I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello, and
welcome to 3ABN Today.
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My name is C.A. Murray,
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and allow me to
thank you once again
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for sharing just a
little bit of your day with us,
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to thank you for
your love, your prayers,
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your support of Three
Angels Broadcasting Network.
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And for spending a
little time with us today,
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in a discussion of
something, that is exciting me,
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and I think it's
gonna excite you too.
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One of the
things, that impress me,
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is that Jesus has many,
many ways to touch hearts,
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change lives, and
rearrange destinies.
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There are so many ministries
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each of which can
be used to save souls.
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And so today we're
gonna talk about something,
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that may not be something
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that's on your
own particular radar,
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but is really from
what I gather a great,
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an ongoing ministry
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and I think you're
gonna fall in love with it too
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as we sort of discuss
and unpackaged our story.
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I've got three
handsome gentlemen
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from the Minnesota Conference
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and I think I'll start
with the farthest away from me,
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because he's a
conference president,
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and you got to do that,
he's conference president.
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This is Justin Lyons.
Justin, good to have you here.
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Thank you, CA.
It's good to be here.
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In the middle is David
Wilson, who is a test case,
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an example of the
goodness of the Lord
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and, David, good
to have you here.
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Thank you, CA.
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And then a youth
director for the North Star Camp
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and that's the camp in
the Minnesota Conference,
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that we're gonna
be highlighting today.
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This is Jeff
Wines. Good to be here.
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Jeff, good to have you here.
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Thank you Yeah.
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Good looking group
of men with much to say
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about the North Star Camp.
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I remember my days
back at Victory Lake Camp,
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in the Northeastern Conference,
I was the camp electrician.
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So once camp meeting started
and camp and summertime started
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we're busy all the time doing,
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you know, doing
different kinds of things,
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but evidently North
Star Camp has a great history
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from what I can understand
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and God has used that
camp in a particular way,
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is that right, Jeff?
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Yes, He has.
Amazing ways actually.
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There's miracle after
miracle that's happened.
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Even in starting,
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being able to buy the
property at the beginning.
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It's just, it's continued
to happen over the years.
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Great, great, before
we unpackaged that story,
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I want to go and just
talk to you each a little bit
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about your collective fixtures,
then we will go to our music,
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then we will launch
right into ministry.
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But I want to
start with the president.
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Justin, I'm told
you're still kind of a new guy
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as far as
president is concerned.
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That is correct.
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You're not from Minnesota?
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Not originally,
no, I'm from Indiana.
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Uh-huh. So not too far. No.
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A day's drive,
less than a day's drive.
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When did you come to
Minnesota Conference?
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Oh, my, in 1986, I
started as a pastor in Minnesota
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and then in
'98, I moved out west
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but in 2006, Minnesota called me
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back to do gift
planning and trust service
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and eventually moved me
into the vice president's office
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and then March, 20th, 2014,
they elected me as president.
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Very, very good.
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Adventist home growing up?
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No, sir, I grew up
in the Lutheran home.
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How did Adventism find
you, or you find Adventism?
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Well, that's a long story,
but I'll try to keep it short.
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I was a student
at Purdue University
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and it was there that I met
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the Seventh-day
Adventist young lady
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and she tried to give
me some Bible studies.
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But it was, I would say,
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I was loved into the
church by a very friendly church
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there in Lafayette, Indiana.
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Did you marry that young lady?
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No, sir.
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I was just trying to
connect with that, you know.
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I met my wife at
what is now called
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Southern Adventist University.
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Yes, after becoming a
Seventh-day Adventist,
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I chose to go to
an Adventist School
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and I had a
whole new world view,
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I have to tell you that.
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By the time I was at
Purdue, I was really an atheist,
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and having a new
experience at recognizing
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that there is a
creator God and so forth
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that world view shift was
difficult for me to handle
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while I was at Purdue,
and I wanted to find a place
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where I could
sort out my new faith.
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And I first went to Andrews,
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then I went as a
student missionary,
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when I got home, I
sold books for summer
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and went down to Southern
for a couple of more years.
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Praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord.
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Yeah, we remember our son
Kevin went to the Southern.
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They do call that
school the marriage magnet.
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You can get a good education
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and as a rule if
you behave yourself
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and keep your eyes
open, come out of there
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with a partner
for your life too so.
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I'm gonna jump over
Dave and go to you, Jeff.
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You are the youth director,
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how long you've been
serving in that capacity?
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I've been serving
there since 2010, so 5 years.
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Now we know you're
not a native Minnesotan.
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No, I'm not.
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Adventist home growing up?
Yes, Adventist home growing up.
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My father worked
in Adventist Education
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for the church most of his life
and so I've lived on the South,
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and the West Coast, and Midwest.
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Yep, yep.
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Praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord.
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Now we, we're
gonna talk about it,
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you didn't come to
your current position
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sort of the traditional route,
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when I say
traditional, pasturing the whole
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and all of that or
back to the Seventh-day--
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Yours is a little bit of a
circuitous dare I say route.
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Right, right,
kind of went around.
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Yeah.
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You know, as a young
person I seem to have gifts
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and talents in more of the arts
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and so I went to
school for photography
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and upon graduating a year
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before that as a
student missionary,
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given my heart to
Christ and told Him I'd serve
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wherever He wanted
me to and little did
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I know my first
job out of college
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would be as a youth pastor,
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and so I started youth
pastoring, and loved it.
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It was a passion, got married
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and my wife and I
went back to seminarian,
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I thought well this is
what I am supposed to do
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for the rest of my life
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and God had other
plans for the next few years.
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I ended up teaching
at Andrews University
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and teaching photography
and video and stuff like that
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and I then I got call back into
the ministry, been there since.
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So the Lord sort of just
gave you a resume, you know.
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Basically. For
what you're doing now.
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I think so,
something like that, exactly.
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Yeah, yeah, David,
we gonna go to you.
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Adventist home growing up?
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Yes, definitely.
