Misdirected Read Online Free PDF Page A

God is here to catch you. Anyone want to come up and tell us about it?”
    A girl toward the back stands and approaches the stage. The other students cheer her on. I think I’m the only person in the room who has no idea what’s going on. Saved ?
    The girl walks up to Frank and he hands her the microphone.
    â€œHey everyone. For my entire life I’ve wanted to feel the Holy Spirit and be saved. All of my friends had gone through it and I could tell my family was getting nervous that it hadn’t happened yet. I loved church, but I had questions and doubts. That was until July when my family and I went to church and the preacher was speaking words that felt like they were coming from God himself. I opened myself and let the words in and then it happened. I found Him.”
    Students all around stand up and cheer.
    â€œIt felt like I was connected to the world, to Jesus and all the reasons He died to save us. All my doubts were gone. I just felt so thankful. I thought my heart was going to explode. And I knew the Holy Spirit had come to me.”
    She smiles while the other students continue to cheer, and hands the microphone back to Frank.
    â€œThank you, Laura,” says Frank. “That’s what I’m talking about, people. Letting Christ’s love into your heart. You can’t just expect it to show up. If you have a party and don’t invite anyone, do you think anyone is going to come? No! You have to send the invitations, ask people to visit. Same with Christ. He needs to know you’re ready for Him. That you know He died so that you might be saved and then, only then, will you feel the wondrous feeling that Laura described. Only then will you truly be saved. Let’s all pray to God that those of us who may not have been saved yet will be able to open themselves to the Holy Spirit soon.”
    I’ll admit, at this point, I’m freaking out. I want to raise my hand and ask, What the hell does getting saved mean? But that would point out that I don’t fit in here at all. I have that awful feeling in my stomach, like when you’re at a party and no one talks to you. As Emily would say, it’s like being the only vegan at a pig roast.
    Frank talks for a while more about being saved and about the importance of loving Jesus. I clap when other people clap, but all I want to do is go home. Catholic school was nothing like this. Kids there barely talked about god.
    â€œNow a bit of housekeeping,” says Frank. “I want us to do some brainstorming. It’s day one and everyone is excited to be here with their friends. It would be so easy to go about our daily lives, enjoying all that we have. Of course, we have to recognize that not everyone has all the joy we have. Not everyone is as fortunate as we are. That’s right. It’s time to start throwing out ideas for our fall service projects. Let’s help people and spread the word of the Lord. I know you’ve all been thinking about it, so who wants to come up here first and share their ideas?”
    A few hands go up. They walk up to the stage and line up.
    The first kid says, “I thought we could do a food drive and help stock the soup kitchen. Then maybe they’ll let us talk to people about God while we serve food.”
    The second kid is Kenny, the blond guy who invited me to his church.
    â€œRight now my brother is fighting the war in Iraq. He said they really like getting letters. I thought we could start a pen-pal program to show them they aren’t forgotten.”
    Suddenly I feel like crap for not having written to Pete in over a month. We talk on the phone every few weeks and I know my mom and dad email him. I’ve been so busy with the move that I’ve sort of ignored him. I’ll write to him this week.
    A tall upper-classman walks up to the mic and says, “I think we should put together a talent-show fundraiser to raise money for sick kids who don’t have