7th August 2025
Just like many bygone summers throughout my life, I’ve had the chance to sleep on the ground among the trees. This summer Lena and I served at three camps sponsored by the United Church of God. The first was a teen camp in Central Ohio where we slept in staff cabins that were more like a roadside motel complete with air conditioning and a hot shower every day. The second was a young adult adventure camp in Minnesota that included sleeping in a tent on the ground surrounded by trees, water, the threat of mosquitoes, and wilderness in every direction. The third was a preteen camp in Central Pennsylvania that appeared to be in the wilderness but was actually very near a noisy, major highway.
Each camp had its own unique challenges and charms. Each location had its own unique beauty. Each was its own adventure complete with God’s people serving and learning how to serve. And now that we have come out of the forests and have had a chance to settle back into city life, I’m preparing to leave again on another adventure.
This coming Sunday, August 10th, I’ll be joined by one of my fellow elders, Derek Strauss, as we board a plane headed for Southern Africa. We’ll be touching down in South Africa before heading up to Zimbabwe where we’re planning to head for the wilderness there. I haven’t seen the faces of my brethren in the Village of Chemba for a while and I’m very much looking forward to spending some time with them and introducing them to Derek.
The next steps of our journey will hopefully take us to some other parts of the country as we try to visit as many brethren as possible before leaving for a brief stopover in Malawi. As always, I’m reminded of the apostle Paul’s words to his traveling companion Barnabas when he said, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing” (see Acts 15:36). It’s always a pleasure to see new places and meet new brethren in various parts of the world, but it’s also special to be able to return to places I’ve been before to see my brethren again.
-Lewis VanAusdle
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