Joel's Journeys: Discovering God's Amazing Grace

By Lisa Maheu

Joel befriends a gentle old man, named Mr. Walt, who invites Joel into his home to view the many artifacts Mr. Walt has collected throughout his lifetime. Each relic tells of a story that takes place from the many historical events that have shaped our world. This book takes Joel on a journey thorough time, the period reflecting on the Holocaust. Joel hears encounters from a young Jewish boy who experienced firsthand what it was like growing up Jewish and living in Germany during the reign of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Learning about Davids memoirs, Joel finds himself concerned for his friend Noah, who is also Jewish, and being harassed by some boys in school. Joel feels the only solution for his friend Noah is to avenge the boys who are bullying him. All the while, listening to Davids horrible experiences, Joel thinks David should also retaliate on the Germans. Join Joel as he takes on a journey from the past while experiencing problems of the present and learns to rely on Gods Amazing Grace for the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512750461

Lisa Maheu

Lisa Maheu has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education. She has written Bible curriculum for ages two years to 5th grade for twelve years. She has taught Pre-Kindergarten for seven years. She is also the author of “Joel’s Chance” and “Joel’s Journeys, Discovering God’s Amazing Grace.”

Book preview

Chapter One

The Muzzle-Loading Flintlock Rifle

Wondering what was in the old book that Mr. Walt owned, one labeled My Undertaking of Others’ Memoirs of Forgotten Journeys, Joel could not help but notice so many old things on the shelves in Mr. Walt’s room. His eyes gazed upon all of the relics that adorned Mr. Walt’s home. One item caught his eye right away. Joel could not grab the old antique object fast enough. Wow! Is that a rifle? Looks old. Where did it come from? What is this thing on the bottom of it? Kind of looks like a long stick. Where was it used? asked Joel in utter amazement.

Hold on, young feller, said Mr. Walt calmly. I can only answer one question at a time. Now let’s see what you have in your hand. He slowly climbed out of his chair. Oh, this here is a rifle from the American Revolution. It was one of the weapons used during the war between the British and the Americans. It’s really called a muzzle-loading flintlock rifle, and what you called a long stick is really a ramrod. See, a soldier would pour black powder into the muzzle, and then he would load the bullet, or a round ball, in the muzzle. The ramrod is used to place the round ball on the powder. Before shooting, the soldier would fill the flash pan with powder, making sure to tilt the gun slightly so that the powder enters the touchhole located at the side of the barrel within the flash pan. Once the pan is full, the soldier closes the cover tight, and the gun is loaded and ready to fire.

So this gun was used in the American Revolution? asked Joel.

Yes. Muskets were also used, said Mr. Walt.

What is the difference between a musket and a rifle?

The musket was the most common weapon used during the American Revolution, which also had an attached bayonet. The armies would stand in formation opposite each other and shoot a number of bullets at the enemy side. The goal wasn’t to shoot down every man because the muskets had low accuracy. They actually were used to shoot multiple men from opposing sides at once, and this would continue until the enemy side broke formation. From there you could march forward and charge with bayonets. So the goal to this tactic wasn’t necessarily accuracy but rather speed. The muskets could be loaded and fired in fifteen seconds. Muskets didn’t need to be accurate as long as multiple people were shooting at once. That way at least some of them would hit the enemy lines. The rifle, on the other hand, was much different than the musket, which gave the patriots a huge advantage. They had curved grooves on the inside of their barrels that made their shots much more accurate. The only problem was they took almost thirty seconds to load. Because they take so long to load, these weapons were not used in the open battlefield, even though they were accurate. Instead, they were used by snipers to pick off British officers.

Awesome! You sure know your guns and history, Mr. Walt, said Joel. But how did you come about having this gun, anyway?

That is another story in itself. I will have to save that story for another day. Right now I would like to show you something else.

While Mr. Walt was returning the gun to its proper place, Joel was wandering off in the room, looking at more of Mr. Walt’s antique collection.

Chapter Two

The Long-Forgotten Doll

Um, Mr. Walt, why is there an old doll in your collection? asked Joel with a confused look on his face.

That’s not just any doll. This doll was used to smuggle medicine to soldiers during the Civil War, said Mr. Walt.

The Civil War? Is that like the American Revolution?

No. That was the war they called The War Between the States. That war was fought almost one hundred years later, long after the American Revolution.

We studied a little about that war in school, but I’m afraid I wasn’t paying much attention to the teacher and failed the test. History doesn’t interest me much. Why do we need to study history, anyway? It happened, it is over, and that is that. At least that’s what I hear other kids and grown-ups say, said Joel.

