The Pastor and His Projects

By Ethel McMilin

Levi, as the pastors son, was very popular with the young people. He had no intention of getting serious with any of the girls he dated. He felt that God had called him to the ministry and his goal was to attend Mount Vernon University. While finishing the last year of his high school, the pastor selected five young people in his church who wanted to go into full time ministry and gave each of them a project to do to learn how to deal with people and how to witness. Levi listened as the pastor gave the assignments out to each student. He was shocked when his father gave him the task of befriending a girl with a bad reputation. He was to try to lead her to the Lord. He had seen the girl go into Jacquelyn Johansens home. She was dirty with tangled hair and looked simply terrible. How in the world was he going to accomplish his task?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inspiring Voices
• Release date: Apr 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781462401437

Ethel McMilin

Ethel and Jack have been married 58 years. They have 5 children, 16 grand-children and 20 great-grand children. Ethel retired from the Bureau of Land Management as a computer specialist and took up the hobby of writing. She has 17 novels published. www.mcmilinchristiannovels.com lists the names of her novels and information about them. Some of the novels have been converted to E-books as well. One novel with its sequel is about Alaska where the McMilins lived for 14 years. If you want to know about the great state of Alaska, read the novels.

Book preview

Chapter One

Brittany’s Problems

With a frown on her face and her long blonde hair in tangles, Brittany Southerland moved to the uncomfortable chair that was placed in front of her. She was told to sit down and the voice that gave the order appeared to mean it. It was nonsense for her to be sent to another foster home since she was seventeen years old and old enough to take care of herself. Her deep blue eyes glared at the officials.

Unhappy wasn’t a strong enough word for her feelings right now. Those authorities better be careful what they say to her as she was as out of patience with them as they were with her. Not a one of them would listen to her side of the situation.

As she looked up, she saw a woman she hadn’t seen before. The lady was heading right towards her. It appeared no one else wanted to deal with her and that was okay with Brittany. Since she had been in five or was it six different foster homes they thought she was a lost cause. But all they had to do was send her to one decent foster home—if there was such a thing.

In her opinion, none of the adults in the homes were very intelligent and certainly not capable of dealing with a teenager. In every home she was placed, it was quite evident that all they wanted was the money they were paid for her keep.

The tall gracious lady stopped right in front of Brittany and smiled. If she thinks a smile was going to change my attitude, this lady is mistaken. Brittany didn’t return the smile. What did this woman want of her anyway? With the considerable grey hair creeping in with the dark brown in the front of her face, she guessed her to be at least forty or perhaps fifty. Older people had a lot of unnecessary rules as far as she was concerned and if this was her new foster parent, she knew right now it wasn’t going to work.

Hello, Brittany. I am Mrs. Jacquelyn Johansen. I’d like to talk with you for a few minutes. Is that all right with you? We can go into that room over there and our talk will be private. Are you willing to speak with me?

I don’t suppose I have a choice, she answered in a not too civil tone and she still didn’t return the lady’s smile. However, the woman was so gentle with her and that surprised her. Most of the potential foster parents all but yelled their requests or demands at her. Mrs. Johansen was a nice looking slim lady and rather tall. Listening to the nice soft voice and seeing the friendly eyes, Brittany thought she’d listen to what the Johansen lady had to say. She had to admit her countenance was more pleasant than any of her previous foster mothers were.

Brittany stood up and reluctantly followed Mrs. Johansen into a side room wondering what was coming next. To her life hadn’t been one bit fair and it never seemed to get any better. She wondered if there was such a thing as a good foster home. Were all foster parents only interested in the money they’d received for her sustenance? Or were there some that did care about their foster child?

Once in the room, Jacquelyn informed her that she was going to have a cup of cocoa and a cookie. Would you like to have some as well? she asked.

Brittany shrugged and nodded. Why not? It did sound good but she wasn’t about to tell this Johansen lady that. In only seconds the cocoa and cookies arrived. Both items smelled wonderful to the belligerent teen. It had been some time since she had a cup of cocoa. The cookies were chocolate chips one of her favorite cookies.

Jacquelyn took a sip of the cocoa and then set the cup back down. Brittany, I have volunteered to let you live with me until you’re eighteen. But before we make this legal I wanted to talk with you about what you want, what you require and how the two of us could get along.

I don’t understand what you mean. Even if I request something, you’re not going to give it to me and you’re not going to let me do as I wish. She stared at the would-be foster parent. She’d been down this road before and wasn’t going to be taken in by some soft words from this lady as nice as she appeared to be.

