The next morning Kris and Kell woke up in their hotel in Ely, Nevada and once again they did not know where they were supposed to go next. They went to breakfast and looked around the dining room carefully and they did not see anyone who had a note or directions for them. After breakfast they went back to their room and waited. Every few minutes one of them would go down to the lobby and look for anyone from Misadventures….Plus, but there was no one. They even checked outside in the parking lot and still could not find any clue about where they should go next.
At 11:00 they had to check out of the hotel, and leave. They did not know where to go! Just as they were leaving the hotel parking lot, Kell’s phone rang! A man from Misadventures….Plus was on the phone, and he told Kell that they were going to drive to Nebraska! It was too far to drive today, so he told them where they would be going to spend the night part way to their destination. Tomorrow they will finish the trip to Nebraska, and they will be camping at a campground on the Platte River. They will stay two nights at this campground. The man gave them the directions they needed to find the campground, and then he said goodbye and hung up!
Kris and Kell were excited about doing some camping! They wondered what kind of camper was reserved for them! They imagined how big it would be and how many great features and accessories that the camper would have! They could hardly wait to get there!
The next day they arrived at the campground in the middle of the day and went to the office to check in. The campground manager laughed and said, “I wondered if you would show up! You have the campground all to yourself, no one else is staying here at this time of the year. I have your tent all set up for you.” Kell could not believe that she had heard the word ‘tent’! She had been imagining the great camper they were going to stay in! The manager showed them where the bathroom was and then took them to their tent. The tent was on the bank of the river, at least the view was good. Inside the tent there were warm sleeping bags and grocery bags full of food. Outside the tent there was a large pile of firewood and some pots and pans to cook the food in.
While they were moving their suitcases into the tent, two large birds flew overhead and landed beside the river. They were very tall birds, and they called out to each other with a very unusual call. Kell asked, “What are those birds?” The manager answered, “Those are sandhill cranes. They are migrating to the south for the winter. They stop here and spend the night on the river. While it is still daylight, most of them will be eating in the grainfields nearby, but they will all be by the river by the time it gets dark! I’m going home now; I feel sorry for you!”
The manger left and went home, and Kris said, “I wonder why he feels sorry for us? This is a great campsite, and it will be fun to look at these birds.” Kell agreed that this would be a great adventure!
Soon more sandhill cranes arrived, then more, and even more! Kris and Kell were surrounded by these birds, and the noise was overwhelming!
There were birds all over the campground and the river, and more kept coming! Kell felt scared to even walk to the bathroom house because there were so many birds in the way! Kris did not like having that many birds so close, but he tried to act brave and pretended that the birds did not bother him!
Finally, it was dark, and the cranes began to settle down. Kell said, “I am tired out, let’s go to sleep right away. That was a great idea, but it did not work! Kris and Kell were almost asleep when something startled the cranes, and they began calling to each other with their strange-sounding calls! The whole flock of birds woke up and of course all their noise woke up Kris and Kell! This went on all night! Kris and Kell did not get any sleep!
When it finally began to get light, all the sandhill cranes began to wake up and get even noisier! Kris and Kell thought that they would lose their minds, but then it happened…suddenly the sandhill cranes began to fly away! The cranes were headed south because they knew that winter was coming soon and they were headed to warmer places to spend the winter.
Soon all the sandhill cranes had flown away! The campground was empty and peaceful. Kris and Kell quickly cooked some food and ate it, then they decided that they were going back to bed! They went into their tent, got into their sleeping bags, and almost instantly they fell asleep. The peacefulness did not last long! About 2 hours later Kris and Kell heard the call of some sandhill cranes! At first, they thought that they were dreaming, but the sounds very loud and Kris and Kell realized that there were two sandhill cranes right outside their tent! In about a minute these two cranes were joined by about a dozen more cranes, and the noise level increased rapidly!
All afternoon more cranes arrived! There were more sandhill cranes than there had been the previous day! Kell said, “I am so tired! I only got two hours of sleep and now we must put up with all these sandhill cranes all night again! This is the worst misadventure!
Kell’s prediction was true! That night the cranes were even louder than the night before, and Kris and Kell did not get any sleep! In the morning a very sleepy Kell said, “As soon as these birds fly away, I am going to sleep!” Soon most of the birds flew away, but some of them stayed at the campground, so Kris and Kell did not get any sleep at all that morning!
About noon the camp manager drove up to their tent, handed them an envelope and then drove away! Kris tore open the envelope and took out a note. The note said, ‘You have a reservation at the hotel in the next town, go and get some sleep.” Kris and Kell quickly packed their suitcases and loaded them into their rental car and got out of that campground! They had to drive about 45 minutes to get to the hotel, but as soon as they got into their room they collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. They slept the rest of the afternoon and all night!
The next morning when they woke up, they realized two things: they were very hungry because they had not eaten anything the previous day, and they badly needed to take a shower and change clothes because they had not taken a shower or changed clothes in two days!
They quickly decided that food was the most important thing, so they went down to the hotel dining room. Everyone else in the dining room stared at Kris and Kell because they were so dirty and messy! The other people quickly moved to another part of the dining room! Kris and Kell were so hungry that they did not care, they just ate food until they could not eat anymore!
When they got back to their room, they both took showers and put on clean clothes. Kris went to the laundry room and put their filthy clothes into the washer. While they were waiting for their clothes to finish washing and also waiting to find out what they were supposed to do next, they decided to figure out what they could learn about God from this terrible misadventure!
Lesson Learned about God
Kris grumbled, “I do not think that we can learn anything from this misadventure! Why did they send us here, these two days were awful and made no sense at all!”
Kell answered, “We would not have been sent here if there was nothing that we can learn from this misadventure. Let me think about this for a while.”
About ten minutes later Kell said, “I think I have figured out something that we can learn from this misadventure! The sandhill cranes were migrating. They were leaving their northern summer homes to go to their warmer southern homes for the winter. They cannot tolerate the cold weather in the north during the winter, so they must leave! The sandhill cranes were not made for cold weather. In the same way, when a person believes in Jesus in accepts Him into their life, they become a new creation, and this world is not longer their home. This new person cannot tolerate this world and begins preparing to migrate to their permanent home in heaven. But there is a difference, when a sandhill crane is prepared to migrate, it still must fly hundreds of miles to get to its place of rest, but when God has fully prepared a Believer for heaven, He takes them home instantly! When a Believer reaches the end of the time God has for them on this earth, they die and instantly they are with God in heaven. When a person who has not become a Believer dies, they instantly face the judgment of God because their sins have not been forgiven, and that is a terrible thing!”
In the Bible in II Corinthians 5:6-8 (The Living Bible) it says this about Believers:
Now we look forward with confidence to our heavenly bodies, realizing that every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus. We know these things are true by believing, not by seeing. And we are not afraid, but are quite content to die, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
In the Bible in Hebrews 9:27-28 it says:
And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.
We will all migrate from this life on earth into eternity. Will you migrate into a joyful life in heaven for all eternity or will you migrate to judgment and an eternity of suffering for your sins. The choice is yours; choose Jesus and accept Him into your life and your sins will be forgiven, or ignore Jesus and you will carry your sins into eternity and suffer for them forever.
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.
- Nevada – Faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23, II Timothy 2:13, Luke 16:10, James 1:12
- Nebraska – We are migrating to heaven. II Corinthians 5:6-8, Hebrews 9:27-28.