Free Burned by Rick Bundschuh

face. “You come look, help find!”
    â€œCan we pray before we go?” Bethany asked a little tentatively and then smiled when Tagiilima bobbed his head excitedly.
    â€œYes, Miss Bethany, we pray!”
    Bethany grabbed his hand and said a short prayer asking God to lead them in the way they should search and to help them find Liam safe.
    â€œAmen,” they both said together, and Bethany quickly slid into the van next to Tagiilima.
    Crunching the tires over the crushed coral and gravel driveway, Tagiilima steered the van down the small road that served as the main highway around the island.
    â€œWe see if he is walking first,” the Samoan suggested. Bethany pulled the small flashlight out of her pocket and turned it on. The beam was narrow but bright.
    â€œThank goodness for new batteries,” she said, sweeping the light back and forth as the Samoan drove slowly down the road.
    Please God, help us find him , she silently prayed. I do believe all things work together for your good . Let something good come of this.
    Several miles from the camp, Bethany’s sweeping light ricocheted off something reflective. Hope surged though her body.
    She swept her light back toward the object and held it firm.
    The light was bouncing off the reflective strip of a daypack.
    It was then that she saw the huddled figure of Liam.
    â€œHe’s over there!” Bethany said excitedly as Tagiilima quickly swung the van around and drove up next to where Liam was sitting.
    â€œLiam! Everyone is looking for you!” Bethany said gently as she stepped from the van.
    Liam didn’t move or even lift his head.
    â€œThey are worried about you. We were all worried about you.”
    The boy slowly lifted his head. His long blond hair was swept back by a sudden gust of wind and Bethany saw the tears on his cheeks.
    â€œI screwed up,” Liam said softly. “Screwed up big time.”
    â€œI know,” Bethany said, easing closer. “But we all screw up every once in a while. Come get in the car. Please.”
    Liam slowly unfolded himself and, like a man going to the gallows, he crawled into the backseat without looking at either one of them.
    â€œPick up your mat and go home.” Bethany whispered softly — not realizing she had even spoke the words out loud until she saw Liam and Tagiilima looking at her like she might be a little crazy.
    â€œWhat?” Liam sniffed.
    â€œIt’s something I read earlier — from my Bible,” Bethany felt her cheeks flush, but she took a deep breath, whispered her silent prayer for help, and went on. “It was about this crippled guy whose friends had so much faith that Jesus could help him, they took him to where Jesus was. Before the guy said a word, Jesus told him his sins were forgiven . . . and to pick up his mat and go home.”
    â€œI thought you said he was crippled,” Liam said softly, and Bethany was surprised to see Tagiilima lean forward, as if he was anticipating the outcome of the story as much or more than Liam.
    â€œThat’s the cool thing; Jesus didn’t just forgive him of his sins — he healed him too. It was like, because he believed, he was forgiven and made whole. Everything was new. That’s how it is with God; you don’t have to feel guilty . . . or pay.”
    â€œPick up your mat and go home,” Tagiilima said softly. When Bethany turned and smiled at him, she was surprised to see tears in the big Samoan’s eyes. “Like the repentance mat.”
    Bethany nodded excitedly and turned to Liam and explained the cool similarity between the custom of the Samoans with the repentance mat and the story about Jesus healing and forgiving the crippled man.
    â€œI feel like I’ve been under the repentance mat since I left camp,” Liam said quietly.
    â€œBut you don’t have to stay there,” Bethany said. “We’ve all done things to hurt others. We’ve all put