Bring Others Into the Sunshine of God's Good News by Linda L. Linn - HTML preview

Chapter 5

1 Thessalonians 5:11, Therefore comfort … and edify

one another, just as you are doing.

The Foster’s were working through their list as they continued with their normal jobs and the girls kept up with middle school. By now, they had told their friends in the church and small group about their plan and all of them were surprised but promised to pray for them and help in any way they could.

Next they put their house in town up for sale, with the stipulation that they could stay in it until the house on the ranch was available. The sign out in the yard reminded them every time they came home that they really were going to make this big change.

One day Sherry questioned, “Hope and Joy, what are your thoughts about continuing to wear matching clothes after you outgrow the ones you have right now?”

Hope answered, “We both have really enjoyed looking like identical twins, but if it causes problems for this ministry we are going to be doing, we don’t need to continue.”

“I agree,” stated Joy, “but what would we do about keeping clothes for the Anderson twins?”

Sherry explained, “We can still keep all you outgrown clothes to give to them, but I just realized that we will need to get used to buying clothes in stores, since there would not be time for me to make clothes for

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all six girls. And I don’t want the other girls to feel like you get preferential treatment if I continue to sew for just you. If we can find matching clothes for the two of you in the stores, we can buy them, but sometimes it might not be possible to find two of the same size.”

“I understand now, Mom,” replied Hope. “We can get used to store bought things.”

Joy added, “Yes, and we do thank you for all the wonderful clothes you have already made for us. Maybe sometime you can teach all six of us how to sew and we can help save money by making some of our clothes.”

Sherry smiled and hugged her dear daughters. “Thank you both for your comments and for being willing to change this important part of your lives. And yes, it would be a good idea to teach all six of you how to sew,… and also how to cook. Those are things you will all need to know how to do when you go out on your own as soon as you turn nineteen. Even you, our own natural daughters, will need to leave the ranch when you are nineteen, so we will be a good example to the rest. Also, your dad and I will need to keep getting new girls as the others leave.

Roy, who had been listening to this conversation exclaimed, “This will be the hardest part of this whole ministry project! I don’t like knowing we have to say goodbye to each pair of girls as they turn nineteen. Plus I know it will be hard for the girls also. But it is the only way this ministry of mercy can continue working.”

“I feel the same way,” Sherry agreed, “but Jesus will help us work through all the good and bad things that happen. At least we won’t have an empty nest like so many moms and dads have when their grownup sons and daughters go out on their own.”

The family had a good laugh about the empty nest idea and it helped all of them to feel better.

Oralie explained, “This section of ‘Become Honorable People’ is something we all know how to do now, but it will be a good review for us anyway.” So she read it.

Karen and William taught all their Bible Study and Bible Story groups how to memorize Bible verses. They used short easy ones for the younger children and longer ones for the older boys and girls after learning how with a short verse.

Karen started by saying, “Today you’re going to learn how to memorize a verse from the Bible. Please look up Psalm 119:11.”

When all of them had found it, they read it out loud. “ I have hidden your word in my heart so I won’t sin against you, LORD.” Then they sang the song that goes with it.

Karen said, “Good job.” She had the verse written on a chart in the front of the room. She had them

read it again from the chart.

Emma asked, “Why do we need to memorize what it says in the Bible when we could just look it up and read it?”

Lisa answered her, “Because maybe we won’t have a Bible with us when we’d want to say the verse.”

“Oh, I understand. Thank you, Lisa,” said Emma.

Hanna continued, “This verse gives us another reason also: it’s so we won’t sin against God.”

“Good thinking, girls,” Karen commended them. “Now we’ll memorize this verse. The first step was to read it out loud together. Next we looked at what the verse meant. Hanna told us part of the meaning. I’ll help with the rest. What do I hide?”

Stella answered, “God’s word, which is the Bible. Wow! Does that mean we need to memorize the whole Bible?”

All the girls looked worried and started to get restless.

Karen relieved their minds by responding, “That’s a very good question, Stella. No, we do NOT need to memorize the whole Bible. I don’t know anyone who has ever memorized the whole Bible, but I suppose it could be done. I think we need to memorize the parts that will help us.”

Liz commented, “This verse will help us to not sin.”

“Right, Liz,” said Karen. “The next question is where do we hide God’s word?”

All the girls said together, “In my heart.”

“Correct,” acknowledged Karen, “and in this verse, it’s not the organ that pumps our blood but it’s the central part of who we are, what we desire, how we feel, what we plan to do, … There have been many books written about what the heart is. Right now we want to think about it as a place to hide God’s word. So we could add the word ‘memory’ to the list.”

Ellie shared, “I think the memory is part of the brain where we put things we want or need to remember.”

“Exactly,” Karen agreed. “The easiest way for me to memorize is to divide the verse in half or smaller parts if it’s a long verse. This verse is easy to divide in half.” She underlined the first part and had them say it over and over. Then she covered it up and had them repeat it without looking at it.

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Lisa jokingly remarked, “No fair looking at the verse in the Bible!”

Nan replied, “OK, I’ll close mine.”

“I agree,” stated Karen, “let’s all close our Bibles so we won’t be distracted. Good, now everyone say the first half again.”

Most of them did it correctly, so Karen had them learn the last half of the verse. They said it several times and then she had them put the parts back together and say the whole verse. Her timer went off and she exclaimed, “Oh! Our time’s already gone. Next time we’ll say this verse again and learn another one, so review this one at home and bring this paper with you next time,” she instructed as she handed out a page to each girl.

“This is the end of today’s section,” said Oralie.

Levi commented, “I learned how to memorize at the church school, while I was in first grade.”

“So did I,” and Max remarked, “You were right, Mom. It was a good review, especially about the reasons we need to memorize God’s word.”

“Yes, and I think that lesson must have been taught very soon after the girls came to the ranch to live,” stated Daniel.

“I agree,” and Cory mentioned, “A few of those girls are in some of my classes in the high school, so by now they’ve been on the ranch about the same amount of time as we’ve been on the farm.”

“I would imagine they’ve learned a lot of memory verses by now and that the verses help them, like they help us,” Kevin reasoned.

Brad now had approval to teach writing skills on the ranch, because he had talked to the parents either during a visit or on a horseback ride about his plan and they had figured out the best time of the weekend to have his class meet in a game room of the big house. Besides the one parent per weekend who would volunteer to help as needed, Sara Suehiro and Unice Logan also came to sit in on the classes so they could learn more about writing skills for their own use.

