The presence of greatness
We MKs of Indonesia--the missionary kids whose parents planted families in that exotic place--have a hidden fondness for a place near Mt. Merapi in Central Java. I don't remember the Indonesian name for the encampment, but I remember the name we gave it: Camp MiKi.
The founder of Camp Miki is Catherine Walker. She was a single woman who answered God's call to missions. If you have heard of Disciple's Prayer Life: Walking in Fellowship with God, she is the co-author of that study. She was not much older when we were in Indonesia than I am now. She decided--her story--that the MKs should have a special experience each summer filled with spiritual learning and fun. She also wanted the parents to have a break at the end of the parent-led home schooling that most mission stations used.
Indonesia is an exotic place filled with life. When you think of the word "rainforest", unless you have seen one your concept of it might be something static. As I've posted before, there is a battle for the land between the kotas (towns/cities), desas (villages), rice paddies, and the forest. Every inhabitant joins the battle every day. About mid-day the rains tend to come and revive the forest and keep the paddies full.
We would take the train to Camp Miki. My first summer we rode from Bandung. The second summer we rode from Madiun (through Solo..I'm pretty sure Brent and Melissa joined Jeff, Jason, and myself.) At Camp Miki there was a central lodge with a screened in area where we all met. Then the campers whent to their own cabins.
We had scriptures to memorize before arriving. And we banded together in tribes when we got there. The Cheyenne were the younger campers (grades 1-3). The Cherokee were the middle campers (grades 4-6). Comanches were the oldest...the junior high age. The Counselors were missionaries. The Counselors In Training were the high schoolers who had graduated from Camp Miki in past years.
Aunt Catherine...we called the other missionaries "Aunt" and "Uncle" in order to promote a sense of family...designed all of this and led it herself. She always worked through a Camp Director. I remember Johnny Norwood was the Camp Director one of the two years that I went.
There were Bible Drills, Memorization Drills, and sports. But all of it was compressed into two weeks. We went swimming and hiking. I remember Jana Sanders having a broken ankle one year and being carried by Vance Worten. It's odd the things that come back when you think about things like this.
I learned to make a bed with "hospital corners" at Camp Miki and how to make a quarter bounce off of it. Each meal there were campers assigned to doing dishes. I remember feeling flustered when I was assigned to do the dishes with the eldest daughter of the Beck family...a family my parents had known in College.
I wrestled with Brad Beevers one year on the starting day of camp and was frustrated when he scissors-locked me with his leg when I was pretty sure I was stronger. In the second year I thought I would be chosen as a "Little Chief", but was disappointed when that didn't happen. That was one of my first experiences with dealing with the Holy Spirit when he chooses someone else. I knew the ones that were chosen were chosen for a good reason...and not just because the missionaries leading the camp were deciding. Steve and his wife Connie now serve as missionaries.
"Aunt" Catherine was one of many single missionaries that served in Indonesia. Most were women, but one, John Tatum, was memorable to me because of his very dry wit. I learned recently that another, Mary Alice Ditsworth, recently lost all of her possesions due to Hurricane Katrina. The extended Indonesian mission family was banding together to reach out to her and to help her. Some were medical doctors and nurses.
I have a great affection for the women especially. While they never discussed it in these terms, the calling replaced things like marriage and families. I believe in my heart that Camp Miki served a far greater purpose in the lives of us MKs than Aunt Catherine could ever have accomplished by 'merely' being a housewife and raising her own children. To me her sacrifice was a noble and worth one and one that continues to impact my life as I seek to raise my own children. I enjoy the impact of AWANAs on my children because it reminds me of Camp Miki, for instance.
Of course, it gave me great private pleasure after I was married to Jennifer to lead a session teaching PrayerLife that included my wife...in part because it allowed me to share about someone who I loved very much with my new bride. So even many years after Camp Miki, Aunt Catherine still was impacting my life.
I write about her for one very simple reason. Greatness comes from the willingness to live in the absolute center of God's Will. I doubt that Aunt Catherine was trying as she conceived of Camp Miki to have a "lifelong impact". But because she was prompted and because she obeyed, I remember her best of those single missionaries...and I remember all of them BECAUSE of her.
There is a formula in the Bible, of course, for considering and seeking greatness. It's one we should all consider every day:
I entitled it "A Bouquet of Appreciation." I was pleasantly surprised when she acknowledge it with a phone call. Something tells me that it really touched her to have confirmed that her sacrifice--to become the servant to the children of missionaries--was purposeful.
