Kris and Kell were in their hotel in Washington DC. They had just finished breakfast in bed, and they had not gotten any directions to their next adventure, so they decided to go for a morning swim in the pool.
When they came back to their hotel room, a person from Misadventures….Plus was waiting for them. She said, “You need to hurry and pack and get on the road, you need to drive to Virginia today!” The woman hurried into the room with Kris and Kell and began helping them throw their things into their suitcases. Everything was packed in about five minutes. The woman gave made sure that Kris had the keys to the rental car and that he had his driver’s license, then she put two envelopes on the bed, snatched up the suitcases and ran out of the room!
The envelopes were labeled #1 and #2. Kell opened the first envelope and the note inside said, “Drive to the Ocean Breeze Waterpark in Virginia Beach and enjoy the waterpark tomorrow! Do not open the second envelope until after you have visited the waterpark.” Kris and Kell were excited to go to the waterpark, but then they realized something! The woman from Misadventures…Plus had taken their suitcases with all their clothes in them! Kris and Kell were still wearing wet swimsuits, and they had no other clothes to change into! They would have to drive all the way to Virginia Beach wearing swimsuits!
They got in the car and then they realized that the woman had also packed their tablets and phones in the suitcases, so they had no way to call anyone, and they could not look up their travel directions! They had to stop at a gas station and go inside to ask for directions; everyone was staring at them because they were wearing swimsuits! They stopped for lunch at a restaurant, but when they went inside, the manager told them that they could not eat there because Kris was not wearing a shirt. It was so embarrassing, but Kell whispered to Kris, “Act like nothing is wrong, pretend that everyone is not staring at us! I’ll get some food and bring it outside. We can eat out there!”
Finally, they got to Virginia Beach and found the hotel where they had reservations. After eating supper, they decided that since they were wearing swimsuits, they might as well go downstairs and enjoy the pool. This seemed like a good idea, until they went back to their room and realized that they did not have any dry clothes to put on!
They next morning they went to the waterpark and had a great day! There were many waterslides to go on, and they tried all of them!
The waterslide that scared them the most was called ‘Bamboo Chutes and Coconut Drops’. This was a short slide that dumped them into a pool of water that was ten feet deep!
At the end of the day, they were soaking wet and went to a restaurant to eat. Again, they had to eat outside, and everyone was staring at them! This time they were so wet that the water was dripping off them and making puddles around them!
The next morning Kell opened the second envelope and the note inside said, ‘Drive to New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, tomorrow you have reservations to go hiking, swimming, and whitewater rafting on Glade Creek and the Upper New River. Once again Kris and Kell spent an embarrassing day stopping to ask for directions and eating outside because Kris was not allowed in restaurants because he did not have a shirt.
The next morning Kris and Kell were scared! Neither of them had ever been whitewater rafting and they did not know what to do! Their guides were a friendly young man and woman who assured them that they would take good care of them and bring them safely through this adventure. The hike through the woods was very nice, but then they arrived at Glade Creek, and they saw a waterfall! The waterfall was beautiful, but Kris and Kell hardly noticed the beauty of the waterfall, they were looking at people jumping off the rocks of the waterfall into the deep water down below! Their guides encouraged them to try jumping off the rocks, they said that it was an experience that they would not want to miss!
Kris and Kell were not sure if they wanted to do this, but they decided to take the advice of the guides and give it a try. They held hands tightly and counted to three and then they both jumped, while screaming! They thought they were going to die! They hit the water with a loud splash and went deep under the water! They were wearing life jackets, and the life jackets quickly pulled them up to the surface of the water. It was so much fun! Kris and Kell climbed back to the top of the rocks and jumped again and again! They would have been happy to keep jumping off the rocks for the rest of the day!
Finally, their guides told them that it was time to get in the rubber rafts and ride some rapids on the Upper New River. The guides explained that these rapids were not difficult, and that they should just relax and enjoy the experience. Kris and Kell were terrified of the thought of going through the rapids, but they decided to trust their guides and try to enjoy the trip! It turned out that the rapids were easy to get through, they just had to follow the guides’ directions. They enjoyed the trip very much.
When the guides directed Kris and Kell to the takeout point, Kell begged the guides to let them go further. The guides smiled and told Kell that the Lower New River had rapids that were much more difficult, and that Kris and Kell were not ready for those kinds of rapids yet!