Brad made the classes fun and practical. Their first lesson was on outlining. He used the process of “How to care for a Horse Before and After a Horseback Ride” for a report. He had written the steps out on large pieces of paper cut in strips and handed them out in mixed up order. The girls got to come pin their strips on the bulletin board in the right place when it was time for the ones they were handed. He had kept one step out on purpose to see if any of them would catch the mistake. One of them did and politely told him about it. He asked her to come up and put it in the right place. Then they copied the outline in their notebooks.

For the lesson on research, he showed them how to look things up on the web and take notes in their own words on the information using the word processor on the computer. Since their notes would be in their own words already, they could use them in the report without getting in trouble for copying the information.

The girls learned that making paragraphs in a report was easy when the outline was used with the notes they had written during the research they had done. They were able to stick to the topic and fill in the facts about it. Since they had already learned about grammar and punctuation in school, the actual writing of the report was much easier. Moreover, the report was better because of the planning they had done before starting to write it.

During another class, Brad stated, “Editing and proofreading do not seem fun or even necessary at first, but the end product will be much improved by doing a good job of this part of a writing project.”

He had each of them write a short report during that class, on the topic they had outlined during the first class. Since they all knew how to care for horses, they didn’t have to do any research, and the outlining had already been done and copied into their notebooks.

When he noticed that most of them were finished he suggested, “You might let a friend of yours from school read this report before you teach them the steps when they come to ride with you for the first time. How would you feel if, while they were reading it out loud, there were some obvious mistakes you had made in the order of the steps, or grammar, or punctuation, or spelling? If you had done a good job of editing and proofreading you would not have been embarrassed!”

The girls all laughed and understood his good point. So each of them spent more time searching for errors and fixing them. For some reason this illustration stuck with them, and every time they did a writing project in the future, it would come to mind and they would do a very good job of editing and proofreading.

After teaching each lesson, Brad would go horseback riding with whatever family was scheduled to go at that time. The more time he spent on the ranch, the more he liked it there and agreed with the mission of mercy they were doing there. A desire began to grow and he prayed a lot about it.

 

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Oralie said, “Now I get to read the next section of ‘Become Honorable People.’ This lesson continues teaching how to memorize God’s Word.”

The next meeting Karen had with the girls at the ranch, she had them repeat Psalm 119:11, “ I have hidden your word in my heart so I won’t sin against you, LORD.”

Karen continued, “Now we need to learn to say the reference every time, before and after the verse. It’s like the address of the verse. We do this so other people will know where to find it.”

After they did it correctly several times, Karen explained, “It’s best to memorize the Bible verse exactly as it is in our Bible, so when you copy a verse to memorize, be sure to do it correctly. Today you’ll get to choose the next verse you’ll memorize.”

The girls smiled about it, maybe planning to find a short one.

“I chose three short ones for you to pick from, so please look up Philippians 4:4 and read it with me. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Now put a bookmark in this place, and find Colossians 3:20a and read it with me. Children, obey your parents in all things… Put another bookmark here and find Proverbs 15:1a. Read it with me. A soft answer turns away anger.”

They looked up at her and she instructed, “Now read each of these three verses to yourself and think about which one might help you the most. Maybe you’re sad a lot. Which one would help you with your problem? Or it might be hard for you to obey, or you might have a habit of answering in anger. Choose the one you think will help you the most so you can memorize it.”

It was very quiet while they were reading and thinking. When it looked like they were ready, Karen said, “Okay now copy it correctly on the paper under the first verse we memorized.”

They finished, and she had them stand up with their papers, and went on to say, “You’ll be working in groups to memorize the verse you chose. If you chose Philippians 4:4, go sit in the chairs at your right. If you chose Colossians 3:20a, go sit in the chairs at your left, and if you chose Proverbs 15:1a, go sit in the chairs at the back of the room.”

They followed those directions and she told them, “Now, follow the steps on this chart: Say the reference before the verse, divide the verse in half, and say the first part over and over until you’ve learned it. Then say the second part and the reference again. Say the whole verse over and over with the reference before and after it until you feel ready to have someone in your group listen to you and help you if you get stuck. Be helpful and encourage each other.”

By the end of the meeting time each girl had learned another Bible verse and it would help her with a problem she had.

For the next meeting Karen handed out a list of verses they could choose from to continue on their own. They’re listed here. Philippians 4:8, Isaiah 32:17, 2 Corinthians 1:20-22, Psalm 34:1-9, Hebrews 6:17-19, Jude 1:24,25, Psalm 31:19,20, 1 John 5:2-5, Hebrews 11:1,3,6, Colossians 3:12-17, Isaiah 26:3,4, Jeremiah 17:7,8, 1 Timothy 6:6,8, Philippians 4:13, 2 Peter 1:5-7, 1 John 3:1-3, Hebrews 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, Romans 11:33-36, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.

She added, “You can find others as you read the Bible. Here’s an idea you could try. Instead of writing the verses on notebook paper, you could use little three inch by five inch file cards and keep them in a little file box. The verses will be easier to review this way, especially if you rotate through them in an orderly fashion. If you neglect to review the verses, you will probably forget them and need to start over. Before you go, let’s sing ‘Thy Word,’ which is Psalm 119:105 set to music, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

“The end of this part,” said Oralie. “I like that song.”

Kevin agreed, “So do I, and we all know how to play and sing it with our guitars. The second part of it also goes well with Deuteronomy 31:6, Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them, for the LORD your God goes with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

“Indeed, what a good verse!” Then Daniel requested, “Mom, would you please put that list of verses up on the computer monitor so I can check through it and look up the ones I haven’t learned yet?”

“What a great idea!” Levi exclaimed, “I can look at it at the same time and choose some more for myself.”

Cory mentioned, “Karen’s idea of file cards in a little file box is the same way we do ours, and it works very well.”

“For sure, and this was another good lesson,” stated Max. “Thanks for reading it, Mom. I like your good expression.”

Dad and the other boys added their thanks and Mom responded, “You’re all very welcome. I enjoy reading out loud.”

 

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Soon Brad went to see Pastor Don, when they both had time. Brad began, “Pastor, you know I spent a few weeks living in the Visitors’ Cabin on Mercy Valley Ranch while I was writing a story about what they do there. Since then I’ve been back many times to teach the junior and senior girls how to write better reports as a way to say thank you for the time I spent interviewing them and their families. As a result, I’ve developed a strong desire to also be able to raise abused girls there. My most important reason is that I believe strongly in the ranch’s mission of mercy for those high school girls.

“What would I need to do in order to prepare myself to be a foster dad on Mercy Valley Ranch. Of course I realize I need to find a wife who also wants to be a foster mom there. I would like to get caught up with those senior girls who have had such good Bible teaching while they’ve lived there. Then maybe I could get better acquainted with them and ask God to guide me to the right one.”

