Bringing the Mission Field to Us

This summer, my family and I are hosting an Eastern European orphan for five weeks. Although she is no longer adoptable, we can show her the love of Christ while she is here. She will arrive at the end of June with only the clothes she will be wearing. We will provide her with clothes, toiletries, and anything she needs, which she will be able to take back with her. We plan to do many fun things with her, like swimming, camping, going to Butch Gardens and much more. Before we decided to host this teenager, there was another girl we were considering, but God led us to the other. Recently, the other girl we were praying about got chosen and will come to, out of the whole United States, Williamsburg, VA! We will be able to get together several times. That was definitely God working. We had a garage sale on May 9-10 to raise money. People from our church donated things for us to sell. We raised over one thousand dollars, which was our goal. Also, a buyer told us that she has a neighbor who from the same place that the orphan we are hosting is from. We will talk to her before she gets here and while she's here. God is so good!

Camping

On May 2, we went to a campground for my brother's fifth birthday. We had strawberry shortcake instead of birthday cake. My sister and I slept in a tent all by ourselves, though we have bruises on our legs from sleeping on the ground. The next day after a softball game, we all went canoeing on the lake in the campground. We tried fishing but we didn't catch anything. We roasted marshmallows on a fire both evenings. The next morning, our dad woke us up really early to try fishing again. After fishing for a little bit, I caught a croppy, while looks like a sunfish, except larger. I looked up in the tree and spotted a hawk. A few minutes later, I heard a giant splash. At first, I thought the hawk had died and fallen into the water, but I looked and realized it was trying to catch a fish. It suddenly flew out with a trout in its talons. It flew around three times and then flew away. everybody was amazed. I thought two things. One: that bird was a lot better at fishing than we were. And two: I don't think he was planning to do a catch and release. Anyway, we had a great time last weekend. We also made sure all our equipment was ready for when we go camping more this summer. It was really fun.  

Hiding chapter 6: A Mystery, a Miracle, a Surprise

Tomorrow, we go back to school. It’s amazing how many things can happen in one spring break, how things can change so fast. When I explain what happened during spring break, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

            I watched the clock with anticipation, while looking at a diagram of the structure of a cell is “fun” and all; I knew that, in a few seconds, school would be out for a whole week! I continued to stare. Three seconds; two seconds, one second… When I heard the bell, it took all my strength to keep from squealing with delight, but when we got outside, I let it all out, because we were now on spring break.

            When Brooke and I got home, we called Katie, Wendy, and Noel and asked them to come over. Once they arrived, we hung out for a while, and then Katie said she had something to show us. With that, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone. We all gasped. “Where did you get that?” asked Noel. “Well, my older sister, Daniel, got a new cell phone from our grandma when she started college, and so Daniel gave me her old one.” We admired Katie’s new cell phone with amazement. “This phone has an app that can allow me to keep score at a ball game.” Katie said excitedly. “Hey, let’s go to the park, form a kickball game with some of the kids there, and you can keep score, Katie.” Said Brooke. Everyone thought it was a great idea, so we headed to the park.

            It took a while, but we finally had enough players for a kickball game. Both teams played really well. Soon, the score was 11 to 8. Then, however, one of the girls had to go home, and the other team was short a player. Katie was asked if she could kick for them, and she agreed. With the bases loaded, Katie stepped up to home plate and kicked the ball really far. She ran all the way around the bases and the other team won, with the score 12 to 11. I was helping Wendy pick up the bases when we heard Katie say, “Oh no!” we ran over, to see what was wrong. Katie told us that she left her phone on the park bench, and now it was gone. We looked around, but we couldn’t find Katie’s cell phone. It was gone.

            The next day, Brooke, Katie, and I went to the park to look more for her cell phone. We spotted some kids who were at the park when she lost it, so we asked them if they saw who took it. One of them said that they saw Hillary sit down at the bench, take something from the bench, and leave. Katie went over to where Hillary and Rose were standing to confront Hillary. Brooke and I followed. “Hillary, why did you take my cell phone?” demanded Katie. “What are you talking about?” asked Hillary, clearly annoyed. “Yesterday, at the park, you sat down at the bench and took my cell phone, give it back, and maybe I won’t go to the police.” Said Katie. “I don’t have your cell phone, Katie. Come on Rose, let’s go” and with that, Rose and Hillary left. “I can’t believe Hillary didn’t give my cell phone back.” Said Katie. “Actually,” spoke up Brooke, cautiously. “I don’t think Hillary took your phone at all.

