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Change in the Wind (A Barton Family Adventure Book 1)

By Mark Huebner

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Chapter 1

The Beginning of Change



Have you ever had a sudden change take place in your life? The kind of change that is so drastic it turns everything upside down? I'm not talking about normal stuff that everybody goes through, like moving from grade school to Jr. High School or your first trip to summer camp. I'm talking about something so radical that you had no idea what it was going to be like or how you were going to deal with it? I mean something that will change … everything.
That is exactly what happened to us! I think we were all a little scared. In a way it was exciting not knowing what was next. It was definitely an uneasy time full of tension and anxious anticipation all rolled into one. I sure know that’s the way I felt. But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself again. Let me start at the beginning.
My name is Nathanael Jeremiah Barton. Most people call me Nat. Mom says I was named Nathanael after one of my ancestors who had been some kind of circuit-riding preacher in the 1800's. I've heard stories from my Grandma about how he had live in the Rocky Mountains, knew some famous gunfighters, fought Indians on the trail, earned their respect, and became a friend. Someday if I get the chance, I'll tell you more about him.
Grandma is kind of the family historian and she is always tellin’ us stories about our past. One of the things she always said is that he had been named for Nathanael from the New Testament. He had been a disciple of Jesus and followed Him everywhere He went. She always reminds me about the heritage I have and that I need to live up to it.
We have been involved at the church as long as I can remember. Dad and Mom made sure we were there for most things and a part of whatever was going on at the time.
I guess I haven't told you who "we" all are. There's my sister, Ruth, who is a year older than I am and boy does she let me know about it. Each of us had a great group of friends and for the most part everyone obeyed their parents, tried to do what was right, and keep out of trouble. You could say we had everything that a kid growing up could want. Dad had a good job with what everyone said was a good company and it must have been because we really never needed anything.
I say, "Must have been" because this last year in February our church had a conference with a bunch of missionaries there. As usual, we were there in most of the services. Dad talks a lot about doing what God wants and being willing to serve Him, but I never expected what happened that week. Both dad and mom went forward during the invitation a couple of times, which isn't unusual, but the decisions they made that week would change all of our lives forever.
It was a fairly quiet ride home that Friday night after the last service. Have you ever gotten that feeling that something is different, but you can’t quite put your finger on it? There was a somber feeling and not much conversation. As we arrived at the house and came in the back door, dad asked us to sit down. He wanted to talk to us about something.
I always know when my dad has something extremely important to say, because he gets nervous and starts out by saying, "I don't know how to tell you guys this other than just to tell you.” There it was; the magic introductory sentence to a serious discussion. “You know your mom and I have always had a heart for helping missionaries and other people who have committed their lives to serving God. That is the highest calling anyone can fulfill in life. Well, this week, we made a decision that we want to take that desire a step further.”
He paused for a second, took a deep breath, and then revealed, “We want to go into the full time business of helping missionaries, preachers, doctors, and other servants of God around the world."
In my mind I was thinking "Ok dad, don't you kind of do that now by giving your time to the missions group when they go to help pass out Bibles or build a building somewhere? So why does this require such a serious sit down family meeting?" I didn't ask out loud though, figuring that I would find out soon enough. I was right.
"You guys know that we've talked about fitting out a boat and spending a summer living aboard. Well, we've decided that we are going to do just that, move aboard, and we are going to travel wherever in the world we hear about a need, can deliver supplies, or can just be a help to a missionary and their family.”
There was an odd awkward moment of silence that seemed to last for hours, but I know it was only a few seconds. It sure is funny how time can seem like its going real fast when you're doin' something you enjoy. Like when you can spend a whole day at your favorite fishin' hole and it only seems like a couple of hours, but that one hour in math class can seem like a whole day.
I know dad was looking to see what kind of reaction we would have, but he didn't want the silence to last very long either.
After what seemed like forever, he finally said, "It's February now and we want you kids to finish out the school year. There are a lot of things that need to be taken care of, but we figure to have everything prepared by June or July."
With that statement, it was like he had opened the floodgates. My mind was suddenly going a mile a minute. There were so many things that would need to be taken care of in that time frame. Were my parents' nuts? I'd thought that a few times before this, but it had always been minor stuff, usually when they didn't see something the same way that I did. But this was totally different. This was life changing.
We had always had sailboats around of one sort or another. Flat bottomed scows for racing, a 24 foot swing keel cruiser that we loved to spend week long vacations on, but the dream of a big sloop to live aboard had always been just that, a dream...until now.
I looked at Ruth and she seemed to be lost in a daze. Somewhere off in the distance I heard mom's voice saying something about school on board and how we would need a routine. She said that it would be the same as the home school courses that were used by a couple of our friends. The only difference was that our home would be floating and moving.
"Moving”, I think that's the one thing that I was stuck on. I loved the water and sailing itself. That part would be fun. The time frame I guess could be managed for getting everything ready. Dad had a way of getting things done when the schedule demanded that it had to be done. I had seen him “pull the rabbit out of the hat” a few times when I didn't think he could. He had my vote of confidence not just because he was my dad, but because I knew he could do it. But this was totally different. I realized right away that “moving”, meant moving all the time, not just from living in one house to living in another house.
"Mom and I know this isn't going to be an easy thing. I remember moving and changing schools when I was your age and while there is some adventure in it, it's not always easy. Is there anything at all you want to ask?" Dad looked at us both with more than casual concern in his eyes, anxious as to what kind of response he was about to receive.
Ruth still had a far away look in her eyes and her only response was "No, it sounds like I don't have a choice and what I might want just doesn't matter, so what is there to ask?" She got up from her seat before anyone could respond and ran to her room slamming the door behind her.
I could definitely see it from Ruth's point of view. We had grown up in the same house, the same church, and with the same close friends. Now, constantly moving to someplace new on a sailboat, that group wouldn't be there every day. Maybe that was some of my problem with the thought of "moving". It would be something and someone different from place to place.
"What about you, Nat?" I was jolted away from my thoughts by dad's question.
Good question, what about me? Part of me agreed with Ruth that there were some things that I wanted to do that would now have to change. There aren't many basketball teams at sea. It would probably be pretty hard to get the latest news on my favorite teams.
I spoke carefully because I knew the first thing I said would be very important. "Dad, I know that I need to follow you and that you want to serve God. I want to do that too and I'll try, but it's not that simple."
"I know, Nat. Your mom and I have prayed a lot about this through the years never thinking it would be reality, but this week God seemed to say now is the time."
"I know we've talked about living on board before, but Dad, I never really thought we would. Now that it might be real, I...I just don't know if...I keep thinking about the stuff I'll miss. No basketball team, no youth activities, and no friends to have over and stuff like that."
Dad thought about that for a second and then told me something that I never really knew. "At the end of my junior year in high school, my family moved. I had been at that school for three great years and was looking forward to my senior year and all the privileges that go with it. I didn't want to go, but I knew it was the right thing to do. In the long run it was good for me. I met new people, got to see things I never would have seen, and I was still able to keep in touch with my best friends that I had left. Some of them got into some serious trouble that year and I probably would have been in the middle of it with them. It was amazing that simply because I was willing to follow; God used it to protect me and keep me on the right track. He gave me peace and much more."
I heard him, but it really wasn’t sinking in very far. "I...I...I know, and I'll do my best."
"I know you will, Nat, and in time, you'll learn to love it, I think. But it will take time though."
Mom looked worried and I knew it was because of Ruth. It was then that mom started praying, then dad, and then even I prayed because I knew this was going to be some change and we sure needed God on our side.

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