Kris and Kell got up the next morning and knew that it was time to leave Laramie, Wyoming, but where were they supposed to go next? While they were eating breakfast, suddenly a group of people came into the crowded dining room and stopped at Kris and Kell’s table.
The leader of the group said, “We are a singing telegram, and we have a message for you!” Immediately the group began to sing very loudly the theme song from the ‘Oklahoma’ musical. Everyone was staring at Kris and Kell and they were so embarrassed! When the song was done, the leader of the group threw a note on the table and then the whole group ran out of the dining room. The note said, ‘Drive to Clinton, Oklahoma and visit the Route 66 Museum’. Kell looked up the directions on her tablet and found that it would take them at least 10 hours to drive there, so they finished their breakfast, packed their bags, and headed for Oklahoma!
While they were driving to Oklahoma, Kell looked up information about Route 66. This highway used to be the main highway between Chicago and Los Angeles, California. There are many stories about Route 66 and many tourist attractions that still exist on the remaining parts of that old highway. One of the famous songs from 1946 was ‘Get Your Kicks on Route 66’. Kris and Kell were looking forward to this museum, it sounded like a lot of fun!
The next day Kris and Kell visited the museum, and they did enjoy all the displays and all the information about the famous Route 66, but they also learned that during the 1930’s many people left Oklahoma on Route 66, and they were not having a good time at all! Kris and Kell had never heard about these bad times in Oklahoma and that evening Kell looked up more information on her tablet.
Starting in 1929 and going through the 1930’s this country (and the rest of the world) went through a time called the Great Depression. During these years banks closed, and people lost all their savings, factories and businesses closed and people lost their jobs. People could not find jobs people could not afford basic things like food and decent clothing. It was even worse in parts of Oklahoma because there was a severe draught during these years (no rain). Farmers in Oklahoma had plowed up the prairie grasses so that they could plant crops, and when there was no rain, the dirt got so dry that it was like fine powder. Then the winds came! The wind blew hard in Oklahoma for a long period of time and without the prairie grass’ deep roots holding the soil in place, the topsoil blew off the fields in huge clouds of dust! At times these clouds of dust were so thick that they cut off the sunlight, and it would become as dark as night during the daytime!
The land was ruined! Many people got sick from breathing all that dust, and some died from the dust! The area affected by the dust storms was called ‘The Dust Bowl’, and the people that had lived there had to leave their homes and go somewhere else.
Route 66 went through Oklahoma and went to Los Angeles, California. People believed that California was a land of opportunities, and they believed they could find work, food, and a new life for their families in California.
Thousands of people left Oklahoma to go to California, but they did not have hardly any money to make the trip. Some people set out to walk to California, some used horses and covered wagons to make the trip, but most found old cars or trucks so that they could try to drive to California. They fixed up the cars or trucks as best as they could and hoped that they would hold together long enough to get there, and they loaded all their belongings on these cars and trucks and started the trip.
To make matters worse, Route 66 was not a great highway in those days. It was a 2-lane road, part of it was paved and large portions of the highway were a dirt road! Going through the mountains there were steep drop-offs right at the edge of the road. There were many accidents and many people died on the way to California during that time! Route 66 was so dangerous during this time that people called the highway ‘Bloody 66’.
When these people finally got to California, they found that they were not welcome. The people of California called them ‘Okies’ (because most of them were from Oklahoma) and treated them badly. At some towns and cities in California, the police met the Okies at the edge of town and told them that they could not come into the town or city. When the Okies reached Barstow, California they had to decide if they were going to stay and Route 66 and go to Los Angeles or turn north and go to the central valley of California and try to find jobs at the many farms in that area. The Okies were sometimes treated almost like slaves, when they found work, they had to work very hard and barely got enough food to survive!
The Okies had no choice except to live with the terrible conditions and wait for the Great Depression to end. When World War II started, the Great Depression finally began to end. When the depression ended, the Okies finally began to be accepted in California because they had been good, steady workers for those terrible years.
Lesson Learned about God
After Kell finished reading everything that she had learned about the Okies and Route 66, Kris said, “Usually on these adventures, something goes very wrong and it turns into a misadventure, but this time we could have had a very fun time at the Route 66 museum, but we chose to focus on the worst time in the Route 66 history. We turned this into a misadventure, but I am glad we did! We learned so much, and my heart goes out to all those people who lost everything and tried to make a new start in California. I cannot believe how mean the people of California treated them!” We learned so many things, what shall we report to Grandmother?”
Kell answered, “I think the thing that I learned about God from this story is that the Okies were treated in such a bad way, and they were not accepted. In the same way, the Bible teaches us that Believers in Jesus can also expect to be treated badly in this world. When we believed in Jesus and prayed to ask for forgiveness and gave our life to Jesus, the Bible teaches us that we became different. We no longer ‘fit in’ with the rest of the people who have not accepted Jesus into their life. Sometimes the people of this world treat Believers very badly, even worse than the people of California treated the Okies. The Bible teaches us that Believers are now citizens of heaven and that is where our home is. In heaven, Believers will be accepted for all of eternity, but while we are on this earth we are not accepted and sometimes treated very badly.
In the Bible in Philippians 3:20-21 it says:
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He will bring everything under His control.
In the Bible in I Peter 2:11 it says:
Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
In the Bible in Hebrews 11:16 it talks about the Believers who have gone before us and says:
But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
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.
- Delaware – Jesus is returning. John 14:2-3, I Thessalonians 4:16-18, I Corinthians 15:51-53
- Rhode Island – Believers are like a lighthouse. Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:14-15.
- North Dakota – Dealing with temptations. I Corinthians 10:13, James 1:13-15.
- Colorado – Faith and Trust. Hebrews 11:1-2, Proverbs 3:5-6, Ephesians 2:8-9.
- North Carolina – God guides and protects Believers. Psalms 23:3-4, Psalms 37:23-24, Isaiah 41:10.
- Connecticut – The Bible is true. John 17:17, II Timothy 3:16-17, I Peter 1:20-21.
- New Hampshire – Only God gives a meaningful & fulfilling life. Ecclesiastes 12:8-10, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.
- Vermont – God is changing Believers. I Peter 2:21, Romans 8:29, II Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 2:10.
- Wyoming – Believers will get a new body. Philippians 3:20-21, I Corinthians 15:42-44, II Corinthians 5:1-4.
- Oklahoma – This earth is not our home. Philippians 3:20-21, I Peter 2:11, Hebrews 11:16.