Land of my birth | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Land of my birth | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ruth DESBOROUGH
01/29/09
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

Land of my birth

In spite of the warmth of the evening I am shivering — not from cold but from nervousness. I am about to speak at the Ladies Meeting at our church. Several of us had been asked to give a brief talk about the land of our birth. I have not spoken in public before and so I am not feeling very confident.

I was born in the United Kingdom, in England to be exact, and had lived there up to the age of fifteen, when my parents migrated to India, where my father is a doctor. That was five years ago, so I am now twenty.

The secretary of the meeting thought I should be able to talk about the land of my birth. So here I am!

What a challenge! What did I really know about the country I had been born in? When you are growing up little thought is given to your own history. Maybe I knew more about India! Anyway, here I am trying to impart some of the knowledge I have researched and added to my memory. The other two speakers have spoken of their countries; now it is my turn.

I had borrowed a large map from the library and hung it on the wall.

“Today,” I begin, “ we are going to find out something about the United Kingdom, which is really the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I was born in London, which is in England. Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales, and is an island. Compared to India, it is all very small, and so you can easily get to the coast and enjoy the sea.” I point out these places on the map.

“Just like it is here, English is the language spoken. However, in Wales the Welsh language is also used. When I was a little girl I stayed at a guest house once with my father and after the landlady had served our evening meal, she called someone on the phone and never said another word in English. She spoke in Welsh, and we didn’t know a word of what she was saying. She could have been saying bad things about us.

“In some parts of Scotland Gaelic is spoken, but this is not common and it is a difficult language.

“Some of the countryside is very beautiful. There are lovely hills in England, and some mountains in Scotland and Wales . There are also lots of rivers, and you can travel on many of them. Some people hire a houseboat and spend their holidays travelling on a river.

“There are lots of industries in Britain. These include mining, engineering and shipbuilding. Agriculture and fishing are also important. Tourism is also playing an important part today, especially as there are a lot of historic sites to visit. A lot of food has to be imported from Commonwealth countries, of which India is a part.”

My nervousness has vanished. I ask if anyone knew who was the head of the United Kingdom and several ladies said “Queen Elizabeth.”

“Today,” I continue, “there are all sorts of nationalities in the United Kingdom and you will find a lot of Indians there. While they live together in fairly good harmony, they still keep their identity. Because of this quite a number of different religions are being followed.

“Christianity is not as strong as it used to be. Sad to say many churches have closed their doors and the premises are being used for secular things.

“Years ago men and women left the United Kingdom to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to far away places in the world. It is possible that this church was started by a missionary from England or Scotland.

“We here in India can pray for the church in the United Kingdom.”

I sit down and breath a sigh of relief. I thank the Lord for His help. But now my interest is aroused. I want to know more about the land of my birth, and if there ever should be a next time then I want to have much more to share with my audience.

699

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.