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The Treasure Room & Chain Reaction

Album: 33: Virtual Realities

Episode: 433

Lesson/Theme: Valuing people in your life/Irresponsibility has consequences

Bible Verse: Ephesians 4:32/Matthew 25:23

Characters: Aubrey, Harlow, Mandy, Bernard, Eugene, Whit

Writer:

Sound Designer:

Original Air Date: December 4, 1999

Last Air Date: September 17, 2009

Description:
In "The Treasure Room," Aubrey Shepard and Lisa Mulligan meet at Whit's End. When Aubrey bemoans the fact she is poor, Lisa tells her she will want to see Whit's new Treasure Room, which some kids think will contain rare paintings, or even stacks of $100 bills. Eugene hears their speculation and warns them about greed, but Aubrey dreams of what it would be like to be rich. The two friends start scheming how they can sneak into the new room for a peek. Several attempts fail, but they finally are able to enter the room. As their eyes adjust to the dark room, they spot a painting that must be a rare impressionistic watercolor, but accidentally knock paint onto it. When Mr. Whittaker finds out what happened, he seriously talks to them about sneaking around, breaking and entering, and abusing his trust. He takes them back into the Treasure Room and explains that the pictures of themselves and other Odyssey kids represent his treasures, and that the painting had been done by Mandy Straussberg when she was five years old. Furthermore, Whit explained that his true treasure is in all the kids that God has brought into his life, and that each one of them was more precious than any amount of money ever would be. Though Whit tells them he certainly forgives them, he does require that they clean up the place. Aubrey writes the lesson she has learned--that people are the most valuable things in life. In the next episode, David and Mandy are speculating about the new waterpark coming to Odyssey. Whit acknowledges the plans and says that George Paxson is making the deal. Later that day David offers to cut Bernard Walton's grass while he's on vacation. Mr. Walton agrees, but says that he'll need to cut it twice in those two weeks. Nearly two weeks later, Mandy finds David watching TV and asks why he hasn't mowed the Walton's yard. David ends up mowing it on the day before the couple returns, but since it wasn't mowed earlier, two thieves have robbed the house (realizing that the couple was on vacation). The robbers even stole Bernard's answering machine that had a a very important message from a local landlord, asking him to come fix their electricity. Harlow Doyle, a member of the apartments, oversleeps without his alarm, and wakes up to realize that he was late for work. In his hurry, he crashes into Paxson on his way to finish the negotiations for the property where he was going to build a waterslide, causing him to be late and lose the negotiations. In the final scene, Whit tells David and Mandy that the waterslide is not going to be built after all. Will David ever realize he is responsible for the water park falling through? Seemingly small actions can have big consequences.

Questions:
Do you think it was okay for Lisa and Aubrey to want to get into the Treasure Room? Why or why not? What did Whit mean that the paintings represented his "true treasure?" Who indirectly caused the water park not to be built in Odyssey? Are there any responsibilities in your life that you're neglecting?