The group was finally in California! As the group traveled along in the Ugly Little Blue Bus, the Leader talked to the group about their next adventure.
They were going to a Ghost Town! Some of the kids were scared! They did not want to go anywhere close to a ghost! The Leader gently explained that a ghost town does not have ghosts, it is a place where there used to be a thriving town, but then the people moved away and left an empty town. The Ghost Town they were going to is called Calico California, just north of Barstow California.
The Leader told the kids that the town of Calico started in 1881 when silver mines were found in the area. The mines were closed when silver dropped in value. By 1907 all the people had left, and the town was abandoned. Calico existed as a town for only 26 years!
Calico sat abandoned until 1950 when it was bought and restored to look like it did in 1881 when it was new. Eventually it became a County Regional Park and opened to the public. Visitors and take a tour and explore the old buildings,
they can walk through one of the old silver mines,
they can take a picture in the old bathtub,
they can ride on an old steam train,
and they can try their luck panning for gold.
While they were panning for gold, one of the boys found a small pebble that was gold colored! Was it a piece of gold? He was holding it up to look closely at it when it happened…one of the other visitors bumped into one of the girls from the group! She slipped on the wet ground and started to fall. She was going to hit her head, and maybe get hurt! The boy acted quickly and jumped to catch her, the gold pebble went flying and they could not find it again!
That night as they gathered around the campfire, the Leader talked about what had happened. Naturally the boy was very disappointed because he lost the gold-colored pebble, it might have been gold, or it might have been worthless. The boy had lost the gold-colored pebble when he jumped to catch one of his friends who was in danger. He put the needs of his friend ahead of his own interests. In the Bible in Philippians 4:2 it says:
Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
God is pleased when we serve others and not think of ourselves. When we stand before Jesus at the end of this life, He will reward us for our service after we have accepted Him into our life. In the Bible in Jesus says:
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Remember no one gets to heaven by good deeds! You can only get to heaven by believing in Jesus and asking Him to forgive your sins. After you have accepted Jesus, then your focus should not be on getting the nice things of this world, but your focus should be on living in a way that pleases God. When you serve others, you are serving God!