1st July 2024
It always feels like it’s been too long when we’ve been away. Away from family, away from friends, away from places where we’ve spent time, away from brethren.
Today Lena and I will be packing our bags, rechecking our lists, making sure we take with us everything we might need for the journey ahead of us. We’ll be heading from summer to winter as we travel to the southern hemisphere. It’s been about a year since I visited brethren and pastors in Malawi and Zimbabwe but a few years since I last stepped foot into South Africa. For Lena it’s been about five years since she last visited the African continent. This will be her first trip to Zim and I know she’ll enjoy it. If you’d like to read her account you can find her blog here: https://landlshenanigans.com/
What do you bring when you know you can’t bring everything and might not be able to get some things once the journey begins? Last week we both had another opportunity to serve at one of UCG’s youth camps. We’ve been serving in various capacities at various camps (including some in Malawi and South Africa) each for over 20 years. While each experience is unique, we always come away from camp excited and rejuvenated (as well as extremely tired by the end).
This year, as with the past few years, I’ve taught a Bible class at the teen camp in Ohio. Throughout the week of camp, my team and I emphasized distinguishing between what is written in the Bible and what is not biblical. An essential element in distinguishing the truth from deception is studying the scriptures carefully and often. The class and the campers have inspired me to start using my camp Bible on a more regular basis. It’s a waterproof NKJV Bible that my wife bought me a number of years ago. Through the years I’ve taken notes in it, dropped it in ponds and puddles, taken it on canoe trips, and probably taken it to various countries. But for the most part this particular Bible sits in its case waiting for the next adventure. Perhaps life is adventure enough to warrant its use more often.
It’s terribly convenient to have a digital Bible in my pocket everywhere I go. As long as it’s charged and kept up to date, using a Bible on my phone has come in very handy. But there’s something unique these days about holding paper (or plastic in the case of waterproof books) in our hands and being able to flip through familiar pages, read through familiar and very personal notes, and be reminded of both the truth of God and the adventures had. With that in mind, regardless of the extra ounces, I’m going to pack my adventure Bible with me so I might personally be inspired by the words contained in it, and so I won’t have to worry about a lack of electricity for charging or unforeseen environmental disruptions when I have the need or desire to read the word of God.
– Lewis VanAusdle
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