My RA Ch. 05

Thanks, Tigerssman for your help with the editing of this story.

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Molly thought of a plan, she thought it would work best if she could have a hand help them, instead of Miss Sarah or Miss Dawn. The hands often switched working days so people can go to special events or whatever. The system was working quite well.

One hand called to another. "Hey Larry, can we speak to you for a moment."

The hand said, "Sure Moe, what's up?"

When Larry caught up with the group Moe said, "Larry, I know we aren't supposed to do this, but Miss Daisy and I have some business to attend to, so we need to do a double switch. I will serve out her days as she can't do your jobs."

"Well Moe, if you think this business is important to her then I would gladly help you out."

The day everything was going to happen, Molly was going through her mom's linen closet and found a small piece of cloth.

'Angel' and the hand's horse were loaded into the horse trailer and they were off to pick up Molly and 'Spirit'. Molly showed both what she had and both laughed.

Molly and Daisy were getting nervous as they approached the center of Meadowbrooke; the car was easy to spot. Molly and Daisy were to be first contact and the hand would come in five minutes later, on his horse.

All the children ran into their houses as the pair on horseback walked to the dirty truck. The Dad and his son came out to talk to Molly and Daisy.

"A white flag Molly?", said the Dad.

"Well Sir, I did not know what kind of reception we would get. Seeing how all the children ran inside, it may have been justified." All four were shaking hands in friendship when the hand rode up.

"Sir, I know our town has treated you poorly on many occasions. I don't know what happened and I don't want to know, that is God's concern, not mine.

"These two are my concern, they walked all the way back to the ranch, forgetting their horses. They came in and they didn't even say 'Hello'. Their minds were laser focused on God, they prayed right through supper and then some. They wanted a solution to resolve whatever the problem was."

"They asked for my help, so I am here."

The Dad said, "Daisy, you must have come up with an idea or you wouldn't be here, what is it?"

"Well Sir, you came to our town to make it pretty. Now not being here ever, we did not know what you needed. Miss Sarah's hands helped us make all sorts of bird feeders and bird houses so we could attract many kind of birds. We thought we could do the same for your town; I do not see any around. Molly and I were both going to put some of our money in for the project," Daisy said

The hand spoke, "The idea is too simplistic for me to think about it. That is why God used these two. He always picks the right people for the job.

The little boy knew God uses people in special ways. He wanted to seal the deal fast. He spat on his hand and thrust to out to Daisy. Daisy, ever being lady-like, spat on her hand and gave the little boy a good handshake, the deal was done.

The hand said, "Well, I guess with that, just let us know a good date. Give us a week or so notice to get the supplies.

"We will try to get some of the children to come out, the adults are still harboring grudges. We will be here to work on the projects, those who don't, will just not enjoy the fun of helping other people."

The Dad gave his card to the hand. Everyone shook hands. The son and Dad went inside and everyone else rode back to the trailer. Molly put the small towel in 'Spirit's' saddle bag.

When the trio got back to Northfield everyone knew they went to Meadowbrooke. As Molly was putting 'Spirit' in her stable, an angry woman approached the trailer, "How dare you go up and see those Meadowbrooke people!"

"Yes, ma'am we went to Meadowbrooke. Daisy here finalized the agreement for the project.

"What is the project?"

"Ma'am, I am not going to tell you. If you are a person who wants to do a project with them, it would not matter what it is. If you don't, then it won't matter either. All I ask is, don't come if you are against the project.

"Molly and Daisy prayed for five hours to get a solution; God wants to use them in mighty ways."

"Bah, they are mere children, what do they know of God?"

"Ma'am it is clear you are against this project. Please don't join us when we do the project."

"Daisy get in the truck, so we can get back to the ranch."

When Moe got back, he ran his horse at a full gallop in the big meadow.

Sarah asked Daisy, "Where is Moe going so fast?"

Daisy said, "I think he wants to scream. There was a mean lady in town who kept saying things to Mr. Moe to get him in trouble."

When Moe came back he asked Sarah if he could say grace tonight.

"Lord, I come before you and I ask you to help us. You have been working through Molly and Daisy to do good things for the people of Meadowbrooke. There are factions in and around this town that are Spiritually attacking all the children, we can't allow evil to win. Please let all the children break free of the evil grasp. Amen."

