One afternoon while eating a late lunch on my ironing board in the parsonage kitchen, l saw two little boys climb over my chain-link fence and started picking green apples from the tree that was in my backyard. None of this angered me, but it did scare me that these boys could have hurt themselves. So being a nice and gentle man and a preacher, I yelled at them, 'Hey, boys what are you doing?' They dropped their books and a dozen apples on the ground and slowly turned around. 'Well, mister, we were going to eat your apples.'
'That's fine with me, but I want to show you something. Come with me!' They followed me to the back gate of the fence that they just climbed. I asked, 'Do you see the latch on the gate?' They shook their little blond heads up and down (meaning yes). Then I asked, 'Does it have a lock on it?' They moved their cute little heads left to right (meaning no). Then I said, 'The next time you want to to take my apples off this tree, you use this gate. And please don't ever climb this fence. I don't wantyoutogethurt.' Eric asked, 'Sir, are you telling us it's okay to come into your backyard and take your apples?' 'Yes, that's true. I also want to show you my side gate that leads to the front yard and a couple of houses down to your home. I would like for you two to use it too, okay?'
They said,'Sure!' Then I introduced myself as the preacher at Central Christian Church down the street. I encourage them to put apples on the window sill to let them get a little red before eating them. So we gathered up their books and their apples, and I opened the side gate, and off they went. That's how I met Eli and Eric!
I tried to be home every day after school just to visit with these two kids. They were the youngest of seven brothers and sisters, and no father or man was at home. One afternoon, I shared with them that the church down the street had youth group meetings on Wednesday evenings. I added that I would be glad to talk to their mother if they were interested in coming. They wanted to know what we did at youth groups. So I shared with them that we would have grandparents of the church bring cookies, cakes, pies, and sometimes ice cream for us to eat. After that, we would have a Bible lesson and a game that we played. They wanted me to go talk to their mother to see if it would be okay for them to come. So I introduced myself to their precious mother, Brenda. She then told me that when the boys brought the apples home, she had asked Eli where he got them. He said, 'The creature gave them to me.' Eli had a speech impediment, and he couldn't say his p's, yet. Eric had to tell her, 'Preacher, mom. Preacher, not creature.' We had a good laugh over that story, and she thought it would great for me to pick up the boys for youth group and bring them home.
That's how it started! Two little boys, Eli, a 1st grader, and Eric, a 3rd grader. And they loved youth group! Next,they wanted to invite their cousins and friends to come with them.
Little did I know that half of Carlsbad were their cousins and friends! One Wednesday afternoon Eric said, 'Can we go get Jerry Wayne, Jonathan,and Jennifer? They live at the junk yard west of town.'
'Sure,' I replied, 'Just tell how me how to get there.' The next week we picked up those little ones again, plus Dustin, Destiny and Jubi Lee. Then next Wednesday we picked up cousins, Derrick, Kimberly and little Peppermint Patty. The fourth Wednesday we brought in nineteen cousins and friends, and I was ten minutes late for my class. Several of the elders were standing outside looking for me because they were worried about my safety. When I pulled up to the church building with my two-door LTD Crown Victoria Princess and popped the trunk, four of my older kids jumped out. Then fifteen little kids got out of my front and back seats, and two from my back window.
The elders asked, 'Do you need help taking them home?'
I answered,'I sure do! Are you willing to help?' They shook their heads yes, so I said I would meet them in the parking lot at 8:00. After youth group, I sent one elder east because he lived that direction. He left the parking lot with five energetic kids. Another elder who lived south took four joyous kids. The final elder lived north, and he left with five fantastic kids in his vehicle. Finally, I gathered up my five wonderful kids, and we headed west! May I confess,five kids in your car is a whole lot better than nineteen!
Later that week I talked to Captain Williams at the Carlsbad police department to see if it was true that it was illegal to put people in the trunk or not. I discovered that it was. So I quit that practice. I also started leaving earlier to pick up my kids, dropping them off at the church parking lot with several balls to play with. I would make three trips with seven-toten kids with each trip. We recruited several deacons to help us take them home. All of this activity at the church building with these kids drew dozens of other children and teenagers in the neighborhood to come and check out what in the world was going on at Central Christian. We were averaging over one hundred-plus young people and children on Wednesday nights. You need to realize that when the Lord lead me to Central Christian Church family in Carlsbad, we had two faithful children and two unfaithful teenagers.