            Katie and I stared at Brooke. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Well,” started Brooke. “I don’t think Hillary would do something like this.” “You’re defending here?!” questioned Katie accusingly. “No, but Hillary just doesn’t strike me as the type of person to steal something.” Said Brooke defensively. “I don’t believe this!” shouted Katie. “A bully steals my cell phone, and the my best friend takes her side.” Brooke started to deny it, but Katie turned around and marched away. I could hardly believe what just happened. Brooke turned to me and asked if I thought the same way. “No, I don’t think we should accuse someone because of what they did in the past, but I think that Hillary is a suspect.” Although my reassuring made Brooke a little less sad, she was still heartbroken that Katie was angry with her.

            The next day, mom went to the doctor because the baby had not yet exited the body and she thought maybe something was blocking it. A mom across the street asked me if I could watch her son, Billy, while she went to the post office. I agreed and went to Billy’s house. I was helping Billy build a model airplane. Suddenly, a crow came flying down and took one of the pieces. “Hey!” Billy shouted. “Bring that back!” Billy asked me why the bird took the piece. I told him that crows were attracted to shiny things and that, since the piece it took glistened nicely in the sunlight, it made sense that… I stopped, because at that moment I realized that there was now a new suspect in the mystery of Katie’s missing cell phone. After Billy’s mom came home, I told Brooke to follow me. I called Katie and asked her to meet us at the scene of the crime. Once we were there, I went to the bench where the cell phone was. Sure enough, there was a tree next to the bench. I climbed it and saw a nest. Inside, lay Katie’s lost cell phone. I climbed down and handed the cell phone to Katie. She took it and started to cry. She told Brooke that she was so sorry for accusing her of taking Hillary’s side. Brooke forgave Katie without hesitation. Katie said goodbye, thanked me for finding the phone, and went to apologize to Hillary.

            Brooke and I walked in the house to find mom and dad sitting on the couch crying. Brooke ran to them and asked what was wrong. “These are tears of joy.” Said mom. I walked over to them and sat down. “Honey, we went to the doctor to get another ultrasound to see why the baby wasn’t coming out, and they found something.” Said dad, with tears in his eyes. “What did they find?” I asked. “They found a heartbeat. It’s a miracle!” said mom. I couldn’t believe it. The baby was alive! We celebrated and thanked God with all our hearts. God had brought the baby back to life.

That day was probably one of the happiest days of our lives. We called all our friends and family to tell them the good news. We announced it at church, and Everyone was so happy for us. Daniel told me that it was not a miracle, and that the doctor’s equipment was just not working when they gave us the bad news. I was so happy that my brother or sister was alive, that I didn’t even hear him. When I asked mom what the gender of the baby was, she told me that I was going to have a baby sister. I could hardly contain my excitement.

Wendy called all of us (Katie, Brooke, Noel, and me) and said she needed to tell us something. We all met at her house and her mom got us a snack. Wendy then said that she had some news. “Since becoming a Christian, my parents were very excited for me, and recommitted their lives to the Lord. They began praying about something that they have been talking about for a long time. Yesterday, they decided that God was saying yes.” I asked her what God had said yes about. Wendy cleared her throat and continued. “My mom and dad have decided to homeschool me.” Brooke and I looked at each other. “You mean, you won’t go to our school anymore?”  asked Katie. “Nope, I start homeschool in one week, the day after spring break ends.” Said Wendy. None of us could believe how everything changed so fast. “Don’t worry though, this doesn’t change anything about our friendship. We can still hang out.” Everyone agreed and congratulated Wendy. We were very happy for her.

So you see, this spring break has taught me many lessons, like to not accuse someone without evidence, or to trust God in everything. I think that if I can learn all that in one spring break, I can’t even imagine how many lessons God will teach me in my lifetime. All I have to do is be able to receive them.