Kris and Kell had a great time touring the White Sands National Park and the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The next morning their driver called them very early and told them to get ready to go to the airport. At the airport the driver handed them plane tickets and an envelope for their next adventure!
They had plane tickets to go to Alabama! When they arrived in Alabama there was a rental car waiting for them. The directions in the envelope told them that the first place they were going was the Unclaimed Baggage Store in Scottsboro, Alabama. This huge store covers an entire city block and sells things that have been left on airplanes, trains, and buses and have never been claimed! Kell could not believe how many things had been lost while traveling and never claimed. The store sells many of the items for less than half of what they are worth! It is a great place to shop! The store also donates many things to the people who need them the most and cannot afford to buy them.
There was some money in the envelope to buy the grandma a birthday present and mail it to her, so Kris and Kell were on a mission! There were so many things to choose from, but they finally decided to get a pair of earrings for grandma. There were so many earrings to choose from. They finally narrowed it down to two different pairs of earrings, and they could not choose between them! They were both on sale at about a 70% reduction in price and they were both beautiful. Kris had a great idea! He decided to buy both pairs of earrings, send one pair to grandma, and give the other pair to Kell! Kell loved that idea, so that is what they did.
The next directions in the envelope said that they were to drive to Huntsville, Alabama, which is less than an hour from the store in Scottsboro. The directions in the envelope told them to report to Space Camp for adults in Huntsville! They were going to spend three days being trained like an astronaut!
Space Camp is usually a place for children who want to learn about space and who dream of one day becoming an astronaut, but there is also a three-day Space Academy for Adults. The activities during those three days include:
- Train like an astronaut on the Multi-Axis Trainer.
- Construct and launch your own model rocket!
- Learn team building exercises on the Low Elements Ropes Course.
- Test your engineering skills in designing a protective heat shield.
- Participate in a simulated space mission!
It sounded like a lot of fun, and a great adventure (or would it be a great misadventure?)!
Kris and Kell discovered something very important! Neither one of them was a good astronaut! They were not good at anything that they did during the Space Academy!
The model rocket that Kris built looked great, while it was on the ground! When Kris tried to launch the rocket, it blew up into little pieces!
Kell tried to do the ropes course, but she got so scared that she could not move! The instructor had to help her to get down from the ropes (and she was only a few feet off the ground!)!
Kris and Kell worked together to try to design a protective heat shield for a space shuttle, but the computer told them that their design would never work and that all people in the space shuttle would die!
Kell tried to train in the Multi-Axis Trainer, but she completely lost control and spun around every way possible! She was so dizzy afterwards that she could not even stand up!
Kris got chosen to be the leader of the simulated space mission, but when their rocket began to go too fast and head away from their target, he forgot what to do and started yelling ‘Whoa, Whoa’ as if he were riding a horse!
They did have fun, but both Kris and Kell were glad when the Space Academy was over. The other adults in the class enjoyed themselves very much! They spent a lot of time laughing at all the mistakes Kris and Kell made!
Kris and Kell were so tired that they spent another night at a hotel in Huntsville. The next morning, they could not believe how stiff and sore they were! They knew that they would never be astronauts!
When they were checking out of the hotel, an envelope was handed to them with the directions for their next adventure!
Lesson Learned about God:
Kris and Kell learned two lessons about God while they were in Alabama.
The first lesson was at the Unclaimed Baggage Store. The Unclaimed Baggage Store was filled with things that had been lost, but now, instead of being thrown away, people were going to buy the lost things and give them a new life! This reminded Kris and Kell that all people are lost in sin. We deserve to be thrown away into a place of punishment, but God sent His Son, Jesus, to buy us back from sin by dying on the cross and rising from the dead! We can have our sins forgiven and be given a new life if we just believe in Jesus and accept Him into our life!
In the Bible in I Peter 1:18-21 it says:
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days He has been revealed for your sake. Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because He raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great glory.
The second lesson that Kris and Kell learned was at the Space Academy. While they were at that space camp they were training like real astronauts. That reminded Kris and Kell that after we have believed and accepted Jesus into our life, we are in training for heaven! The rest of our time on this earth, whether it is short or long is a training camp, and the goal is to always become more like Jesus!
In the Bible in I John 3:2-3 it says:
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as He is pure.
In the Bible in Ephesians 5:1-2 it says:
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
In the Bible in I Peter 2:21 it says:
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.
When we reach the end of this life on earth, whether that is a long time from now or a very short time from now, we all want to be able to say the same thing that the Apostle Paul said in the Bible in II Timothy 4:6-8
As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing.
Report to the grandmother:
- At the travel agency – God has a good plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11
- Florida – God is watching over us, we do not need to be fearful. Psalms 23
- Wisconsin – Temptations. I Corinthians 10:13, Proverbs 14:12, I John 1:9
- Minnesota – Never take your eyes off Jesus. Matthew 14:22-33
- Kentucky – God’s Word (the Bible) is the truth! John 17:17
- Louisianna – Choose Heaven and the Tree of Life. Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 21:27 thru 22:5
- Illinois – God is in control. Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28-30, Proverbs 16:9
- New Mexico – God is our place of safety. Psalms 46:1-3, Psalms 91:1-2, Psalms 18:1-2, John 14:1-3
- Alabama – Training for heaven. I Peter 1:18-21, I John 3:2-3, Ephesians 5:1-2, I Peter 2:21, II Timothy 4:6-8