Berta woke up from her mother screaming in
her separate room! She knew what that meant, she gave birth to twins. Berta was
excited that there was going to be more children but she knew her mother and
father were not since they were twins. In her village they killed twins because
they thought that one of them had evil spirits. They did not know how to tell
which one had the evil spirit so they killed both. Berta could not sleep the
rest of the night. She knew she could not even meet her siblings because she
might get an evil spirit. She knew it was not true because a nice lady with red
hair taught her about Jesus and she had been saved from the teaching. The lady
with red hair said that Jesus died on the cross for her sins. But Berta said he
could not want her, Berta said she has done to many bad things. The red hair
lady said that Jesus died on the cross for all your sins. That is it she
thought! I need to figure out where that lady is so I can take my siblings
there. She finally remembered where the lady said she would be but the village
was 3 days away. How could she sneak away with her siblings without anybody
seeing her? She finally went back to sleep but only got a little more sleep
because her dad woke her up to tell her that the chief would be here in 4 days
to take the babies and kill them. She thought I have 4 days to get them away
from here. She said a long prayer to God asking for wisdom and direction for
what to do. That day when she was done digging for sweet potatoes she went home
to start secretly packing for the trip she would take. She had to figure out
where the twins where to get them tonight. At dinner she asked her parents
where the twins were. They curiously asked why she wanted to know. She said so
that she would know not to go there. Her father told her they were near the
south side of the field there was a hut they were in. When she was going to bed
she thought this is going to be my last night here. When she heard her mother
and father both snoring she quietly grabbed her things and snuck out to get the
twins. She got to the hut without waking the guard up. Saying a quick prayer to
God, She quietly scooped them in her arms and snuck into the darkness heading
toward where the lady lived. She thought I can do this with God’s help. She
remembered a Bible verse Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who
strengthens me.
The
Journey!
She was a
little scared traveling in the dark from all the noises but she knew it was for
her sibling’s life. When dawn came she got caught with a tiger, she knew that
her village men might be trying to find them so she could not make noise. She
started throwing sticks at the tiger and it finally ran away! She had a twin on
her back in a sling and one in her stomach on another sling. She felt weak
carrying all the stuff she would need for the trip and the twins. She took a
break from walking and fed the twins the milk she snuck for the trip. She ate
some bread to keep up her own strength. She knew she need to get going so off
she went walking in a jungle full of scary animals creepy cob webs that kept
getting in her face.
Day
and Half Later
She was finally only a couple of miles
away from the village that lady lived in but all of the sudden she heard a
noise. It was not an animal but a person! She was a afraid it was her father or
one of the village men. It was not, it was the kind lady with red hair. The
lady remembered her and said her name was Mary Slessor. Berta told Mary her
story. She said that Berta was a very brave girl for what she had done. They
walked together finally reaching Mary’s hut.
The
Rest of Her Story.
When Berta
walked inside the hut she was amazed at the size. She never saw something that
big before. A week past and all was good. Berta helped Miss. Mary with her
Siblings and all the other children Miss. Mary had saved from death! However
her mother and father came one day and were furious with her. They were yelling
at her telling her that she put disgrace upon her parents and that they needed her
to come back and work in the fields. She said no! Finally Miss. Mary stepped in
and said that they should discuss this calmly but that made her parents madder.
Finally they said this is your last chance Berta or else. Miss Mary asked very
kindly if they could leave because they are waking all the babies up. They both
finally left. Berta never saw her parents again! Miss. Mary said I was a strong
fourteen year old and that she was very proud of me! As the twins and Berta
grew older the heard more and more about Jesus and God’s grace for them. When
Berta turned eighteen she was baptized. Berta grew up and became like Mary and taught the story of salvation. Amali stayed true to her name and shared hope to all people that would listened. Banji Her brother grew up and started a mission for twins and their siblings.
NOTE: This
story is made up so that you can see what it was like in Mary Slessor time.
Here is were you can learn more on Mary Slessor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Slessor
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