“Yes. What can I do for you?”
“Tom wanted me to talk to you about the Christmas pageant set.”
“He did? Why?”
“He said after I looked over his plans to bring them to you with my changes.”
“Okay, come on back to the shop and let’s go over your changes.” Leah said leading the way to her shop. “Watch your step. I’m not a neat craftsman.”
“Who cares when your work is the beautiful? I’m impressed.” He said looking at the miniature horses she was creating.
“Thank you. They are Christmas presents for children around town.”
“Here are Tom’s plans.” He said getting down to business “I only had minor changes. But I hadn’t met you yet so I decided to make a pastoral visit at the same time.”
“Welcome. Have a seat while I look these over in case I have any questions.”
“Can I wander around and look at your work instead?” Nathan asked
“Sure” she smiled and went back to reviewing the plans “I think I understand what he is looking for” she said a few minutes later. Nathan asked her a few questions about her work and then started for the door.
“Can I ask you one more thing?”
“Sure.” She answered
“Do you know a Faith that attends our church? She was a great help to me when I moved here and I haven’t met her at church yet. She answers the phone at a Help the Flock.”
“That would be my sister. She is in the house, I’ll introduce you.” She said pointing the way to the house
“Wonderful” Nathan said following her
Leah led Nathan to the door that went down to Faith’s office. She turned on the light and opened to the door to lead him down when someone knocked on the door. “Just go on down, I’ll be right back.”
Nathan walked cautiously down the stairs when he heard talking. As he was halfway down, he recognized his own voice and sermon. “Do I really sound like that when I preach?” he asked.
Faith jumped and spun around in her chair. Her hand went to her face in surprise from his appearance. “What?” she asked stupidly
“Do I really sound like that when I preach?” he asked as he approached. Faith reached over and found the off button and shut the tape off.
“Sorry. Pastor Lindstrom?”
“Nathan please.” He said extending his hand but she didn’t take it in hers.
“I’m Faith Newham” she said extending her hand. He finally noticed she was wearing sunglasses inside in a basement. He grasped her hand in his and said hello. “You didn’t answer my question?” he joked
“Well, I tape your sermons so I can listen to them again. I happened to be studying James before you started preaching on it, so you are helping me study.”
“I’m glad. That explains the insightful questions you had last week.”
“Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have bothered you with those.”
“Nonsense. That’s what I am here for. And it wasn’t a bother, it made me think too.”
“Did you and Leah need something?” Faith asked nervously. She was not used to strangers in her office space.
“No, I wanted to thank you again personally for helping me with my move. It was greatly appreciated.”
“Anytime.” Faith shrugged
“You have quite a setup down here.” He said looking at her computers and machines. “Can I ask an extremely rude question?”
Faith laughed and said yes. She liked people who weren’t shy around her handicap.
“How do you type on the computer without sight?”
“Watch and learn.” She said joking with him. “Email program on” she said into her microphone. “New email” she said when she heard the signal that indicated the program was open. After she heard the next signal she began to spell his email address. Then she commanded the program to the subject line and said “Hi”. She moved the cursor down to the body of the email with another voice command and then with one more voice command she activated the typing feature. “Hi Nathan. I am teaching you how I do my work.” Then with a command to close typing program and then “Send email”, he watched her send him an email. She couldn’t sense where he was in the room so she stayed facing the microphone on her desk.
“I’m impressed.” He said from over her left shoulder “Want to do my correspondence?” he joked
“No thanks. Long emails get very tedious.” She explained
“I’m still impressed. Well, I’d better be going, I’ll see you Sunday hopefully.”
“I’m usually there.” She stated as she turned to hold out her hand. Nathan shook it and wished her a good day as he left her office. Leah met him at the doorway and apologized for getting held up.
“No problem. I was just talking with Faith. She has quite a setup down there. She showed me how she works on the computer, I’m impressed.”
“She did? Wow, that isn’t like her. I mean she usually isn’t as forthcoming with people she doesn’t know real well. That sounded rude didn’t it. Forgot I said anything.” She said embarrassed
“It wasn’t rude. I think I know what you meant. Strangers are not something she is comfortable with.”
“Exactly.” Leah agreed as she walked him to the door. “Thank you for bringing the plans over. The sooner I get started the less my mother will fret over when they will be done.”
“You have one of those too, huh?” he asked laughing
“Absolutely. You may have met her. My parents are Jacob and Pearl Newham.”
“I’m going there for dinner tomorrow night.” Nathan stated
“Well, amazing coincidence so are we. See you tomorrow.”
Nathan said his goodbyes and walked to his car. The Newham sisters were extremely talented. He had to get back to his office, he had an email to answer.
Leah went down to see Faith after seeing the preacher off. “Rach?”
“You couldn’t have warned me he was coming down here?”
“I’m sorry. The doorbell rang just as I was about to bring him down here. I didn’t even think about it.”
“It’s okay. Do I even have matching clothes on today?”
