“Let me show you to your room and you can settle in,” Aunt Martha said kindly, apparently sensing that he was fighting off a sudden wave of homesickness. “Then we’ll have a nice afternoon snack.” It just so happened that the word snack was one of John’s very favorites.
After eating a delicious slice of warm, homemade apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream, John wandered along the brick path which connected the ranch house to the garage. Aunt Martha’s longhaired miniature dachshund, Custer, “velcroed” himself to John’s heels. Custer was small and skinny, just like John. Aunt Martha had adopted him a few years ago, after someone had abandoned him in nearby Custer State Park, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Petting Custer made John think of Ranger, and he hoped his buddy was faring okay at his grandparents’ house.
“Wow,” John murmured as he pushed the barn door open. It was chock-full of just about anything you could imagine: a horse carriage, a tractor, knick-knacks and bric-a-brac, and a whole bunch of dusty antique furniture. He was magnetically drawn to a six-foot tall, wood-framed antique mirror. He glanced into the mirror and, for a second, he saw the reflection of someone else! He stared briefly at a young girl with shoulder length pigtails and a bright smile. Custer barked twice, and then the girl vanished. Now, all he could see was a skinny kid with a bunch of freckles. It’s just me.
He tapped the mirror and ran his fingers slowly along its frame. He didn’t notice anything unusual, except it wasn’t dusty like the other furniture in the garage. In fact, the mirror appeared amazingly spotless, like someone had recently cleaned it. Puzzled, he stepped back and looked at it from a distance. It appeared to be a normal mirror—the kind you might see in a big dressing room or walk-in closet.
He spent the next hour investigating some of his great-aunt’s antiques. He checked all the nooks and crannies in an old roll-top oak desk, hoping to find a secret compartment. He climbed up into the horse carriage to see what it might have been like to travel back in the 1800s. When he heard his aunt calling him, he jumped down from the carriage and headed back along the brick path toward the house. Custer, taking his lead, followed close behind. He found Aunt Martha in the kitchen, placing a pot roast, mashed potatoes, and corn on the table. The delicious aromas wafted into his nostrils, and his stomach growled loudly in anticipation.
“Did you find anything interesting out there?” she asked, gazing inquisitively at him.
John almost asked about the mirror but thought better of it. After all, he didn’t want her to think he was totally crazy by asking, “Aunt Martha, when you look into the mirror in your barn, do you see your own reflection or someone else’s?” Instead, he decided to play it safe and said, “You sure have a lot of antiques.”
“Oh yes, your Uncle Geoff was a big collector. I don’t have the heart to get rid of them. A few of them are quite special…” Again, Aunt Martha paused and looked him straight in the eye. He got the strangest feeling she wanted to ask him about the mirror, but he was determined not to take the bait.
Mr. Dusty entered through the back door, hung his hat on a hook, and joined them at the kitchen table. “John, since it’s your first day here, why don’t you lead us in grace?”
John bowed his head and murmured a short prayer of thanks. When he finished, they dug in. “Remind me where your parents are off to this time,” Aunt Martha said, dishing him out a helping of mashed potatoes. He used his fork to dig out a hole in the center and then poured in so much gravy that it spilled over and ran down the sides of his “potato-volcano.”
“They’re at a dig site in Tanzania, excavating fossils. I’m sorry they sort of dumped me on you,” John added, trying not to sound full of self-pity, like the poor kid whose parents didn’t want him around.
“Is that what you think, child?” Aunt Martha asked, wide-eyed. “Why, I told your parents I needed you here with me this summer. Otherwise, they would have sent you with Wyatt to spend the summer with your grandparents.”
John was astounded. Why on earth would Aunt Martha need me? He’d honestly thought his mother made that up just to make him feel better. He glanced at Mr. Dusty, hoping he might cast some light on the subject. However, Mr. Dusty was too busy chomping on a large mouthful of pot roast to add to the conversation. John’s mouth flapped open and closed like a freshly caught flounder, but no words came out.