The others said in unison, "Amen."

Daisy said, "Mr. Moe, do you think God is working through me? I am not a Christian."

Moe said, "Daisy, I don't think I prayed for anything for five hours straight; you want to be friends with the people of Meadowbrooke. Molly wanted you to be with her when she became a Christian so you could hear her give her life to Christ. The Holy Spirit works with believers and non-believers. He will tell you what to pray for, he will give you the questions and answers to those questions when the time is right. He has His own time table, it is just a matter of time, I think.

"How are those reading lessons going?"

"They are going great Mr. Moe; Miss Anne is a great teacher. Molly helps me read though my Bible stories book. I would like to learn from the Bible, but they have difficult words."

Miss Sarah said, "Daisy, look how far you have come since we met you. Molly showed me your letter; that was a challenging thing for you to write. You wanted to make it personal, that made the letter very special.

"Look at all the jobs you do around here, you are very responsible. You are in charge of the DIY area; that could mean looking after sick animals. We know you would do what Mr. Vet tells you to do."

The next day Mr. Vet came in with a dog that had been hit by a car. When the Vet reached the ranch, he yelled, "Daisy, I need your help!"

Daisy ran into the DIY area and saw the dog, she started crying.

"Daisy, I am going to be honest with you. I don't expect this dog to live through the night. If he is bleeding in his tummy he will die. If he is suffering, I will have to put him down."

Sarah called Molly, "Molly, Daisy needs you. The vet brought in a dog that had been hit by a car. He is going to die Molly. Daisy doesn't know about death Molly."

Molly bolted out the door, she was on 'Spirit' in record time. 'Spirit' never ran so fast as she did then. Miss Dawn took care of 'Spirit' while Molly ran to Daisy's side.

Molly said, "Daisy, I have seen Mr. Jacob touch people while he prayed for them. You touch his neck and I will touch the top of his head. I do not think he is hurting there."

About 3:00 AM Daisy woke up Miss Sarah, "Miss Sarah, he is suffering so much and it would take a long time for Mr. Vet to get here, can you, do it?"

Sarah grabbed her shotgun, Molly said, "Miss Sarah can you kill it, but leave it intact? Daisy wants to bury it."

"Molly, can you please get three aprons, this may get messy.

"Girls, close your eyes, I don't want you to see this."

Sarah aimed at the heart and put one shell in it. Sarah wrapped it in a blanket.

"Daisy, I know dogs can't be Christians, but we can still put a marker up. Did you name him while you were praying?"

Daisy said, "Just dog."

"Molly, show Daisy how to carve 'Dog' into some wood."

"Why Miss Sarah? Why did Mr. Vet bring him here, if he knew he would die?"

"I don't know why Daisy, I think God knew it was time for you to learn this lesson. God takes sad things to show you even better things. Go spend two days at Molly's house."

Daisy saw her mommy walking down the street. Daisy just hugged her Mom and cried. It took some time before her Mom could get the story out.

Daisy's Mom finally said, "Daisy, I think Mr. Vet was right, you didn't know anything about death. It was a lesson you needed to learn and experience. Molly had to experience it time and time again with people. Take this lesson and make yourself stronger. God is moving in your heart. Daisy, you need to ask God why you had to see 'Dog' die and what He wants you to learn from that."

"I think you and Molly will be really good friends. I am sorry I kept the two of you apart for so long. Will you forgive me? I will try to talk to the parents to see if they can change their mind about Meadowbrooke. I saw the look on your face and it scared me, then I heard you prayed for hours on end about it.

"I know Molly's Dad will not allow Molly to come to our house, but you have my permission to see her everywhere else.

"I know you have been doing remarkable things up at the ranch. I know 'Angel' is very important to you and she is teaching you a lot."

"There is nothing to forgive Mommy. Yes, it was a sad time, and I was upset that you would not let me call her back after Miss Sarah's two-day ban. We both had our friendship marked urgent in our prayer books, Miss Sarah told me, 'Daisy, hold on tight to Molly and never let go, the world will throw everything at you to break you up. Don't allow it'. That's why I held on tight to her when she became a Christian."

"What would you do if I made you sleep at our house?"

"Mommy, God would not allow us from not seeing each other, we both get up at sunrise. I would pack lunch and food for 'Angel' the night before, have breakfast and meet Molly at the stables before anyone else was awake."

