Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/79

Contributor - Annette Curry

Title - Summer Experience '79

Topic - Camp Shalom

Summer is o ver and many of you are back to school. I hope you had a great summer and I'm sure many of you had some unforgettable experiences either during vacations or during a job you worked at. Several of you had some rather interesting jobs with unique opportunities for learning and sharing. Four young people were involved in summer jobs and have shared their experiences with me. Perhaps their stories will bring back memories of your summer or help you see a different aspect of a job.

Many of you have met Paul Janssen at Camp Shalom. He is a 20 year old pre-seminary student who entered his third year at Central College in Pella, Iowa this fall. He attends Ramsey Reformed Church in Titonka, Iowa. This summer he was the Assistant Camp Director.

As you know, many exciting things happen each week at Camp Shalom. Some of these were very meaningful for Paul. Seeing a child open a Bible for the first time or hearing about a cabin group pooling their resources to buy a fellow cabin-mate a Bible are some of the things that made his job exciting and worthwhile. Watching young lives change over the week is a thrill for any person.

In his personal life, Paul has again realized that leaders of Christ's church are called to buildup Christ, not themselves. They must be a servant of God and of the people around them which involves always being ready to help and being available. These thoughts are important to Paul has he plans to complete seminary. He is thinking of teaching in a college or seminary but is awaiting God's guidance for his future.

Another familiar person at Camp was Suelaine Anderson. Like Paul, she is 20 and in her third year at Central College in Iowa. However, she is majoring in Biology and Chemistry. Suelaine attends Grace United Methodist Church in Burlington, Iowa. This summer she was the lifeguard and naturalist at Camp.

Suelaine had a learning experience as she considered whether or not to work at Camp Shalom this summer. Although everything fit in place she didn't really want to go. She felt the Lord was calling her to camp when all the details were taken care of, even her ride to Canada' Since she's been there, she is certain that this was where she was supposed to spend her summer. Her job has helped her learn more about herself as she has worked with the campers and related to many different individuals.

One thing that Suelaine found exciting was the people. She felt that she was able to leave an impression with the children she worked with through witness and daily living. This is quite a challenge to live up to. With some children she was able to awaken an interest in her nature studies and perhaps her influence will encourage some of them to continue studying in this area.

Being in a different country with different surroundings invites sight-seeing. Her job allowed her time on the weekends to see some of the country-side and attractions which also made the summer quite interesting. Suelaine hopes to finish her studies in college and then will await the Lord's guidance as to what she will do in the future.

Most Ontario Youth will know Cindy Duivesteyn through her work on the Youth executive. Cindy, age 19, from the Emmanuel Reformed Church in Woodstock is in her second year of Nursing School at Fanshawe College in Woodstock. She spent her summer as a part-time Nurse's Aide in a Nursing home

Through her summer work, Proverbs 3:5,6: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.,In all ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths," became very meaningful to Cindy. Many of the little things had been taken care of for her. She has learned also to slow down and take time to look at other people's needs. In the nursing home there were many lonely people whom she was able to help cheer up through spending time with them, telling them about the Lord or simply giving them a hug.

These were the basic needs that she had to learn to meet in her job this summer. It was exciting when she saw the results of taking time to consider the feelings of the people she was working with. One instance was when an older lady had a real desire to die. She was often in pain and didn't want to be a bother to the staff who considered her a complainer. Cindy was able to spend sometime with her and called her 'Smiley' . This helped to cheer the women. she also had the opportunity to talk to her about the Lord. The woman greatly appreciated this time and soon stopped talking about her aches and pains. It was exciting to see the change that had happened because someone took time to care.

The work at the Nursing Home and the contact with people should help Cindy as she completesher R.N. studies. She is praying for guidance as to where the Lord would have her work.

One final summer employee was Gladys Poot, age 18, who attends Drayton Reformed Church. She has completed Grade 12 and spent the summer working for the fire department in Palmerston. Her job involved gathering information from farmers concerning building structures and water supplied and the easiest access to the farm.

Through this work, Gladys has learned much about the skill of communicating with people. She had to talk to many strangers and realized that all people are different and you have to approach each one with an open mind, accepting them as individuals.

Her work was rewarding as she spent time with people, especially those she worked with. She was able to make good friends. Along with two other fellow Christian workers, she was able to witness to the two who were non believers. Their talk and actions seemed to influence the others.

Another thing which was rewarding was that she was able to meet people from many different economic backgrounds. Besides it being somewhat of an eye-opener she realized that often the poorer people were happier people and economic success was not entirely necessary for happiness.

Gladys intends to go job hunting this fall and hopes for some kind of secretarial work. l(er future, like ours, is in the Lord's hands.

Unfortunately time and space do not allow me to share with you any further summer experiences. I am sure many of you also had interesting jobs and have learned something from them.

In summary, the writer of Proverbs 16:3 gives us advice for working whether it be at school or in a job: "Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed" (Living Bible).

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