How do you know that? Do you have some outrageous demands that you don’t think that I’d like? Jacquelyn watched the rebellious teenager’s face. It was easy to see that this young lady didn’t trust anyone. From the history she had read about Brittany Southerland, she didn’t blame her one bit. She knew some of the foster families that the teenager stayed with and in her opinion they shouldn’t place any child with them. It must be that there weren’t enough people volunteering for the foster parent position.

In the past the foster parents all wanted to treat me as if I were a young child and couldn’t take care of myself. They told me what to eat, when to go to bed, what I had to wear, what to say, what to read…

Let’s suppose you and I could make an agreement on these things. Let me address each one. First, I don’t think you’re a child, you’re a young lady. Second, you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to at my house although I have a very good cook and I think you’ll enjoy the food. Third, I’d appreciate it if you went to bed around eleven as that’s when I go to bed. As to what you wear, as long as the clothes are decent, I don’t care what you wear. But I am opposed to nudity. Jacquelyn smiled after making the remark and Brittany couldn’t help but smile at the lady’s comment.

Brittany stared at the woman. If that’s all true, we could probably get along.

So, you’re willing to give me a try? she asked.

Yes. Give her a try. Usually they say they’re willing to give me a try. This lady sure is different than anyone I ever run across. It would be a dream come true if this person kept her promise. There were too many foster parents that all but promise her the moon and then after a few days she was nothing but a work horse and was treated as though she was stupid and didn’t have any rights.

Now I do have some rules, Jacquelyn remarked with a smile. She knew what response was coming but she knew she had to tell her the few rules that she insisted upon. If Brittany agreed to them, she’d take her home.

Yeah, I knew it was too good of a deal to be true. So what are your outrageous rules you want me to follow? The smile and relief changed to defiance once again. For a minute there she thought she had the right foster parent.

Now, Brittany, you haven’t even heard the rules and you’re upset. Number one: you cannot smoke in my house. Number two: you can’t drink or do drugs while you live with me. Number three: You can’t use foul language.

That’s all of the rules? What about how late I stay out? What if the movie goes past eleven o’clock? Brittany challenged.

"It would depend on why you were out. Eleven o’clock is a good time but if it’s something special then all you have to do is call me and let me know that you’ll be coming home later. I know that ball games and some movies run a little longer at times. Sometimes you’re having a good time and the party isn’t quite over at eleven and that’s fine if you call me.

But it would upset me if you were out past eleven every night and didn’t call me and let me know when you were returning home or why you couldn’t come home on time, Jacquelyn stated.

You sure sound more reasonable than any other old foster parent I’ve had in the past. I’ll try to not swear but it’s a bad habit and you might have to help me with that. I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs so you don’t have to worry about that. My sister died of an overdose. A tear slid down the tough gal’s cheek and she quickly wiped it away. It appeared she was never going to get past her sister’s untimely death.

Jacquelyn noticed that she hadn’t said she didn’t drink. That might be a problem but she’d wait until it came up. She so wanted to help this young lady. In her heart she felt that God wanted her to take this teenager home and show her a little love and care. Let her feel that someone wanted her and wanted to help her.

Now, I’ll give you an allowance in exchange for some tasks around the house and the yard. Are you interested?

Yes, I don’t mind working and it would be nice to have some money. Just maybe this might be the place that she could stay until she was eighteen. That is if the lady kept her promise. She had been through this before. Some of the foster parents promised her many things but later she found out that all they wanted was the money they’d receive from taking care of her. The prospective foster parents agreed to anything and then changed the rules once she was in the foster home. Brittany thought this lady just might be different.

Jacquelyn filled out the necessary papers and handed them to the judge. Brittany picked up her back pack and the two left the court house.

Brittany was pleased to get out of that building that held some policemen. She wanted nothing to do with them. There wasn’t a one of them that treated her fairly or treated her as if she was smart enough to take care of herself.

When they walked to the parking lot, Brittany saw the Lincoln that she was going to ride in. She was impressed. Wow, she’d never ridden in anything but old junky cars. It was so nice inside and clean with very comfortable seats. The foster girl smiled as they drove toward the lady’s home.

Well, at least I received a smile from the young lady, thought Jacquelyn. It appears she approves of my vehicle. If it wasn’t for the tangled hair and old clothes, this girl would be rather nice looking—and especially when she smiled. Her hair definitely needed some attention and perhaps she could help Brittany with that if the teenager allowed her to. Jacquelyn knew that she had to go slow with this girl. She’d take one thing at a time so as not to upset her.

Once again Brittany was shocked when the foster parent drove into the drive way of a very lovely and expensive looking home. Evidently Jacquelyn Johansen was loaded or at least it appeared so. Brittany followed her into the house and glanced around the room. She liked lovely things but had very few in her life time. This castle-like house was huge and so luxuriously decorated.