"Daisy, why do I always look for ways to keep you two apart? Everyone knows you are closer than sisters. Any attempt will backfire and you will grow closer and stronger."

"Mommy, at Sunday school they said God was in charge, good or bad: 'Dog' dying was bad. They said we had free will to accept or reject what God wants to give us. They also said if we reject it, God will teach us sooner or later. But with many more hardships."

After that, Sarah noticed Daisy was getting up extra early to go visit 'Dog' and pray. Sarah realized it was the only time during the day she could do it. Sarah knew Daisy would not be praying for 'Dog', there was a reason for her to be doing it. Daisy wasn't doing any harm by her visits, and she wanted them to be private, Sarah will respect that.

Daisy said, "Miss Sarah, I know that you know I visit 'Dog'. Why have you never said anything?"

Miss Sarah said, "Daisy, you have a reason for doing it. I don't want to know what that reason is. I trust your judgement. I do draw the line at doing something that may harm you or make you sick. I will even buy you a kneeling pad so you don't have to kneel in the mud. It may even make you more confident as you work through things."

"You really don't mind? I thought you would be upset," said Daisy.

"Daisy, as long as you are not praying to 'Dog', that would put a dead dog before God, then you are still praying to God, that is the important thing.

"Just look at Miss Dawn and all her horses, her scrapbook helps her from time to time. The more you pray, the more things will try to stop you from praying to Him."

Today, the breakfast was big; Daisy couldn't figure out why Miss Sarah made so much food. She said, "Miss Sarah, why all the food?"

One hand said, "Daisy, Miss Sarah knows what's going on at the start of the day. Usually the meal we need the most energy for gets the most food, otherwise it is just at supper time."

"That is correct. Farmers are putting their big equipment away so they want some maintenance done and to fix problems. We have five pieces coming in today and expect more soon. Daisy has shown she has matured and has become more responsible.

"She and our mechanic will work on two pieces; they probably need mostly just a checkup. It will let her get used to our system here. In the springtime is when we have bigger problems, she will be up to speed and that means a pay raise. We did the same thing for Molly. We may have to give her more help than we did with Molly, but that will be dealt with.

"The rest we need all hands-on deck. I will feed the horses, Daisy you can feed 'Angel' just before dinnertime."

The mechanic decided to have some fun with Daisy as she learned. Daisy was watching under the tractor or thresher, during the first oil change. Daisy was not warned that all the oil was coming out that small hole and she got oil all over her face. The mechanic would intentionally ask Daisy to get her the wrong size.

Daisy caught on fast about what was happening. She realized she was learning about more things and was learning three times faster than if she just handed tools back and forth.

Molly rode up to the ranch, and laughed when she saw the oil smeared face of her friend, "She did that to me also."

Molly helped the hands as their jobs were more time consuming and she knew what she was doing.

Molly and Anne were invited to dinner time, Sarah wanted a report card.

During dinner Sarah asked, "Anne how is Daisy doing with her studies?"

Anne stated, "She is a very bright girl, she is actually ahead of level in reading, writing still needs some work. I am thinking of taking her to 'The Academy of Natural Sciences' during the winter time and the zoo during summer time. She can color what she sees, but must write the names down. If she makes satisfactory progress she will get rewards."

"Miss April, what do you say? "Well math is really hard for her, but we are working on it. Aren't we Daisy?" Daisy nodded her head.

Sarah said, "Social interactions?"

A hand interjected by surprise, "No comparison from where she was; 'Angel' is a Godsend for her. She is getting more and more involved with things. Even helping with Meadowbrooke."

Molly knew that was a good report. Molly gave Daisy a smile and two 'Thumbs Up'.

Sarah said, "Indeed Molly, this is a good report. Daisy, I don't ask for perfection, I would like to hear you are making progress. I will do so at random times, but long enough apart for you to show progress."

The day of the Meadowbrooke projects came. Daisy, Molly and her brother and sisters were the only children who went with the main group.

Daisy's and Molly's Moms were livid; they were in no mood for back talk, even if it was from an adult.

They pounded on doors and soon all the children plus both parents were in the club.

Daisy's Mom said one question. "Children, let me see a show of hands for who wants to be over at Meadowbrooke working on the project."

All hands went up.

