We were headed to Berrien Springs by way of Benton Harbor. Our hungry tummies were leading us to The Mason Jar, a restaurant our friend Loree had told us about. And wowie, what a breakfast we had!!

 

Next up was Andrews University. This is an SDA university we’ve always wanted to visit. We have several friends who’ve attended it, and just wanted to finally put a real picture with what our imaginations had conjured up.

We shopped at the Adventist Book Center. The boys each found some new books to enjoy on the road, and we got some story CDs. They were thrilled!
Our next stop was a rather exciting one. For over six decades, Your Story Hour has been recording character building stories. All of them are true stories that have happened throughout history. My family has been listening since I was little, and our boys LOVE them as well. So when planning our trip to Berrien Springs, we wanted to stop by. But “stop by” to us was going to mean just take a picture in front of the building, or so we thought. When we got there, though, there was an “OPEN” sign on the door. OK, well let’s go in and see.
We were met so warmly by a kind lady who asked us where we were from, and would we have time for a tour? Would we have time? Would we like a tour of a place who produces stories we love listening to over and over and consider part of the family? Yes, please!
The next hour was an unforgettable one. She took us through and talked about each of the projects they do there. It’s a very humble organization. And by that, I mean you won’t find a fancy, expensive state-of-the-art operation. They don’t use YSH as a money-making business. You can tell the staffs’ hearts are there to serve and create stories that will live up to their motto “Making boys and girls of today better men and women of tomorrow.”

They send out Bible studies to anyone who would like to receive them. This includes a prison inmate program they’re involved with. The prisoners take the Bible studies and earn story CD’s. But since they’re not allowed to have them in prison, the inmates have the CD’s sent to their families. So now God’s word is not only reaching the inmates, but the inmates themselves are sharing it with family. So many of them come from very broken homes, and now with this program, God can begin healing in them. It’s just beautiful.
We also got to meet the producer of the stories. He was working on a batch of freshly recorded stories from their April recording session. This is how the stories are done:
1. The voice actors come to the studio and record their parts.
2. John, the producer, edits their voices and takes out any rough spots, and then puts the voices together in the story line.
3. Next, he creates and adds sound effects.
4. He then adds music where needed for transition or dramatic effect.
Thankfully, John has a computer program that helps him keep the layers seperate while working on them. Then he puts them all together to create the story.

 

The boys each got to take a turn at making some of the sound effects. Coconut shells and rocks sound great for hoofbeats or walking.

Melbee was even invited to join us on the tour, and John loved meeting her. Very impromptu, he prayed a special blessing over her, and said such beautiful loving words to our little girl. It was a very touching moment. We’ve always appreciated and treasured YSH, but after our time spent with the loving staff there, that love and appreciation is much deeper now. Please visit their site, yourstoryhour.org, to find all the stories they’ve recored over the years. They even offer a free one you can listen to on their site each week. The boys like to listen to the weekly story while going to sleep.
We left and drove down the main road that goes through the small town of Berrien Springs. Throughout the course of the morning, we’d driven this several times, and each time, a loud, boisterous sound would occur right around the town car wash. A local group of Jr. High girls was having a car wash to earn money for a trip. Their energy level and volume never dropped as they waved, shouted, and held their signs. They even had a mega phone. The boys had been watching this group of loud, giggly girls in our travels by, and were dying to show some boy representation. So on this final pass, the boys ran to Big Boy’s windows and yelled in funny voices, made goofy faces, and really, just made prepubescent fools of themselves and loved every second of it. As we neared the girls, their volume had increased. As soon as the boys began their antics, it was like a mute button had been pressed. The girls stood there in silence, mouths gaping, staring at the lunatics in the motorhome. It was hilarious! We drove on, the boys claiming victory!
Another thing on our minds, and particularly the boys’, was the fact this was July 11, or 7/11. And every year, the 7/11 offers free Slurpees from 11am-7 pm. This is a tradition we don’t miss. It’s the only Slurpee the boys get all year. They even begin discussing what flavor they’ll get around mid-June. It just so happens there are no 7/11 stores in that part of Michigan. Once again. Heartbreak City.

But after driving past the now mute girls, we came upon a sign in a grocery store parking lot. It said “31st Annual Ice Cream Social – July 11 – 6-8pm”. It turns out, after doing some shopping and receiving a flier, it was a free ice cream social as a customer appreciation. Here was another one of those moments where God seemed to say, “Don’t feel badly about Slurpees today, boys. I’m upgrading you to ice cream sundaes!”