Stephen Sorenson’s Reviews > The New Recruit > Status Update

Pasha was saying, “I want to go home, but do not want to face Father. I do not like being wrong.”
I could totally relate. “Yeah, me neither.”
“How are you wrong?”
Spencer goes on the tell Pasha that he was wrong about the whole God thing. Today I watched Sadie Robertson who talked with Luke and Joel Smallbone. And they talked about the song Relate. Spencer’s experience can relate and help Pasha.

Somehow she loved God despite what had been done to her. She was beautiful, and I was ugly. Not physically, maybe, although I never did care for my neon hair and freckles. But I was ugly in my heart with my negativity, anger, jealousy, hate. I could go on and on, but it was too depressing.
God? are You listening? I’m sorry I’m so mad, but I don’t get why I have these dreams.

…Because horrible men had hurt Svetlana. Pasha had hurt Tatyana, Lena, Ivan, and the field office. My dad had hurt my mother and me.
“Your heart must not burn,” Svetlana had signed to me that day in the kitchen. “Pray, and God will melt your anger with his love.”……….
How could Svetlana, a deaf girl, homeless and hungry, a victim of rape who’d kept her baby-how could she be happy? I didn’t get it..

The song finally ended, and Gabe called Jensina, Arianna, and Svetlana onstage to sing a song that Svetlana had written. The deaf girl stood beside Gabe, signing the words as he sang. Tears streamed down her face, yet she smiled as she mouthed the words. A fury melted through me from anger buried deep inside that had resurfaced first at Kimbal’s confession about my dad, then, with Pasha’s betrayal, but why now?..

…I really liked Gabe, but I could never compete against someone like him. The dude was a saint. He even talked Svetlana into helping with a special song, though I had no clue how a deaf girl would sing.

I wonder how much does the author know about Deaf culture. I’m curious to see if Svetlana will actually sing or not.

Interesting how the author writes about the deaf girl, Svetlana. She had a rough childhood, she’s sixteen now I think. Her mother died when she was 9, Svetlana was raped and beaten. But, she doesn’t hold grudges

The topic switched to Gabe and Isabel’s worship service scheduled for the next evening. Everyone was looking forward to it but me. It was just another opportunity for Gabe and Isabel to shine together.

We rode in silence for several stops before Gabe spoke again. “Look, you never said what happened, but God didn’t make your dad do what he did. For whatever reason, your dad made that choice. God knows it hurts you, though, and He knows your pain will help you relate to Pasha. Suffering makes us stronger, and pain teaches us, if we let it. So…you should be way smarter than me.” Gabe did an awkward laugh.

…I’m just saying-and I could be totally off-base-but what if God wants you to use that experience to help you connect to Pasha in a way I can’t.”
That was crazy talk. “You think God let my dad betray my mom and leave me without a father or real family so thirteen years later I could tell some Russian gang kid I know how he feels?”
Gabe s longed out a wrinkle on his polo shirt. “Maybe. Sort of.”…

Gabe shifted in his seat. “Take Pasha. I feel bad for him because I know he’s hurt. I tried to help, but I couldn’t. Coming from me it’s just another goody-goody Christian trying to boss him, telling him to obey God and his parents. But from you it would be different.”
I stared, slack-jawed. “Are you kidding me?” Where was Gabe going with this?
“Your dad left or whatever, which was horrible…