“Yes, little girl. I matched your pink tigers with your purple tigers as I dressed you this morning.” Leah joked reminding Faith of the way their mother used to dress them in matching outfits.
“Thanks mother” Faith joked back. “What was he doing here anyway?”
“He brought me the plans for the Christmas scenery and then asked if I knew a Faith who went to our church who answered phones for the Help the Flock.”
“I thought Tom has the plans, why did Pastor Lindstrom bring them by?”
“He wanted to meet me.”
“Oh really?” Faith asked
“Knock it off. We hadn’t met yet at church and so he made a pastoral visit is all.”
“Sure he did. Leah’s got a new boyfriend.”
“Goodbye. I’m done talking to you.” Leah said climbing the stairs.
Faith turned Nathan’s sermon back on and went back to her studying. She was trying to memorize a verse as her email signaled that she had a new message. Faith activated the programs necessary and listened to what the email said. “Thanks for showing me your work. Nathan”
Leah forgot to mention to Faith that Nathan would be at their parent’s house the next day until she pulled into the driveway and saw him exiting his car. “Faith, I forgot to tell you something. Nathan is here for dinner tonight.”
“Please tell me that that is a joke.” Faith stated
“No, it isn’t. He is already here and walking up the front steps.”
“Is this payback for picking on you?” Faith asked
“No, I’m truly sorry. I completely forgot he told me he would be here. What do you want to do?”
“Pray that I don’t embarrass myself. Kick me under the table if I spill food or something.”
“Okay. Wait for me to come around and walk you to the door. His car is in t
he way.”
Leah parked the car and went to walk around the car to get Faith, but Nathan beat her to the door. “I parked in your way, Faith. I’m sorry. May I walk you to the door?”
“Sure” Faith answered trying to be happy about this. She maneuvered out of the car until she could stand up and then held her hand out for Nathan. He carefully and skillfully guided her to the front door. “You have done that before.” She stated without thinking
“Yes I have. My grandmother was not able to see.”
“Thank you for your assistance. I appreciate it.” Faith said as she turned to listen for Leah at the door. Thankfully Leah was quick to open the door and walked Faith the rest of the way in. Once she was inside, she knew her way around and could go around by herself. Faith excused herself and Leah took Nathan into see her father. “Dad, have you officially met Pastor Lindstrom.”
“Yes, we met on Sunday. These are my sons Jeremy and Paul.” He said indicating the two men that were standing around him.
“Hi again Jeremy. Paul, it is nice to meet you.” Nathan said as he shook their hands
“Pastor Lindstrom” Pearl said as she entered the living room “We are so glad you could come to dinner.”
“Please all of you call me Nathan. And I am glad to be here.”
“Where’s Faith?” Pearl asked of Leah
“She is here somewhere. She is probably talking to Martha.” Leah said with a meaningful glance at her mother.
“Oh yes, probably. Leah, I need your help, can you join me in the dining room?” Pearl said walking towards the room she mentioned. Leah followed and closed the door behind her. Pearl started talking quietly the moment the door closed “I completely forgot her reluctance to eat around strangers. Is she mad at me?”
“No, I’m not. But can you warn me or not invite me next time.” Faith said from the far side of the room.
“I’m sorry sweetie. I truly did forget.” Pearl said going to hug her daughter
“It’s okay. But we will be leaving as soon as we finish dinner. Sooner if I spill something which I probably will since we are having “messy” foods tonight.” Messy food was Faith’s definition of Mexican food which was hard to eat gracefully and even harder to eat when you couldn’t see it.
“I’m sorry. I asked Nathan what he liked to eat and he said he loved Mexican food.”
“It’s okay Mom, Leah’s going to kick me under the table if I make a mess.”
Martha stuck her head through the doorway and announced that dinner was ready. Leah directed Faith to the chair as their mother went to call the rest of the crowd. Leah sat on one side of Faith and Jeremy sat on the other but unfortunately Nathan sat across from her. Leah grabbed Faith’s hand under the table and gave her silent support as their father prayed.
Leah helped Faith dish out the food as it was passed around the table. They had over the years worked at their own form of communications. Faith could also tell that Nathan watched her as she ate. She ate slowly and carefully and Leah didn’t have to kick her under the table.
A few minutes after finishing dessert, Faith excused herself from the table and went to wash up. Faith wandered around in the upstairs part of the house instead of venturing back down to the dining room. Faith counted steps and doorways until she found her old room. She stepped inside and closed the door. She didn’t move any farther into the room because she was unfamiliar with where things were located now. Mainly she just wanted familiar around her right then. Faith let the pictures of her childhood play in her mind as she stood there.
Faith remembered the night she had accepted God’s gift of his son Jesus Christ. She had been about ten and finally told God she needed his gift. Her father had prayed with her and then stood with her as she was baptized in the same church she still attended. Faith was still replaying memories when she heard footsteps in the hall. “Faith?” Leah called softly
Faith opened the door and stepped out into the hall. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“Is that a joke?” Faith laughed
“No. I didn’t know if you had changed your mind or not.”
