Ned Lewis is a nervous wreck. His sixth-grade class at Vacation Bible School is set to perform a sketch Ned wrote and directed about Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and the fiery furnace. The problem is, the class isn't ready, not by a long shot. And, as he explains to Whit, the kids playing the lead characters — Eugene (Mugsy) Mumford, Hank Shorter, and Junior Bascomb — are incredibly rambunctious. Whit says things can't possibly be that bad, so Ned explains in a flashback just how disastrous the V.B.S. week has been.

Mugsy, Hank and Junior continually disrupted the class, took over the main parts of the sketch, and generally made nuisances of themselves. To make the disaster complete, the pastor told Ned how much he's looking forward to the sketch. The pastor said if it goes well, he may approve the drama program Ned's been wanting to start at the church.

Talking to Whit, Ned reveals that he's mostly disappointed because his reason for doing the sketch was so the kids would learn something. Now it doesn't seem that they're gaining anything from it. Whit disputes this and tells Ned that God works in ways we can't possibly understand. Whit encourages Ned and tells him to trust in God.

That night, Ned and his class perform their sketch, leaving the audience in stitches. Ned believes the whole thing flopped. To his surprise, Whit, the audience, and Pastor Williams compliment Ned on a job well done. The pastor even wants to talk more about the drama program. Best of all, Mugsy, Hank, and Junior thank Ned for letting them be in the show. They also apologize for disrupting the class during the week and ask if they can come to Ned's weekly Sunday school class. Ned says "absolutely," and he and Whit marvel at the faithfulness of the Lord.

Rain, rain, rain - it's been storming in Odyssey for days, and Connie is sick of it. Sick of that and the way Whit, Tom, and everyone else in town seem to be "preaching" at her. It all escalates when Whit assumes Connie will emcee the upcoming Bible Drill. Connie blows up, then takes a walk in the rain. She goes to a friend's house, but finds no comfort there. Finally, she ends up at home, where she begs her mom to let her go back to California - permanently. Mrs. Kendall says she'll have to think about it. To Connie, that means it's a done deal. Suddenly, Mrs. Kendall remembers that she called Whit because she was worried about Connie, and Whit went looking for her out in the storm.

Connie dons a slicker and rubber boots and takes off in search of Whit. They meet up in a neighbor's shed, and Connie informs Whit of her decision to go back to California. Whit is bothered but suggests that they go back to Whit's End to talk about it. The storm gets much worse. Whit and Connie barely get inside the door when the front window explodes! Glass flies everywhere, and a large chunk embeds itself in Whit's leg. Connie panics, but Whit steadily issues instructions to her while quietly quoting a psalm to calm himself.

Just when things seem their darkest, Mrs. Kendall arrives. She and Connie take Whit to the hospital where he gets stitches. Connie tells Whit that she didn't realize how much Whit meant to her until the accident. Whit tells Connie virtually the same thing, then asks if she's still going to California. Connie says maybe around Christmas. Then she adds that she'd be happy to judge the Bible Drill. Whit and Connie hug, and Connie realizes that Whit is much more to her than just a nice employer. He's her friend.

Irwin Springer loves history-especially about the American Revolution. So he is excited when Whit leaves a book about Benjamin Franklin for Irwin in The Library. Unfortunately, Irwin's enthusiasm causes him to temporarily lose good sense. Irwin climbs on a rolling chair to reach the book, which is on top of a tall bookcase. The chair moves just enough for Irwin to fall off and get knocked unconscious.

When he awakens, he's in a forest, where a man is telling him to run. Suddenly, a bullet whizzes by Irwin's head and splats into a tree. Irwin runs, and he and the man hide in some bushes. The men chasing them run up, and to Irwin's amazement, they're Redcoats from the British Colonial Army! Irwin has been transported back in time. He and the man narrowly escape the Redcoats by pulling down a wasps' nest onto the men, but then Irwin and his companion are attacked by the wasps. They jump into a nearby pond and swim to the opposite shore. There, the man introduces himself - as Nathan Hale!

Hale takes Irwin back to the Continental Army camp, where he meets George Washington. Irwin can't believe any of this is happening. He's especially awed when General Washington asks him to take a message to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Irwin doesn't know how to ride a horse, but he certainly can't refuse a request from George Washington. So Irwin runs off to Philadelphia.