Don replied, “You’re right about those things, and the best way I can think of for you to get that kind of teaching would be for you to attend the night classes for the first year of the church’s evangelism classes. There would be no charge for you to do it since you would just be auditing them, rather than preparing to be a pastor or missionary. You could take notes and do all the assignments but not hand them in, so it would not take the teachers’ time to grade them.”

“I like your idea. Could I get started right away, or do I need to wait until the beginning of the next first year class?” asked Brad.

Don answered, “Since you’ve completed the first five booklets most other new believers read and you are in a small group and ministry team in the city now, I would say you are in just about the same place as the first year class is right now. If you’d like, I will send emails to the teachers and tell them to expect you to start attending classes tomorrow evening.”

“Thank you, I’d appreciate that. Now where can I get training about how to be a good husband and foster dad?” inquired Brad.

“I think that if your parents were good parents, you would already know a lot,” stated Don and then he added, “Maybe you could ask some of the dads in your small group some questions during refreshment time.

“Good idea,” agreed Brad. “My parents were very good parents, except that they were not believers. I’m praying for them and I’ve told them about my experience on the ranch and some of the things I’ve been learning. So far they’re open to listen.”

Don declared, “I’m glad! May I tell my wife about our conversation so she and I can continue to pray in agreement with you about your desires and your parents?”

“Yes, please do!” Brad exclaimed. “I just realized that I learned from you just now, that it will be important to communicate with my wife and pray in agreement with her about many things.”

“Absolutely!” Don nodded emphatically. “I can tell you will be a good student because you are motivated and are looking for things to learn that will help you reach your goals.”

Brad responded, “Thank you for the compliment. I also realized that I will need to limit my horseback riding on the ranch to the weekend instead of going on Wednesday evenings also, because of the evening classes. But it will be worth it order to learn what I need to know about the Bible.”

“I agree,” then Don added, “Another way you could get training on parenting, would be to ask the parents at the ranch for their ideas, and you could write them in your notebook. Besides doing that, you can keep your eyes and ears open as you observe how they interact with their girls as you are riding with them. Plus you will need to put your name on a waiting list to be able to rent a home on the ranch after you’ve found that special wife.”

“Those are very good ideas,” stated Brad. “I'll write them here in my notebook so I’ll remember them.”

Don concluded, “Good plan, and you could also read the Bible all the way through and look up some of the cross-references that would help you understand it better.”

“Yes, I’ll do that also. Thank you for all your help!” Brad stressed.

In addition to those ideas, Brad talked to William Beckett. “I’ve heard that you used to teach the Bible and how to be good men to groups of boys on the farm. Is there any chance you could send me a copy of your lesson plans to my email address so I can learn the same things they did?”

William replied, “I’d be glad to do this for you, Brad, but even better than the lesson plans would be to send you an email with PDF copies of two books. One has teachings on how to grow up to be honorable men and women. The other one is about noble people in the Bible. They would be good examples and you could choose to be like them. Those two books were written by Karen Spencer and myself and others. We took them from lessons we recorded as we taught our Bible classes on the ranch and the farm. They include the scriptures, plus comments and questions our students shared, with their permission.”

 

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“Excellent!” Brad exclaimed and gave William his email address. “I plan to do everything I possibly can to become an honorable man.”

So Brad used his evenings during the week to audit the rest of the first year classes at the Grace ‘n’ Faith Church School of Evangelism and he did all the assignments. He desired to become a mature believer as soon as he could, with God’s help. He also worked hard at his daily job and he did read the Bible all the way through. He paid for printed copies to be made of the two books by William Beckett, and Karen Spencer, and others. This way he could study them make notes right in the copies. As he studied, he put every good thing he learned into practice in his own life.

Greg prefaced his reading of this section of “Become Honorable People,” by saying, “This section is long and has some very good scriptures in it.

William did a Bible Study on the farm about Jesus as God’s beloved Son who is the creator and our redeemer, with the older boys on the farm, and Karen did the same with the older girls on the ranch.

A volunteer read Colossians 1:15-20, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him all things were created that are in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, dominions, principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. He is the head of the body, the church, and is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. Jesus made peace through the blood of his cross and reconciled all things in heaven and earth to the Father.

Just listening to those verses generated some questions and comments. “What does firstborn mean?” asked Gary. William handed him the dictionary. He looked it up and said, “Firstborn means the one who was born first in a family and has the right to inherit his father’s estate.”

Evan commented, “A footnote for verses 15 and 18 in this Bible says firstborn is the one who has preeminence and authority.”

Gary handed the dictionary to Sam who looked up the word “preeminence” and informed them, “A synonym for preeminence is dominance.”

Another boy looked in his concordance and found a reference for “firstborn” in Hebrews 12:23 where it mentions the church of the firstborn, but he decided it didn’t add anything to the meaning, so he didn’t mention it.

Later he found Matthew 7:29 about authority, so he read it to the group, “ Jesus taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes did.”

Carlos added, “Authority can also mean the same as power, so I’ll read Matthew 28:18. Jesus spoke to the disciples saying, ‘All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.’ Then in the next verses he says for them to go and teach about him.”

Next William asked a different boy to read John 1:1-14 and 18 as the others followed along. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came to bear witness of the Light, so that all men might believe through him. John was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light, which lights every man who comes into the world. Jesus was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, but his own did not receive him. But to as many as received and believed in Jesus, he gave power to become the sons of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. … No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is with the Father, has made him known.

The boy next to the reader asked, “Why is ‘Word’ capitalized in this section?”

William answered, “Because Word is another name for Jesus. The same goes for ‘Light’ in this section.”

Sam mentioned, “I saw a big poster in the entry way to our church that has at least twenty different names for Jesus, and I remember seeing Word and Light on it.”

“Yes, I’ve seen the same poster.” Then William suggested, “It would be a good thing for the rest of you to look at that poster this coming Sunday. Write down any names you might want to ask questions about for our next meeting.”

A boy questioned, “Does verse three mean that Jesus made everything?”

 

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William responded, “Yes it does. It means that Jesus is the creator of everything in the universe, like it states in Colossians 1:16, which we read earlier today.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Evan, “therefore if we believe the Bible is true, then evolution must be a lie. At the public school, we’ve been taught that everything evolved, and there is no mention of the Bible or a divine creator.”

Gary remarked, “I’d rather believe Jesus made everything, because there’s no way all the plants we work with here on the farm could have evolved. They’re too intricate, and each one makes seeds that grow into the same exact plant. Plus it happens over and over again every year. Evolution can’t explain how that happens.”

William said, “Good thinking you guys! Now let’s look at Hebrews 1:1-6,8,10. Carlos, will you read those verses for us?”

