Faith's Treasure

By Katherine Kendall

A town in Pennsylvania desperately needs a surgeon like Faith Ann Heart's father. Pennsylvania is really far from Georgia where Faith lives now, and she is scared because it turns out that her father took the job. Now they are moving to a place where she doesn't know anyone. Her father says God is calling him up there to serve, so what is she supposed to say to that, "Too bad God, I need Dad more than you do," not likely.

Faith's best friend had a going away party for her. The whole eighth grade class was invited. The party was so much fun but when Faith got home she cried for a long time. She had been praying hard for something to happen that would make it impossible to move but so far, nothing's come up. Instead, some of her teachers told her how much fun it is to move. They told her a little bit about Pennsylvania and it sounded like a cool place. It's a good thing because it looks like she really will be moving. It is terrifying but it is kind of exciting at the same time, like she is about to go on a fantastic new adventure.

Her mom and dad have been busy all day helping the movers pack everything into the enormous van, when she hears the big truck finally close the door and drive away. Faith runs outside and sees it pulling away down the street.... Find out what happens next in this Christian mystery for kids ages 8-13 by Katherine Kendall.

Each chapter contains discussion questions and a verse from the Bible. Have a weekly book club to go over the questions together with friends. Read a chapter each week. Or, read it out loud together as a family. There is no right or wrong answer to the questions, just time to spend together sharing the Word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katherine Kendall
• Release date: Jul 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476192123

Katherine Kendall

I love writing about encounters with God in every day circumstances. He is always nearby even if we can't see or feel him, but on those special occasions when we do, there is nothing more life changing. I hope you enjoy this book.

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Faith's Treasure

By

Katherine Kendall

Smashwords Edition

*****

Published By:

Katherine Kendall on Smashwords

Faith's Treasure

Copyright 2012 by Katherine Kendall

Cover design by Megan Kendall

Cover illustration by © Chorazin - Fotolia.com

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used factiously.

*****

Many thanks to my dear niece Leah and the time she took to read and edit this book. Thank you to my daughter Megan, my son Max, and my husband Ross who listened to me read this book over vacation car trips, provided support, and shared comments. Thank you to the folks at Kalmbach Memorial Park in Macungie, Pennsylvania, and all the work they have done to preserve the grounds and the house of my memory that serves as an inspiration for this book.

This book is dedicated to my daughter Megan Kendall. I love you and I never will stop.

*****

FAITH'S TREASURE

Chapter 1

When the moving van took off down the street, it stripped the leaves off one of the low hanging branches. I watched the leaves whirl anxiously through the air in the van's wake and unattached, fall to the ground. I felt my stomach lurch and I said to myself, Faith Ann Heart, you are just like those leaves. In fact I could feel them swirling in my own stomach. I turned back into the house and followed my mom around the hollow rooms and listened to her voice bounce off the empty walls.

I've gotten so used to looking at this stuff, I don't see it anymore. Mom unscrewed the hand-painted outlet cover that my brother Sonny made last year in the hospital when he caught pneumonia and scared us all. Oh, now I don't have a cover for the switch. I can't leave it like that. She screwed it back on. She had a bag of forgotten memories on her arm: an old paper Christmas ornament that had slipped off the tree and fallen behind the baseboard that showed a photo of me holding a good behavior award when I was in preschool, a metal fondue fork from our set used for melting chocolate and dipping bananas during our Friday night home movies, a lackluster clay pot Sonny made his first year at summer day camp where he made his first real friends, and who knows what else she held in that bag because it hurt my heart to look too closely. But I really want to keep it. She screwed it back off.

It's time to go, my father called from the front door. He looked worn out and it was only noon. His dark hair stuck out all over from raking his fingers through it. It looked like he combed it with an electric mixer. My hair was tightly braided and red like my mom's. She had braided it for me this morning. Where is Sonny, Faith?

