Adventures In Odyssey

Whit is in the Bible Room working on another invention designed to make the Scriptures come to life. Connie enters, and Whit shows her "The Environment Enhancer". It's a set of headphones hooked up to a machine that, through the imagination, places you inside a Biblical adventure. Connie is disappointed that the adventures are from the Bible, but Whit tells her not to knock it until she's tried it.

Connie puts on the headphones and is almost immediately transported to a pastoral setting where a young man is watching over a flock of sheep and playing a harp. The young man's name is David. He reads Connie one of his "poems." She watches as he fights a lion with nothing but his staff. Later, Connie witnesses this young shepherd being anointed king of Israel by an old prophet named Samuel.

Connie then accompanies David as he visits his brothers on the battlefield in their war against the Philistines. A giant bully named Goliath taunts the Israelites. Connie is stunned when David volunteers to go one-on-one against Goliath in battle, armed with only a sling and five smooth stones. Goliath ridicules David, but David calls upon the Lord. Connie watches as the giant falls to the ground, then David cuts off Goliath's head with his own sword. Spurred on by David's heroism, the Israelites surge forward and attack the Philistines, defeating them soundly.

Connie discovers that the Bible is anything but boring, moving her another step closer to a relationship with God.

With fear and trepidation, Trent DeWhite wanders down the hall to his next class. He knows today is the day (horror of horrors) that he will be called on to give his oral report!

When he reaches the class, his dread is heightened by Brenda Frazier, who makes it very clear how excited she is to give her report. Brenda thinks her family heritage has destined her to do well on her report. This sends Trent on a series of daydreams dealing with a particular member of his own family tree - Abel McAlister. It seems that Trent's great-great grandfather was so afraid to speak in front of people that an entire city was wiped away by a flood. His fear had made him so unable to communicate, that he couldn’t warn them of the danger before it was too late.

Trent makes an excuse to go the bathroom and has a daydream about digging through the bathroom wall in order to escape his impending doom. He finally returns to class, after a small amount of concern from his teacher, and is promptly chosen to give his report. (He is the last one, after all.) As he hesitantly heads toward the front of the class, everything goes into slow motion. Will he truly be able to give this report?! But he begins, he tells the class a joke and they laugh. Suddenly, the report doesn't seem so scary. So, he starts into the rest of his report and...the bell rings! The report is moved to the following Monday.

Trent is reminded of what happened at the end of his great- great-grandfather’s story. Abel was able to overcome his fears, and actually ended up running for mayor. Trent used this as the greater part of his speech, and was able to successfully overcome his fear and give a great oral report.

George jumps back before the hot water and steam can scald him. The strange man runs up and turns out to be anything but an ax murderer. He and George walk back to the station and tow in the Barclay car, which will take at least a weekend to be repaired. Chester, the strange man, invites the Barclays to come home with him. The Barclays are wary at first, but it turns out that Chester and his family are Christians, so they accept.

Chester lives in a big house with his wife, Grace, and their youngest boy, Ted, who is Jimmy's age. Ted and Jimmy hit it off immediately and, after doing a few chores, run off into the forest to play. Mary and Grace enjoy each other's company, as do George and Chester.

The next day is Sunday, and the Barclays attend a church picnic with great food, a three-legged race, horseshoes, softball, egg-tosses, and other games. Donna is the only one not having a good time. She sits and sulks under a tree, and no one can move her. Jimmy says that if all Donna is going to do is think about Odyssey, she might as well hold a piece of it. So he gives her Whit's Boredom Buster puzzle.

Donna slowly starts working on it and soon is completely engaged. After a few hours she finally figures it out, and the puzzle comes to life in a beautiful array of swirling colors, lively music, and a nice message from Whit saying that boredom is under your control. Donna finally gets the message, just in time to participate in the last event of the day — the tug-of-war. After a few good pulls, Donna ends up in the mud, followed by everyone else in her family, much to their great amusement. The next morning, Chester finishes fixing the car, and the Barclays continue on their way, knowing that their vacation has gotten off to a great start thanks to a little Christian fellowship.

Brad Dillard loves radio. He tells Whit that he wishes a radio station existed just for kids. Whit is intrigued by the idea and shows Brad all sorts of old broadcasting equipment that came with the building when he bought Whit's End. Whit says he'll provide the equipment if Brad will run the station. Brad agrees and calls all the kids together. Everyone is enthusiastic, especially a nerdy little kid named Sherman who is a whiz at electronics. The gang all agrees to help Brad get "Kids' Radio" off the ground.

But soon Brad and Sherman learn that what kids promise and what they deliver are two different things. The only ones who put any real work into the station are Brad and Sherman! They work hard to get it on the air, and once they do, they work to keep it on the air.