Carlos nodded and when everyone had found the place so they could follow along, he read. God who many times and in many ways spoke in the past to us by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed to be heir of all things, and by whom also he made the universe. Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory and the exact image of his person, and upholds all things by the word of his power. When Jesus had by himself cleansed us from our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He was made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my son, this day I have begotten you?” And again, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” And again, when he brought the firstborn into the world, he said, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” … But unto the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. … And in the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

Sam declared, “Those verses clearly go with the other long sections we heard earlier today.”

“Yes,” responded William, “Jesus is God’s beloved Son. He is also God and is the creator of everything, and on top of those things, he cleanses believers from their sins, as it says here in Hebrews 1:3. With credentials like Jesus has, we can be sure he’s safe to believe in for our salvation and to be in control of our lives.

“If any of you have not done this yet and would like to today, please stay after the meeting and I’ll pray with you. If anyone isn’t ready yet, read these verses over tonight and think about them. This is an important decision and you need to be sure. I’m not trying to rush you, just asking you to think about it.”

Greg commented, “This is the end of this long section.”

“It was a long one,” Max agreed. “I liked all the scriptures.”

Levi went on. “”So did I. They went together very well to prove who Jesus is.”

“For sure,” agreed Cory, “and they would be good ones to use to convince someone we might be witnessing to at school.”

Kevin suggested, “Daniel, let’s use those scriptures when we talk to someone during lunch at school.”

Daniel nodded and did a thumb up.

The next thing on the Foster’s list was to go through all their things so they could give anything away, if it wasn’t being used any longer, or it was something they wouldn’t need to keep. But they were careful to keep everything they would need or might need. Before that task, they had been able to take a tour of Oscar and Vera’s ranch home and got an idea of how much storage there would be and what kinds of things they would need to bring to their new home on the ranch.

Since the homes on the ranch were already furnished, the Fosters needed to decide what to do with their furniture. Sherry mentioned, “It doesn’t bother me to not be able to take our furniture with us to the ranch.”

“Same here,” Roy agreed, “since we had bought mostly used things to put into our used house, I won’t miss any of it.”

Hope remarked, “Our beds will look about the same as the ones here as soon as we take off the head and foot boards so they’re easier to make.”

“Plus,” added Joy, “we are taking our matching bedspreads with us to the ranch.”

Sherry reasoned, “I wish we could sell the furniture and other things, but garage sales won’t work well since we need to keep our furniture until we move.”

“The best idea I can think of,” suggested Roy, “is to call a thrift store that can come and pick up all the furniture and other things we are giving away on the day after we move to the ranch.”

“Brilliant idea, Dad!” Joy cheered. “Then we can go back to the house and clean it up for when people come to look at it.”

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Since the house was on the market, there were times when the family had to leave, while prospective buyers came to look at the house. The family would use those times to go grocery shopping or go visit with friends in Pine City, or go to the park to do one of their family ministry ideas.

One time they quickly called the Iversons and Ross families and met them at a park so they and their children could have a nice time of visiting together, since the weather was so nice. Since Don and Anita Ross already knew, Roy and Sherry told Greg and Oralie Iverson about their plan to move to Mercy Valley Ranch and be foster parents. Joy and Hope told Timothy and Mary and all the Iverson’s boys while they were visiting between games using balls. They even told them they would be living in the big house above the Yardley family, since they needed a house with enough room for six girls. Now all the important people in their lives had been informed.

Later Roy commented, “I think we need to take the advice of the ranch people we talked to, and not try to do family ministries after we move to the ranch until after the new girls are settled and have become believers. Our family ministry will be to live our lives so they will want what we have, and to teach by example, and be ready to plant gospel seeds, and answer questions.”

“Exactly,” Sherry concurred, “even our training sessions mentioned something similar. It’s important that we do not frighten them by having to go with us to do ministries.”

Joy nodded, “We’ve always enjoyed our family ministry times, but we grew up doing them.”

“Right,” and then Hope exclaimed, “I just realized that we need to find someone in our neighborhood who will take over our After School Place!”

Sherry gasped, “I’m sure glad you remembered about it, because it had slipped my mind. Let’s plan to go to the other houses this Saturday and ask if anyone would be willing to take over for us. We can’t ask the parents of the children who come to us, because those parents are working.”

First they practiced what to say and then they spent the whole day on Saturday, going to every house until they finally found someone who liked the idea and would be willing to do it. Then the four of them went to each house to introduce the new provider and explain where she lived and when they would change over. The new provider came to their house the next week to meet the children and to observe and learn how to do this on her own. By the following week, all the children were going to the other house and it worked very well.

Oralie got to read the parts of the book taught by Karen. She liked reading aloud and used lots of expression making the people sound different from each other.

For the days when Karen taught the girls at the ranch about the Bible, they met together in the upstairs game room of the big house. Other mothers on the ranch took turns volunteering to help for each meeting.

One day Karen stated, “The book of Proverbs is very interesting and it’s an important book in the Bible, so we’ll study verses from it, occasionally in our Bible Study Group teaching time. Please find Proverbs, which is right after Psalms near the center of your Bible. We’ll be learning how to find the books in the Bible quickly during later lessons. Listen and follow along as I read parts of the first chapter.

“Proverbs 1:2-4 introduce and tell the reasons Solomon wrote so many proverbs: To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment and equity, to give prudence to the simple and to give knowledge and discretion to young people. It sounds like these verses were written especially for you, since I put the word people in place of the word ‘men’ in the verse,” she explained.

“Now put your finger under verses 5 and 6, A wise person will hear, and will increase learning; and a person of understanding shall attain wise counsel, in order to understand a proverb and also the words of wise people… You’ll notice I used person instead of man again. I do this so we won’t think these and other verses in the Bible are just for men. Many times the Hebrew word for ‘man’ can mean person, mankind, or human being.”

She paused and then said, “Please read Proverbs 1:7-8 out loud with me. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear the instruction of your father and do not forsake the rules of your mother. Now read it again and put the word ‘new’ in front of father and then again in front of mother. These are the people you can think of when the Bible says anything about your father or mother, because they are the ones who’ll be teaching you a lot of good things here on the ranch.” The girls did what she had said.

“Verses 10-19 are about what sinful people would tell you to do and they warn us to stay away from them. Then Wisdom speaks like a person would, about what could happen if Wisdom is ignored or scorned. Instead we need to listen to words of wisdom, like verse 33 says. Whoever listens attentively and gives heed to wisdom shall dwell safely and shall not fear evil.”