I went to go look for Sonny. I found him in our backyard peeking out the window of our tree house. Please, come, Sonny. He shook his head at me and I knew I would have to clamber up the rope ladder and get him. I pretended to hit my head on the door jam when I walked in because I had tears on my face and it would scare Sonny to see them and not understand why. This little house of ours has shrunk. That really hurt. It's okay, Sonny, I told him. It didn't fool him though. He looked scared anyway, so I said, I'll take care of you.

Sonny used the hand signal for pick me up. He has Down syndrome and it's hard to talk when you have Down syndrome. I picked him up on my back and carried him to the car that Mom and Dad packed with overnight bags. Are you okay, honey? Mom asked me.

My long legs felt barely able to hold me up so I handed my brother over to my dad. I'm sad and excited at the same time. Sad was definitely in the lead over excited.

All four of us stood in a big hug on the front lawn. My heart was so heavy I could barely breathe. Dad said a prayer. I don't even know what he prayed because I was looking at our mailbox that read Dr. and Mrs. Heart and I couldn't help wondering what would happen to it. We got in the car and that's when I let loose. I cried longer than I can ever remember and no one tried to stop me. I cried intermittently through Atlanta, North Georgia, and even into Tennessee.

We drove all day until we reached a place called Bristol, Virginia where Dad had made a reservation at a roadside hotel where we could stay for the night. Can we go for a swim? The hotel's pool water shimmered with streaks of gold from the setting sun.

It does look inviting, Mom said. It'll do them good to work off some energy. Then we can go get something to eat.

Mom could talk Dad into almost any plan. As soon as he got the key to our room, we put our bathing suits on and jumped into the pool. Sonny climbed out of the pool just so he could jump back in, his favorite thing to do. Daunga, he yelled—whatever that meant, and jumped into Mom's arms. Then he got out and did the same thing to Dad, except Dad wasn't ready. Sonny vanished beneath the surface. He bobbed back up and began paddling happily in the water.

Sonny! You can swim, I yelled as he headed for me. I gave him a big hug. Sad as I was, I felt happy for him. You really can! Then I turned him in Dad's direction and gave him a push. He swam to Dad like a water wind up toy.

I guess all those lessons finally sunk in, no pun intended, Dad laughed. Da, Da, he said. Dad picked him up, hugged him and set him off in Mom's direction.

Are we gonna play this for the next year and a half? I asked Sonny after he had made the rounds a dozen times. I'm hungry. Across the street was a Southern-style, all-you-can-eat restaurant that smelled delicious. I imagined fried chicken, biscuits dripping with honey, and sweet tea poured into fruit jars.

Me too, Dad agreed, nodding at the restaurant where I was looking. All four of us charged into the motel and changed our clothes. At the restaurant we filled our plates with food. They served just what I thought: fried chicken, biscuits, grits, greens, beans, corn on the cob, potato salad, apple pie, chocolate cake, cheese cake, ice cream and apple sauce—the only thing I didn't like. Amazingly, I tried as hard as I could to eat. I felt hungry but my mouth and stomach turned at the taste of the food. I pushed my plate away. This has been the saddest day of my life, I realized.

Things always look their worst at the end of the day when we're tired, Dad said. None of us made much progress on the plates of food in front of us except for Sonny. He ate with gusto.

Nothing ever worries you for long, does it Sonny? I told him more than asked. All he cares about is that we're near.

He has a special blessing, Dad explained, always able to see the good. You are right; he just cares about us being together. We could learn a lot about trust from him.

Back at the hotel we settled in for the night. I cuddled with Sonny and let the soft murmur of my parents' voices just outside our room lull me to sleep. I drifted in and out until I opened my eyes for the last time and saw Mom's shoulder length red hair flared over the white pillow on the other bed beside mine, Dad's arm draped protectively around her waist. The world seemed to have grown so small, as small as this room, I thought, and then I fell into a deep sleep and did not wake again until morning.

*

The second day of our trip to the new house a golden red sun rose over the horizon as big as I had ever seen. I know God is not the sun but the rays and warmth of it felt like God holding me. I really hoped I could cheer up a little today. I remembered a Bible verse my Sunday school teacher, Miss Burke, told me: God's power can be clearly seen from what has been made. I said, I'll never see Miss Burke again.