After a while the work starts to take its toll, making both Brad and Sherman frazzled. Brad's father tells Whit that Brad is endangering his health by working so hard. Brad cannot continue. Whit agrees. He goes on the air to praise Brad and Sherman for their commitment and mildly scolds the kids listening for not following through on their promise to help. Whit also announces that everyone interested in keeping Kid's Radio on the air should meet at Whit's End at 3 p.m. the next day. Unfortunately, no one shows. Brad, Sherman, and Whit are disappointed - until the manager of a local station walks in the door. The manager says he loves the show and wants it for his Saturday morning lineup. Brad and Sherman happily agree, having learned firsthand the value of perseverance.

Ned Lewis is a nervous wreck. His sixth-grade class at Vacation Bible School is set to perform a sketch Ned wrote and directed about Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and the fiery furnace. The problem is, the class isn't ready, not by a long shot. And, as he explains to Whit, the kids playing the lead characters — Eugene (Mugsy) Mumford, Hank Shorter, and Junior Bascomb — are incredibly rambunctious. Whit says things can't possibly be that bad, so Ned explains in a flashback just how disastrous the V.B.S. week has been.

Mugsy, Hank and Junior continually disrupted the class, took over the main parts of the sketch, and generally made nuisances of themselves. To make the disaster complete, the pastor told Ned how much he's looking forward to the sketch. The pastor said if it goes well, he may approve the drama program Ned's been wanting to start at the church.

Talking to Whit, Ned reveals that he's mostly disappointed because his reason for doing the sketch was so the kids would learn something. Now it doesn't seem that they're gaining anything from it. Whit disputes this and tells Ned that God works in ways we can't possibly understand. Whit encourages Ned and tells him to trust in God.

That night, Ned and his class perform their sketch, leaving the audience in stitches. Ned believes the whole thing flopped. To his surprise, Whit, the audience, and Pastor Williams compliment Ned on a job well done. The pastor even wants to talk more about the drama program. Best of all, Mugsy, Hank, and Junior thank Ned for letting them be in the show. They also apologize for disrupting the class during the week and ask if they can come to Ned's weekly Sunday school class. Ned says "absolutely," and he and Whit marvel at the faithfulness of the Lord.

Rain, rain, rain - it's been storming in Odyssey for days, and Connie is sick of it. Sick of that and the way Whit, Tom, and everyone else in town seem to be "preaching" at her. It all escalates when Whit assumes Connie will emcee the upcoming Bible Drill. Connie blows up, then takes a walk in the rain. She goes to a friend's house, but finds no comfort there. Finally, she ends up at home, where she begs her mom to let her go back to California - permanently. Mrs. Kendall says she'll have to think about it. To Connie, that means it's a done deal. Suddenly, Mrs. Kendall remembers that she called Whit because she was worried about Connie, and Whit went looking for her out in the storm.

Connie dons a slicker and rubber boots and takes off in search of Whit. They meet up in a neighbor's shed, and Connie informs Whit of her decision to go back to California. Whit is bothered but suggests that they go back to Whit's End to talk about it. The storm gets much worse. Whit and Connie barely get inside the door when the front window explodes! Glass flies everywhere, and a large chunk embeds itself in Whit's leg. Connie panics, but Whit steadily issues instructions to her while quietly quoting a psalm to calm himself.

Just when things seem their darkest, Mrs. Kendall arrives. She and Connie take Whit to the hospital where he gets stitches. Connie tells Whit that she didn't realize how much Whit meant to her until the accident. Whit tells Connie virtually the same thing, then asks if she's still going to California. Connie says maybe around Christmas. Then she adds that she'd be happy to judge the Bible Drill. Whit and Connie hug, and Connie realizes that Whit is much more to her than just a nice employer. He's her friend.

Irwin Springer loves history-especially about the American Revolution. So he is excited when Whit leaves a book about Benjamin Franklin for Irwin in The Library. Unfortunately, Irwin's enthusiasm causes him to temporarily lose good sense. Irwin climbs on a rolling chair to reach the book, which is on top of a tall bookcase. The chair moves just enough for Irwin to fall off and get knocked unconscious.

When he awakens, he's in a forest, where a man is telling him to run. Suddenly, a bullet whizzes by Irwin's head and splats into a tree. Irwin runs, and he and the man hide in some bushes. The men chasing them run up, and to Irwin's amazement, they're Redcoats from the British Colonial Army! Irwin has been transported back in time. He and the man narrowly escape the Redcoats by pulling down a wasps' nest onto the men, but then Irwin and his companion are attacked by the wasps. They jump into a nearby pond and swim to the opposite shore. There, the man introduces himself - as Nathan Hale!

Hale takes Irwin back to the Continental Army camp, where he meets George Washington. Irwin can't believe any of this is happening. He's especially awed when General Washington asks him to take a message to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Irwin doesn't know how to ride a horse, but he certainly can't refuse a request from George Washington. So Irwin runs off to Philadelphia.

In Philadelphia, he meets the patriots, who are debating over whether to sign a document called the Declaration of Independence. Irwin delivers his message, the debate rages on, and finally the Declaration is signed. Ben Franklin tells Irwin to spread the news to every village and town - the United States are free! Irwin does, but his horse stumbles and falls, knocking Irwin unconscious again. When he awakens this time, he's back in the library at Whit's End. It was all just a dream... or was it?

