The Red Truck

© 1997 Don Rogers

He said,

I had been talked into teaching a junior age boys class and was not doing a very good job. I wanted to quit and the pastor said I could if I could find a replacement. I asked around and found a "replacement" who agreed to teach the class as long as I would agree to continue to come and be the assistant.

That arrangement worked better and the class went along better. The other teacher decided that the boys should get out in the world and see what it might mean to be poor. He arranged a trip where we visited some rural poor folk. After we got back the boys wanted to do something to help someone. They said, "Can't we go and help someone by fixing up their house?"

We thought this might be very complicated and tried to discourage the idea but they persisted. The resultt was that we made some contacts and found a place where we could go and paint a house up in the mountains. Off we went with paint and equipment and gear to stay over.

When we got to the place we learned that just the day before the people had been told that their house was condemned because it was so full of roaches. No use to paint it.

As we stood around in bewilderment and discouragement a red truck pulled into the lane and the driver asked for directions. He had been sent out on an exterminating job and was lost. He was really lost, far away from where he was supposed to go. Since he couldn't get to that job we asked him if he would exterminate "our house".

This was against company policy and all that but when he learned of the situation and saw the boys ready to help and shut out from doing what they wanted to do, he said, "Why not. I can't get anything done on that other job today anyway."

So he did the extermination and got rid of all the roaches.

We had contacted the county office that had issued the condemnation and got them to come up the next day and lift that order. And we painted that house.

The trip was such a success that the boys insisted that we begin planning another helping trip.

Out of that beginning came a program that now sees literally hundreds of work crews doing helping trips all over our area, including a number of states, every year.

And all because I wasn't a very good teacher and wanted to quit!