Oh, she’d definitely give this new arrangement a try. She’d work hard to get along with this lady just to live in this lovely house. All she had to do was try hard not to mess up. She had to admit that she had messed up a few times in the past and that was when the police found her living on the streets. They’d pick her up and send her to a different foster home.

One thing that Brittany knew for sure was that this woman wasn’t taking her just to receive some money for her keep. It was rather obvious that Jacquelyn Johansen didn’t need any more money. So far she’s been nice to me even with my negative attitude, Brittany thought.

If all was as the lady said, it wouldn’t take much to change her attitude into something a little more positive. She’d wait and see.

Chapter Two

A Problem

Once Brittany walked into other rooms of the home she stared at the luxurious decorations and furnishings. She was astonished at what she saw. It couldn’t be true that she was going to live in this place. Just walking on the plush and beautiful carpet made her feel special. The pictures that adorned the walls invited her to look at them. They were painted by artists that she had heard about in school Brittany thought she might spend some time just looking at them.

The first thing Jacquelyn wanted Brittany to do was to meet the cook. The foster parent took her new ward into the kitchen where Sara was working at preparing lunch. She was surprised to see a pleasant looking lady working away in the kitchen. Although, the cook carried a little more weight than she should for her short statue she was very friendly. Her trimmed short grey hair made her look like a grandmother to Brittany. I think I’ll like the cook, she decided but said nothing to the lady.

Brittany, this is Sara, my cook. She and I come up with some good dishes for our meals and I think you’ll enjoy them.

I’m please to meet you, Brittany. You’ll have to tell me some of your likes and dislikes so I can cook you what you want to eat. I know we all have our favorite foods. Now if you ever want to learn to cook, you come right in this kitchen and I’ll teach you. I think every young lady needs to be able to cook.

Brittany’s eyes brightened. She couldn’t believe what the cook said. She nodded at the introduction and managed to smile at the cook but still said nothing. Oh, she’d come back and talk with the cook and she’d even learn how to cook a few things if Sara really meant what she said.

Now it’s lunch time and I hope you’re hungry, Brittany.

I am as I didn’t have any breakfast this morning, she replied.

Well, follow me to the dining room and we’ll have lunch. It looks as though Sara has fixed us a good meal. Sara will serve the food and then she’ll eat with us. I think you’ll enjoy her company.

Brittany thought it was a little strange that the servant was eating with the family. That wasn’t the way it was done on television but she was glad that Sara was more like a part of the family than a servant. Then it struck Brittany, the cook reminded her of her grandmother she loved that lived so many years ago.

As she waited for the food, the teenager looked around the dining room. She couldn’t imagine a place that looked like this house and here she was living in it. The dining room was so inviting and she could smell the delicious food. Was she dreaming? No she couldn’t dream up some place as nice as this house was. She couldn’t even guess how expensive that table and chairs were and the chairs were so comfortable. It was different than the last place she lived where the chairs were mostly broken and barely held her up.

Sara came into the room and set the food on the table. Then she sat down and waited. The teenager wondered what she was waiting for. It was time to eat and she was starved. She picked up her fork and started to take a bite.

Brittany, I always pray before meals. Jacquelyn said a quick prayer before her foster teenager could make any reply. Then she began to eat her salad. She knew her ward was staring at her. It was probably the first time that she had ever been to a meal where someone prayed for the food before eating it.

The foster teenager was taken back but then she thought that was something she had to put up with whether she liked it or not. With everything else so nice, it wouldn’t hurt her to bow her head to please her new foster parent. Years ago she remembered another woman who prayed over their meals—her mother.

Jacquelyn noticed that her foster girl had eaten everything on her plate. Evidently she was really hungry. Occasionally, she glanced at the girl as she ate and was surprised that the rough teenager ate properly. That was a shock but a nice one. It was quite possible that she learned the proper way to eat in the early years when she had a mother. The foster parent was quite sure Brittany didn’t learn anything about manners or how to eat properly from the foster homes she was in.

After the lunch was over, Jacquelyn led the way up the stairs to what would become Brittany’s bed room.

Once inside, Brittany stared, then she smiled and remarked, Wow, this is such a large lovely room. I can’t believe that it’s my room and I don’t have to share it with anyone.

There were lovely big windows with attractive drapes, fine pictures on the walls, and attractive furniture. When she noticed the two nice big dressers, she smiled. Her clothes would all fit in one drawer and not even fill it up. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d put in the rest of the drawers.

She sat down on the bed. "I’ve never had such a nice room or