God's Country

Part Eighteen

'The Bible doesn't sugar-coat pain and suffering; it gives you something to move past it.'

Jud White

Chloe Ford did not know whether to laugh or cry. She supposed that attending the Christian Ladies College was better than nothing but she could not continue her childcare course. She had spent the whole summer holidays as a maiden, as her parents bowed to the pressure from the Pastor, and then they announced that she had got a free place at the CLC, just like that, as if God had smiled upon them in their hour of need. It was what she had begged for of course for so long, simply to be allowed to continue her studies, and the random mention of guardian training did make her sit up and take notice, but she was not a maiden and did not want to be one. She wanted to do something useful so that she could help her parents, not be a helpless pious charity case. But she also knew she had no choice, and the mention of guardian training did give her half a chance. She had always wanted to work with kids, and she had always assumed it would be with heathens, because girls like her did not become guardians. There were only a dozen or so in the whole village, because there was not so much demand, and those seemed to be hand-picked by the Pastors. But being a guardian would be better than an arranged marriage. She decided that she had to look at the positives, because moaning had not got her anywhere at all. Having spent most of her holidays mixing with the best maidens in Meadvale, her new uniform did not overly disconcert her, so she decided to make the best of things. She still had a chance to follow her dreams and she realised that she would have to work even harder, and maybe suffer a little more, if she still wanted to make them come true in God's love. She did believe and that helped her, of course. Her mother said that God was thinking of them, helping them, and Chloe could believe that was true. Maybe God was finding a way for her to earn His love and help her parents? He knew her objectives were pure and He was helping her achieve them whilst remaining in His embrace.

And her mother was so happy. Despite everything that she had to endure, Chloe could not deny her mother her wildest dreams. Mrs Ford did not think of her as a charity case. She just saw her only child as a maiden, a gift both to and from God, and the bliss in her eyes gave Chloe the strength to believe.

'The goal of Bible translation is to be transparent to the original text – to see as clearly as possible what the biblical authors actually wrote.'

Leland Ryken

"Calvin...is this really your priority? I am rather busy out here," Colin Hughes sighed into his mobile, hunched into his coat as he walked through the Moscow park. He was close to a man who was supposed to know about Putin's off shore bank accounts and he did not want to be distracted by a conversation about Michael Winstanley.

"Sure it's long term Colin but its real...we can see it happening over there." Calvin Hunter sounded close, the wonders of modern technology, but he was actually in Washington. Colin Hughes wished he was as he checked his back, reminding himself to choose his words with care. He was probably being monitored.

"Long-term? The organisation in question is tiny...even if they are changing tack it is small beer my friend...nothing to get your shorts in a twist over."

"Something is happening...that is clear from your last report and from what we are getting from our people. When are you finished there?"

"I don't know...it's not as easy as that...but I need three more days right now. There must be someone else who can look at this for you? If you need a quick response? I am hardly an expert in the subject?"

"You know the whole landscape my friend and you are trusted...we can wait a few days but we need you to update things." Hunter said firmly before sighing himself, sympathising with his friend. "Look it's the money that is spooking people. Without this could be Waco or John Travolta and Tom Cruise...but these guys have billions to play with. The boss thinks we are vulnerable and she doesn't want these kooks coming up on the blindside. So she wants to know everything from every angle, in advance. You're an angle in this Colin."