Fidelity
Part 2
Bang! Bang! Clang! Clang! Thud! Bump! Thump! Thump! The
sounds of building were all around. The Iglesiases were an immigrant
family trying to start a restaurant business. They had seven
kids--Jimeno, 12, Dari,11, Antonio, 9, Eva, 6, Carl, 5, Esteban, 3, and
an unborn baby.
With
the help of their church family, the Iglesiases were finally able to
start putting up the restaurant. It would have a living space in the
back of it. The Iglesiases wouldn’t have to live in a five-room shack
any longer. It was fascinating to the children to see a building going
up. The plan for the building was that everything would be up in three
days.
“Dari,”
Mrs. Iglesias called from a bench. “ Please take Eva, Carl and Esteban.
Make a list of everything we need for the restaurant. Then go to
Restaurant Supply Co. on Main Street, fill out the order form, and put
in the order for everything we need.” Mrs. Iglesias was very tired. The
baby would come in a month or so.
“What should I get?” questioned Dari.
“ You decide. Take Eva, Carl, and Esteban so they can help you decide. You four will have to decide on the menu.”
So
Dari, Eva, Carl, and Esteban set out on a big mission. First, they
found a quiet park and sat down on a bench to plan. Then they made the
menu and then started on a list of what they would need.
First,
they thought of all the dishes. Pots, pans, sifts, measuring spoons and
cups, plates, serving utensils, cooking utensils, table utensils, bowls
and on and on the list went. Next, they thought of cleaning and
maintenance items.
“This
is so confusing!” said Dari. “Dishwasher soap, hand soap, dish soap,
bleach, mops, brooms, vacuums. Check, check, check, check, check, check.
Now, let’s think of food items…Sugar, salt, flour, ham, chicken,
vegetables.” They kept brainstorming.
“The list of food we need for one, small restaurant goes on for four pages!” Eva exclaimed.
They
thought of furniture and kitchen appliances. Tables, chairs, counters,
stools, stoves. Making the list took them a little over an hour. Dari’s
mind spun as she tried to think of everything they would need. They
finished the list then estimated the cost and set out for The Restaurant
Supply Co. Eva held two sheets of paper in her hand. One was the
shopping list with the estimated cost. The other was the menu. Soon they
approached a building. Its sign read ‘ The Restaurant Supply Co. The
ONLY place you could ever think of going.’
Inside the building was very busy. You see, Restaurant Supply Co.
wasn’t only for restaurants. People who wanted to buy things in bulk
went there too. Restaurant Supply Co. also had displays and showings
where people could feel or use a product they were thinking of buying.
Just ahead of them, a man was letting people use a vacuum cleaner while
telling them all the benefits of that particular model.
The
Iglesias children didn’t pay any attention to all of this. One of the
checkout lines was for restaurant owners. Eva went up to a little table
by the cash register. She filled out an order form on which she listed
all the items they were buying and filled in the billing & shipping
information. Then she gave the order form to the cashier.
“ Everything should come in eight to ten business days.” she announced when she got back. “Now let’s go home.”
They started out for home.
“Wow,”
said Carl. “Thinking of everything we needed for the restaurant was
more complicated than I thought. I had no idea shopping for a restaurant
could be so hard-or expensive.” It had been a lot of money to stock the
whole restaurant. Hopefully, they would earn all that money back soon.
But if the restaurant failed, they would lose all that money. They all
tried not to worry as they walked to the restaurant foundation. Mama’s
favorite verses came to remembrance. 1 Peter 5: 7 & Psalm 56:3,
‘Casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you.’ and ‘ What
time I am afraid, I will trust in you.’. The next few weeks were very
busy. After the building was finished, they took the menu to the
printer, who made a ton of copies, then laminated them. They polished
the floors, sewed tablecloths, set up tables and chairs, got the
cabinets installed, put things in the cabinets, started planning the
cooking, allotted jobs to everyone in the family, hired people from
church to help because they needed workers, and did a million and seven
other things.
Finally,
the night before the grand opening came. Antonio was still doing
school. ( The Iglesias children were home-schooled.) Antonio hadn’t
been able to concentrate, so he had sneaked outside while his mom was
resting. He’d been assigned extra work in addition to his unfinished
work as a punishment. He was pretty grumpy. He wasn’t the only one.
Everyone was nervous and a wee bit grumpy. Mr. Iglesias was reading his
Bible.
“Gather
round everyone,” he called out all of the sudden. When everyone was
settled around him he started to speak. He read 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm
56:3.
“
We are nervous that is true. What if this business fails and we have no
money? But we must remember that God has a plan for our life and if
this restaurant isn’t part of His plan, it will fail. But when God
closes one door, he always opens another. We believe this is what God
want us to do and we step out on this venture in faith that God will
protect us and bless us. Right now we are uncertain about what tomorrow
will bring, but God knows exactly what will happen. He just wants us to
trust him and turn our worries over to him because He can solve any
problems that might come up. So when we go to bed tonight don’t lose any
sleep over tomorrow. Just trust God with everything.”
When the Iglesiases went to bed that night, they slept surprisingly well for people with such a daunting tomorrow ahead of them.
The next morning the Iglesias family went to the restaurant and opened
its doors. During the first few hours, business was slow. Then, towards
lunch time, people started coming. It seemed that it was a very good
day to go out to lunch. Dari was constantly running around getting
orders and bringing drinks, bringing the orders to the kitchen, bringing
the food to the tables with the help of Esteban, and bringing the dirty
dishes back to the kitchen. All in all, Dari was very busy bringing
things from one place to another. At least busy businesses are
successful businesses.
The
next few days were much the same as the first day. Busy, busy, busy.
God was blessing the business! It sure was growing. After the fifth
day, Dari collapsed into bed. Just before she fell asleep, Dari thanked
God for giving her growing family a steady income.
(to be continued later)
(original and unedited)
If you are between the ages of 4-14,(or know someone who likes to write stories)I would like to post your story here. Send me an email. I'd love to read your story!
Signed,
Wiggles the Polliwog
No comments:
Post a Comment