{"chapter_no":"10","chapter_title":"A Humble Family in Need","book_id":"2","book_name":"The Story of James","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"246","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":4,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 10<\/p>

A Humble Family in Need<\/h1><\/p>

 <\/p>

Christine Downs and her son William comprise a small and humble<\/i> single-parent<\/i> family<\/i>—<\/i>They
help each ot<\/i>her cope with the outside world—T<\/i>hey love each other and make a good team<\/i>—<\/i>The suf<\/i>fering
of children and young adults<\/i> when they <\/i>are not accepted and <\/i>don’t fit in well with their peers<\/i>; <\/i>prayer and
forgiveness as a remedy<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

Three blocks away from the Hancock home, still within the boundaries of the North
Ogden 3rd Ward, was an older sixteen-unit apartment complex. Unlike other apartment houses in
the area, it was not well maintained and looked run down. It also had had a history of problems
with some of the tenants over the years, problems that even required police involvement at times. <\/p>

 <\/p>

For the last three years, one of these small, two-bedroom apartments had been rented out
to a woman named Christine Downs. Age thirty-seven and unmarried, she had a good job
working as a waitress in a fine upper-class restaurant in downtown Ogden. Friendly to all, and
well-liked by everyone in the neighborhood, she enjoyed attending church in the 3rd Ward
whenever possible. But because she had to work Sundays, she was able to attend church only a
few times per year. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Christine’s only child, a fourteen-year-old boy named William, lived with her in the
apartment. He was a small, thin, and shy boy who tended to keep to himself and stay at home
most of the time. He possessed, however, many wonderful attributes that he had derived largely
from his mother. He was good-natured, obedient, and had always endeavored to please her. He
could be very personable at times. He was timid when meeting people for the first time, but
always tried to be polite and friendly. He had not yet made any friends in the area since moving
to Ogden, so his mother had helped to solve that by getting him a part-time job busing tables at
the restaurant where she worked. This allowed him to get out of the house more and to become
better acclimated to the outside world. There, he was able to improve his social skills, and meet
new people... including the occasional teenage girl every so often. <\/p>

 <\/p>

While Christine was not yet a member of the Church, William was. He had been baptized
by missionaries at age nine when they lived in Salt Lake City. Both he and his mother had
regularly attended church there, but the new job in Ogden had taken them out of their normal
Sunday routine. In the first few weeks after their arrival, William had made an effort to attend
Sunday School and priesthood quorum classes a few times, but it had been hard to fit in. The
boys his age knew each other well and were very good friends, often doing things together
during the week. The majority of them also seemed to be among the more popular boys at <\/p>

school, so naturally, it was going to be tough going for someone like William to be accepted
among them.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Although nervous and uncomfortable with the situation at church, William made another
attempt to attend class a few months later. Unfortunately, it would be one of the most sad and
tragic experiences of his young life.<\/p>

 <\/p>

In youth Sunday School class, he was asked by the teacher to respond to a question. He
did his best to accommodate the teacher’s request. Sadly, the answer he gave caused snickers and
laughing among the other kids. Hearing the disapproving laughter, he froze inside, fearing he had
said or done something wrong. The teacher quickly scolded everyone, but that just served to
make the whole matter more of a spectacle, further isolating William from the rest of the class.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Therefore, starting the next Sunday, William decided it best to avoid Sunday School
class. And since many of the same persons also attended the combined Aaronic Priesthood class,
he would need to avoid that as well. The situation at church was not something he could talk to
his mother about. If she got involved, it might mean risking other things––like being called a
“mama’s boy”––creating an even larger embarrassment for himself that the other kids might then
carry over into his classes at school. He, therefore, thought it best to keep her out of it. Instead,
he developed a system he could use for Church meetings every Sunday. After being dropped off
by his mother on her way to work, he attended only opening exercises. When it came time to go
to class, he would sneak out the back door of the church and run the few blocks to home where it
was safe. <\/p>

 <\/p>

William had similar problems fitting in with the other kids at junior high school, but in
that case, he had to attend classes every day, so there was no getting around that. And to make
matters worse, he had developed a reputation as a loner. Thus, he found the classroom
experience at school to be very similar to that of church, especially when the teacher wasn’t there
and the other kids were freer to talk and play around. To survive with the least amount of
problems, he had to develop another system––one specially designed for his school classes. The
key to his system was to make sure to stay in the hallway as long as possible, and then to enter
the classroom just before the bell rang. That left very little time in which he could be picked on
or made fun of before class started. Once the teacher was in control, he was usually safe, and
everything was fine. He was also very careful not to arrive late, since that would create just the
opposite effect––making him even more visible to the other kids in the class and reminding them
that he was there in the classroom and needed to be picked on at the next opportunity. Thus, the
key to his system was to time things just right.<\/p>

