These are scenes from my amazing time at Camp Worldlight, a missions camp for girls run by the Florida Baptist Convention. I spent a week at Lake Yale as the missionary in residence.See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Colossians 2:8
I need to issue two disclaimers before you read any further. First, I grew up Southern Baptist, which means I was a mission friend, a GA, and an Acteen. I have a deep belief in gender-specific missions education, deepened by my own experiences. Second, my oldest daughter, Sarah Beth, is a counselor at Camp Worldlight, and so I do not claim to be unbiased or objective about the camp. I'm not. I adore camp for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is having such an impact on my girl. If you can live with those things, read on!
I have many, many memories of GA camp at Windermere, the Baptist Assembly I grew up attending in Missouri. We also went to some kind of Sunday School training there--my parents were heavily involved for many years in Sunday School leadership--and I can very clearly remember riding the paddle boats with my Daddy. I can picture the cabins, the activities, the bugs, the scary storms that sometimes blew through...all are clear in my mind. But what is most clear is those young women who were my counselors. I cannot remember their names all these years later, but I can remember their faces, and I can certainly remember the impact they had on my life. Through Bible study, nature hikes, worship and late-night talks, they encouraged me to follow closely whatever it might turn out God had for my life. Whether I was to become a missionary, a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, or a housewife and mom made no difference--they told me clearly that God had a plan and purpose for my life, and that if I followed Him, my life would have meaning beyond my comprehension. I believed them, because I saw lived out in front of me what that kind of life meant. They were wonderful young women. They were loving and kind and funny and all about Jesus. And I didn't lack for female role models--beyond my many teachers and church workers, I also had my momma and my two older sisters. But there was something about those young women I saw only once a year, for a week in the summer, and the way they didn't change. They remained convinced that God had a special plan for them and for us, and they remained committed to living that out in front of us.
And that is what I loved so much about being Mrs. Kellye at Camp Worldlight this week--those beautiful, wonderful young women who have given their summer to influence girls for Christ. They are funny and silly, but also deeply committed to what Christ has for them and for the girls in their charge. They are loving but firm, and the girls are closely watched and cared for during their time at camp. It's made clear that there are rules to protect them from harm. We don't swim in the lake, because there are too many gators. (There really are. I saw them.) We follow the rules so that things run smoothly and everyone has a good time. We pray because God listens. We wear closed-toe shoes because the ants will eat us alive if we don't. We go to sleep because we want tomorrow to be just as good as today was. Wouldn't the world be a better place if ALL of our children had the opportunity to learn these things, instead of learning to throw a fit and get their way? And certainly, these are things parents should be teaching, but I can tell you from my own experience as a teacher that many parents are not teaching kids how to follow the rules. That's why parents call the school and complain when their kid is punished for something they did. They don't really believe in following the rules. Isn't it nice to know that somewhere out there, a place exists where the rules mean something? Where they are enforced?
But it isn't just that these beautiful young women are rule-enforcers that makes Camp Worldlight such an amazing place. It's also the unceasing focus on missions that makes it so special. Everything is about Christ, His purpose and plan for each girl, and about our responsibility to be involved in missions. Maybe you didn't grow up Southern Baptist. Maybe you are attending your very first Southern Baptist church, and they have some other kind of programming for children. But what makes us Southern Baptist is our belief that our greatest work as the church is missions--near and far, next door and across the ocean--and that together, we can do far more than we can do separately. That's why the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board is the largest missions organization in the world. Our entire denomination is built around a foundation of going, telling, and making disciples. GAs and RAs teach that every week. And Camp Worldlight is all about missions. Ask a room full of IMB missionaries where and when they first thought about or made a commitment to be a missionary, and many, many of them will tell you it was at GA or RA camp. It's a place where girls can--without the distraction of boys--entertain the thought, maybe for the very first time, that God might be calling them to missions. Will they all become missionaries? Of course not. But some of them will. And Camp Worldlight will be the first step in that adventure.
I began by telling you I'm completely biased. And I am. I love GA camp. I loved it as a girl, I loved it when I was a camp counselor at Camp Nunny Cha-Ha in Oklahoma, and I love it as a missionary and as a mom. And I encourage you, if you have children who are the right age, to find a GA or RA camp where you live to send them to next summer. You will be amazed at what happens in their lives. In an age of Britney Spears and Lady Gaga filling girls' minds with who and what they are supposed to be, why wouldn't you want them to have a Brooklyn, an Amber, an Ellen, and yes, a Sarah Beth to speak God's truth into their lives? Why wouldn't you want a Mindy to show them that--just like on the high ropes--they are completely capable of doing anything God calls them to do? Why wouldn't you want them to see amazing women, like Anne, leading and being in charge? I can't think of a better gift to give girls. I honestly can't. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are giving your life to the only One who makes the moon reflect the sun, and that you, too, are headed to see the last Harry Potter movie this afternoon. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
