The Long, Grueling Journey
By Houston
25 September 2017

In 1620, a man named John Howland boarded a ship called the Mayflower. He and other Englishmen were willing to venture to the New World not for prosperity, but because they were resolved to live in America and worship God freely.

The journey across the Atlantic Ocean was perilous. Wet, numbing, rain, and winds wrathfully thrashed the men, so many stayed below in the gun deck, where they were crowded, wet, cold, and afraid.

The small vessel, which was being crushed by the salty massive waves, struggled in the hostile waters. Loud, screeching thunder burst sharply in the sky. Brilliant, blazing lightning brutally exploded from the clouds.

John, who didn’t like being cooped up, climbed to the upper deck. Without warning, the ship rolled and he fell off the boat. But while John was plummeting, he grabbed a dangling rope and screamed for help. The sailors were appalled to see John, scared and nervous, hanging above the ocean.

Luckily, they saved him with the boat hook. He hastily ran back down into the gun deck, where his friends and family were glad to see him, although they knew this journey to the New World would be long and grueling.

The Mysteriously Missing Colony
By Houston
15 September 2017

In 1565, Spain diligently established the first successful settlement in the New World, which was St. Augustine, Florida. By 1587, about 120 Englishmen endeavored to the New World, sailing to Roanoke Island, located off what is now the North Carolina coast. They became perilously low on supplies, so John White, who was the governor of the colony, ventured back to England and asked for help.

When White returned, he was appalled to find the colony gone. The only clue to the colonists’ whereabouts was a word quickly scribbled on a tree: “Croatan,” the name of an island. Because the people mysteriously disappeared and were presumed forever missing, today this settlement is known as the Lost Colony.