It's vacation time, and the Barclay family is off like a herd of turtles. Well, almost: they haven't even left yet. Young Jimmy is going to journal about the trip. One of the first things he records is that his older sister, Donna, doesn't want to go. She prefers to remain in Odyssey, but her parents have overruled that notion, so Donna is not a happy camper. Jimmy also documents a brief, pre-trip visit with Whit, who has given him a new invention, "Whit's Boredom Buster" — to be used only when Jimmy is "absolutely, without question, no doubt about it, as bored as you've ever been in your life."

At last, the Barclays are on the road... and aren't 20 minutes into their trip when trouble starts. Donna and Jimmy argue about backseat space; George runs over something that everyone thinks is a small animal but turns out to be a piece of tire rubber; they have a chewy lunch in an old diner; they sing every praise chorus they know; and the batteries go dead in Donna's tape player, further souring her mood.

To top it all off, the car suddenly dies. When George gets out to investigate, Jimmy sees a man they passed on the road rapidly approaching them. Donna speculates that he's an ax murderer. She screams for her father to get back in the car. Just as the man walks up, George pops the cap off the hot radiator, sending up an explosion of water and steam.

This plot section is too short and should be expanded. »

School's out, and Laura is ecstatic! Sixth grade is over, and she is planning a party at Whit's End to celebrate. As she and her friend Kelly walk to the popular emporium, Kelly says that she's looking forward to meeting Laura's parents at the party. Laura quickly replies that her folks are out of town. The girls turn a corner just in time to witness an employer chewing out one of his employees. Kelly feels sorry for the employee, but Laura callously remarks that the man probably deserved it. When Laura and Kelly get to Whit's End, Laura's mom, Eula, is already there, talking with Whit. Laura is embarrassed that her mother is there (especially since her parents are supposedly out of town). When Laura's father, Homer, shows up a few moments later, Laura is mortified. Homer is the man they saw getting yelled at in the alley! Homer and Eula are friendly to Kelly, but Laura quickly shuttles Kelly away, then turns on her parents. She tells them they embarrass her and yells that she wishes she'd never been born into the Fremont family!

The next day, Whit talks with Laura about why she treats her lovely parents like dirt. "Because they're hicks!" Laura blurts out. Whit can't believe Laura feels that way and decides to show Laura why her folks are honorable. First, he has Laura meet Homer's boss, who tells Laura that Homer is his best employee. Then Whit takes Laura to the mission where Homer and Eula volunteer their services. Laura sees the wonderful work the mission is doing and discovers that her parents helped start it. Laura meets people who literally owe their lives to her parents.

Whit informs Laura that the things her parents have done are worthy of her respect. But the most important reason Laura should honor her parents is because the Bible says children must do it. The lesson sinks in, and at her party that night, Laura introduces all of her friends to her special guests of honor: her folks, Homer and Eula Fremont.

There is a new family in town, and they are giving all the kids at Odyssey Elementary the creeps — especially Jack and Lucy. They have to walk by the family's house every day, and Lucy is spooked by the young boy she sees staring at them through the window. At school, they hear further rumors about the family from Alice Pringle. Alice's brother saw the strange family's father leaving the house early in the morning, carrying what looked like a big sack with a body in it. Jack deduces that the father is a Mafia scientist.

Later at Whit's End, Whit tells Jack and Lucy the name of the family: Kirban. Whit says they are very private people, which just makes Jack even more curious to find out about them. Lucy, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with the family. She even refuses to walk by the house with Jack the next morning. At school, Jack informs Lucy that the boy wasn’t in the window that morning. Just as Lucy wonders where the boy went, the teacher introduces a new student...John Kirban! No one even gets close to John all day, which makes Lucy feel guilty.

After school at Whit's End, Jack reveals plans to spy on the Kirbans and wants Lucy to help him. She refuses. Jack storms off angrily, bumping into Connie on the way. Connie talks to Whit and tells him that she saw John Kirban sitting on the curb by himself, crying. Whit goes to Lucy and asks her to do him a favor: walk to school the next morning with John Kirban! Lucy tries, but when she reaches the Kirban’s house, John's father nearly slams the door in her face, telling her that John isn't going back to school that day or any other.

Lucy runs from the house, terrified, and runs into Jack. He tells her not to worry — he's going to spy on the Kirbans that night and expose the whole Mafia/mad-scientist family! But thanks to a stray cat and several trash cans, it is Jack who winds up exposed — caught by Mr. Kirban! A police officer is summoned, and gets to the bottom of things. The bag the father carries out to his van contains... a carpet. Mr. Kirban is a carpet maker. The family seemed unfriendly and mysterious because they are from a different country. Jack is released back to his parents' custody, Whit decides to buy a new carpet, Lucy has a new friend in John Kirban, and everyone learns that you can’t always believe what you hear.