“Didn’t they tell you about St. Michael the Archangel Academy?” Aunt Martha asked, a frown crossing her face and giving her even more wrinkles.
“St. Michael the Archangel Academy?” John echoed, now thoroughly confused. Custer nudged his shin under the table. Without thinking, he reached down and gave him a small piece of pot roast.
“Yes, St. Michael the Archangel Academy. We call it St. Michael’s for short,” she explained patiently. “It’s a top-secret school that helps authorities fight crime. Since you’ve turned thirteen, the academy has invited you to participate in your first mission.”
“Aunt Martha, I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” John said, flabbergasted. Mission? What kind of mission?
“Haven’t you ever noticed there’s something special about you?” Aunt Martha asked. “You know, a special gift? A God-given talent?”
John gave her a blank, confused stare. “Aunt Martha, I hate to break this to you, but look at me. I’m just a regular, average kid. There’s nothing really special about me.” He sneaked another look at Mr. Dusty. He was still chewing away, seeming to find nothing unusual about their conversation.
“Nonsense,” She clucked. “You wouldn’t have been selected for St. Michael’s if you didn’t have some sort of extraordinary God-given talent. I suppose it’s just hidden really well.” She seemed to emphasize the word really. “No worries, we’ll figure it out, by and by. And now, you must be exhausted from the long trip. Time for bed. We have to get up early tomorrow so I can take you to the academy.”
Before he went to bed, John texted his parents to say goodnight. He decided not to mention St. Michael’s yet. I wonder why they didn’t tell me anything about the school.
John climbed into his cozy bed, which had a cool stars-and-moon quilt. He went to sleep that night with his head spinning. He couldn’t imagine why he had been chosen by St. Michael’s. Is it possible there’s something truly special about me?
~
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SAVING MOUNT RUSHMORE
STATUE OF LIBERTY TIMELINE
1667: Isaac Bedloe, a Dutch colonist, obtained a land grant for the island.
1865: Edouard de Laboulaye, a French intellectual, proposed that France give the United States a statue in honor of America’s centennial.
1870–71: Sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi agreed with Laboulaye’s suggestion and created the idea of a statue in New York Harbor.
1875: Bartholdi completed the plaster model and began working on the actual sculpture.
1885: The statue was shipped from Paris to New York in 210 crates on a French naval ship. It arrived in New York Harbor on June 17 and was met with a naval parade. The statue was placed in storage for a year while the pedestal was built.
1886: The statue was reassembled and then dedicated on October 28. One million people came out for New York’s first ticker-tape parade.
1924: The statue was declared a national monument.
1936: The statue was restored and rededicated on its fiftieth anniversary.
1956: Bedloe’s Island was renamed Liberty Island.
1984: Work began on a two-year, $70 million renovation of the statue. The original torch was removed.
1986: The statue’s new torch was lit by President Reagan, and the statue reopened to the public during Liberty Weekend, July 3–7.
2001: The statue closed after the September 11 attacks and Liberty Island reopened one hundred days later.
2004: The statue’s pedestal was reopened to the public on August 4.
Sources: “A Timeline of Statue of Liberty,” St
atue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, www.libertyellisfoundation.org/statue-of-liberty-timeline;
“Timeline: Statue of Liberty,” Fox News, August 3, 2004, www.foxnews.com/story/2004/08/03/timeline-statue-liberty.html.
FACTS ABOUT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
There are 154 steps from the pedestal to the head of the Statue of Liberty.
The date that is etched on the tablet in the statue’s left hand is July 4, 1776.
There are seven rays on the crown. They are thought to represent the seven continents.
The official dedication ceremony was held October 28, 1886.
The statue, from the base of the pedestal to the tip of the torch, is 305 feet, 6 inches.
The statue’s waistline is 35 feet.
The statue is 111 feet, 6 inches from the top of her head to her heel.
The face of the statue is more than 8 feet tall.
The statue weighs 225 tons.
The copper covering is 3/32 of an inch thick.
