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Lessons 8

"Hello," I greeted the first two children as they entered the building. They were dirty and
their coats were torn. Three more children came, and I started teaching at 7 o'clock sharp.
"I want to begin with the story of how God created the world," I said. "I'll pass these papers

out--"

Suddenly, the door in the back opened and a tall boy ducked inside and hurled a mud ball at
me. "Ouch!" I yelled, rubbing my arm. The rock hidden inside the mud ball really hurt! "What
should I do?" I wondered. "We don't want you here!" the boy yelled. There was a clamour

outside the door as the gang yelled for me to get out. "Let's get out of here!" cried my
students as they ran out of the classroom. The gang finally left, too, and I shut the door
and slumped to the floor. My legs were shaking, but my heart was determined--these mean
bullies and their mud balls would not stop me from teaching.

The mudslingers came week after week, but I kept teaching and more and more children kept
coming!

Discouraged

One night, I walked outside on Queen Street feeling discouraged. The street gang had
beaten up one of my students and knocked over my lantern lights.

I trudged home, lost in thought. The alley was dark and foggy so I didn't notice the gang of
boys that had circled around me until it was too late. I stopped, praying while my heart
raced. "What do you want?" I asked. "We want you to leave," the leader answered.

The boys closed in the circle around me and the leader stepped forward. He carried a large

piece of metal with razor-sharp edges. The metal was tied to a string and he started
swinging it around and around over his head. "This will fix your pretty face," the boy
sneered. "Move back." I refused to budge. I was scared, but this boy wasn't going to make
me run.

The boy kept swinging the string while the sharp metal came closer and closer to my face. I
swallowed hard and bit my lower lip. "Give in," the leader demanded. Another swing. The

metal grazed my forehead. I kept staring at him as the warm blood oozed down my
forehead. The boy suddenly dropped the metal weight onto the street. Amazingly, his heart
had changed.

"You're brave for a girl," he said, laughing. "You can walk anywhere and we won't let anybody
hurt you!" I took out a handkerchief and wiped my forehead. "Then why don't you come to

my mission meeting tomorrow night?" I asked boldly. The boys laughed. One joked, "Yeah,
we'll come to your mission meeting."

(Victorians) 56