 

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Karen continued, “Colossians 2:3 says, In (Jesus) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In 1 Corinthians 1:24b,30b, we are told that Jesus is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and that God made Jesus be wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption for us. And if we go back to Proverbs 1:23, it says you need to Repent when I (Wisdom) reprove (or correct) you, and I will pour out my spirit to you and will make my words known to you. We could put Jesus or the Holy Spirit there in place of the word wisdom and take the same advice. This is a much better choice to make than ignoring or scorning wisdom, and the consequences that could result. Do you have any questions or comments?”

One girl asked, “If we read all of the book of Proverbs in the Bible, will we become wise?”

Karen responded, “I think just reading it will not be enough. James 1:22 in the New Testament tells us to be doers of the word, meaning the word of God or the Bible. And Psalm 111:10a says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. All who do his commandments have good understanding… If we read and understand what the Bible says, put the positive counsel into practice and avoid the negative behaviors, we will become wise, plus we’ll have a happier more productive life.”

Candy shared, “Yes, and I like the idea of putting the word ‘new’ in front of the words ‘father’ or ‘mother’ in the Bible, because it will help me focus my attention on my new parents, instead of old hurts caused by my other ones.”

Many of the girls nodded in agreement.

Kim commented, “There are a lot of negative behaviors we need to avoid just in this first chapter.”

June agreed, “That’s for sure!” and then she questioned, “What is the fear of the LORD?”

Karen answered, “It does not mean to be afraid of him, but to respect him greatly and be in awe of his character and authority so we’ll love and obey him.”

Sara mentioned, “I like your way of explaining the fear we need to have for God. Also, I especially like verse 33, because it’s a wonderful consequence of following the way of wisdom.”

Karen concurred, “I do too. Our time’s up for today. I’ll see you next time.”

Then Oralie said, “This is the end of today's section.”

Cory noticed, “I recognize some of the girls names in this section as the ones who graduated from the ranch at the same time the first boys graduated from the farm.”

“Your memory is better than mine,” stated Daniel and then he added. “This part talked a lot about wisdom.”

Levi added, “Yeah, I wish we could become wise just by reading the book of Proverbs.”

“Same here,” agreed Max, “if we could, I’d read it every day.”

Kevin concluded, “But at least we can do what Karen told them to do, and we will also become wise.”

The work on Mercy Valley Farm had been in full swing all spring and into the early summer. All the workers there were busy with their usual jobs and they felt fulfilled when they saw the good harvest of vegetables and other crops they sold to the local grocery stores and elsewhere. Here are some happenings on the farm.

Gary and Kim Beckett’s foster boys had now been on the farm long enough to be used to their chores and tasks for the farm. Bruce mentioned, “It was a lot of work when we were preparing the fields earlier this spring, but its great to see the crops growing.”

“It sure is,” agreed Ryan, “now our jobs have changed to keeping the weeds out, and helping to harvest the produce as it ripens.”

Leo stated, “I think I’m more grateful for the food I eat now, since I know how much work it takes to grow some of it.”

“Same for me,” agreed Tyler, “and I’m glad I get to live here on this farm and learn so much about farming.”

One evening on the farm, in the Iverson's house Max suggested, “Could we take our guitars out in the backyard to practice this evening? It’s so nice out there and I think our dog Jolly would enjoy our company.”

Cory, Kevin, Daniel, and Levi, quietly nodded their agreement and looked expectantly at their parents, Greg and Oralie, who appreciated the way they honored their parents. When Dad and Mom nodded and smiled they all went to get their guitars after they had set up a place outside where they could play.

Jolly did enjoy them and went from person to person to sit beside each one while they played and sang.

Another evening on the farm, at Felix and Sunny’s house, Pedro and Luis had come back for a visit from the army base where they now lived since they had graduated from the farm. Pedro remarked, “I’m amazed at how different my life is now, from what it was like here on the farm. At least I know what hard work is like from living here and how to obey and follow orders.”

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“Without a doubt,”agreed Luis, “living here was good training for going into the army. It would be a lot harder for guys who live with parents who didn’t bring them up correctly. Thank you, Dad and Mom, for being such good parents!”

Felix smiled, “You’re welcome and thank you for the compliment. All you guys learned quickly and we became a very good family.”

Sunny continued, “Yes, and our two new boys, who are finishing some homework right now, are making good progress too, with the help of their big brothers.”

Hugo grinned and observed, “It is kind of fun being a big brother and trying to remember what it was like to be that young.”

“For sure!” Jose declared, “they keep us so busy that I don’t have time to miss you two as much as I thought I would. So I guess that’s a good thing. I’m glad you get to come visit us pretty often.”

Tell them about your dream, Hugo,” prompted Sunny.

Felix added, “Yeah and include the conversation we overheard while you and Jose were polishing your good shoes so they’d be ready to wear to church.”

“OK,” and Hugo began, “It was an interesting dream, and it seemed so real at the time even after I woke up. It went like this.

He: Hi, may I fill the gas tank for you?

She: How nice of you! Yes, Please do.

He: What brings you to this gas station?

She: I needed gas for my car.

He: How often?

She: Once a week to be sure of not running out. Thank you very much for filling the tank. He: I’d be glad to meet you here and fill it for you once a week. I’m sure you might be wondering why, so I’ll tell you. I’m looking for a friend who is polite and grateful. You are both, so I’d like to fill your car with gas so you don’t have to do it and I’d also like to get better acquainted with you. She: How interesting. Well since you are polite and helpful and honest about what you’re doing, I’ll accept your offer and I will appreciate your help. I’ll look forward to getting better acquainted with you also.

They did meet, and he filled the gas tank plus washing the windows. After a few times, they went out for coffee afterward and had more time to talk. Later, he took her out to supper or to do something fun. At the end of their times together, she would shake

his hand and thank him. Later as they got to know each other better it would send a tingle of happiness through him and he wondered if this could be the beginning of love.”

“Wow!” Jose exclaimed. You remembered it in detail.”

“Yeah,” replied Hugo, “it made a big impression on me and I think I might try it as a way to find a wife after I graduate from the farm.”

Jose considered, “It might work. On the other hand, you might have to wait a long time to get enough money for your own car and then keep trying to find a girl like that.”

“Good point, Jose,” conceded Hugo.

Jose continued, “I think I’d rather choose a girl from the Mercy Valley Ranch who is already a believer and has been taught Bible truths and how to live for Jesus like we have been here on the farm.”

“I agree,” Hugo nodded. “I’m glad we talked about this. And I can still look for a girl on the ranch who has those good qualities.”

Jose nodded and smiled. “Same here, and we can follow the example of Evan who asked his dad to arrange for a family to come to the farm for some activity. Then maybe we could also be invited to ride horses with a family like Evan and Sam were.”