All right, good man.
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Yeah, my dad was-- he
was the youth director,
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and his father was the pastor,
his father was the pastor,
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so he is down the line Adventist
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and he is the pathfinder
director always has been.
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One of the
church leaders he always
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either starts it up
at the general course
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something pathfinder related.
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Praise the Lord.
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So that ministry thing
is kind of in your DNA,
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Yes, just a little bit.
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You got any idea, what
you want to do with your life.
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I'm still
looking, but I would like
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to become an
architectural engineer
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and hopefully,
work with the church
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and I want to start
up my own youth group
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one day with the
group-- it was a lot of fun.
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Praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord.
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Did your
experience with the camp
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have a lot to do
with how you're thinking
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and what your
goals in life are now,
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we are going to
come back to that,
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but I just want to
touch on that for now.
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It definitely changed my
views a lot, so it helped.
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Praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord.
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We want to go to our music
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just now, then
we want to come back
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and sort of dive into the story.
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Because there's
much to talk about here
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and we'll go to our music now.
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Our music is coming today
from Valerie Shelton Walker.
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She is the wife
of our good friend
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and director here Brad Walker,
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beautiful
person, beautiful singer.
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She's going to be
doing and singing My Tribute.
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How can I say thanks
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For the things
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That You have done for me
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Things so undeserved
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Yet You gave to
prove Your love for me
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The voices of a millions angels
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Could not express my gratitude
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All that I am
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And ever hope to be
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I owe it all to Thee
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To God be the glory
00:10:03.01\00:10:09.58
To God be the glory
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To God be the glory
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For the things He has done
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With His blood He has saved me
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With His power He has raised me
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To God be the glory
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For the things He has done.
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Just let me live my life
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Let it be
pleasing, Lord, to Thee
00:11:01.73\00:11:07.97
And should I gain any praise
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Let it go to Calvary
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Calvary
00:11:21.55\00:11:24.62
With His blood He has saved me
00:11:24.65\00:11:31.75
With His power He has raised me
00:11:31.78\00:11:39.62
To God be the glory
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For the things
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For the things
00:11:50.23\00:11:56.78
For the things
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That He has done
00:12:00.88\00:12:08.25
He has done
00:12:08.28\00:12:14.71
Valerie Shelton Walker,
thank you so very, very much.
00:12:19.14\00:12:21.70
My guests are
president of the conference,
00:12:21.73\00:12:23.63
Jeff Lyons, David
Wilson, and Jeff--Justin Lyons,
00:12:23.66\00:12:29.38
David Wilson, Jeff Wines.
00:12:29.41\00:12:32.10
I want to get that right.
00:12:32.13\00:12:34.20
Gentlemen, we're
talking about North Star Camp
00:12:34.23\00:12:38.52
and most
conferences have, have camps,
00:12:38.55\00:12:41.68
you know I think
it's in our history
00:12:41.71\00:12:44.06
as a church to have some place
00:12:44.09\00:12:45.18
where people can come out
of the cities and get away.
00:12:45.21\00:12:47.61
This camp evidently has
a very interesting history.
00:12:47.64\00:12:50.62
Walk me through the
early days of North Star Camp
00:12:50.65\00:12:53.63
as you know it, Jeff?
00:12:53.66\00:12:54.70
All right, and Justin
you can jump in here anytime.
00:12:54.73\00:13:00.14
In 1956, the
brethren at the conference
00:13:00.17\00:13:05.09
put an announcement
out saying we need a camp,
00:13:05.12\00:13:08.26
we need a place where young
people can go out, go camping,
00:13:08.29\00:13:12.29
get to know God in
nature, that kind of thing.
00:13:12.32\00:13:14.80
And so they started, you
know, looking and asking people.
00:13:14.83\00:13:19.26
Well, that
happened a couple times
00:13:19.29\00:13:22.04
putting a announcement out
they weren't finding anything.
00:13:22.07\00:13:25.80
And then a gentleman by
the name of Harris Jones,
00:13:25.83\00:13:29.17
a member in the church,
00:13:29.20\00:13:30.37
and he worked
somewhere in the state
00:13:30.40\00:13:33.65
with land
development and so forth.
00:13:33.68\00:13:36.41
He saw the announcement,
00:13:36.44\00:13:38.99
and kind of didn't want
to do anything about it,
00:13:39.02\00:13:41.43
but his daughter said,
"Dad you know all the land,
00:13:41.46\00:13:44.48
you should be the one that
goes out and looks for this."
00:13:44.51\00:13:47.17
And so he said
"Well, maybe I should."
00:13:47.20\00:13:49.58
So he started looking
00:13:49.61\00:13:51.17
and kind of checking things out,
00:13:51.20\00:13:53.30
he didn't find anything,
00:13:53.33\00:13:55.16
and one day after looking at
an article about firefighting
00:13:55.19\00:14:00.09
and how they help
you look at firefighting
00:14:00.12\00:14:02.84
from the air and direction.
00:14:02.87\00:14:04.43
He thought, "You know,
we've all these aerial images."
00:14:04.46\00:14:08.26
I mean, I mean thousands of them
00:14:08.29\00:14:10.71
covering the
entire state of Minnesota.
00:14:10.74\00:14:12.86
So he said, "Why
don't I start looking there,
00:14:12.89\00:14:14.36
maybe I'll find
something that way."
00:14:14.39\00:14:15.70
So he started
looking through all that
00:14:15.73\00:14:17.25
and narrowed it
down to the property
00:14:17.28\00:14:19.07
that we now have, that area,
00:14:19.10\00:14:21.73
and as he looked
at that, he said,
00:14:21.76\00:14:23.17
"Man, this is some amazing
opportunity for our camp,
00:14:23.20\00:14:27.89
this is a beautiful location."
00:14:27.92\00:14:31.06
And so with some of
his colleagues at work
00:14:31.09\00:14:34.08
who were now trying to
help him with his project.