“I have not changed my mind. Go tell Mom we are leaving and maybe she will come to the door instead of me having to walk back into the dining room.”
“Everyone moved to the living room already.” Leah stated
“Oh great. Let’s just go home.” Faith said as Leah directed her hand to the banister. Faith gracefully and carefully walked down the stairs and turned towards the living room. “Mom, we need to be going. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Faith stated “Good night everyone.” She said turning for the door. Leah helped her down the front steps after her father and mother came to hug her goodbye.
Pearl and Jacob returned to their guest in the living room. “Your daughters are impressive.” Nathan said to them. “Leah is a master craftsman and Faith was a great help to me when I moved here.”
“She was? How?” Jacob asked
“I called that Help the Flock organization that she works for and she gave me information about Albuquerque.”
“She doesn’t work for them. She is the owner of Help the Flock. It is an organization she formed and now runs from the basement of her home. She has lots of volunteers and three other employees that help her.” Jacob clarified
“Then I’m even more impressed.” Nathan stated “She takes her mission seriously. All I had to do was ask a question and if she didn’t know the answer right away, she got back to me within a few hours.”
Nathan talked to the Newham’s for several more minutes before announcing that he needed to head home. “Thank you very much for dinner and for the opportunity to get to know your family even more.” He said shaking Jacob’s hand. “Jeremy, basketball next Monday right?”
“That’s right. See you Sunday.” Jeremy said shaking his hand.
Faith wasn’t talkative on the way home. Usually they had plenty to discuss after a night with their parents but tonight Faith wasn’t talking.
“You are awfully quiet. I thought tonight went well.”
“Me too. I didn’t embarrass myself. I felt like he was watching me the whole way through dinner.”
“Who Nathan?”
“Yes, was he?”
“I don’t know, I was watching you. Wasn’t that my assignment?”
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair to you. This whole night has been unsettling. I wasn’t expecting him to be there, or to help me walk into the house.”
“I thought you would be impressed by that. You hate it when people are nervous around you.”
“That is true, but it was still unsettling.”
“Faith has a crush on her new pastor.” Leah said teasingly
“Why in the world would you jump right to that conclusion? You are nuts. Me and a pastor? That would be a joke.”
“And why wouldn’t a match work between you and Nathan?’
“Well, overlooking the obvious” she said pointing to her long scar “Let’s just pick one area where I would fail miserably to be the kind of wife a pastor would need. We are standing at the back of the church greeting church members, how would I know whose hand I was shaking?”
“The same way you do now. People tell you who it is when the walk up to you to talk to you now.”
“Yes, but ..”
“But nothing; and I’m not even discussing the scar issue. I think I see you and Nathan together perfectly well.” Leah said getting out of the car and coming around to help Faith
“Please don’t.” Faith said almost sadly. Leah, however, was thinking that she actually could see Faith and Nathan married. Faith didn’t see herself as being a help to anyone only a hindrance; but help is what Faith did best. Leah decided to appoint herself as matchmaker for her sister and her new preacher. This was going to be fun.
Chapter 3
Sunday morning, Leah once again helped Faith to find her seat in the worship center and then went to the choir room but all that was a
fter she purposely led Faith right by Nathan as he was talking to another member. Faith was pulling out her tape recorder and preparing for the service as her brother Jeremy sat down beside her. “Hi Jeremy” Faith stated.
“How did you know it was me?” he joked reaching one arm around her to give her a quick hug.
Faith was just about to say something when Jeremy spoke up “Hello Nathan.”
“Hi Jeremy, Hi Faith”
“Hello Pastor Lindstrom” Faith responded formally. Nathan was a bit surprised by her greeting but Jeremy was asking him a question so he paid attention. As soon as he finished answering Jeremy’s question, he saw the music minister enter the auditorium so he went to the front row to take his seat. I wonder what I did to cause that kind of a greeting from Faith.
Faith was too preoccupied to pay attention to the music being sung. It was all Leah’s fault; she made her self-conscious in front of the pastor now with her teasing. Pay attention to the sermon and remember you are here to worship God, not worry about the preacher. I’m sorry Nathan. Please forgive me Lord for giving my thoughts priority.
After the sermon, Nathan decided to stand outside the front doors of the church and greet people, it was a beautiful day and he wanted to enjoy it. As he was greeting people, he saw Leah lead Faith out from the side of the building and to their car. That explains why I never met them until I went to their house.
“See you tomorrow night Nathan” Jeremy said as he came up to say goodbye.
“I’ll be there.” Nathan returned
Monday evening found Faith reading her Bible in the living room when her first guests started to arrive. Leah was the door handler and when everyone had arrived, she joined the other five people in her living room.
Faith began to talk as soon as it was quiet. “Brenda Smith suggested that we have a prayer group for our new pastor. I agreed with her and thought the six of us could be that prayer group. We can take turns praying for Nathan when we meet together and then continue to pray for him each day on our own.”
“Great idea, Brenda” Leah said to Brenda
Faith Unseen Page 2
