Proselyte

Discussions in seminary were often done in duos, but Reid didn’t care much for participation, so Winslow usually found herself doing most of the talking. He claimed he valued her thoughts more and knew she had better things to say. After the teacher would prompt them to share experiences with their partner or to consider what a scripture or parable might mean, the class would come back together and share in the larger group. This encouraged students to think for themselves instead of just being told what things meant, and helped provide multiple viewpoints when something was up for interpretation. Winslow was always eager to participate in the larger class discussion, but sometimes Brother Roman would ask to hear from Reid. In those cases, he would often just repeat what Winslow had said. To his credit, though, he would usually give her recognition for it.

The first time they were asked to discuss with their partner, it occurred to Winslow that Kiernan didn't have one yet.

“Group of three?” She asked, turning around to look at him with a smile.

He smiled back. “Yeah, works for me.”

Reid agreed with very little enthusiasm. “Fine.” He was at least willing to turn around when the trio talked, which was more than Winslow had hoped for. She considered Reid's rare obedience to be a major win.

To her surprise, Kiernan had a lot of interesting insights and would engage with Winslow when she talked. He didn't have much to say in every discussion or know much about the scriptures, but when he did, Winslow was impressed by what he offered. He had said he was only taking the class because his parents expected it of him, but he definitely wasn't bad to have as a partner. While seminary was already the highlight of Winslow’s schedule, it got even better when Kiernan transferred in. 

Wednesdays held another of Winslow's favorite obligations, as the girls in the ward would gather for an activity night called Mutual on those evenings. These activities often had elements of the gospel included, or sometimes allowed them to work on some Personal Progress goals to earn their medallion, but mostly they were just wholesome, social, and fun. Occasionally, the young men would combine with them for their activities, since they had Mutual, too, but that was usually a hit-or-miss. Getting a bunch of twelve- to eighteen-year-old boys and girls together could get a little crazy, and Winslow wasn't particularly fond of most of the boys in her ward. Even worse, the ward next to them didn't have any boys Winslow's age, so girls from that ward would sometimes hang around their activities to flirt, which could get pretty annoying. Living in Utah with so many members around, her ward’s congregation pretty much just consisted of her neighborhood, but it was cut off at the road in front of the church. Some of the boys living just two houses down would solve the loitering problem and make combined Mutual activities a little less of a headache, but instead they were stuck together.

Luckily, this week's activity was separate from the boys, who were doing some sporting event in the church gym. The girls’ activity was a simple craft— making greeting cards. The crafts were some of Winslow's favorite Mutual activities, especially when it was something she could give to someone else.

The handful of girls she'd usually socialize with at Mutual were all absent this time, but Winslow was content to sit alone and make as many cards as she could. Her goal was to finish one in each color of the rainbow.

As she was cutting a piece of lace ribbon to use as a trim, one of the leaders, Tammy, came up behind her. She put a gentle hand on Winslow's shoulder.

“Hey, Winslow. How's your assignment going?”

Winslow looked up at her. “You mean with Izzy?”

“Yeah, have you invited her to Girls’ Camp?”

As the Mia Maid president, Winslow had a lot of responsibilities pertaining to the group of fourteen- and fifteen-year-old girls in her ward. Lately, she was supposed to be trying to convince a non-member, Izzy, to come to the stake girls’ camp in June. It would be fun, especially since it was a stake activity, meaning the girls from neighboring wards would all be there, too.

“She knows we'd like her to come, but she doesn't know the girls very well, so she's a bit hesitant.” Winslow snipped another piece of ribbon and set down her scissors.

“Let's try to get her to Mutual, then,” Tammy said.

Winslow nodded, running a glue stick along the edge of the ribbon. “Okay, when we plan the activities for the next month, let's make sure we do one that we know she'll like.” Helping plan activities and lessons for the Mia Maids was another of Winslow's responsibilities.

“Great idea!”

Winslow smiled at the praise and lined the ribbon up with an edge, then pressed it down. Once firmly attached, she held up the finished card for a better look. This one was yellow, her favorite color, and she was pleased with how it turned out.

“Think you could make one for Izzy?” Tammy asked, cooing over the cards that Winslow had already made. “We could bring it to her with some cookies or something when we invite her to Mutual.”

“Yeah, I can do that!” Winslow set her finished card aside and gathered supplies to start working on the green one— which she mentally designated as Izzy’s— delighted to have found another recipient so easily.

When the bell rang to mark the start of Friday classes, Winslow was turned around in her seat, chatting with Gwen and Marcella. She twisted to face forward, seeing that Kiernan's seat was still empty. Frowning, she checked the seat across the aisle, beside Russ, but Kiernan wasn't there, either.

“Is he sick?” Winslow asked, looking between his three friends.

Russ shrugged.

Jacob said, “What, do you miss him?” and received a chorus of laughter and cooing in response. Winslow merely rolled her eyes and turned away.

Miss Foster stood at the front of the room, pulling the projector screen down and dimming the front lights. “Okay, everyone, pull out some paper. It's a lecture day.” Groans erupted from around the room. “Yeah, yeah. At least you won't have homework this weekend! I'm doing you a favor.”

Winslow pulled her glittery pens and a spiral notebook from her backpack, then looked over at Kiernan's empty seat with another frown. Surely, he didn't drop the class, right? She realized she'd be a little disappointed if he did.

Kiernan ended up missing the entire class, and he didn't show up for seminary, either.

“Looks like it's just us today!” Reid grinned and scooted closer to Winslow, slinging an arm around her. 

She glanced over her shoulder at the empty seat. “Yeah...”

Winslow did not feel the Spirit during that class.