00:14:34.11\00:14:37.45
He found out that
they had a realtor
00:14:37.48\00:14:40.48
for a chunk of this property
00:14:40.51\00:14:42.88
and he went to
talk to the realtor.
00:14:42.91\00:14:45.10
The realtor
basically blew him off.
00:14:45.13\00:14:46.95
He said, "Sorry,
this is not going happen."
00:14:46.98\00:14:50.45
Not only do they not
want to sell the property,
00:14:50.48\00:14:52.62
but you could never
afford at your church group.
00:14:52.65\00:14:55.15
And that was it, and
he went home discouraged,
00:14:55.18\00:14:58.75
and he talked to his wife
00:14:58.78\00:15:00.68
and they prayed
about it that night
00:15:00.71\00:15:03.40
and in the next day he
went again to check things out
00:15:03.43\00:15:08.88
and he found out the
people that own the property.
00:15:08.91\00:15:11.54
It was two elderly
sisters, and he said,
00:15:11.57\00:15:14.41
okay, I'm gonna go talk to them.
00:15:14.44\00:15:16.38
So he drove over
to their property,
00:15:16.41\00:15:18.63
walked in the house,
00:15:18.66\00:15:20.01
you know, they invited the
man, and said what do you want?
00:15:20.04\00:15:24.42
He said, "I'm here to talk about
00:15:24.45\00:15:26.19
possibly buying the
land that you have."
00:15:26.22\00:15:29.96
They were curt to be nice,
00:15:29.99\00:15:34.08
and basically
want to throw him out.
00:15:34.11\00:15:36.11
They say, "Why, what, you know,
00:15:36.14\00:15:37.24
didn't you talk to our realtor?"
00:15:37.27\00:15:38.31
He said "Yeah." "So
what'd she tell you."
00:15:38.34\00:15:40.43
She told me I
couldn't buy the property
00:15:40.46\00:15:42.02
"Well, then why are you here."
00:15:42.05\00:15:43.75
Well, this is a camp for kids
00:15:43.78\00:15:46.06
and I thought
maybe if I talk to you
00:15:46.09\00:15:48.01
maybe you'd be willing
to sell us this property.
00:15:48.04\00:15:51.65
They said, "No."
00:15:51.68\00:15:52.71
So he started making his
way slowly towards the door
00:15:52.74\00:15:55.03
and as the story is told
00:15:55.06\00:15:57.75
evidently one of
the sisters was talking
00:15:57.78\00:15:59.63
and she was very loud
00:15:59.66\00:16:01.80
and he was
getting a little concerned
00:16:01.83\00:16:04.57
and as they're leaving,
00:16:04.60\00:16:07.16
as he's beginning to
leave they said to him,
00:16:07.19\00:16:10.22
"You know, this was
our father's property,
00:16:10.25\00:16:11.94
he had thousands of
acres around this whole area
00:16:11.97\00:16:14.63
and we are keeping
this as a memorial.
00:16:14.66\00:16:18.40
We only have a little bit
left about 80 acres or so,
00:16:18.43\00:16:22.31
we only have this left."
00:16:22.34\00:16:24.18
And he said, well, he said,
00:16:24.21\00:16:28.99
"You say you want
it to be memorial,
00:16:29.02\00:16:31.75
what better memorial than to
have this as a place for kids,
00:16:31.78\00:16:35.52
where they can come and
they can connect with God
00:16:35.55\00:16:37.45
and so forth and
be out in nature."
00:16:37.48\00:16:39.85
And they said really.
00:16:39.88\00:16:43.44
What really, you know
what religion are you?
00:16:43.47\00:16:47.10
And he said
"Seventh-day Adventist,"
00:16:47.13\00:16:49.02
"So you're not they
mentioned another religion"
00:16:49.05\00:16:51.67
and he said, "No,
we're Seventh-day Adventist."
00:16:51.70\00:16:54.46
Then she said, well,
let me go talk to my sister,
00:16:54.49\00:16:56.07
so she wheeled her
sister into the other room
00:16:56.10\00:16:58.15
they talk she came back.
00:16:58.18\00:16:59.35
This whole time he's praying
00:16:59.38\00:17:01.02
and he has even
starting to cry at this point
00:17:01.05\00:17:02.97
because he's so
passionate about it
00:17:03.00\00:17:06.25
and she comes
back in and she says,
00:17:06.28\00:17:09.67
"You really want
this, don't you?"
00:17:09.70\00:17:11.04
He said "Yeah."
"What about the price?"
00:17:11.07\00:17:14.09
"We're not worried about that,
00:17:14.12\00:17:15.33
God will work it
out" and she's like
00:17:15.36\00:17:18.23
"All right, we'll do it as long
as this mutual friend of theirs
00:17:18.26\00:17:22.63
says it's okay, we'll do it."
00:17:22.66\00:17:24.38
"So can I get that in
writing?" she said "Absolutely."
00:17:24.41\00:17:27.66
So she puts in
writing right there.
00:17:27.69\00:17:29.53
She gives him the piece of paper
00:17:29.56\00:17:31.79
and he's walking out of the door
00:17:31.82\00:17:33.60
and he's floating out
of the door at this point.
00:17:33.63\00:17:35.49
And as he walks down step also
and he runs into the realtor
00:17:35.52\00:17:39.63
and she is just furious.
00:17:39.66\00:17:43.09
She grabs his
shirt or coat or whatever
00:17:43.12\00:17:45.42
she's just shaking
him like a rag doll,
00:17:45.45\00:17:46.99
she's "What did you do?"
00:17:47.02\00:17:48.97
She's just angry
and she lets him go
00:17:49.00\00:17:51.93
and she storms into the house.
00:17:51.96\00:17:53.03
He doesn't know
what happens inside
00:17:53.06\00:17:55.48
and he quickly gets
in his car and leaves.
00:17:55.52\00:17:57.68
Goes back to work and
all his colleagues at work
00:17:57.71\00:18:00.91
are just like, "Yes, we
can't believe you got this is.
