"A Changed Life!"

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." Exodus 3:2-4

It all started when the boy was ten years old. And yes, it started at church camp exactly 43 years ago. It was up the Cascade Mountains. And that boy, who never really understood what it meant to have personal relationship with God or to be a follower of Jesus Christ, sat on a log during a fireside talk. There were some very sharp teenagers there, ones you could look up to, ones whose values would standout later in life. Young people with a fire in their eyes and a passion to live for. They were good students with amazing potential. You just knew you were around exceptional human beings - playing softball with them or hiking in the mountains. They boldly shared about their fears. They shared about their dreams and you could not help but pull for them. There were cabin raids, squirt-gun fights, camp skits, and laughter late at night that made the kids all fall on the ground. And then there was campfire time. The speaker said he wanted to give anyone a chance to pray and ask to be a follower of Jesus Christ. No one dared to walk up in front of the whole group to become a Christian. I could not resist. So at the very last moment I took the walk that changed my life. I’ve thought of that moment many times in the last 43 years. I never tried drugs, even in the 60’s, never really had a wild spell. I think the difference was the walk I took that summer. God had a lot of work to do in me and he still does. But I’ve often wondered where I would be without that campfire time in 1965. I was thinking about that this last year as I visited long-time friends in the hospital. They have quietly provided scholarships every summer since the church began for kids who could not afford to go to camp. I wonder how many of those kids had their lives changed while at camp on those scholarships. For 24 years they have each provided more than one scholarship. That’s quite a few miracles!

This year I have asked the kids to raise money for the completion of the ReCreation center. It will be one of the finest Youth and Sunday School Centers in the country. Many of the classrooms will be used by young people five days a week between 3 and 5 pm. The room looking over the pool with a view of woods is unparalleled for a youth or Sunday school room. I promised the Sunday School Teachers and Youth Leaders that there will be some business people in the church who will step up and provide scholarships for the kids that need it to go to camp. I wonder who God will choose to carry on this legacy since two of our former leaders in this area are not be able to do it anymore. I know it will be someone who will do it quietly, with a very glad heart, knowing that God is using their success to change lives.

June 27th - 29th High School (Camp Berachah) “Rejected”

June 27th - 29th Junior High (Archeology Camp) “Indiana Jones”

July 18th - 20th Grades 4-6 (Iron Sharpens Iron) “Iron Man Camp”

July 14th - 17th 3yrs-3rd Grd (Vacation Bible School) “Commotion in the Ocean”

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Tim White