The Volunteer
The Wayneward home for boys is an orphanage outside of Bistma
Alabama. Wayneward home takes in boys 10-15 years of age.
Boys younger or older go to different homes. Wayne Ward is not a
government sponsored facility. The money to maintain the home
comes from private donations. Thirty is the maximum number of
boys Wayneward is allowed to have by law. That number was
arrived at by a complicated mathematical formula of numbers of
people, times Square feet, divided by Windows, or something silly
like that.
The fire marshal sent in his report to the State Board, and they
said only thirty. Wayneward was bought from the State. The state
kept over two hundred orphans there when they ran it. The place
was remodeled, it now has fifteen bed rooms with fifteen
bathrooms, one in each room, two beds to a room. Offices were
changed into classrooms, dinning room, TV room and a library. It
wasn’t fancy, but it was nice.
Wayneward would get college students to help out from time to
time. Most of them were Social service students completing
mandatory hours for a college class, and didn’t care about the
boys, it was for a grade.
A young man 27 years old named Tommy, came to Wayneward
and asked if he could help out in anyway, free of charge. He
explained that he was studying for the ministries and could help
two or three days a week. He was asked what college he attended
for references. He wasn’t attending college he explained, he was
reading the Bible and studying form it on his own. He attended
different churches, from town to town as he traveled.
The person in charge of Wayneward sent him away. Tommy
returned in a week and offered again. This time the person in
charge told him to leave and if he returned again he would have
him arrested. Tommy was lead to return again in another week,
and offered again to help out. The person in charge had him
arrested for trespassing and harassing.
Tommy was put in jail. The next day he stood before the Judge.
The man from Wayneward was there, and told the Judge the story.
The Judge listened to Tommy’s side too. The Judge said I find
you guilty on both of the charges. You are to serve 160 hours of
community service work. Eight hours a day, two days a week
until the 160 hours is served in full. You are to report at seven
AM to Wayneward home for boys.
The man in charge of Wayneward was shocked, but didn’t say a
word. He knew how the Judge was about contempt of court. The
Judge was his brother in law. He had already locked him up for
contempt of court, and fined him 100 dollars only last month. The
Judge then gave the hundred dollars to the church. Tommy was
the one carrying the offering plate that night, and the Judge
remembered Tommy.
Before 7Am the next morning, Tommy showed up to Wayneward
home. The man in charge was standing on the porch looking at
his watch. Tommy was ten minutes early. Tommy told him, he
was very good with children. The man said That doesn’t matter,
your not to step foot in this building. You are to address me as
Mr. Barker. He told Tommy Do you see all this grass around
here? Tommy said Yes.
Mr. Barker said It takes Joe the maintenance man, nine hard hours
on the lawn tractor to mow it. You will be using a push mower.
You will find Joe around back in the tool shed, he’ll show you the
mower. It’s already getting hot out here.
Tommy started on the grass early that morning. The temperature
stayed in the 90’s. Tommy had about half of the grass cut, after
his eight hours were up. The boys seen him outside pushing the
mower and asked their counselor Who was the man mowing the
grass in this heat? The Counselor said Oh he is a jail bird working
off his sentence. Mr. Barker said You boys are to stay away from
him.
The boys knew Joe used a riding lawn mower, and he would stop
mowing during the heat of the day. The boys would look out the
windows from time to time, to see if he would be laying on the
ground passed out from the heat. Some of the boys bet other boys,
their dessert at lunch, that the man would pass out by noon. The
boys betting against Tommy, lost and had no dessert at lunch,
while others had double desserts.
The next day Tommy was back at 7 AM, Mr. Barker was on the
porch with his watch again. The same boys bet their desserts,
and lost again. The next week Tommy was back again. Everything
was the same except the boys were not going to bet their desserts
anymore. Another counselor had told them the whole story of
what had happened. He told them how Tommy was only offering
to help out, and studying to be a minister.
The boys had not ever been to church or even seen a minister
before. So they watched him closely. They were impressed that
he kept on working so hard. They were disappointed that they
didn’t see anything like the lawn mower push it’s self around or
something like that. He had to push it like anyone else would
have to do. The boys kept watching, just in case.
After five weeks Tommy had half of his hours done. Mr. Barker
decided to get better use out of Tommy, he let him use the ridding
mower. Tommy mowed the grass in seven hours, he didn’t take as
many breaks as Joe had done while mowing the grass. Mr. Barker
had him to wash his car and wax it, for the final hour of the day.
The next day when Tommy arrived, the counselor that was to work
that day, had called in sick. Mr. Barker had very little choices.
He could let Joe the maintenance man work with the boys, but he
hated kids. Mr. Barker could do it himself, but he thought he was
too good for that job. So that only left Tommy.
Tommy asked the boys What did the other counselor usually do
with them? Little Bobby spoke up and said He made us study
dumb old history. Tommy said I like history, what kind of
history? Bobby said Dinosaurs. Tommy said The history I like to
read is in the Bible. Bobby said We never study from it. Tommy
said How about today we try it and see. Bobby said OK I’m tired
of dinosaurs anyway.
Tommy said Children are the Lord’s special people. Children are
talked about all through the Bible. I will read some to you, by
starting with Matthew Chapter 19 verse 13. "Then were there
brought unto him little children, That he should put his hands on
them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them." Verse 14 "But
Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto
me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Mr. Barker come to check up on Tommy and the boys. He knew
how hard it was to keep the boys under control for very long. It
was too quiet in the halls. He stood outside of the door and
listened.
He was surprised to find the children asking questions, and being
quiet, they seeming interested in what Tommy was telling them.
Mr. Barker went back to his office to think more on this. He
decided to continue to let Tommy be a counselor and for Joe to
mow the grass. Tommy and the children continued to study from
the Bible over the next few weeks. Tommy spent his two days a
week as the Judge ordered, plus two extra days a week.
Mr. Barker told Tommy he would give him a rid home, so he
wouldn’t have to walk. Tommy pointed the way to where he was
staying. He said Turn here where it says Camp . Mr. Barker said
So you live in a camper? Tommy said No, I have a tent down by
the river. You can’t drive all the way, I’ll get out here and walk
the rest of the way. Mr. Barker said I would like to go with you
and see this tent. He followed Tommy down a grade and threw the
trees, to the river bank.
There he saw a small tarp over a rope stretched between two trees.
It was not even a real tent. Mr. Barker said You live here? You
can’t stand up in there, you have to crawl to get inside. Tommy
said All of it fits into my back pack and I can move any place I’m
lead to go. There are public parks and land all over the U.S.
Mr. .Barker said How long have you been doing this? Tommy
said Nine years, or one third of my life.
Mr. Barker said I think I can find an empty room for you at the
Wayneward house. Tommy said No thanks, thats where I spent
the other two thirds of my life. Mr. Barker looked confused.
Tommy said I lived there, with hundreds of other boys when the
state still owned it, I was an orphan before I was born. They kept
my mother on Life support until I was born. She was hit by a
drunk driver. She was sitting at the bus stop on a bench.
Mr. Barker said You can’t live in a tent. Tommy said People work
all year, save their money, and drive long distances to camp out in
the woods on their vacation. Other people don’t say You can’t do
that, they say I wish I was going with you.
Tommy stayed about two more months. In that time he helped to
arrange for a local church to pick up the boys on Sundays for
Sunday school and church. Then he said all of his good-bye’s.
They all stood on the porch and watched him walk down the road.
The Lord was leading him to help someone else, in another place.
Tears ran down all of their faces as he disappeared out of sight.
Written by: Johnny lee Hall