It had been a wonderful day, but once again they had to go back to their nice hotel room wearing wet swimsuits! While they were shivering in the airconditioned room, they decided to talk about what they could learn about God from the adventures at the waterpark and on Glade Creek and the Upper New River.
Lesson Learned about God
Kell asked Kris, “What was the scariest parts of our two adventures?”
Kris thought for a moment and answered, “The things that scared me the most were falling into deep water. At the waterpark when we went down the Bamboo Chutes and Coconut Drops, we were not wearing life jackets, and I remember thinking, ‘what if I get confused in the water and do not know which way is up?’ I thought I could die, but then when I came to the surface it was such a good feeling! I felt like I had been in the grip of death, but now I was free and living again! I had the same feeling when I jumped off the rocks by the waterfall today. Even though we were wearing life jackets, I was worried about hitting a rock underwater and dying, but we never even touched any rocks under water, and then there was that great feeling when I came back to the surface! I jumped again and again because I loved that feeling when I came back to the surface!”
Kell agreed that going into the deep water was the thing that had scared her the most, and she also said, “This experience reminds me of baptism. Jesus told us that after we believed in Him and accepted Him into our life, we should be baptized. Being baptized is scary! People are watching you, and you give your testimony to those people, then you get put under water and raised up again. I remember I was so scared when I was baptized, I worried that the pastor might drop me, I was worried that I might inhale water and drown, and I was worried that I might do something to embarrass myself!”
Kris said, “I think that it is good to have some of those feelings when we get baptized. The Bible teaches us that when the pastor puts us under the water, it symbolizes that we are dead to our old life before we knew Jesus. When we are raised up out of the water it symbolizes that we have been given a new life in Jesus! Baptism should give us the same great feeling that we had when we escaped death at the waterpark and the waterfall and came back up to the surface!”
In the Bible in Romans 6:3-5 it says:
Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with Him in His death, we will also be raised to life as He was.
In the Bible in Colossians 2:12-15 it says:
For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.
Remember, you do not get forgiven or saved by being baptized, you only get forgiven and saved by believing in Jesus and asking Him to forgive you and come into your life and take control. Baptism is your public statement in which you show that Jesus has set you free from your old life of sin (it is dead and buried) and has raised you to a new life in Him!
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
- Georgia – Sin erodes a person’s life and brings death. Galatians 5:19-21, Romans 3:22-25a
- Texas – Jesus offers abundant life. John 10:10, Mark 12:29-31.
- Kansas – Humans are filled with hatred and evil. Genesis 8:21-22, Romans 3:21-25a.
- South Carolina – Reminder of the Crucifixion. Isaiah 53:3-9
- Arkansas – Jesus is Crowned with Glory and Honor. Hebrews 2:9-10, Revelation 19:16, John 11:25-26
- Idaho – Times of Refreshing. Acts 3:19-20a, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 40:28-31
- Washington State – Obeying God is Important! James 1:22-25, James 4:17
- Oregon – Do not let your first love for Jesus erode. Revelation 2:4-5a, Psalms 51:10-12
- Ohio – We are secure in God’s hands. Isaiah 41:13, Psalms 139:9-10, Psalms 73:23-28.
- Iowa – God is in control: Past, Present, & Future. Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 4:8.
- South Dakota – Believers are the family of God. Ephesians 2:19-21, John 1:12-13, Ephesians 1:5, I Thessalonians 5:15-18.
- Indiana – Win the Race! I Corinthians 9:24-27, Matthew 25:21
- Michigan – Cost of following Jesus. Luke 14:27-33.
- Missouri – The Book of Life. Revelation 20:11-15.
- New Jersey – The Light of the World. Philippians 2:14-15, Matthew 5:14-16.
- New York – God will meet our needs. Philippians 4:19-20.
- Pennsylvania – A special place and rest in heaven. John 14:1-3, Hebrews 4:9-10
- Montana – Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. John 15:5
- Alaska – Jesus is the light of the world. John 1:4-5, John 8:12, Revelation 21:23-27, Revelation 22:5
- Maine – God’s Holy Spirit is like the wind: invisible, powerful and always working! John 3:8, Acts 1:8, John 14:26, Romans 8:26-27
- Massachusetts – God is preparing a special place for each believer. John 14:1-3.
- Maryland/Virginia – Perfect love overcomes fear. I John 4:17-19.
- Washington DC – Communion. I Corinthians 11:23-26.
- Virginia/West Virginia – Baptism. Romans 6:3-5, Colossians 2:12-15.