00:18:00.94\00:18:04.27
This is fantastic."
00:18:04.30\00:18:05.72
Now, they weren't
Seventh-day Adventist,
00:18:05.75\00:18:08.72
but they were
all rooting for him
00:18:08.75\00:18:12.55
and but that's not
where the story goes.
00:18:12.58\00:18:14.82
She basic, those
two sisters basically
00:18:14.85\00:18:17.84
sold the property
for hardly any money,
00:18:17.87\00:18:20.59
I mean, it was dirt, she,
00:18:20.62\00:18:22.13
and they could have
made a lot of money on that.
00:18:22.16\00:18:25.15
But there was
some other property
00:18:25.18\00:18:26.39
that was adjacent to
it that the county owned
00:18:26.42\00:18:30.84
and so he went to the
county with another buddy of his
00:18:30.87\00:18:34.79
and they started
trying to get that land,
00:18:34.82\00:18:36.84
it was in a conservation
which in Minnesota means
00:18:36.87\00:18:40.08
basically the water adjacent
00:18:40.11\00:18:42.27
or the land
adjacent to the water
00:18:42.30\00:18:44.14
all that property
you usually don't get it,
00:18:44.17\00:18:48.62
and so they went
to the county offices
00:18:48.65\00:18:50.60
and they said, well,
you're not going to get it,
00:18:50.63\00:18:53.06
but we understand
what you're trying to do
00:18:53.09\00:18:55.17
and we think that's great,
we'll even write a letter,
00:18:55.20\00:18:57.22
but you won't get it.
00:18:57.25\00:18:58.66
So they wrote a
letter to Saint Paul,
00:18:58.69\00:19:00.70
which is the
capital of Minnesota,
00:19:00.73\00:19:03.07
and they got a response that
00:19:03.10\00:19:05.28
actually we will
put it up for sale,
00:19:05.31\00:19:06.75
it'll be an auction.
00:19:06.78\00:19:07.81
We'll put it up for sale,
00:19:07.84\00:19:09.14
so they did some
more checking on,
00:19:09.17\00:19:10.40
there's a bunch of parcels,
so it wasn't just one piece.
00:19:10.43\00:19:12.85
And all these different parcels,
00:19:12.88\00:19:13.98
they went down to
the county and found out
00:19:14.01\00:19:18.01
that some of them
were in tax problems,
00:19:18.04\00:19:21.23
major problems and,
00:19:21.26\00:19:23.04
so they might
not get that either.
00:19:23.07\00:19:25.40
And so they started
working to the process,
00:19:25.43\00:19:27.67
asked some people to help
them and this is unheard of,
00:19:27.70\00:19:30.17
it usually takes six months
to a year for something like
00:19:30.20\00:19:32.18
that get all worked through,
00:19:32.21\00:19:33.76
six weeks it was
all taken care of.
00:19:33.79\00:19:35.31
Wow, wow.
00:19:35.34\00:19:36.83
And the day of
the auction came up
00:19:36.86\00:19:39.03
and the brethren
had already come up.
00:19:39.06\00:19:40.62
They checked the lake out,
they checked the property out,
00:19:40.65\00:19:44.01
and they had one of them
there to bid on the auction
00:19:44.04\00:19:47.93
and they weren't sure
they were going to get it
00:19:47.96\00:19:50.12
because some officials,
00:19:50.15\00:19:52.28
some people that
worked for the state
00:19:52.31\00:19:53.92
wanted to buy
the property as well
00:19:53.95\00:19:55.29
and we're
talking a lot of money.
00:19:55.32\00:19:57.36
And they had the money to spend
00:19:57.39\00:20:00.03
and they got
there to the courthouse
00:20:00.06\00:20:02.19
and they said, "Sorry,
you can't buy the property,
00:20:02.22\00:20:05.79
you work for the state."
00:20:05.82\00:20:07.63
And they said wait a second,
00:20:07.66\00:20:08.70
so they raced
down to their attorney,
00:20:08.73\00:20:11.41
did some quick checking
and found out yes they could,
00:20:11.44\00:20:13.24
but they had to buy in cash.
00:20:13.27\00:20:15.21
By the time they
came back ready to go
00:20:15.24\00:20:18.37
they walked in the door
00:20:18.40\00:20:19.44
the gavel came
down and judge said,
00:20:19.47\00:20:22.35
"Sold to the
Seventh-day Adventist church"
00:20:22.38\00:20:23.41
and it was for
pennies on the dollar.
00:20:23.44\00:20:25.39
Wow.
00:20:25.42\00:20:26.45
So, we ended up and
over the next few years
00:20:26.48\00:20:28.99
there were little tiny pieces
00:20:29.02\00:20:30.09
that we continued
to buy up so I'm told.
00:20:30.12\00:20:33.38
And we ended up with
about 150 acres of land.
00:20:33.41\00:20:37.46
Praise the Lord.
00:20:37.49\00:20:38.53
Yes, all those pieces,
00:20:38.56\00:20:40.27
just one miracle after another
should never have happened.
00:20:40.30\00:20:42.93
Yeah, I guess we'll
never know what happened
00:20:42.96\00:20:44.37
when the realtor
went back in their houses
00:20:44.40\00:20:46.02
of the two elderly ladies.
00:20:46.05\00:20:47.77
Well actually,
00:20:47.80\00:20:48.87
actually there is a little
piece to the end of the story.
00:20:48.90\00:20:53.77
The ladies passed
away and the church
00:20:53.80\00:20:56.84
built a memorial for them
at the camp, it's there today.
00:20:56.87\00:21:01.91
The realtor she got ill
health, later on in life,
00:21:01.94\00:21:06.31
and her mind and heart changed
about what had happened there
00:21:06.34\00:21:09.69
and she ended up giving
00:21:09.72\00:21:10.81
and donating money for the camp.
00:21:10.84\00:21:13.60
Praise the God. Yeah.
00:21:13.63\00:21:14.66
Yeah, only the Lord can.
