Where’s Donn?

Where’s Donn?

Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. . . . So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Matthew 10:29, 31

What family with seven children would be crazy enough to travel from one end of the country to the other by camping? Ours was that crazy. This was back in the dark ages of the 1950s, when there were no iPods, laptops, or in-car movies. So our family had to make up our own fun.

We used to play games such as “I spy,” where someone called out an object, and the others strained to look out of the car windows, trying to be the first to spot whatever the object was.

Often our travels took us into the night before we would reach the next campsite. One of our favorite tricks was to wait until we had made a stop for gas and then have one of the seven hide on the floorboard. Then we would let Dad drive for a time. Later someone would ask where the hidden child was. My parents usually played along, and all of us thought it was funny until one night I will never forget.

It was late, we had been driving all day, way out west somewhere, and we had just made a stop for gas. In those days, a station had only one or two restrooms. When we pulled up with a carful of people, it took longer than for most families.

After about an hour back on the road, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, someone called out, “Where’s Donn?”

As usual, everyone laughed, except the person who had asked the question.

“No, really. He’s not here!”

Panic ensued! Back then, high-tech communication didn’t exist. But with the help of the state police and their radios, and with God’s help, we were eventually reunited with the missing child.

—Max Elliot Anderson

Father, thank you for the knowledge that no matter where I am or what I need, you are never far away. Amen.