JOSHUA THE SPY: BOOK ONE

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Joshua meets Sarah

He continued his walk through the shrubs, gently following a path, he could tell been previously created by people who legged it through. His journey would take no less than a few more minutes, underneath the brimming and beaming sun, which was now in full stare down upon the earth.

In the distance, just ahead of the shrubs he had come through unscathed, was a church, small in size, but evident to his function, with the sign of a cross extended just upon the roof to be seen well enough from a distance. The building itself was structured from wooden logs, and its cross was fashioned from the same timber that made up the four walls of the church. It remained unpainted but held itself in beauty from the lovely planks it had been constructed.

He smiled as he walked towards the structure. Surrounding the church, was a wooden fence, overlooking the Teton Mountain Range. The shortened distance between himself and the church, brought to his ears, the voices of the choir singing aloud, while men, women, and children jollied in song along with them. He hurried his steps further through the dirt-laden walkway and then a wooden walkway, bringing him closer to the entrance into the church where a wooden sign with words on it stood.

It read; "The Chapel of the Transfiguration, built in 1925," in plain white letterings upon a red wooden background to properly illuminate its wordings. He walked past the sign, and came across a huge door, wooden in nature, and slammed shut while those within went about their business.

Gently, he helped himself with the door, pulling it open with one hand, while the other supported his cane and his body to stand. He walked in slowly to the absent attention of the worshippers who initially hadn't realized his presence, and were still engrossed in their business of worship.

Silently, with the tapping of his acacia wooden walk stick against the wooden floorboard, whose sound got consumed by the loud chorus from their songs and voices, he journeyed his way through the tightly packed church, walking down the aisle as the worshippers began providing him with their attention. One after the other, their gazes stuck on him like glue as he made his lonely walk toward the altar.

Whispers began to air, in inquisition about the strange man. In a church as small as theirs, it was evident everyone knew everybody, and a peculiar face would stick out like a sore thumb.

"Who is he?" he could hear a lady whisper to her colleague, as the heightened sound of their worship song had lowered drastically due to his presence.

"I don't think he is from around here from the looks of it," another said; this time is coming from a teenager who shot him a bewildered gaze, before asking another question. "Why is he wearing a white shirt with fringes around his waist?"

He paid them no attention, choosing to focus on the intent within his heart in the house of God. He had walked in without a care for his differing, or the fact that the congregation saw him as different. He didn't see or portray himself as unusual because he was new in the church's vicinity and amongst its members, but of the same mind because he too had come to worship God, and in that, he was most welcomed and always would be.

He had heard some whisper about him not having a bible, but their ignorance brought nothing but a whisker of a smile to him; for he knew every word within the Holy Book and had them ingrained in him as life itself, thereby having no such need to go about with one. The words within the bible were more familiar to him than they could ever understand.

Making his walk well into the church, to his left, just in the middle of the church itself, was an empty seat, beside a similarly curious looking woman, who watched him occupy it and bow his head to pray afterward. She lingered her gaze on him for a short while, before turning it to the Pastor, who had begun his sermon. He too ended his prayer briefly and started to listen intently and with intensity.

The Pastor was giving his sermon about "The Gospel of Luke." It was one he knew, and had an interest in, while the large framed man spoke with eloquence, and captivated his congregation's attention and some made quick notes of his words.

The sermon brought a sudden warm feeling within him, seeping in slowly with images of his brothers; James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. He relived the moment they were playing hide and seek with his head throbbing like he was drowning in a liquid of memory, but without the pains of being immersed and submerged in water coming with them.

"Where are you Jeshua?" they said, while he hid behind a large boulder?

The memory was clear as day, and he could tell he had chosen the spot so they wouldn't see him. He had cloaked himself with a camouflage, which made them doubt his presence even while standing just before him. In a sudden burst to life, revealing himself from his covering, they came running towards him with a hug.

"How come we couldn't see you hiding there?" Simon asked explicitly, wearing a curious look across his face.

"Yes, we searched all around but didn't find you," Joseph repeated his brother's words.

He chuckled loudly at their failed attempts and stood up before explaining to them;

"My cloak is like that of a chameleon's, and it blends with the boulder," he explained to their interesting faces.

He had just taken a few steps when the images in his head got flushed away, and his consciousness returned to his current surroundings, in which a rock band was playing a song on the stage. He rubbed his eyes to gain proper composure of himself, as the band played the song titled "I Surrender," while the entire church sang along joyfully. Joshua fixed his eyes on the men strumming their guitars singing about him, which brought joy to his ears. He said to himself, "Wow, they made a song about me, how creative" "that is a beautiful song," and he began to smile and nod his head showing approval.

The song began lifting peoples spirits, prompting them to stand up and wave their hands in the air calling out to him, and chanting the words "I surrender…I surrender". After they finished their song, they began to sing another one, "Here I am to worship." "Who is here to worship," the lead singer said. Everyone in the congregation said out loud, "We are." As he sang the song halfway, a woman joined him in a duet. Her voice was rich and powerful, and it beamed across the chapel, leaving the congregation mesmerized in a spiritual high.

