"What were you boys doing in our back yard," she questioned.

"Just cutting through," one of them replied.

"What about school?" she asked. "Why aren't you there?"

"Don't need that garbage," one snorted.

But then one of the boys stepped forward. "I would like to go to school, but I can't. They won't let me. I do hope some day I can."

Jane was impressed with this young man. He was tall and thin and spoke with an Hispanic accent. He didn't have the appearance of a gang member. Frank had already reported to the police that they had found clothes in the tree house. What was it all about? When she asked this boy his name he told her, "Fernando Fouras."

A few days later June was raking leaves in the back yard when Fernando appeared again . This time he offered to give her a hand and she gladly gave him her rake. Soon he had a large pile of leaves and he had done a good job of it. She invited him for coffee and sandwiches. Fernando waded in like someone who had been starved.

"Where do you live?" June asked.

"Well, sometimes with a friend. I stashed some clothes in your tree house. Sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I would like to have them back, if they're still around."

June's mother-heart went out to that boy. Obviously he didn't have a home. Why? He stopped in several times and one day Frank said to him, "Fernando, if you have no better place, you can sleep in my workshop." The boy was thrilled.

If Fernando was to live on their premises, the family needed to know more about him. The police made a check and found that the boy was 17 years old. He had been on his own since he was eight. He had raised himself, yet he had never been in trouble. To go to school he had to have a permanent address and a parent or legal guardian.

The local police officer, Glen Perkins, was so impressed with Fernando's record that he was willing to become his guardian. Frank and June decided to take him into their home, well aware of the fact that the neighbors did not want a street kid like that around. For the first time ever the Peterson family name was not respected. They were shunned and looked down on. Many made it clear that Fernando was not welcome in the community. Even the school was reluctant to accept him.

He was taken into the home and treated as one of the family. Eventually he got a job at a fast food place. Then after weeks and months of red tape, he was accepted into the school. During that time, business had fallen off at June's beauty shop. Frank and June did a lot of praying. When talking to Fernando, they found that he had accepted Christ at Teen Haven several years earlier and had trusted Him through thick and thin.

At the school the teacher found an eager pupil; coaches found a first-class athlete; and the kids found a loyal friend. He worked hard in school and got mostly A's and B's. He now had friends everywhere and everybody wanted to help him. Moreover the Peterson name was no longer looked down upon. It had been a hard go but well worth all that it cost. The Bible says:

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angers unawares." (Hebrews 13:2).

Kindness is love doing little things, things that seem scarcely worth doing, and yet which mean much to those for whom they are wrought. Kindness lends a hand when another is burdened. It speaks the cheerful word when a heart is discouraged. It gives a cup of cold water when one is thirsty. It is always doing good turns for somebody. It goes about performing little ministries with a touch of blessing. It scatters its favors everywhere. Few qualities do more to make a life bright and beautiful! Lord make me kind today, full of love!

-Choice Gleanings