I didn't know you even liked her very much, my mom said.

I didn't but she was smart about God, and I'll miss that. It seemed like every time I thought about something, it was just another ending that I would miss.

We decided to go to the Waffle House for breakfast. Two sunnies over easy and two scrambled with pigs, our waitress yelled. 'With pigs' meant with sausage. The air smelled thick with the scent of fried food. Pellets of oily steam rolled down the shiny metal back splash behind the fryer. Sonny balled his hands into fists and pounded the table. He screamed in hunger and frustration.

Sh-h-h, Mom and I burst into giggles. I reached over and held Sonny's hand. Mom made the hand sign for wait. Sonny hung his head, It's not that bad, I said to him.

Finally the waitress set the food on the table and Dad said a prayer. Sonny peeked up at me and smiled. This time, we all ate. I guess a good night's rest always helps.

We bought packed lunches at the Waffle House and climbed into the car for a long day's ride. Dad told us we weren't stopping until we got to our new house. It's a big house, he said, trying to help me and Sonny picture it. We had seen some pictures of it. It was listed in the national historic registry. It was built more than 150 years ago. We can convert that barn into a painter's studio, Helen. My mother painted pictures. We had her pictures hanging up in our old house.

There's a creek running in the backyard that's been dammed up for a nice little swimming hole, and there's a stone patio with a fountain. Dad looked at me in the rear view mirror and smiled. He knew I'd like that. Then he turned to Mom again, Remember the kitchen, Helen? It is huge, with a fireplace in it.

I hadn't thought about it but with Dad trying to encourage both of us, I realized that Mom was a little sad to leave, too. That's why Dad was telling her about the studio and the big kitchen. For some reason, this realization made me feel better. Kind of like when they say, 'misery loves company.' It just made me feel better to know that being sad about moving was not so unusual.

A fireplace in the kitchen? I never heard of that.

Just think how cozy it will be at Christmas time, Dad said. Upstairs the bedrooms are all connected. No hallways, just like in the olden days. There are windows everywhere and lots of doors and little rooms where you wouldn't expect any to be.

We have to walk through the kids' rooms to get to ours. Mom told me. She had seen the house a few a weeks ago. She flew up and helped Dad buy it.

We might want to renovate all that in a few years. Dad sounded more excited than sad. There are four fireplaces, one in each bedroom and a large one in the den that's actually the same as the one in the kitchen, but you see it from the other side.

So, if there's a fire in the den fireplace, you can see it in the kitchen, too? I asked, thinking of Christmas. How will Santa know which one to jump down? I whispered to Sonny.

Sana! Sonny kicked his heels.

Right, huh, Sonny? I said. Maybe Santa will get lost with all those fireplaces and give us twice the presents.

After lunch I fell asleep. When I woke up, the sun fell low in the sky. We'd driven most of the day just as Dad said we would, stopping only for bathroom breaks. What is the name of the place we are going? I could not remember the name of the little town in Pennsylvania.

Lacawalla, my dad said. It's an American Indian name. It means bear swamp.

I tugged nervously at my braid. I hope we aren't going to be living in a swamp.

I'm sure the swamp has dried up, Faith, Mom said.

Yes, quite a while ago. They built a dam about fifty miles north up the Lacawalla River, and the river bed is now a park in the middle of the town. The Lacawalla River is a branch of the Susquehanna River, and it used to go right through the city. Now the Lacawalla Power and Light Company uses the dammed water to make electricity.

Miss Allen told me there are Amish people in Pennsylvania, and they don't use electricity. She said they live old-fashioned lives and wear hats and bonnets. She said they don't even use zippers. My old social studies teacher told me all of this when I told her where I was moving.

"That's right although most of them live further west than where we're going. Sometimes they travel to Philadelphia to sell what they make and grow and they travel through our town. They don't drive cars. They use horse and