Joshua could make out a set of seven band players, while the lead singer walked forward to introduce himself. He was a lanky, tall framed, handsome guy, with dark, short looking hair and brown eyes. His unique voice resonance across the room, and as he spoke, he had a commanding presence. It was apparent he was one for the crowd as cheers met his speech.

"Hello everyone, my name is Bret, and I play the six-stringed guitar, as the lead singer of the band," he said, introducing himself, before doing the same about his colleagues.

"Behind me is my bass player James," "on the electric guitar is Paul," "on the drum is Bill, on the steel guitar Chris, keyboardist John, and my expert fiddler, Michael."

To his side, was a blonde looking woman with medium long hair wearing a cotton Pancho with tassels and over the knee boots with tights. He introduced the lady by the name Jill as his backup singer and a solo singer as well. Bret went on ahead to continue singing, before coming to an end briefly, to the raucous applause of everyone who had listened, as well as the Pastor. It was evident they had sung well, which they accepted with beaming faces, just as the congregation sat down back into their chairs.

The Pastor continued from where he had left off on his sermon.

"We had the privilege of baptizing a few members of the church last week," he said.

He immediately motioned for the team to his left to display the footage of the baptized members on a projector and a large sheet cast on the wall behind him, bringing the images into full view for those within the church to see and have a glimpse of the occurrence as it had unfolded.

"Their names are Brad Lee, Ed Martin, Carla Martinez, Samantha Stone, and Sarah Abrams," he announced proudly to the cheers of the church members.

He looked over to Sarah, who was the lady seated by him who had turned to have a quick look at him as well before he smiled and gave her a nod of approval for her baptism. She smiled in return, gushing red where she sat, before turning her face away from his, as he did the same. They listened to the Pastor, who had continued as the video behind him came to a close.

"We always welcome those who are ready and willing to get baptized and become members of our church," the Pastor smiled along, before waving his hands to ask them all up on their feet. "Can we now rise to say the last prayer please," he sought of them? The entire church did as they were told.

"Now, I want each of you to look at the person sitting next to you, and those surrounding you, introduce yourself to them and shake their hands, ask how they are doing, and meet them like you would a loved one," he demanded further.

He had just turned to Sarah, who sat by him when she extended her hand to meet with his. She felt a warm and possessed feeling. Joshua noticed a unique smile with an equal set of dimples denting her cheeks in beauty. Her hair was a light blonde and her eyes blue like lapis lazuli. Her face was white and rosy. She wore a blue pastel dress.

"Hello, my name is Joshua Elo," he said, introducing himself as she acknowledged with a nod and a smile.

"I'm Sarah Abrams," she replied immediately.

"Yes, I know your name already, from the baptism images earlier," Joshua informed her.

Her face flushed red again immediately, blushing aloud for him to see as blood rushed into her cheeks. She turned away slightly before speaking;

"It's nice to meet you, Joshua," she struggled to voice. "You're welcome, Sarah," he responded, turning around to greet some more people, whom he told his name was Joshua Elo. The other church members were more than receptive to him, and he liked that pretty much. Immediately after the greetings, they tendered grace and prayers. He had just moved out of his seat to take his leave when Sarah called unto him;

"Joshua Elo," she pronounced his name in full, watching the man slowly turn around. "I'm certain I've never seen you around here before, if I may ask, what brings you to these parts?"

Joshua gently nodded in acknowledgment, staring her right back in the face, while she shifted her head to the side in shyness once more before he began speaking. He could read the body signs and could very much tell she was the shy kind.

"You're right Sarah," he began with, watching her gain some better composure. "I'm not from this world, but I came to seek work," he explained.

Her next actions made him ponder. She burst into laughter, looking more comical than what he had said. He did not realize why he tickled her ribs but guessed it had something to do with what he said.

Getting herself better composed and laughing less, she asked; "What world would that be, Mars?"

It finally dawned on Joshua that he had been the substance for his jest. He coughed slightly, clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry, you mistook my words," he apologized. "What I meant to say, is that I am not from this area."

Sarah listened more seriously this time around but looked a tad down upon hearing his wish.

"I'm sorry you might be disappointed, Joshua," she voiced in a down tone.

"Why is that?" he inquired?

"We don't have jobs around here, but perhaps the Pastor could help you get one, while I'd also ask around," she informed him.

A man walked over to them, interrupting their conversation, without intending to be rude.

"Joshua, this is John, he is the Head of the New Membership Committee," said Sarah.

"First-time visitors to our congregation are most welcomed and appreciated," he said, exchanging a brief handshake with Joshua. "So that we may know who you are and how we can assist you, would you please fill out the welcome card and place it on the plate while my assistants are passing it around?" he asked kindly, tending the form into Joshua's hand.

Joshua took a brief look at it before hearing the man speak once more.

"If you make a prayer requests, please write them down as well," he continued. "We appreciate your offering because it will help us tremendously paying for our church expenses," he finally ended his words.

He provided Joshua a pencil to go with the form in his hands, before excusing himself, indicating that he had an important meeting. The Pastor informed the church that next weeks sermon, they will cover the book of Hebrews, before dismissing the church's congregation.