The statue is light green because of the natural weathering of the copper.
Source: “Statue Facts,” Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, www.libertyellisfoundation.org/statue-facts.
ELLIS ISLAND TIMELINE
1630: Ellis Island was a 3.5-acre mud bank.
1770s: Samuel Ellis became the owner of Ellis Island.
1808: The heirs of Samuel Ellis sold the island to New York State. Later that year, the federal government purchased it for $10,000.
1892: The first Ellis Island Immigration Station opened. That first year, nearly 450,000 immigrants came through Ellis Island.
1897: A fire destroyed numerous buildings. Most of the immigration records dating from 1855 were lost in the fire.
1900: The present main building opened.
1924: The Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration.
1941–45: During World War II, Ellis Island served as a detention center for alien enemies.
1954: Ellis Island was closed.
1965: Ellis Island was added to the Statue of Liberty National Monument, making it part of the National Park Service.
1984: The Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. restored Ellis Island.
1990: The Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened to the public.
2015: The museum was renamed the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.
Source: “A Timeline of Ellis Island,” Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ellis-timeline.
ELLIS ISLAND FACTS
Before Ellis Island was an immigration station, the Native Americans called it Kioshk, which means “Gull Island.”
During the English and Dutch colonial periods, Ellis Island was called Oyster Island because of its rich oyster beds.
Ellis Island was originally 3.3 acres, but landfill increased it to 27.5 acres.
Samuel Ellis became the first private owner of the island in the 1770s.
Ellis Island opened in 1892 and stayed open until 1954. There were over twelve million immigrants who came through Ellis Island during that time.
Annie Moore was the first person to officially register on Ellis Island. She was a seventeen-year-old girl traveling with her two younger brothers, Anthony and Phillip, to meet their parents in America. They left County Cork, Ireland, aboard the SS Nevada on December 20, 1891, and arrived in New York on New Year’s Eve. Colonel John Weber, the federal superintendent of immigration for the port of New York, gave her a ten-dollar gold coin for being the very first to be processed at Ellis Island.
Sources: “Ellis Island History,” Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ellis-island-history;
“Annie Moore,” Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, www.libertyellisfoundation.org/annie-moore;
Christopher Klein, “Remembering Annie Moore, Ellis Island’s First Immigrant,” History, December 28, 2016,
www.history.com/news/remembering-annie-moore-ellis-islands-first-immigrant.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Where is the Statue of Liberty?
Who came up with the idea of the Statue of Liberty? What is the name of the sculptor who designed and created it?
Name three fun facts about the Statue of Liberty.
What is Ellis Island?
Why do you think people left their homelands to come to America?
Can you think of a time when you supported one of your friends or one of your friends supported you? How did it make you feel?
How did Shaniqua show faith in God’s plan?
How do you show faith in God’s plan?
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND
“Statue of Liberty,” National Park Service, www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm.
“About the Statue of Liberty,” Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, www.libertyellisfoundation.org/about-the-statue-of-liberty.
“Ellis Island,” National Park Service, www.nps.gov/elis/planyourvisit/exploring-the-ellis-island-museum.htm.
“Ellis Island,” History, www.history.com/topics/ellis-island.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. St. Michael the Archangel. Charlotte, NC: TAN Books, 2006.
“St. Michael the Archangel,” Catholic Online,
www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=308.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrea Jo Rodgers has a clinical doctorate in physical therapy. She’s been a volunteer emergency medical technician with her rescue squad for over thirty years. During that time, she’s answered over 7,500 first aid and fire calls. She enjoys reading, writing, and visiting new places. In addition to Saving the Statue of Liberty: Saint Michael the Archangel Academy-Mission 2, she’s also the author of Saving Mount Rushmore: Saint Michael the Archangel Academy-Mission 1, At Heaven’s Edge: True Stories of Faith and Rescue, and On Heaven’s Doorstep: God’s Help in Crisis-True Stories from a First Responder. She lives with her husband, children, and dachshund on the east coast.
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