After several months, I shared with all the kids that we have Sunday School and children's church every Sunday morning. About seven-to-ten kids said, 'We would love to come! Can you come and get us?'
Can you guess what I said? 'It would be my pleasure!' They sat with me on the front row, and after the song service and communion, then they would go to children's church that was geared just for their age group. They loved it! Then came the fifth Sunday of the month when we didn't have children's church. I got up to preach, and knew I was in trouble. I wasn't sitting with them to correct their behavior or give them much personal guidance. So halfway through my introduction to my message, I called 'Time Out!' Never ever done this before! I got Eric and Eli and seated them with brother Delbert and sister Dean. Then I asked Jonathan, Jerry Wayne and Jennifer, 'Please come with me.' I had them sit with brother E.D. and sister Mildred, with one on each side and one in the middle. I delivered Dustin, alias 'Pig Pen', and Destiny to brother Fred, sister Ethel, and their teenager daughter Dorie. Last, but not least was Jubi Lee. I placed him in the loving care of brother Sherman.
Now you are probably wondering how my time-out experiment went? The kids were angels, the adults had a great time loving on them, and I was able to logically present the gospel in a Christ-honoring manner. The kids and the adults, as well, looked forward to our fifth Sunday routine. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me this time-out idea!
My Sunday School teachers loved the precious kids, but a couple of them came to me and shared their concerns about the children's smell and little dirty faces,arms and legs. 'No problem, I told them. So the next Sunday in the car, I asked my kids to line up at the kitchen sink, girls first. There I placed three dish towels in warm water and washed the girls' faces and arms, and had them wash their own legs. Then I sprayed the little ladies with perfume. They loved it. However, the next Sunday they told me they would go to the ladies room and clean themselves up while I worked on the boys. Next, they would sprayed themselves like real grown-up ladies. The three white dish towels were now dark brown towels! I bleached them two times to get to be semi-white towels. My boys didn't mind the washing, but they hated the cologne. It was hilarious!
In the springtime, I thought. 'You know, these kids might enjoy summer camp.' So I talked to the kids and their parents about Christian camp in the mountains. The parents said they just didn't have the money. I asked them that if we could raise the money, would they let me take them to camp? They all said yes. Now how do you raise over a thousand dollars for kids to go to camp? Central Christian Church family was not a rich congregation. They will give a love offering, and some will even give sacrificially. So I wrote articles in our church paper about these wonderful kids and their backgrounds and asked for help in paying for these cherished children to go to camp. We only sent out two hundred church papers once a month to the same people. I had the people send their money directly to Guadalupe Christian camp for Carlsbad children. We had people from all over America sending five, ten, twenty, fifty, and one family from Florida give five hundred dollars. At the end of the camp season, we had over two hundred dollars left for next summer! Wow! We broke all kinds of records for kids going to camp that year. At the end of the summer right before school started, I asked my kids, ' What was your favorite part of the summer this year?' They all said without hesitation, 'Camp!' They loved swimming, three meals a day, hiking, volleyball, softball, meeting kids from West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, watermelons, canteen, balloon fights, and campfires. Three of my kids said sleeping in a 'real bed' (this made me cry). Several of these neglected kids said, 'This was the greatest time in my life!' Again I cried!
One Sunday morning as I arrived at church with my kids, a little widow lady said to one of my elders, 'There is preacher John with his riff-raff kids!' Without Jesus, we are all riffraff kids! Amen! It is my prayer that these children felt the love of Jesus through our Wednesdays night teachers, grandma's, grandpa's, Sunday School teachers, children's church workers, elder and deason drivers, summer camp teachers and counselors, and of course, this chauffeur and preacher. Lord, we planted the seeds, and it is our prayer that YOU send other born-again people to water the seeds of faith. And of course,YOU get the increase and glory!