In Philadelphia, he meets the patriots, who are debating over whether to sign a document called the Declaration of Independence. Irwin delivers his message, the debate rages on, and finally the Declaration is signed. Ben Franklin tells Irwin to spread the news to every village and town - the United States are free! Irwin does, but his horse stumbles and falls, knocking Irwin unconscious again. When he awakens this time, he's back in the library at Whit's End. It was all just a dream... or was it?

It's vacation time, and the Barclay family is off like a herd of turtles. Well, almost: they haven't even left yet. Young Jimmy is going to journal about the trip. One of the first things he records is that his older sister, Donna, doesn't want to go. She prefers to remain in Odyssey, but her parents have overruled that notion, so Donna is not a happy camper. Jimmy also documents a brief, pre-trip visit with Whit, who has given him a new invention, "Whit's Boredom Buster" — to be used only when Jimmy is "absolutely, without question, no doubt about it, as bored as you've ever been in your life."

At last, the Barclays are on the road... and aren't 20 minutes into their trip when trouble starts. Donna and Jimmy argue about backseat space; George runs over something that everyone thinks is a small animal but turns out to be a piece of tire rubber; they have a chewy lunch in an old diner; they sing every praise chorus they know; and the batteries go dead in Donna's tape player, further souring her mood.

To top it all off, the car suddenly dies. When George gets out to investigate, Jimmy sees a man they passed on the road rapidly approaching them. Donna speculates that he's an ax murderer. She screams for her father to get back in the car. Just as the man walks up, George pops the cap off the hot radiator, sending up an explosion of water and steam.

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School's out, and Laura is ecstatic! Sixth grade is over, and she is planning a party at Whit's End to celebrate. As she and her friend Kelly walk to the popular emporium, Kelly says that she's looking forward to meeting Laura's parents at the party. Laura quickly replies that her folks are out of town. The girls turn a corner just in time to witness an employer chewing out one of his employees. Kelly feels sorry for the employee, but Laura callously remarks that the man probably deserved it. When Laura and Kelly get to Whit's End, Laura's mom, Eula, is already there, talking with Whit. Laura is embarrassed that her mother is there (especially since her parents are supposedly out of town). When Laura's father, Homer, shows up a few moments later, Laura is mortified. Homer is the man they saw getting yelled at in the alley! Homer and Eula are friendly to Kelly, but Laura quickly shuttles Kelly away, then turns on her parents. She tells them they embarrass her and yells that she wishes she'd never been born into the Fremont family!

The next day, Whit talks with Laura about why she treats her lovely parents like dirt. "Because they're hicks!" Laura blurts out. Whit can't believe Laura feels that way and decides to show Laura why her folks are honorable. First, he has Laura meet Homer's boss, who tells Laura that Homer is his best employee. Then Whit takes Laura to the mission where Homer and Eula volunteer their services. Laura sees the wonderful work the mission is doing and discovers that her parents helped start it. Laura meets people who literally owe their lives to her parents.

Whit informs Laura that the things her parents have done are worthy of her respect. But the most important reason Laura should honor her parents is because the Bible says children must do it. The lesson sinks in, and at her party that night, Laura introduces all of her friends to her special guests of honor: her folks, Homer and Eula Fremont.

There is a new family in town, and they are giving all the kids at Odyssey Elementary the creeps — especially Jack and Lucy. They have to walk by the family's house every day, and Lucy is spooked by the young boy she sees staring at them through the window. At school, they hear further rumors about the family from Alice Pringle. Alice's brother saw the strange family's father leaving the house early in the morning, carrying what looked like a big sack with a body in it. Jack deduces that the father is a Mafia scientist.

Later at Whit's End, Whit tells Jack and Lucy the name of the family: Kirban. Whit says they are very private people, which just makes Jack even more curious to find out about them. Lucy, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with the family. She even refuses to walk by the house with Jack the next morning. At school, Jack informs Lucy that the boy wasn’t in the window that morning. Just as Lucy wonders where the boy went, the teacher introduces a new student...John Kirban! No one even gets close to John all day, which makes Lucy feel guilty.