00:21:14.69\00:21:15.72
Yep, yep. Yeah, it's amazing.
00:21:15.75\00:21:18.03
That is a good, a
great story. Oh, it is.
00:21:18.06\00:21:21.10
Yeah, so you
got about 150 acres.
00:21:21.13\00:21:22.44
About that.
00:21:22.47\00:21:23.50
The obligatory lake,
you've to you have a lake.
00:21:23.53\00:21:26.31
We actually have
more than one lake,
00:21:26.34\00:21:28.10
we have its on, Rice lake
is what most people would say,
00:21:28.13\00:21:32.72
but that's adjacent
to the Mississippi River,
00:21:32.75\00:21:34.69
which also borders
our property as well.
00:21:34.72\00:21:36.61
Oh, okay.
00:21:36.64\00:21:37.69
In addition, we
have another small lake
00:21:37.72\00:21:40.13
in the center of the property
00:21:40.16\00:21:43.24
and then on the
edge of the property
00:21:43.27\00:21:45.19
we own another part of one lake.
00:21:45.22\00:21:47.42
I mean its
Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes.
00:21:47.45\00:21:49.25
Land of lakes, yeah, yeah.
00:21:49.28\00:21:50.97
We've over 2 miles of shoreline.
00:21:51.00\00:21:53.61
Oh, praise the Lord.
It's a beautiful spot.
00:21:53.64\00:21:55.51
So boating,
swimming the whole 9 yards.
00:21:55.54\00:21:57.78
Whole 9 yards, and we have
a part of an island, actually.
00:21:57.81\00:22:01.18
Oh, you got to showing off now.
00:22:01.21\00:22:02.42
Yeah, it's
amazing. You have an island.
00:22:02.45\00:22:04.22
I mean, what
God did was amazing.
00:22:04.25\00:22:06.47
Praise the Lord.
00:22:06.50\00:22:07.60
It was a miracle.
Yeah, praise the Lord.
00:22:07.63\00:22:11.14
Has, is it still
out in the county,
00:22:11.17\00:22:12.80
it's away from
city or is it city
00:22:12.83\00:22:15.99
kind of
encroaching on it a little bit?
00:22:16.02\00:22:17.28
When you get there and
drive into the camp property.
00:22:17.31\00:22:20.80
It feels like
you're out in the country.
00:22:20.83\00:22:22.19
Right, David?
Yeah, definitely, yeah.
00:22:22.22\00:22:24.16
But, it's actually
in the city limits.
00:22:24.19\00:22:26.65
It's not a big town. Yeah.
00:22:26.68\00:22:28.31
Brainerd, Minnesota, is not big,
00:22:28.34\00:22:30.60
but it's just in city limits.
00:22:30.63\00:22:33.48
So we're
actually part of the city,
00:22:33.51\00:22:34.58
and part of the county.
00:22:34.61\00:22:36.60
Yeah, we're next
to an airport, so.
00:22:36.63\00:22:41.26
It's hard to keep the
county away from you know.
00:22:41.29\00:22:42.94
It's right, pretty much.
00:22:42.97\00:22:44.22
When you, it starts
out in the wilderness
00:22:44.25\00:22:45.28
and then the wilderness
becomes part of the city.
00:22:45.31\00:22:49.13
Most as I said, most
conferences have a camp
00:22:49.16\00:22:54.33
that have used ministries,
00:22:54.36\00:22:57.47
but this camp
evidently is very special.
00:22:57.50\00:23:02.11
Walk me through some of that,
what makes this camp special.
00:23:02.14\00:23:05.56
Lives have been changed,
00:23:05.59\00:23:06.65
a lot of good stuff
is happening, obviously.
00:23:06.68\00:23:09.23
Give us some
flavor of, of, of, that?
00:23:09.26\00:23:14.32
I would say that
as I rub shoulders
00:23:14.35\00:23:18.43
with other camp
directors around North America,
00:23:18.46\00:23:22.49
that each camp
has a unique story.
00:23:22.52\00:23:25.72
I mean, I would
not say that we're
00:23:25.75\00:23:28.75
that much more
special than another camp.
00:23:28.78\00:23:31.68
I mean, I
worked at another camp,
00:23:31.71\00:23:33.77
and college Timber
Ridge Camp, in Indiana,
00:23:33.80\00:23:37.26
and helped at
another camp at Manhattan
00:23:37.29\00:23:39.88
as well and each camp
has their unique flavor
00:23:39.91\00:23:42.95
and God's given us
one that's amazing.
00:23:42.98\00:23:45.02
I think the uniqueness is
Minnesota has a very unique
00:23:45.05\00:23:50.05
and wonderful geography.
00:23:50.08\00:23:51.91
When you leave the
cities and go north,
00:23:51.94\00:23:54.61
it's all Northern Minnesota,
00:23:54.64\00:23:56.07
at least that's what
everybody there says,
00:23:56.10\00:23:58.50
and so we're in
Northern Minnesota.
00:23:58.53\00:24:00.23
We have the
Northwoods of Minnesota.
00:24:00.26\00:24:02.57
It gives it a
very wonderful feel.
00:24:02.60\00:24:05.39
There's a large pine trees,
00:24:05.42\00:24:06.67
but there's also quite a
few deciduous trees in that area
00:24:06.70\00:24:10.35
as well and like we
mention a lot of lakes.
00:24:10.38\00:24:14.81
Minnesotans, in the winter,
00:24:14.84\00:24:16.95
in the summer time head
north many, many Minnesotans.
00:24:16.98\00:24:21.73
They've cabins all
over the Northern Minnesota.
00:24:21.76\00:24:25.40
You may have heard
of boundary waters.
00:24:25.43\00:24:27.07
It's kind of
"canoeing mecca" of canoeing
00:24:27.10\00:24:31.46
and I've taken my kids
there and we've canoed.
00:24:31.49\00:24:34.80
My family, we canoed
way into boundary waters,
00:24:34.83\00:24:37.20
and it's
absolutely amazing places.