“Yeah,” Hugo concluded, “that would sure beat trying to go on dates like the rest of the world does it. It seemed to work very well for Evan. He looked so happy and pleased at his wedding.”

Luis exclaimed, “I’m impressed! It sounds like you two are early in being ready to graduate and look for a wife.”

“I think so too,” Pedro agreed, “and what have you decided upon for jobs to do to support yourselves and your wives?”

Jose answered honestly, “We’re still working on ideas so maybe we can let you know the next time you come to visit.”

Greg mentioned, “This lesson from ‘Become Honorable People’ will be very appropriate for Cory since he will be a senior next year. Then we’ll read it again when each the rest of you are juniors. But all of you can write the references as I read so you can look the verses up again later and maybe memorize some.”

 

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William and Karen taught a special lesson for the classes with older boys or girls. William began, “This year you boys are all juniors or seniors in high school. I would imagine most of you have begun to think about what career you’d be able to do. So I chose some verses that might help you. I’ll give each of you a different one to look up, practice, and think of a comment.”

He handed them out and gave them the time they needed and they took turns with the following verses.

Gary was first, “Colossians 3:22, Servants, obey your masters … in all things, not just to please them, … but to please God. The word, ‘servants’ here could be used to mean employees. Our motive should be to be pleasing to God and I think that would also result in pleasing the employer.”

“I agree,” said a boy. “I'll read Colossians 3:23, which comes right after the verse Gary read. Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, not as to men. I think this would mean for workers to do their best for the Lord. And like Gary said, it would also please the employer.”

Carlos mentioned, “We studied this verse in Jesus Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:33, But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. This verse tells us to have the right priorities and has a good promise.”

Another boy read, “1 Peter 2:18, Servants, be subject to your masters, not only to the good and gentle but also to the headstrong. This verse gives us the reason to submit to the boss.”

Evan stated, “1 Thessalonians 4:11,12 tells us how and why to do our work. Study to be quiet and to do your own business and to work with your own hands,… so that you may walk honestly toward them who are outsiders, and so you may not lack anything.”

A different boy said, “Proverbs 22:29a tells the result of being a hard worker. Do you see a man who is diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings…”

William inserted, “These next verses are about God’s guidance.”

One boy declared, “I memorized these verses!” So he quoted, Proverbs 3:5,6, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. These verses are good for lots of things.”

Sam declared, “Isaiah 30:21a is a very precious promise! Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, ‘this is the way, walk in it…’ When we ask for God’s guidance, he will make it very clear.”

“Indeed he will,” and then William concluded, “James 1:5, is another wonderful promise. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and does not reproach, and it shall be given to him. We need to ask for God’s help and then listen to, and follow his guidance. Thank you all for your good reading and comments today. Now just remember to trust in the Lord to guide you.”

Greg remarked, “This is the end of the lesson.”

Daniel declared, “I'm glad you reminded us to write the references down as you read the lesson, Dad, because they are good ones!”

“Yes,” and Max went on, “and I’ve memorized some of them already, There are some I can learn to help me continue to do my best in my schoolwork.”

Levi added, “Right, so this lesson was a good one for the rest of us if we use it for our lives right now too.”

“I agree” said Kevin, “those are good reminders for us and they can help us get ready for working for others.”

Cory exclaimed, “I like the way you guys were able to make the lesson fit you also! And of course it was a very good lesson for me, Dad, just like you said it would be!”

“I’m so pleased with all of you!” Oralie stated. “Your comments after the lessons show that you pay good attention. You are learning what all the other boys on the ranch have learned, and I know it will help you all the rest of your lives.”

Brad carried through with teaching all the high school girls about writing skills. After each lesson, when the girls had gone to their homes, Brad wrote comments about some of the girls in his notebook. He wanted to be able to remember these things later. Most of his comments were about very positive things, because most of these girls were learning how to be very nice young ladies.

Brad was thinking, “This thank-you idea is working out to be a way to get to know these girls better and they probably don’t suspect anything. I’m just like a teacher for a little while. I had not even thought of this possibility when I started this idea…, so I thank you, Lord, for having it work this way.

And then after Brad finished teaching the high school girls on the ranch about writing skills, he offered to do tutoring for families wanting more practice or to get questions answered. He would do one family at a time, of the six families who had junior and senior

girls. Now he was thinking, “I’ll be able to observe them as I tutor and they ask questions or make comments.”

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Brad was overwhelmed when he realized there were half a dozen families with senior girls and therefore, he would have a dozen girls to choose from just on the ranch. He decided he would write comments about the girls as he listened to and observed them. He also continued praying for God to lead him to the one who would be the best wife for him and be a good foster mom.

Each of the girls he was tutoring was to write a report and he would check it. Topics might include Possible Career Choices, Things for Which I’m Grateful, Favorite Free Time Activity, or others they might suggest. Several of the girls chose the career topic and wrote excellent reports. As he checked these reports, Brad wrote notes in his notebook about what he had learned about the girls while he was reading their reports.

After he thought a little, he wrote, “Lisa and Ellie both wrote about what they’re grateful for and even included some scriptures they had memorized. Nora’s report was very short, but well written. Kathy likes to write and she chose a topic of her own so she could do some research.

“Darla wrote that her favorite free time activity was learning how to sew and went into good detail about the process. Rita was grateful her mom was teaching her how to cook and how to bake.

Dana and Wendy both liked going on horseback rides and would choose to do it every day if they had time. The two girls from the last family both wrote that their career choice was to join the army and learn to be chaplains in Kosuke’s evening classes. So I’ll subtract them from the dozen and now I have ten to consider.”

Brad was also glad that he could go horseback riding with some of those families and also observe the girls as they cared for and rode the horses. Once in a while a family would stay around the tack room and visit with him after a ride. He had a good memory and wrote things about the girls in his notebook when he got back to his apartment.

After riding with some families, he wrote, “It’s very nice to see how well all four girls in each family get along so well together and how well they honor their parents. Lisa smiles a lot while she cleans tack, and I wonder what she’s thinking. Ellie looks a little tired. I liked listening to Darla and Rita as they talked about the things they had learned on the ranch. It sounds like cooking and sewing take a lot of time and practice. Kathy and Nora both hurried and didn’t talk while they cleaned up the tack.”

Oralie stated, “This next lesson in ‘Become Honorable People’ would be a good one for Thanksgiving time but also for every day. If you boys take good notes about how to do what Karen says to do, you will know how to do the homework for this lesson.

Early in November of one year, Karen and William had their boys and girls start a “Thankful Notebook.”

