The next day they could not go back to the beaver pond because it was raining. Haley was in a grumpy mood because she thought that the rain would ruin nature camp that day, but she was so wrong!
Joe called all the kids to gather around him, and he told them that rain was a special blessing from God. Without rain the land would dry up and everything would die! Joe challenged them to go around the farm and the forest and discover things that depended on water. The kids were excited, and Haley took the lead and ran toward the barn. There was a large puddle by the barn and Haley decided to show the kids how to jump the puddle! Just as she jumped, her foot slipped in the mud, and she fell flat on her face in the middle of the puddle! The other kids went around the puddle. Haley picked herself up and opened the barn door. She explained that this used to be a dairy farm, and the farmers milked the cows in the morning and again in the late afternoon. She showed the kids the stanchions that held the cows still while they were being milked and in front of each cow there was a large metal bowl to hold water for the cow. There was a metal lever in the bottom of each bowl, and when the cow pushed the lever with their nose, water filled the bowl! The kids had great fun pushing the levers and watching the water fill the bowls.
Haley then took the kids to the old milk house and showed them a large metal tank. After the cows had been milked, the milk was put in large milk cans and the cans were put in this tank. The tank was continually filled with cold water, and this kept the milk from spoiling until the truck came to take the milk to the processing factory.
The kids all ran outside again, and Haley tried to jump the puddle again! This time she did not slip when she jumped, and her jump looked perfect until she landed! Her feet slid in the mud and Haley sat down hard in the mud and kept sliding! When she stood up, she was covered in mud!
Joe was carefully crossing the yard on his crutches, and he met Haley and the rest of the kids at the old metal windmill. The windmill was old and broken, the wheel did not turn anymore, and part of the wheel was missing. Joe told the kids that before the farm had electricity, the windmill was used to pump water out of the ground so that the farm had water. When there was a breeze, the windmill pumped plenty of water for the farm, but when there was no wind for a long period of time, the farm would run out of water. When that happened, there was no water for the animals to drink, no water to cool the milk, and no water in the farmhouse for the people to use! Once the farm got electricity, the windmill was replaced by an electric water pump. Now the farm had water even on days when there is no wind.
Haley then pointed to the corn field and told the kids that the rain was making the corn and other plants grow! Haley and all the kids ran through the corn field! The corn was almost as tall as Haley, but she did not get lost! As they ran through the field, water came off the corn plants onto them, but they did not care, they were already soaking wet! Some of the kids were thirsty, so they curled a leaf on a corn stalk into a tube, and let the rain run down the leaf into their mouth! It was a great way to get a drink!
After the kids got out of the corn field, they ran through the forest to the Black River! The river was filled with water and was gurgling and splashing happily as it flowed along. The river needed the rain so that it did not dry up. All the fish and other animals that lived in the river depended on the rain so that they could live!
Haley was feeling hungry, and she thought that it must be time to eat, so she started to run back to the farm! On the way, she stopped at Daniel’s hollow tree to see if he wanted to come out to play, but the raccoon looked out of his cozy tree and saw all the rain and all the wet and muddy kids, and he decided that he wanted to stay in his tree and take a nap!
When they got to the farm, it was not time to eat, Joe had another surprise for them! It was time for water games! Joe had filled hundreds of water balloons and had several buckets filled with water! Joe had a list of water games that they could play, but the kids had a different idea! They all grabbed water balloons and all attacked Haley! It was a one-sided battle with everyone against Haley, and she could not even get to the water balloons because all the rest of the kids had all the balloons! Haley dodged and twisted, and rolled on the ground, but the water balloons kept hitting her! The kids were having great fun! After a while, all the balloons were used up, and the kids grabbed the buckets of water and started dumping them on Haley! Haley was soaked, but at least all the mud was finally washed off her! Then Haley saw that there was one bucket of water left, and she wanted it! Haley ran as fast as she could and got to the bucket first! All the kids were scared and ran away from Haley, but Haley did not chase them. She wanted to get Joe with that bucket of water! Haley raised that bucket of water above her head, began yelling, and ran straight at Joe! Joe had no way to escape, so he just stood there. Haley was so focused on Joe, that she was not looking where she was going, and there was a big puddle about 10 feet in front of Joe! The puddle was deep and filled with mud! Haley fell face-first into that puddle, and because she was yelling, she got a mouthful of muddy water! Haley was covered with mud again!
Just then there was a bright flash of lightning and a loud crash of thunder! Joe yelled and told the kids to get into the house immediately! Lightning can be very dangerous!
When they got into the house, they found that Joe had lunch already on the table! There were sandwiches, chips, lemonade, and cake! Joe turned on the light switch, but nothing happened! The storm had knock out the power, and there was no electricity! Joe told them not to open the refrigerator, it needed to stay closed and hold the cold air inside until the power came back on. Also, there was no water because the electric water pump could not run without electricity!
After the kids had finished eating, Joe talked to them about God. God provides water to everyone. Without water nothing could live. A rainy day is a reminder to thank God for His goodness because none of us deserve the goodness of God!
Joe opened his Bible to Matthew 5:45 and read:
For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
God shows His goodness to everyone, not just to those who love Him.
In the Bible in Psalms 107:1 it says:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.
In the Bible in James 1:17 it says:
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
God’s goodness is a gift to all people in the whole earth. None of us deserve His goodness and none of us can earn His goodness. The greatest example of God’s goodness is when He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins and rise from the dead.
In the Bible in John 3:16 Jesus says:
For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Next time it rains, or you see a river or a green plant, stop and thank God for His goodness to us. If you have never prayed and asked Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your heart, please take time to do that! He loves you so much!
After Joe had finished talking to the kids about God, it was time to get on the bus and head back to town. The kids were still wet, and they were looking forward to getting back to their homes and changing into dry clothes!
After the kids left, Haley was still sitting at the table, she was very wet and muddy, and the water was still dripping off her onto the floor. She could not take a shower and get cleaned up because there was no running water when the electricity was off. She was shivering, and she said, “Joe, I learned so much about how we need water, and so much about God’s goodness! I hope that I will never be grumpy again when it rains. Water is so special, but right now electricity would be very special too!