After school at Whit's End, Jack reveals plans to spy on the Kirbans and wants Lucy to help him. She refuses. Jack storms off angrily, bumping into Connie on the way. Connie talks to Whit and tells him that she saw John Kirban sitting on the curb by himself, crying. Whit goes to Lucy and asks her to do him a favor: walk to school the next morning with John Kirban! Lucy tries, but when she reaches the Kirban’s house, John's father nearly slams the door in her face, telling her that John isn't going back to school that day or any other.

Lucy runs from the house, terrified, and runs into Jack. He tells her not to worry — he's going to spy on the Kirbans that night and expose the whole Mafia/mad-scientist family! But thanks to a stray cat and several trash cans, it is Jack who winds up exposed — caught by Mr. Kirban! A police officer is summoned, and gets to the bottom of things. The bag the father carries out to his van contains... a carpet. Mr. Kirban is a carpet maker. The family seemed unfriendly and mysterious because they are from a different country. Jack is released back to his parents' custody, Whit decides to buy a new carpet, Lucy has a new friend in John Kirban, and everyone learns that you can’t always believe what you hear.

Kirk McGinty idolizes his war-hero father, who died in Vietnam. But when his teacher, Mr. Altman, tells him that the soldiers who fought in southeast Asia were killers, it shakes Kirk's faith to the core. Altman tells Kirk that the men who lost their lives in Vietnam died for nothing. Then Altman gives him a book, which details some of the atrocities that happened at the hands of U.S. soldiers. After reading the book, Kirk isn't sure he wants to participate in the unveiling of the Veterans' Monument at Odyssey's annual Memorial Day picnic, even though he and his mother, Joyce, worked very hard to make the monument a reality.

Joyce tries to comfort Kirk, but when he sleeps that night, Altman's words and the book's images invade his dreams. Kirk wakes up convinced that his father did, indeed, die for nothing.

Meanwhile, Whit visits Altman and questions the wisdom of his actions. Whit informs Altman of the fate of Kirk's father. Altman, in turn, bitterly reveals that he lost a brother in Vietnam.

Later, at the unveiling of the memorial, Kirk is subdued until his mother reads a portion of the last letter Kirk's father ever wrote to her. The letter reveals his sense of duty and the gratitude of the Vietnamese people, and how those things make paying the price of freedom worthwhile. Kirk is touched by his father's words and proudly cuts the ribbon, unveiling the memorial.

Then Altman shows up and apologizes to Kirk for damaging his image of his father. Kirk and Joyce take a closer look at the monument. Altman says he noticed his brother's name carved on the memorial and passes on veiled thanks to Whit, who is the only other person in town who knew about Altman's brother. Altman also says he noticed another name on the monument — Jerry Whittaker. Whit tells Altman that Jerry was his son. The two share a moment of silent pain, mourning their losses, and Altman better understands Memorial Day.

Freddie Hart would love to be someone else — anybody except himself. He's so unpopular, he's the poster child for Geek World. All the kids love to make fun of him and pick on him. Freddie is so miserable, he asks his dad if the family could move to a new city. Dad doesn't think that's practical, so Freddie suggests that he move instead to a different school — Odyssey Academy. No one knows him there, so he could be a different person. Dad doesn't think running away from problems is a good answer for Freddie, though, so Dad tells Freddie to stick it out. But the next day, Freddie gets beat up. Mr. Hart tries talking to the school principal, but he's not at all helpful.

So Freddie gets his wish — a transfer to Odyssey Academy. He's elated. At last, it's a chance to start fresh! Only, almost immediately, the familiar pattern starts: the teasing, the cruel jokes, the snickering. Freddie thinks he's found a friend in Gordie, but after Gordie offers some blunt advice to Freddie about changing his clothes, his hair, and his hobbies, Gordie avoids him like the plague. Soon Freddie is right back where he started.

That night, Freddie tearfully (again) asks his dad if he wouldn't mind moving the family to another city. Dad comforts him, and Freddie says he's tried everything he knows to make friends. He's changed his appearance, his manners, and even his school just to be liked, but nothing works. Dad says that the only way Freddie can really change is on the inside, in his heart. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted, but the important question is, To whom do we want to be acceptable? The answer, of course, is God. Dad tells Freddy that, fortunately, we don't have to change for God - we just have to let God work His changes in and through us. The way we do that is by asking Jesus Christ to come into our hearts. Dad asks if Freddie wants to do that. Freddie says he does. The two of them kneel, and Freddie finally gets his wish — he becomes a new creation.