First Karen read Psalm 92:1, It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to your name, O most High. Then she told the girls, “I really like the Thanksgiving holiday, but we don’t have to wait for the holiday in order to be thankful. Two or three years ago I began writing things I was thankful for in a notebook.” She held it up showing the title, “Thankful Notebook,” and then had them look at some of the pages inside.

Candy observed, “It’s colorful and your handwriting’s so nice!”

“Thank you, Candy,” she replied. “I like colors and they make it enjoyable while I’m writing. Since I enjoy reading the verses again later, I try to write neatly. I used colored ink pens for a while but some of the colors bled through the pages and then I couldn’t read what I had written on the other side. So I decided erasable colored pencils would work better. Then I could even fix my mistakes. So that’s what you see on these later pages.”

Kim questioned, “Where do you get your ideas about what to write?”

A girl agreed, “Yeah, I’d run out of things to write too soon.”

Karen responded, “Here’s the easy part, I find a Bible verse containing something I’m thankful about and copy the reference and verse in my notebook. Since it’s so easy, it’s something I can do everyday and because it doesn’t take very long, I can include it in my own personal Bible study time.”

June asked, “But how do you decide which verse to use?”

“I made that easy for myself too,” replied Karen. “I use the concordance in the back of my Bible! Can you find the one at the end of your Bible?”

Another girl exclaimed, “Wow! There are lots of words here! It goes on, page after page.”

Sara concurred, “I’ll say! Plus each word has a list of Bible references with part of the verse and the word in it.”

“Right,” said Karen, and you’ll notice they only write the first letter of the word in order to save space. I look at some of the words and find one I’m thankful for on the page. Like on this first page of the concordance, I know I wouldn’t chose ‘abhor,’ which means to hate. But ‘abound’ might have a verse or

 

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more that would work for me. So I’d look up one of the references and read the verse. If it didn’t work, I’d try another one in the list. Try it now for yourselves.”

She gave them time to find a verse to use and then said, “Put a book mark there and come up here and get a notebook in a color you like, then go back and put your name inside it.”

When they thanked her, she said, “You’re very welcome.”

After they were seated again she continued, “At the top of each page I like to write, ‘I’m ‘thankful’ or ‘I’m grateful’ with a colon. Then I write the date and the verse’s scripture reference on the next line and copy the verse carefully after the reference. Then I underline the word I used from the concordance. I do this to help me keep a record of the words I’ve used, since I go in alphabetical order. The next day I use a different color and keep alternating the colors. The red and green pencils I gave you when you received your Bibles are erasable and if you desire more colors, each of you may come to this table at the end of this meeting and take a box with the rest of the colors.”

There were more words of appreciation after that statement.

Karen responded, “You’re all welcome, it’s my pleasure.”

They worked in silence until they finished the verse. Then Karen concluded, “It’s fine if you use more than one verse. When I have two or more verses, I change colors every four lines or so, and usually do just one of the verses each day. Take these notebooks home with you today and try to write a verse each day. You could make a title to put on the cover of your notebook. Next time we meet, bring it and share it with another girl in this group who isn’t in your family,

because the girls in your family will probably see it at your home. Being thankful is a good way to start each day. See if you can remember the word you used, and the verse, from time to time during the day, especially if you get bored, or something happens that bothers you.”

Oralie said it was the end of the lesson and asked, “Do you know what your homework is?”

They all nodded and she had them come to her place at the table to pick out the color of notebook they wanted to use for this project and gave them each a package of erasable colored pencils. Instead of commenting about the lesson, they thanked her and got busy.

The next day right after supper and chores were finished, the whole Iverson family came back to the table with their new Thankful Notebooks. Each of them had found a verse to write in their new notebooks, and had put titles and decorations on the front of them. So they passed them around the table, so all of them got to see the covers and read each verse.

While the Foster family was packing the things they would take with them to the ranch they talked about various things.

“What shall we do about the classes Mrs. Spencer teaches?” Joy asked.

Sherry answered, “Let’s go ask her as soon as we get moved into our new home on the ranch.”

“Every time your say that, I want to start singing, ‘Home, home on the Range,’ because it has some of the same words,” laughed Roy.

Everybody laughed with him and they sang it together before continuing with other topics.

Hope inquired, “How are we going to fit all eight of us into our family car?”

“As a matter of fact,” Roy answered, “over the years we’ve been saving enough money to buy another vehicle. And I think we probably have enough now to be able to buy a good used eight passenger van. I’ll ask Vern to go with me to help find one in good shape. Then we will have a way to get all of us to the city for shopping and for attending church.”

Sherry applauded. “Also, I was able to get work hours at the Discount Mart, which will enable me to leave half an hour after all you girls get on the bus, and I’ll be home before you return.”

Roy explained, “My work hours will remain the same. We’ll keep the other vehicle so we can drive back and forth to work. I’ll drive the big van, Honey, if you’d rather drive the smaller vehicle.”

“Perfect, Dear,” she responded, “I’d much rather drive the smaller one. Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

Roy went on, “Plus, if you desire, Dearest, I can do grocery shopping one or two times a week after work, before I come home.”

“Excellent, my beloved husband,” she responded, “because I wouldn’t have time to shop and still get home before the school bus.”

Roy reflected, “We might need to save our endearing names for our personal times alone until the girls feel more settled. But I think it will be good for them to hear us use loving names for each other.

“We like hearing them,” stated Joy. “I’m glad we have such a loving family.”

Hope agreed, “Same here. It might seem strange to the girls at first because it’s probably very different from what their families were like. But it will be good for them.”

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Many weeks ago the family had told their small group about their plans and kept them updated every week, often during praise time about how things were going. The conversational prayer time usually contained some prayers for them as they continued getting ready for their move. And during refreshment time, there were offers to help them when the time came for them to move. This would bring their small group down to only twelve members, but maybe they would get some new ones soon.

Greg remarked, “I think you boys will enjoy this section of ‘Become Honorable People,’ because it’s about farming.”

They nodded and smiled, and he read the following.

After a couple years on the farm, the boys had learned how to plow, prepare, sow, care for, and harvest crops. So William decided to teach the boys about the parable of the sower. First, they got to listen to the fun song the Medical Mission Sisters sang about the sower who went out to sow seed.

Then he read to them the parable of the sower: Matthew 13:3-8. A sower went out to sow seed, and when he did, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate them up. Some fell on stony places, where there was not much dirt. They came up quickly, … but they were scorched and withered away, because they had no good roots. Some seeds fell among thorns, but the thorns choked them. But other seeds fell into good ground and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.

Next William asked, “How is this different from the way we do it here on this truck farm?

Sam stated, “We make sure the seed isn’t wasted on places like the edge of a road, stony ground, or where there are thorns.”

Evan added, “Yes, we prepare the ground carefully before planting anything.”

