I've had several people ask me about the kids. So, here goes! I'll try to start near the beginning to give a little background.
We are an outdoor family. We love playing, gardening and grilling in our yard. Our dog loves to chase the birds & the squirrels.....& the occasional cat that happens into the "wrong" yard.
There are some neighbor kids that their backyard backs up to ours. They will hear us outside & pop their heads up over our fence (which is 6' high) by standing on a chair or bike. The kids are always nice & ask to come over & play. We always told them that was great, but they needed their parents permission [their parents could call us &/or walk them over]. Well, that never materialized........which made us a little sad. Once they threw a ball over the fence, and they jumped the fence & retrieved it. We really had to be hard on this point - that they NEVER come in our yard without one of us. We have a big dog (an 85lb Doberman) that is very territorial & he could easily hurt them. Thankfully, the dog was sleeping on the deck & a train was going by.......so, he didn't notice them. However, it scared us pretty bad. The last thing we want is for any one of those kids to get hurt. The Spirit laid it upon me to really reach out to those kids.I prayed & prayed for opportunity to witness & share Christ's love. So much of me was beating myself up that I wasn't at home more to make myself available.
Well, a few weeks ago David's parents were slated for a visit. I had had a long week at work, with a lot of driving & construction site visits. So, needless to say.......the house was a wreck. His parents were going to arrive around lunch on Saturday. Saturday morning arrived & I desperately needed to wash my dishes & clean the bathrooms. At 8am, we had already had breakfast & were starting our day. I sent David & Drew into the backyard to go play for an hour or two...so, that I could clean quickly (you know girls I love the help, but sometimes we can do it quicker ourselves). I set out some water for them & told them that inside was off limits for a while. Well, I had barely begun when David came in 5 minutes later & asked where Drew's tricycle & little red wagon were. I told him they were in the shed. He quickly responded that they weren't outside at all. .........and I knew, I instantly knew. The neighbor kids had jumped the fence & stolen the toys.
As a side note: I should mention that the tricycle was Drew's 1st birthday & Christmas gift from David & I. It was a metal vintage style radio flyer that was very expensive. The wagon - well it's more sentimental. It had belonged to my grandmother that passed away last year & left it to her only great grandchild (at the time). It was a classic radio flyer wagon from the 1960's. Don't get me wrong it wasn't in mint condition the paint was faded & the wagon had a lot of rust on the inside.........but it was a treasure to me.
Back to the story: I told David what I thought had happened & that we needed to go & take care of business right then. I'm not sure David would have ever confronted the family.......he's much more easy-going. However, it was the thought of the wagon that had me fired up. David was concerned that we didn't have proof & that the parents might not care regardless. He also wasn't sure which of the 3 houses (that backed our property) the kids lived in. Fortunately, I knew. So, even though it was 8am -- this Mama was fired up. We decided to drive around the block, instead of walking. As soon as we rounded the corner, in the front yard of the house lay Drew's tricycle broken & busted up laying in the front yard of the house. So, we got out - I grabbed it & knocked on the front door. (I should mention that the kids had told us on several occasions that Mom or Dad was at work....so, we knew they worked.......which was another incentive to go ahead before possibly left for their jobs). So, the mother answered the door.......and with the tricycle in hand explained that we believed that her kids had jumped our fence, stolen our son's toys, and even broken some of them. It was obvious that we had woken her up......and I'm sure it put a sour taste in her mouth for the rest of the day. She didn't argue with us. She simply turned around went & dragged the kids out of bed & confronted them with this information. The kids admitted that they indeed had done it. I asked for the red wagon. The boy went & retrieved it from their backyard. When he rounded the corner, carrying it in pieces.....I had to turn around & almost fell to my knees....tears flooding my face. I couldn't even speak. David & I both spoke to the mom & the kids in turn. After we had been there half an hour, I asked the kids if they had taken anything else. Their eyes got big & admitted yes they had. They had taken all of Drew's outside blocks that were in rubbermaid boxes. I thought the mom was going to blow a gasket. The girl ran & got them from the backyard (half empty now). The mom finally asked what she could do. She looked at the kids & told them that she couldn't afford to pay for new toys since they still didn't even have school supplies. So, she asked us what we wanted. I looked at the kids & said that they needed to pay for the toys either out of their allowance/birthday money, etc (which I doubt they had any) OR they needed to come work in our yard & work it off. Instantly, the mom said, "DONE!! They can work in your yard every day until eternity." She expressed her deep embarrassment. She told us that she had moved from Jackson to get her kids out of that type of environment & here they were perpetuating that type of behavior. We told her that this wasn't to embarrass her, but it was to embarrass the kids. We told them that if they had been 18, we would have just called the cops. She told us we should call the cops & maybe that would scare them good & proper. We told her we didn't think that was necessary, as long as the kids came & worked off their debts. I really must give the mother props - she never questioned us. She was fired up herself. I'm pretty sure from her demeanor, words & the constant back of the head pops that once we left......she probably "took care of business."
Needless to say, my house didn't get cleaned that morning.......and a few hours later the kids brought over apology letters & started pulling grass from my flower beds. So, for the next week & a half the kids were over every day (full days on the weekend & an hour every afternoon).
Well, we decided that they had worked enough last Sunday. For their last chore, they washed our cars. After 2.5 hours....I told them to hurry it up a bit or we'd be late for church. The kids instantly asked if they could go with us. They said they hadn't been to church in a long time & really wanted to go. We said that was fine-- if & only if -- we got permission from their mom. So, when they were done.......instead of letting them walk home......all of us drove around the block to their house. We had a little surprise in the car for them. We presented the mom with school supplies for the kids. We made sure that they knew that this was NOT a reward or gift. This was an investment in their future. We believed in them & didn't want them pulling any more shenanigans......that they needed to do well in school & have a future. The mom cried & was very grateful. We also put some Gideon New Testaments in their backpacks. We asked if they could go to church with us. She told us, "If you're willing to take these kids somewhere......that's fine with me." Bless her. When we came back to pick up the kids, they were standing outside waiting......their new testaments in hand....dressed in winter clothes (which were their Sunday best). I teared up.
The rest is all gravy. On the way home last week, we told them to pick out a verse in Psalms/Proverbs that they found interesting or liked. We told them to come over on Saturday & we'd talk about it. Well, they couldn't wait. They showed up Monday afternoon with their verses picked out & ready to discuss. Last week, they went to church with us again. Both asked about getting baptized. We had to back it up a little bit & explain salvation. The seeds are planted & the fields are white with harvest!!! God is so good.