Well, first of all, we need to study history. It’s very important that we learn what happened in the past. We might not like the idea that the Civil War happened and the reasons why it took place, but it did occur. And it was very important to the people of that time. If we try to erase history, we are doomed to repeat it. For example, there are stories in the Bible that are not very pleasing to read about, but were they taken out? No, because God wanted us to learn from those stories. So look at history as one big, long story, with action, adventure, love, hate, evil, and good. And from there we sift out the good from the bad, remembering to honor those who choose to fight for what is right. So do you want to hear about this doll and her adventure in the Civil War?

Sure, I can’t wait to hear this story. It’s probably about a little girl who lost her doll and couldn’t find it, said Joel sarcastically.

Well, no and yes. The doll did belong to a little girl during the Civil War. But the way I understand it, this doll was used for much more than a play toy. Mr. Walt laughed.

What then? asked Joel.

When I acquired the doll, I was told that she was used to smuggle medicine to the soldiers who were sick with malaria.

What is mal-mala? asked Joel, stuttering.

"Malaria is a disease spread by mosquitoes. If a female mosquito is infected with a parasite, she can then bite a human and infect that human with the disease. Malaria was very common during the Civil War. More soldiers died from this disease than from battle wounds. The only way to cure a person with malaria was to give him or her the medicine quinine. But there was a problem getting quinine to the soldiers during the war because of blockades from the northern side. Blockades were used to keep food, ammunition, and medicine from the South to weaken the troops. Blockades are meant to prevent ships from reaching enemy ports with goods, food, supplies, or support of any kind. So the troops and people in the cities could not get the supplies they needed to continue to survive. There had to be a way to get medicine to the troops to cure them of malaria. So the South devised a plan to use dolls to smuggle medicine to the sick soldiers. That’s where the story of the doll came from.

See the hole in the head? That is where they would store the quinine. During the Civil War, there were no doll manufacturers in the United States. The dolls were purchased in Europe and then shipped to a southern port with the medicine stuffed in their heads. The idea behind the smuggling of the dolls was that even if a ship was boarded and searched, it was unlikely they were going to suspect medicine being smuggled in a doll’s head. Once the dolls reached a port, the powdered quinine would be pressed into pills for the soldiers, and they would mend the hole in the head so the doll could travel again to save lives, said Mr. Walt as he held the raggedy doll.

So this one doll could have saved lots of soldiers during the Civil War? asked Joel.

Yes, that is how the story was told to me. She was very valuable to relieving malaria during a time when the disease killed several thousand people. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?

I’ll say. Wow! I never knew that history could be so interesting. Who did this doll belong to, anyway?

That is another story to save for another day because I want to tell you one about a young boy’s adventure, said Mr. Walt.

Chapter Three

The Musty Uniform and the Worn-Out Boots

But there are so many things here in your house that I want to look at! What about this item here? Joel reached for an ancient worn-out uniform.

Oh my. That is my old military uniform that I wore during World War Two, said Mr. Walt.

You fought in a war?

Yes. I was a lieutenant colonel in the Third Infantry Division during World War Two. The Third Infantry Division was called to action in 1942. We fought in Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, Germany, and Austria for 531 consecutive days.

Mr. Walt, I would love to hear about your uniform. Can you tell me about it and what you did in the army?

I can tell you a little about it, but what I did in the army is another story to save for another time. But about this uniform, this is what I wore most of the time. It was made to keep me safe from weather conditions when fighting. It is an M-1943 Combat Field Uniform. When I joined the army in 1942, we originally were assigned M-1941 Field Uniforms, but they were not very effective for combat in the European countries, so the government replaced them with the M-1943 uniform. We were issued a four-pocket jacket with matching trousers. We were the first infantry division to use these uniforms while serving in Italy. Look closely at the jacket; it was wind and weather resistant. Notice how it has a hood attached to the jacket if needed to protect the head and ears from the wind. The uniform was designed to be worn as a layered system, which means as the weather changes, the solider could add more layers to keep warm or peel off layers as the weather got hotter, said Mr. Walt.

So a soldier had to be ready to fight no matter what the weather conditions? asked Joel.

Yep! War does not stop because it starts to rain or snow. The fighting must go on, added Mr. Walt. And these here are my boots. Mr. Walt enthusiastically picked up a frayed boot.

You had to walk in these boots? asked Joel.

Yes, they were designed to protect our feet. This boot was much better than the ones I first got when I entered the war.

How’s that? asked Joel.

Well, the first boots were two separate pieces. You had the boot itself, and then you had a cloth legging made out of canvas material that was placed around the ankle and calf of the leg, said Mr. Walt.

Why did they have a boot and a legging?

"The purpose of the legging was to protect the soldiers’ shoes and pants from mud, snow, sand, and debris. It also gave the soldier ankle support. See, with the old boots you first had to put on the boot