00:24:37.23\00:24:38.98
Its pristine, not touched by,
00:24:39.01\00:24:41.82
you know, a lot
of manmade things,
00:24:41.85\00:24:44.11
so Northern Minnesota is kind
of near and dear to Minnesotans
00:24:44.14\00:24:48.36
because of that.
00:24:48.39\00:24:50.35
In addition, many, many
people put their heart and soul
00:24:50.38\00:24:53.40
into this camp in the original
building of the property
00:24:53.43\00:24:57.44
and putting in roads
and buildings and so forth
00:24:57.47\00:24:59.55
and so a lot of people
just really love the camp
00:24:59.58\00:25:03.10
because of that.
00:25:03.13\00:25:04.28
So there's a lot of specialty,
it's one of those gems
00:25:04.31\00:25:10.38
that isn't always talked
about, but it's beautiful.
00:25:10.41\00:25:15.63
Justin, I wanted to ask
you how many members does
00:25:15.66\00:25:19.73
Minnesota Conference have?
00:25:19.76\00:25:21.48
Just over 9,100 and I would say
00:25:21.51\00:25:26.15
mostly supportive
of this great ministry.
00:25:26.18\00:25:31.51
I would say our kids go up there
00:25:31.54\00:25:32.86
because of the waterfront,
because of the horses,
00:25:32.89\00:25:37.21
but they come away with a
better experience with Jesus.
00:25:37.24\00:25:42.01
Give us some sense
of the camp program
00:25:42.04\00:25:43.85
that you run in the summer,
00:25:43.88\00:25:45.19
then I want to go back
to some other questions but.
00:25:45.22\00:25:47.53
You know as a youth director,
I was very good friends
00:25:47.56\00:25:50.80
with most of youth
directors at my conference
00:25:50.83\00:25:52.24
and I know the kind of
summer that you guy spend.
00:25:52.27\00:25:54.83
But, just the flavor
of the, of the program.
00:25:54.86\00:25:56.64
All right, so you have, we have,
00:25:56.67\00:25:59.21
we run six weeks of camp
00:25:59.24\00:26:00.57
and before that most camps
have a staff preparation week.
00:26:00.60\00:26:04.79
So we have-- for what we do is
00:26:04.82\00:26:07.50
we have a week of that
where we bring the staff
00:26:07.53\00:26:09.64
and do training
00:26:09.67\00:26:10.96
and
certifications all that stuff
00:26:10.99\00:26:13.13
and then we run camp and we run
a-- we call it abilities camp.
00:26:13.16\00:26:17.14
It's a camp for
people that are disabled.
00:26:17.17\00:26:19.92
Have a lot of,
people that come there
00:26:19.95\00:26:21.85
they have Down
syndrome for example
00:26:21.88\00:26:24.53
and another disabilities,
and they just love the place,
00:26:24.56\00:26:28.13
some of these people
have been coming for years,
00:26:28.16\00:26:29.76
20 to 30 years.
00:26:29.79\00:26:31.45
And you know, I've
been there 5 years.
00:26:31.48\00:26:34.35
"Oh, you're new you know,
you, it's because you're here
00:26:34.38\00:26:36.46
I know what goes on here"
00:26:36.49\00:26:37.54
and you know and
that kind of thing,
00:26:37.57\00:26:40.58
a lot of my staff,
that's their favorite camp.
00:26:40.61\00:26:45.24
If you haven't worked
for somebody that's disabled,
00:26:45.27\00:26:48.72
you have not seen
anybody relish your love.
00:26:48.75\00:26:51.62
I mean these people
just love you no matter what.
00:26:51.65\00:26:54.77
It's just amazing,
anyway that's one week we do
00:26:54.80\00:26:56.89
and then we run a
cub camp, junior camp,
00:26:56.92\00:27:00.75
what we call twin
camp and a teen camp
00:27:00.78\00:27:03.24
and each of those are
for, from ages from cub camp
00:27:03.27\00:27:07.29
8 years old all the
way to 16 for teen camp.
00:27:07.32\00:27:10.28
Then we also run a family camp.
00:27:10.31\00:27:14.35
And those are the six
weeks of camp that we run,
00:27:14.38\00:27:16.64
all of them week long overnight,
00:27:16.67\00:27:19.56
kids come on Sunday afternoon
and leave Sunday morning
00:27:19.59\00:27:22.38
and we start
immediately Sunday afternoon
00:27:22.41\00:27:24.16
with the next
group of kids coming out.
00:27:24.19\00:27:25.35
Wow. So, yeah.
00:27:25.38\00:27:27.06
Yeah, you keep
quite, quite, quite busy.
00:27:27.09\00:27:29.66
Do you have, Justin do
you have camp meeting as far
00:27:29.69\00:27:33.06
as for the overall constituency
of the, on those grounds?
00:27:33.09\00:27:36.95
No, we actually do
that at Maplewood Academy.
00:27:36.98\00:27:39.12
Yeah, that works too.
00:27:39.15\00:27:42.56
Now, David you
actually do get to talk,
00:27:42.59\00:27:46.67
because we need to find out how
you play into this whole story
00:27:46.70\00:27:51.41
and what part of the
puzzle, you fill into.
00:27:51.44\00:27:56.71
I was a camper for 3
years and I loved it there,
00:27:56.74\00:28:00.67
it was just a chance for
me to escape from everything,
00:28:00.70\00:28:03.88
from just different
like worldly temptations,
00:28:03.91\00:28:07.61
just from school from
all during the summer time,
00:28:07.64\00:28:10.42
but different things
like college visit and stuff.
00:28:10.45\00:28:13.22
It gives me time to
relax and spend time with God
00:28:13.25\00:28:15.79
because at home I find myself
too tired give him a prayer
00:28:15.82\00:28:19.48
or something, but I can't,
00:28:19.51\00:28:20.55
you kind of force into
spending time with God.
