for tomorrow morning. The sooner the day was over, the better. Attempting to keep up his charade, he continued, "Hey, you know they're having some kind of music competition this year? It's supposed to start Tuesday, and end on the last night, I think Friday night. They're not doing it as part of the actual service--or whatever you call it. It's just a little extra thing they're doing during free time." His expression couldn't have looked any more negative. Chad wondered if his expression could leak through his voice.

He looked up. Jeff had made it out the door.

************

Jeff had only taken one step, when someone else approached him with a form. Finally, he had made it to through the door. He couldn't see Chad due to the bright midday sun glaring off the windshield of the car, but he knew Chad was there. Probably sulking. Jeff ran a hand through his hair. What could he do for that boy?

He opened the car door, and sat down. Chad was on his cell phone. That was new. He usually didn't talk to anyone, let alone the possibility of him actually speaking on his birthday, of all days.

Jeff started the car, and began to drive out of the parking lot. They had just enough time to drive back home, pack their things, and drive back before he had to be at the church for the early birds who were almost too enthusiastic about the trip--that is, if this church had any.

He glanced over at Chad. Chad's voice sounded almost enthusiastic, while his face remained expressionless. His gray eyes stared directly in front of him, watching some other thought or memory. Jeff knew Chad well enough to see through the disguised voice without having to see his expression, which could disguise itself equally as well, if Chad really wanted it to.
 
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searchingsoul

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"Oh, really? Do you think I should enter? I recently got a few new peices, and am working on memorizing the one I especially like." Kirsten asked, wonderingly. Deciding what to play for a special was so hard for her, because she likes so many songs.

((Where's the others? Do they have characters yet?))
 
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Twelve

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((So far, you're the only one who has a character profile, but there will be others--at the very least one new member.))

"Oh, really? Do you think I should enter? I recently got a few new peices, and am working on memorizing the one I especially like."

"Sure. Go for it," Chad said, the slightest hint of indifference in his voice. Not quite as subtle. "So, uh....which pieces are you considering?"
"Just hang up already,"
He thought to himself.

************
Jeff was trying to listen to the conversation. Something about pieces. Probably music related. This conversation was clearly not about Chad...
 
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Twelve

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"No," he said, "I'm not really a musical person."

Jeff pulled into a driveway. They were home.

Chad quickly ended, "Ok, well, I've gotta go. Talk to you later." He hung up. Jeff looked over at him disapprovingly.

"That was kinda sudden, wasn't it?" Jeff said.

"I'm going to see her in a few hours anyway," Chad justified.

"It was still rude," Jeff stated. No more words were spoken as they packed for the trip.

************

Chad was finished within ten minutes. He fell onto his bed, and stared at the ceiling, thinking. When would the day end? He didn't want to have to deal with this any longer, but he couldn't escape the memory. Exactly one year, an hour, and twenty three and a half minutes ago, his mother was murdered as he watched. As well as half of the entire church who had accepted him and his family so openly. He remembered the details all too well.

Although it was not Sunday, the church was meeting just as they did everyday. Jeff was in the middle of a sermon. Another man stood next to him, translating Jeff's words to the church sitting on the floor--there were no pews or chairs. Ironically, the sermon was about Christian persecutions.

", but that's what happens to followers of Christ!" had said Jeff, "A true Christian will not--can not--back down! True Christians stand up for what th--"

A dark-skinned man barged in, holding a gun. Everyone froze. Everyone except Chad's mother. She quietly stood, and approached.

"Hello," she said calmly, and in a friendly and polite manner, "What's your name?"

The man looked at her quizzically. The translator spoke a few words to the man, apparently explaining what she had said. The stranger looked back at her. She offered her right hand -- shaking with her left hand would have been an extreme insult in this culture.

He shook his head, obviously confused by the friendly welcome. He spoke angrily in words Chad could not understand. The people around Chad, as he could see in their expressions, were frightened. The man spoke to the translator, gesturing to Chad's mother.

The translator's face went white. He swallowed, then began to speak, his voice shaky. "He wants to know if you are a 'little Christ.'"

"Yes, I'm a Christian," she answered.

The translator spoke. The gunman held the gun to her head. She didn't flinch. The gunman spoke.

The translator said to her, "He demands you denounce Christ or he threatens to kill you."

She laughed. Smiling, she asked the gunman, "Are you saying that if I don't reject my Lord, I get to go see Him right now?"

The translator translated. The gunman screamed some words, his eyes trying to escape the woman's unwavering gaze.

"He says, 'Denounce him now!"

"No," she replied.

The translator quickly glanced at her one more time, before speaking again to the gunman. The man glared at her, uncertainty in his eyes. He pulled the trigger--

"--Chab!"

Chad woke up.

"Chab!" came the call of his father from downstairs, "Come on, we're going to be late."

He quickly stood up, and ran out of his room, grabbing his suitcase on the way out.

************

Jeff was about to walk up the stairs when Chad came speeding by. Was he excited? No, couldn't be.

Jeff drove to the church, parking next to the church van. They loaded their things into the van. Jeff drove the van around to the front of the church, parked the van, and walked into the church to search for any early birds, and to wait for any others.

