The Long Journey Home

I knocked on the door. The bread inside smelled amazing. I needed food. I had eaten for the past two weeks. I was trying to get home. As I was thinking about home, the door opened. "Uh, hello." Said a boy about my age. He was skinny, had blue eyes, and blonde hair. "Hi. I was wondering if you had any bread to spare. I am trying to get home and need food." I was almost positive that they would say no. Instead, they welcomed me. "We were about to give thanks. Do you want to join?" I was confused. Give thanks? To whom? I sat down and looked around. Everyone had their heads bowed and eyes closed. I shrugged and did the same thing. The father started talking. "Dear Lord, bless this food we are about to eat. Amen." They started to eat, so I did the same thing. While we were eating, the mother asked me if I believed in Jesus Christ. I said no. "Who is  Jesus Christ?" I asked. "He is The Savior. He died for our sins." said the boy who answered the door. "He is a kind, generous, and loving God." We had finished the meal and I wanted to learn more about this "God", but I was tired. I got up and started to leave. and the mother stopped me. "You can sleep here tonight if you want." I gladly accepted the invitation. I fell asleep on the cot that had been set up for me. That night, I dreamed of my family. It was a nice dream, and when I awoke, I was in a good mood and ready to start the day. As I hopped up off of my cot, I saw that everyone was awake. They were wearing nice clothes and eating breakfast. There was a pair of clothes on the ground next to my cot. I presumed that they were for me, so I put them on. When I was finished with breakfast, the family invited me to go to church with them. I didn't know what church was, but I decided to go. It was fun at church. After the service, we played tag and then went back to the hut. I told them that I had to continue with my journey home. They packed me a sack full of food and clothes. "Thank you for your kindness!" I said as I headed out the door. As I walked through the village, I thought about how loving that family was. Was it because of God? I started understanding Christianity now. As I was pondering all those thoughts, I tripped on a rock. Well, it was as big as a rock, but it felt squishy. I looked back. I had tripped over a dog! It was a dark brown. It looked dead. I went over to it and saw that it was still alive. I cried out in joy. I decided to keep him. I wanted to name him Buster. I brought him to a river near the village and gave him a bath. He ended up being a white dog, not dark brown. He looked hungry, so I gave him some food from the sack. He practically inhaled the food, so I gave him more. While I was grabbing food from the sack, I saw a book. When I picked it up, I saw it had a cross on the front. It was a Bible! I opened it at 1 Peter 5:7. It said, "Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." I read it over and over again. It gave me courage and hope. Silently, I prayed my first prayer. It felt good, giving everything to God. I got up. "Come on Buster. We need to get going!" I called. When Buster came when I called, I was surprised but happy. I had made a friend. We started making our way towards the hills. As we made it over our first hill, I saw something move in the bushes in front of us. I called Buster over to me and quickly walked past the bushes. Right when I thought we were safe, I heard a low growl that came from behind me. Slowly, I turned around. Standing there on it's back two legs was a bear. He was twice my size. Desperately, I scanned our surroundings. On my right there was a river. On my left, there was a  cabin. I knew that I should go to the cabin. The bear could probably swim better than me. I stared at the bear one last time, then ran. I knew that the bear was faster than me, so I prayed that I would make it in time. I ran as fast as I could, fear pushing me forward. As I got closer to the cabin, I could hear the bear breathing. When I got to the cabin, I saw someone was living there. I pounded on the door. Right when the bear reached me, I was pulled inside. Then, everything disappeared. When I came to, I was in a bed with an old man leaning over me. He was hunched over and had a long white beard. He had a cup of water and he gave it to me. “Thank you.” I said. Strangely, the man just nodded. I wondered why he didn’t respond. He had walked to the other side of the cabin. He came back with some berries and handed them to me. I ate half of them and gave the other half to Buster. He fell asleep after he ate his share of berries. “Thank you for saving my life.” I said. Again the man just nodded. I thought that he might be dumb. “I’m not from around here. Could you tell me where I am?” I asked. The old man grabbed a slate and wrote, “My name is Victor, and I cannot speak. Please leave.” I was surprised at his request. “Ok.” I said slowly. I was nervous. I woke up Buster. As I was on my way out the door, I left my Bible on the table for Victor. I felt sorry for the old man. It felt good to spread the word of Christ. When we left, I decided to go to the river that I had seen earlier. Buster and I drank as much water as we could. When we were done, we started our journey again. We saw many types of animals, including foxes, rabbits, mice, ravens, and no more bears. It was fun, going through the woods alone. Buster did most of the hunting while I made the shelters and fires. We slept side by side every night. By the time we reached the end of the hills, I had been away from home for three months. I learned to pray to God every morning and night. As I walked over the last hill, I saw my village. I cried happy tears and thanked God. As I neared my home, I remembered all of the happy memories that I had there. As I walked in, my family rejoiced and we celebrated my return. I was allowed to keep Buster and he was the new family addition. My whole family converted to Christianity. I was so happy.