A husband said, "Well guys, I think supporting our kids ranks higher than any petty feud that may be going on. You know where it is, and how to get there, take as many as you can and head out. Any left overs will go by taxi and will come out of our wives own spending money, starting with my wife!"

All the children stood at the curb as car after car was loaded full of children and on their way to Meadowbrooke. When they got there, horns were blaring.

Molly looked up, "THEY CAME!"

Children flooded the streets, hugging their friends they met on that first day.

Daisy oversaw selecting what birdhouse and birdfeeder each house should have. She tried not to match the kind of birdhouse with the kind of birdfeeder, but you do need some all-purpose bird feeders. It was a beautiful place for birds; Daisy hoped the birds of all kinds would fly up and down the streets and have babies.

Everyone was invited back to the ranch. The husbands knew how tense it would be at home, and the kids would have fun at the ranch. All accepted.

They had to go in small groups, but everyone loved the foals. Daisy wasn't shy about relating her firsthand experience.

April and Zoe left early and collected an extra pair of indoor shoes for everyone. As they did so, almost every mother was in tears. They realized their actions precluded them for showing support for their kids.

While in town, April and Zoe ran into the bookstore and bought a twin set of two books. Later that night, they gave Molly and Daisy the books. Neither knew what to make of them at first.

Miss Zoe took charge, "Listen girl's here is how it works, this book has a lot of good pictures to identify your birds. Now in the back of the book there is a list of all the birds with empty boxes next to it, that is your life check list. Let's test you, do you know any birds?" both shook their head. Zoe leafed through the book and covered the names, "What is this?"

Daisy said "Goose."

"And this?"

Molly said quickly, "Cardinal, I got one for Mommy to put on our tree."

"This?"

Daisy said, "A crow, they make lots of noise."

"This?"

Daisy said proudly, her confidence growing by the minute, "A robin!"

"One last one."

Molly said, "Your silly Miss Zoe, everyone knows that's an owl!"

"I thought you said you did not know any birds?" Cheers echoed in the room.

The two girls looked at each other, their smiles lit up the room.

Daisy said, "Is that all there is to it?"

"Pretty much, you will learn tricks to help you. Here is the catch, in this book, you have to write all the names of the new ones you identified."

Daisy realized this would help her with her writing and have fun doing it.

Miss Sarah said, "We need to see how much you like identifying birds."

Daisy said, "Mr. Moe did that Daddy over in Meadowbrooke give him a skype number? We need to call him don't we Molly?" Molly nodded.

Miss April said, "Oh, I know what you're up to Daisy, go for it."

Daisy said, "I am not up to anything Miss April."

Everyone just laughed.

Miss Sarah said. "I don't want to know about it, ask Mr. Moe after supper. Then go up to your room to make the call."

April now had to get a horse of her own. She decided on a good stallion. She liked the Native American theme that 'Apache' had. She took Larry to the 'Native American History Museum', he knew what kind of horse they were looking at and if we could find one to buy.

About half way through the museum April was getting bored, she turned the corner and stopped dead in her tracks. She had found what she was looking for. Larry called a friend.

Larry said, "Hello old man, I have a friend looking for a horse. We are at the 'Native American History Museum'. She seems captivated by a picture. Do you know if we can buy a gold / white Paint horse stallion around five to seven years old?"

"How many do you want, I have a stable full of them? I think I could let one go. Come down this afternoon and pick one out."

Larry's friend was taken aback when he saw 'God's Image Ranch' logo printed on the side of the horse trailer.

The third horse April looked at she said, "How much for this one?"

Larry's friend said, "You have a good eye, that horse has the best linage in the whole stable. One thousand dollars for the horse and all the tack.

April said, "Can I see the tack please?"

As soon as April saw the tack she said, "Sold!"

She had only seen this kind of tack once. One of the hands had a similar set of tacks.

He said, "People thought I was crazy for spending so much for a horse. I think, if you are going to have a fabulous beast, don't disrespect it with budget gear. Use top of line gear to respect your horse." April got a name plaque on the way home.

Larry said, "Now that is a solid name."

Everyone thought she was going to put her horse in the main stables. April did not even hesitate by putting her horse in the DIY area. 'Chief' was home. April said, "'Chief' I promise you I will never whip you, now let's get you some food. Daisy, I need your help!"