************

Chad stared at the sky. Perfectly cloudless. Terrible weather. He looked at his cell phone. Should he call Kirsten back? No, she'll be here soon anyway. It wasn't that he wanted to talk, it was that he needed to talk about something, anything, to keep his mind away from that day.
 
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searchingsoul

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Kirsten wondered what the abrupt goodbye was about, but she hung up, unoffended. When she got home, she packed up a few last minute things before getting on the computer for an hour. She checked her email, and then got off. She stopped by the piano and played a few peices. After that, she loaded up in the car and went to the church. When she saw Chad, she could tell he was a bit off color. She started to worry about him. She decided to leave it, though, because not alot could upset him so much. "Hi! What are you looking forward to most during the trip?" She asked energetically.
 
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Twelve

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Chad looked up, startled to see Kirsten standing there. He wondered why he hadn't noticed her drive up.

"Hi! What are you looking forward to most during the trip?"

Going home.
"Oh, hi. I guess I'm looking forward to the lessons. CIY usually has some really good messages," he said. He decided not to mention the previous phone call, when he hung up abruptly. The last thing he needed was an awkward conversation.

************

Jeff searched through his office. How could he possibly lose a study Bible, of all things? It's virtually impossible to lose something that large. Then again, all people considered...

He found it under an old dusty desk that clearly hadn't been used in at least five years. Not wanting to bother wondering how it got there, he reached under the desk and grabbed it. Something fell out of it. A piece of paper or something. He bent to pick it up. It was a picture of his wife, taken a week before they left to help in an underground church. It was the most recent picture he had of her--that he would ever have. Jeff had kept it within the pages of his Bible for the past year. As he stared at the picture, sadness and comfort filled him at once--a strange combination of feelings to be felt in a single moment. Sadness, because he longed for his wife; comfort, because he knew she was safe. No doubt Chad had taken her death harder than Jeff had, considering the boy's age.

He stood up, and walked to the church van, finding Kirsten there. "Oh hi, Kirsten. Excited about the trip?"
 
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Legolas The Jedi Master

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Starlin jumped out of a van, loaded down with her guitar and backpack. she had her headphones in, music blaring. She took a second to look around, spying Jeff she strode over and pulled out one of her earphones. "Hey, where do I throw my stuff. Oh hi Chad, Kirsten."
 
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"Very. I'm excited about evey one." Kirsten said smiling.

"Hey, where do I throw my stuff. Oh hi Chad, Kirsten."

"Hi, Starlin. What'd you bring this time? On the way there, I suppose we could hear each other's songs."
 
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Twelve

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"Just throw your stuff in the back of the van," Jeff said, "Oh, and we'll be leaving in about half an hour, so you've got time to hang around a bit. I've got to go make a few phone calls." With that, he disappeared into the church.

Chad leaned with his back against the van, his arms crossed. He had thirty minutes to convince himself that tomorrow was half an hour closer.

((Chad it is..))
 
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Twelve

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(:)thumbsup:))

With everyone in the van, Jeff happily jumped in and thus began the long, 2 hour quest to find and attend the CIY Summer Youth Conference.

Jeff was becoming very excited. Although he wasn't at all one of the youth, he loved being at CIY and witnessing the impact it had on the kids. He liked to think it would help Chad, but he still doubted.

Chad sat next to a window, staring out of it.

((We'll not spend too much time on this scene. I'd like to move along and get to the actual CIY event. When we're done there, we can start on the rest of the plot, at the church. If I can keep this thread alive long enough, we might get to the interesting part.))
 
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searchingsoul

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Kirsten smiled and let Starlin listen to her music. It was very injoyable. But then, she noticed Chad. He seemed unusually down today. She sighed. "Chad, you've seemed down in the dumps since this morning. Anything wrong?" she asked, concerned.
 
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Twelve

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"Chad, you've seemed down in the dumps since this morning. Anything wrong?"

He looked over at Kirsten. Her eyes reflected her concern. Interesting how much one could tell of a person when one spoke less and observed more.

"No," he lied, "I'm fine." He didn't bother disguising his voice. His intention was to indirectly tell Kirsten that he didn't want to talk about it. As a matter of fact, his voice had sounded unusually weak. Maybe he should talk to her. No, at least not now. Too many ears around to hear him, except Starlin's ears, which were behind headphones. He doubted an explosion would pierce through the music - he could hear it from the opposite end of the church van.

((When we finally get to CIY, there'll be a small welcome-type service, then they'll all head off to a hotel or something. I've got a big emotional scene for Chad planned for that night.

Another note: Chad no longer goes by Chab [obviously], but will sometimes be called Chab as a nickname. Some of his old friends will only refer to him as Chab. [just a warning, so that no one gets confused or thinks I'm changing his name again]))
 
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searchingsoul

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Kirsten subsided, but vowed that she would force it out of him later. Maybe in the hotel, when he was feeling better. Then she started the others in a rousing song called "Life is Good"

Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better

All around me smiling faces
Different people from different places
Time is short, don't wanna waste it
No ashamed so I'll just say it
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

All around me your creation
Brings me to my knees in adoration
Beauty here cannot compare to
What I see when I first see you

Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

All around me your creation
Brings me to my knees in adoration
Beauty here cannot compare to
What I see when I first see you

Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Life is good, eternal life is better
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
 
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