The founder of Camp Miki is Catherine Walker. She was a single woman who answered God's call to missions. If you have heard of Disciple's Prayer Life: Walking in Fellowship with God, she is the co-author of that study. She was not much older when we were in Indonesia than I am now. She decided--her story--that the MKs should have a special experience each summer filled with spiritual learning and fun. She also wanted the parents to have a break at the end of the parent-led home schooling that most mission stations used.
Indonesia is an exotic place filled with life. When you think of the word "rainforest", unless you have seen one your concept of it might be something static. As I've posted before, there is a battle for the land between the kotas (towns/cities), desas (villages), rice paddies, and the forest. Every inhabitant joins the battle every day. About mid-day the rains tend to come and revive the forest and keep the paddies full.
We would take the train to Camp Miki. My first summer we rode from Bandung. The second summer we rode from Madiun (through Solo..I'm pretty sure Brent and Melissa joined Jeff, Jason, and myself.) At Camp Miki there was a central lodge with a screened in area where we all met. Then the campers whent to their own cabins.
We had scriptures to memorize before arriving. And we banded together in tribes when we got there. The Cheyenne were the younger campers (grades 1-3). The Cherokee were the middle campers (grades 4-6). Comanches were the oldest...the junior high age. The Counselors were missionaries. The Counselors In Training were the high schoolers who had graduated from Camp Miki in past years.
Aunt Catherine...we called the other missionaries "Aunt" and "Uncle" in order to promote a sense of family...designed all of this and led it herself. She always worked through a Camp Director. I remember Johnny Norwood was the Camp Director one of the two years that I went.
There were Bible Drills, Memorization Drills, and sports. But all of it was compressed into two weeks. We went swimming and hiking. I remember Jana Sanders having a broken ankle one year and being carried by Vance Worten. It's odd the things that come back when you think about things like this.
I learned to make a bed with "hospital corners" at Camp Miki and how to make a quarter bounce off of it. Each meal there were campers assigned to doing dishes. I remember feeling flustered when I was assigned to do the dishes with the eldest daughter of the Beck family...a family my parents had known in College.
I wrestled with Brad Beevers one year on the starting day of camp and was frustrated when he scissors-locked me with his leg when I was pretty sure I was stronger. In the second year I thought I would be chosen as a "Little Chief", but was disappointed when that didn't happen. That was one of my first experiences with dealing with the Holy Spirit when he chooses someone else. I knew the ones that were chosen were chosen for a good reason...and not just because the missionaries leading the camp were deciding. Steve and his wife Connie now serve as missionaries.
"Aunt" Catherine was one of many single missionaries that served in Indonesia. Most were women, but one, John Tatum, was memorable to me because of his very dry wit. I learned recently that another, Mary Alice Ditsworth, recently lost all of her possesions due to Hurricane Katrina. The extended Indonesian mission family was banding together to reach out to her and to help her. Some were medical doctors and nurses.
I have a great affection for the women especially. While they never discussed it in these terms, the calling replaced things like marriage and families. I believe in my heart that Camp Miki served a far greater purpose in the lives of us MKs than Aunt Catherine could ever have accomplished by 'merely' being a housewife and raising her own children. To me her sacrifice was a noble and worth one and one that continues to impact my life as I seek to raise my own children. I enjoy the impact of AWANAs on my children because it reminds me of Camp Miki, for instance.
Of course, it gave me great private pleasure after I was married to Jennifer to lead a session teaching PrayerLife that included my wife...in part because it allowed me to share about someone who I loved very much with my new bride. So even many years after Camp Miki, Aunt Catherine still was impacting my life.
I write about her for one very simple reason. Greatness comes from the willingness to live in the absolute center of God's Will. I doubt that Aunt Catherine was trying as she conceived of Camp Miki to have a "lifelong impact". But because she was prompted and because she obeyed, I remember her best of those single missionaries...and I remember all of them BECAUSE of her.
There is a formula in the Bible, of course, for considering and seeking greatness. It's one we should all consider every day:
Matthew 20:25-28 NIV Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."If you happen to think of someone that has had this kind of impact on your life, perhaps now would be a good time to thank them? I took the opportunity to send a thank you email to Aunt Catherine after Brent shared her email address with me.
I entitled it "A Bouquet of Appreciation." I was pleasantly surprised when she acknowledge it with a phone call. Something tells me that it really touched her to have confirmed that her sacrifice--to become the servant to the children of missionaries--was purposeful.
posted by greg.w.h@5:45 PM link-to-post
1 comments
1 Comments:
It was great to learn about how Camp Miki was started. I personally have gone to Camp Miki and been around all the commited Christians there. They're always there tho love and support me even through hard times. I'm looking forward to another week of camp this summer.
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