SUMMER CAMP chapter 108

I had the privilege of personally being beaten up and knocked around by God during my first year and a half at Bible College. It was the whipping I needed to see my need of a Savior to control me. I was doing a very bad job. He worked me over so much I came out the other end knowing He loved me. During the last two years of Bible College it felt like God had left just to see what I might do on my own. It became obvious quickly that I was a screw up when left alone.

During my years in Saskatoon, God came back for a long and personal visit. Life wasn’t perfect, but He was always there. There were some indications in the first year that God at work, but after the second summer camp, everything changed. We met God in prayer meetings, at youth group, in Sunday school and social activities and Bible quizzing and just times of sitting around.

I have never been good at describing the presence of God. There were no clouds to lead us, no manna on the ground, no dew on the sheepskin; no appearing images but there were a few visual signs. It began as a gentle stirring. Teens enjoyed talking about God. When I moved to Vancouver the experience was repeated and stepped up a notch.

We still faced real issues and problems at camp.  We always lined up outside the lodge for each meal. It was a cool and somewhat windy day when the normal hubbub laughter and chatter was noisily cluttering the supper line. As we were going in a camper asked if I had seen Larry and Dave. Frankly, I had napped before supper and had seen no one until getting in line.

Once inside I looked for the boys and did not find them. I asked before prayer if anyone had seen the boys and one camper said they went out in a canoe about 2:00 that afternoon. I got hold of Dr. Hindmarsh and asked him to take the speedboat out for a look around. I was frightened. They had been gone for 3 1/2 hours. One of the counselors jumped in the boat with doc while other leaders got together to pray. Had they drowned?

I missed supper that night (not really, just missed the time. The sisters held back food for those out looking for the boys), Janet, our camp nurse was the first to mention they might have capsized and if they had, they were going to come back cold. She coordinated efforts to get blankets and sleeping bags to be available to warm them up slowly.

It was 30 minutes before the doc returned with two nearly blue boys. He had already begun trying to warm them up with what little he had. The canoe had tipped over an hour and a half earlier and because of the wind, they could not right it. They were hanging on for dear life praying that help would come. They had left without telling anyone they were going and held little hope for rescue. Both were strong swimmers and skilled canoeists, but unable to beat the wind that kept getting stronger and knocking them back in the water. The life vests kept them up.

We got the boys out of their wet clothes and a couple of the men stripped to their shorts, wrapped them in their arms and people piled blankets and sleeping bags on them until their normal color returned. The doc and nurse were right there with us during the entire recovery period. About two hours later, everyone was starved and the wonderful cooking sisters warmed food for all.

That was accidental. Another incident was intentional. One girl was mad at a cabin mate and sprinkled pepper inside her pillowcase. The girl hand an afternoon nap and awoke with a swollen red face, coughing and sneezing. The doc had a look at her and said she needs to go to the hospital. It was 70 kilometers to Regina, An hour drive. It was Janet who figured out what had happened when she went through the bedding to try and see if the camper had been bitten by something. She found pepper in the pillowcase and learned the victim was allergic. Janet put her in her car and drove to Regina, while campers and leaders prayed. God began healing the girl as they drove. Once given the necessary antibiotics she was on the mend and had returned completely heal by the time they got back to camp. Answered prayer does marvels for anyone’s faith, especially teens. It did a lot for the entire camp.