One of the boys said, “Right, I remember picking up rocks and throwing them into the bucket on a front loader after plowing.”

Gary mentioned, “Plus, we irrigate and pull or spray weeds regularly.”

Another boy complained, “All of those things add up to a lot of hard work!”

Carlos laughed, “But we get a good harvest from every seed!”

William praised them, “Those are all good comparisons. The next verses in Matthew 13 tell why Jesus taught in parables. Then in verses 18-23, Jesus explained how the parable of the sower related to people hearing the Word of God. Who will read it aloud?”

Evan read it. Therefore hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and takes away what was sown in his heart. This is like the seed by the wayside. He who received the seed into stony places is the one who hears the word and receives it with joy, but he does not have any root in himself and only lasts for a while. When tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, he is

offended. He who received the seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed into the good ground is he who hears the word, and understands it. He produces thirty, sixty or one hundred times as much fruit as was sown.

Carlos exclaimed, “I get it! We need to prepare our minds like we do the soil so we can understand the Bible and produce a good harvest.”

A boy added, “We need to get rid of rocks like doubts, fears and any sin in our minds.”

Sam agreed, “Right, and not let desire for the things of the world choke out what we are learning about Jesus.”

Gary suggested, “Plus before we tell others about Jesus we need to work first on preparing their soil by praying, making friends, and living an exemplary Christian life.”

Another boy joked, “It sounds like a lot of hard work!”

William joined in the laughter and stated, “Thank you, guys, for your comments. You’ve all learned a lot since you started living here on Mercy Valley Truck Farm. Keep up the good work!”

Greg finished by saying, “The end.”

Cory declared, “This was extra fun to hear! I was just thinking about my ministry partner at the high school. His name is Van, and I think this book would be a great way for him to learn what we are learning. So I’ll ask him if he’s interested and then if he is, I will send him an email with a PDF copy of this book so he can get started.”

“It sounds like a good idea,” agreed Max, “these lessons are all good, and I especially liked the song you played for us just like in the boys heard in the lesson.”

Kevin added, “And I liked all their comments and particularly how you read the verses where Jesus explained the parable.”

 

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“Same here, and I laughed both times about the ones who said it sounded like a lot of hard work,” stated Daniel.

Levi finished, “So did I. Thank you, Dad, for reading to us.”

The others added their thanks, and Greg told them, “I’m glad I can do it and I enjoy your comments.”

The upstairs of the third house was finished, furnished, and ready for the family, who wanted to move there from the upstairs of the house above the Yardleys. Therefore they moved and then cleaned up their former house and now it was ready for the Fosters to move into as soon as they were ready.

They were ready and waiting for that phone call, so they called their friends who had offered to help them move, loaded up all the vehicles and drove up to the ranch the same evening. As soon as their things were unloaded, all the helpers were given oral thanks, plus a thank you card containing a gift card as a way to help pay for their time and gas.

The next day the Fosters went back to the house in Pine City to meet the truck from the thrift store. It would load and take away the furniture and other things they had donated. They were given a receipt for the donation. Then the family cleaned the empty house, which had already sold by now, so it was now ready for the new owners to move in when they were ready. The money they received for the sale of the house paid off the mortgage and there was extra for the equity it had gained. They quickly invested the extra money in places earning good interest and could be withdrawn as needed for their ministry on the ranch.

The next day the Fosters got unpacked and their first priority was to go see Karen Spencer and ask what the twins should do about attending classes. After considering all the options and thinking about the best things to do, they decided it would be best for Hope and Joy to attend the classes with the other new girls on the ranch. All of them would feel more like they were more equal that way. Joy and Hope could help as the older girls learned about the Bible and the Good News so they could become believers and then tell others how to become believers. They would also learn how to live their new lives for Jesus.

The day after the Fosters got unpacked, Oscar and Vera came upstairs to pray God’s blessing on the family and the house and ask for his help as each of the new girls came into the family. They answered any questions and suggested that the Fosters spend their first two weeks getting settled and planning.

Roy and Sherry and Joy and Hope did spend their first two weeks the way they were encouraged to, by using the time after work and school for planning and getting themselves settled. They also set up their own areas, including their computers and new ones for the new girls.

“This is a fun time for us,” stated Hope, “we get to have time to put our things away and get things organized in ways that will work best for us.”

Joy clarified, “Even if it is only in the afternoons and evenings after our ride on the school bus, which is a new experience for us. I’m glad we have very little homework so far this week.”

“For sure,”Hope went on, “and it was nice of Lily to introduce us to the school bus driver, and even tell her a little about us.”

Joy tacked on, “Yes it was nice, and I’m thankful that so far, we have also found time almost every day to go horseback riding.”

“Right,” agreed Sherry, “since we get home earlier than Dad, we have been able to go either by ourselves or with the Blakes and their quadruplets or wait and go with Ben and Mindy, after supper when Dad can join us.”

Roy added, “Yes, and I know Hope and Joy are thrilled to be able to spend some time with their special friend Mindy. Plus after our other girls arrive and get settled, we can still ask Ben and Mindy or the Blakes to join our family for horseback rides.

Joy and Hope both cheered, nodded, and smiled.

During family meeting times, they also wrote a list of their family rules, figured out tasks needing to be done that would require the help of all the girls, and how to best teach them and rotate doing them, so everyone had equal time on each one. The girls would do tasks to help keep the ranch and their homes running smoothly.

The girls would also have free time choices, including things like horseback riding, bird watching, nature walks, rowing on the lake in the summer, and ice skating there in the winter. They could also identify and learn the names of wild flowers, and maybe plant and nurture garden flowers and then pick and arrange them with Karen’s help.

Roy and Sherry Foster looked forward to helping their new family learn how to live healthy, useful lives by good self care and cleanliness, nutrition and exercise. As parents they would teach manners, self control, and ways to solve problems, because all these things were included in the training sessions. Plus all the girls would be encouraged to keep their bodies healthy and pure for either staying single, or for only

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their lifelong, future spouse. They would also be encouraged to pray for God’s guidance about staying single or being married, and to pray for their future spouse, if they would be married.

Sherry added, “Besides all that, I plan to teach them how to cook, mend, sew, embroider, plus anything else they’ll need to know to be good homemakers. This will include making a budget, balancing the checkbook and good financial planning.”

“Exactly,” agreed Roy, “and as their dad, I’ll teach the girls how to keep the car clean inside and how to check the oil level and tire pressure. If the girls are strong enough they can even learn how to take off a flat tire and put on the spare one, so they could take the flat to be fixed.”

All these things and more would be taught by the parents and Karen so the girls would learn a lot about how to live independently during their years with the Fosters on this ranch.