00:28:20.58\00:28:23.23
There is literally
activities everyday,
00:28:23.26\00:28:25.39
where you have to pray
00:28:25.42\00:28:26.68
and you have to do a Bible study
00:28:26.71\00:28:28.44
and it's great
everyone needs it,
00:28:28.47\00:28:30.84
because everyone gets
this in every now and then
00:28:30.87\00:28:33.41
and so being at high school
00:28:33.44\00:28:34.54
and going onto college I
definitely need that too,
00:28:34.57\00:28:36.79
because I'm
always doing a homework
00:28:36.82\00:28:38.27
or sports or
some other activity,
00:28:38.30\00:28:40.29
so it's just
great and I hopefully
00:28:40.32\00:28:43.33
I'll become counselor next year.
00:28:43.36\00:28:45.17
Okay. So that's my goals too.
00:28:45.20\00:28:49.34
Praise the Lord, I
see on my notes here
00:28:49.37\00:28:51.88
that rebuilding of the
camp, was there something
00:28:51.91\00:28:56.13
that happened that necessitated
a kind of rebuilding
00:28:56.16\00:28:59.00
or walk me through
that, that, that time?
00:28:59.03\00:29:01.33
Yeah, you know, Justin was here
first before I was, won't you?
00:29:01.36\00:29:07.91
You want me to
speak to that. Yeah, yeah,
00:29:07.94\00:29:11.84
The camp as Jeff's already
mentioned was purchased in 1956
00:29:11.87\00:29:16.76
and I believe they held
their first summer camp in 1957
00:29:16.79\00:29:21.52
and most of the
buildings on the camp
00:29:21.55\00:29:23.49
were built over
the next few years
00:29:23.52\00:29:26.36
and not a whole lot had
changed up until like 2008
00:29:26.39\00:29:32.26
and in 2008
people started looking
00:29:32.29\00:29:34.58
around some group
of lay people actually.
00:29:34.61\00:29:37.06
Church members got together,
came to the Conference Office
00:29:37.09\00:29:41.41
and talked in
terms of what we can do
00:29:41.44\00:29:43.74
to rebuild and
revitalize the camp?
00:29:43.77\00:29:46.17
Because there is a
lot of maintenance issues
00:29:46.20\00:29:50.97
and as you know in ministry
00:29:51.00\00:29:52.89
there are always
competing calls for funding.
00:29:52.92\00:29:57.18
And people were
saying we need to do
00:29:57.21\00:29:59.76
something different at the camp,
00:29:59.79\00:30:01.24
but it's gonna
take some funding.
00:30:01.27\00:30:03.94
And so in 2008 this what we
called a "Visioning Committee,
00:30:03.97\00:30:08.62
the North Star Camp Visioning
Committee" got together
00:30:08.65\00:30:10.89
with the conference
president at the time.
00:30:10.92\00:30:14.54
And they put
together a plan and brought it
00:30:14.57\00:30:17.27
to the
constituency session that year
00:30:17.30\00:30:20.25
and it was an
overwhelming response
00:30:20.28\00:30:22.88
to move forward
with a three phase plan
00:30:22.91\00:30:25.38
to basically replace
every structure at the camp.
00:30:25.41\00:30:29.39
Wow.
00:30:29.42\00:30:30.56
And they started
that the next fall
00:30:30.59\00:30:35.99
by tearing down the
boy's village cabins
00:30:36.02\00:30:39.53
and I actually used
the local fire department
00:30:39.56\00:30:43.08
to take care of some of those.
00:30:43.11\00:30:46.54
They had some practice
building burned them down, but.
00:30:46.57\00:30:51.64
Few sad moments for some people.
00:30:51.67\00:30:54.07
But it was also a happy time
00:30:54.10\00:30:55.55
because we knew
that God was working
00:30:55.58\00:30:57.77
and we were able to move forward
00:30:57.80\00:30:59.01
because we said, we're
not going to build anything
00:30:59.04\00:31:02.48
unless there's money to do.
00:31:02.51\00:31:03.67
We're not going into
debt at all for this project.
00:31:03.70\00:31:07.62
And so we replaced six cabins,
00:31:07.65\00:31:14.37
and then the next year six more,
00:31:14.40\00:31:17.90
and the funding
just kept coming along,
00:31:17.93\00:31:21.58
the Lord was blessing us
that way, we believe and...
00:31:21.61\00:31:25.56
And by the way,
I want to mention
00:31:25.59\00:31:26.62
something about the funding.
00:31:26.65\00:31:28.29
You know, there's miracles that
happened all over the place.
00:31:28.32\00:31:32.29
I think and part it's a miracle
00:31:32.32\00:31:33.92
that the conference
kind of banded together
00:31:33.95\00:31:36.80
and said we're
gonna rebuild this camp.
00:31:36.83\00:31:38.49
Amen. Yeah.
00:31:38.52\00:31:39.88
The second
miracle that's awesome is
00:31:39.91\00:31:42.81
as we started raising
funds we never have had,
00:31:42.84\00:31:46.71
oh, here you have an
extra $100,000 to keep on going.
00:31:46.74\00:31:50.43
It was like, okay, do
we have enough to make it,
00:31:50.46\00:31:52.97
and we would have
just enough to make it
00:31:53.00\00:31:54.73
as we got through
one section of building
00:31:54.76\00:31:58.10
just time and again
00:31:58.13\00:31:59.76
and you know the
generosity of people
00:31:59.79\00:32:02.32
and God moving on
their hearts to give.
00:32:02.35\00:32:04.61
It's amazing.
Yeah, yeah, praise God.
00:32:04.64\00:32:06.27
We know that
feeling around here,
00:32:06.30\00:32:08.21
Lord doesn't just have
you pile in the corner,
00:32:08.24\00:32:10.04
so as you can go
to when you needed it,
00:32:10.07\00:32:12.15
but when you need it
there's some with something
00:32:12.18\00:32:14.57
that you can do, so
you built in stages?