 <\/p>

An even more serious problem for him, however, was on the trek home from school,
especially in the winter when there was snow on the ground. Every day, his mom would pick
him up directly from school to take him to work with her. The family car was an older model and
soon became known––infamously––to everyone as “that Downs kid’s car.” Initially, only a few
participated, but soon many kids on both sides of the street would lie in wait for them to pass by.
Once the car was in range, everyone would pound the side doors heavily with snowballs. For
many, this became the favorite pastime of their daily walk home, causing everyone to laugh
hysterically each time. The violent sound of the snowballs hitting the car doors made William <\/p>

feel sick inside. This was the ultimate embarrassment. When it happened, he would crouch down
in the car seat, feeling despondent and seeking to hide himself. In this manner, his mother got a
taste of the life he faced every day at school. Initially, she was furious, worrying that an
automobile accident might result from the fierce barrage of snowballs. But she quickly realized
the real hurt was to William. The kids would always select his car for this kind of “fun activity,”
singling him out in front of the whole school. Ultimately, it was this constant pounding of
snowballs every day that pushed William back into his shell, leaving him with a deep emotional
scar. He was scared to go school every day, and even to attend church. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Christine worried much, and even cried because of this, not knowing what to do. She
tried to help him as much as she could by talking occasionally with his teachers and the school
administrators, but much of this was simply a matter of William being able to fit in with the
other kids. He needed to grow up and learn to defend himself, not just physically, but
emotionally as well. She also wanted to avoid doing too much for him. She didn't want him to be
overly dependent on her for everything. What he needed most was to develop friendships at
school––friends she wouldn’t need to worry about who might take him in the wrong direction in
life. <\/p>

 <\/p>

It was around this time that Christine and William started to pray together every day as a
family, usually right around breakfast time before he headed off to school. They knelt together
and asked that he might feel peace inside and be more at ease among his classmates. This proved
to be extremely helpful, and William enjoyed the experience, learning at an early age the value
of prayer. In fact, he often continued praying inside as he walked to school, praying the hardest
the closer he got to school. Perhaps it was true at this time of his life that William was still
somewhat of a mama’s boy. But Christine knew he would grow out of it. She also realized that
some of the kids doing these mean things were often struggling with problems of their own, so
she tried to help him focus more on the need for forgiveness—to overlook what the other kids
were doing, to pray for them, and not to fear them. Standing up for oneself and learning to
defend oneself was important, but learning to forgive others and develop feelings of charity was
also important, thereby increasing his confidence and giving him the inner strength he needed.<\/p>

 <\/p>

This assumption on her part proved to be right. For not very long after the start of their
morning prayers together, William started to smile more in the mornings during breakfast and,
overall, seemed to be much less nervous every day. And for Christine as a parent, the prayers
were a comfort to her as well. She worried less about him every day, realizing that when he left
for school in the morning he was looking to the Lord for his strength and was in very good
hands. Christine could not have been prouder of him, for he was always obedient to her. What a
wonderful boy he was!<\/p>

 <\/p>

In a way, they both were struggling to fit into the world around them, William in his way
and Christine in hers. Christine sought for acceptance in the world as a working, single parent
just as William sought for acceptance from the kids at school. The strong bond between them
became an important sanctuary, helping them both to cope with the difficulties each confronted
outside the home. Their small family––it was what it was. They loved each other, enjoyed
spending much of their free time together, and had a wonderful family relationship. They were a
fabulous team, mother and son<\/span>. <\/p>

 <\/p>

William soon discovered some hobbies he could occupy himself with after school. He
liked working on plastic models, such as ships, cars, and airplanes, and also learned how to do
other types of arts and crafts at home. He enjoyed doing these things every day along with
watching his favorite TV programs. In addition, a tenant had recently set up a basketball standard
in the lot behind their apartment building. On good-weather days, William went out there to
shoot around for an hour or so, using a brand-new basketball he had purchased with allowance
money he had saved. <\/p>

 <\/p>

He was already well aware of James Hancock in the ward, and the tremendous talent he
had as a basketball player. Having attended some of the local high school basketball games with
his mother, he had seen James do impressive things on the basketball court. William was in awe
of James; he looked up to him and wanted to be like him. Making use of this makeshift
basketball court near their home, he did his best to duplicate the shots and moves he had seen
executed by James during ball games. <\/p>"}