00:32:14.60\00:32:16.68
We built in stages,
and we're still building.
00:32:16.71\00:32:19.76
We're in our third phase
right now trying to replace
00:32:19.79\00:32:22.34
what we call the lodge,
00:32:22.37\00:32:24.27
some people would call
it the cafeteria building.
00:32:24.30\00:32:27.60
It's the kitchen and
a large meeting space
00:32:27.63\00:32:30.50
is the primary
use of that structure
00:32:30.53\00:32:33.11
and I would say it's in
the prime piece of realty
00:32:33.14\00:32:37.09
that we have there
at the camp is the view
00:32:37.12\00:32:39.84
is the "million
dollar view" kind of thing
00:32:39.87\00:32:43.28
and right on
the edge of the lake
00:32:43.31\00:32:45.71
with a certain setback
00:32:45.74\00:32:47.03
you know it meets
the state requirement.
00:32:47.06\00:32:49.84
But, we want to see a new lodge
00:32:49.87\00:32:53.98
as the-- the needs of the
camp have changed since 1960.
00:32:54.01\00:32:58.99
That's the era in
which that lodge was built
00:32:59.02\00:33:02.04
and health
requirements for the kitchen
00:33:02.07\00:33:06.47
so forth there are number
of issues with the structure
00:33:06.50\00:33:10.55
that we looked at
remodeling and some people say
00:33:10.58\00:33:12.73
you know "you can save
some money just remodel it."
00:33:12.76\00:33:16.31
There's so much remodeling
that would have to take place
00:33:16.34\00:33:18.77
that it's
probably less expensive
00:33:18.80\00:33:21.46
to take it down and start over.
00:33:21.49\00:33:23.14
And many times is
that you just tear down
00:33:23.17\00:33:24.77
and start from scratch
00:33:24.80\00:33:25.83
because when you begin
to remodel you find out that
00:33:25.86\00:33:27.64
"this is broken out,
we got to change that
00:33:27.67\00:33:28.93
and we got to do
that" that kind of thing.
00:33:28.96\00:33:30.67
Oh, one of the biggest
issues with this was this that
00:33:30.70\00:33:34.64
oh, we live in Minnesota
00:33:34.67\00:33:36.11
and they say it
gets cold in winter
00:33:36.14\00:33:37.99
and when that happens
you know everything freezes.
00:33:38.02\00:33:42.26
Well, when they built
some of these buildings,
00:33:42.29\00:33:45.36
which it was
perfect for their time,
00:33:45.39\00:33:47.34
but we want to
use them all season.
00:33:47.37\00:33:49.10
Minnesotans don't stay inside
in the winter, we go do stuff.
00:33:49.13\00:33:52.59
Well this has no frost footings.
00:33:52.62\00:33:54.39
So if you were to rebuild it,
00:33:54.42\00:33:55.45
you couldn't use
it for four seasons.
00:33:55.48\00:33:57.30
Yeah, yeah.
00:33:57.33\00:33:58.38
Right, right now,
we've shuttered down
00:33:58.41\00:34:00.66
in usually the
middle of October,
00:34:00.69\00:34:02.53
and don't open it again
until the middle of April,
00:34:02.56\00:34:06.34
because it's frozen.
00:34:06.37\00:34:08.86
We want to built
and use it year around.
00:34:08.89\00:34:10.61
Yeah, yeah, I
think winter sports are,
00:34:10.64\00:34:13.28
just you know, on
a lake or you know
00:34:13.31\00:34:16.64
you got lakes there you get.
00:34:16.67\00:34:17.74
This is a lot things you can do
coming from Buffalo, New York.
00:34:17.77\00:34:20.88
We're born in Buffalo, New York
00:34:20.91\00:34:21.94
we're grew up Buffalo, New York,
00:34:21.97\00:34:23.12
well we know how to do snow.
00:34:23.15\00:34:24.18
Right. That's true.
00:34:24.21\00:34:26.74
Yeah, we didn't stay inside,
00:34:26.77\00:34:28.53
we had the fact that church
sponsored for the young people,
00:34:28.56\00:34:32.65
you know snow parties,
snow picnics kind of thing.
00:34:32.68\00:34:35.07
We went out and
you know we came back
00:34:35.10\00:34:36.21
frozen like a popsicle,
00:34:36.24\00:34:37.27
but you had fun
doing it, you know,
00:34:37.30\00:34:38.75
so yeah I could see
that you'd want to use that.
00:34:38.78\00:34:41.99
How many children do
you service young people,
00:34:42.02\00:34:44.19
do you service over
the course of the year?
00:34:44.22\00:34:47.68
With a camp, I
would just say campers
00:34:47.71\00:34:49.66
because that also
includes family camp.
00:34:49.69\00:34:51.77
And some of are aren't
disabled or older as well,
00:34:51.80\00:34:55.34
so we're right now,
00:34:55.37\00:34:56.77
we've grown the camp
over the last 5 years
00:34:56.80\00:34:59.16
and right now we're averaging
around 400 on summer camp.
00:34:59.19\00:35:02.89
For the summer camp. Yeah.
00:35:02.92\00:35:04.10
Just for the summer camp,
00:35:04.13\00:35:05.16
then you got
the rest of the year
00:35:05.19\00:35:06.34
which you got
other groups coming in,
00:35:06.37\00:35:08.22
for example, we'll have
our pathfinder camporee there.
00:35:08.25\00:35:11.95
And how many 100 is that.
00:35:11.98\00:35:14.04
We've got about 250
to 300 somewhere in there
00:35:14.07\00:35:18.08
and we've got a quite a few
Hispanic Churches in Minnesota
00:35:18.11\00:35:22.39
and they'll come up
and do a big camporee
00:35:22.42\00:35:24.02
and they'll bring
all their kids too.
00:35:24.05\00:35:25.84
And that's like 500
people and so you know
00:35:25.87\00:35:29.73
there's a lot of other
things happening in the camp to.
00:35:29.76\00:35:31.77
You're inching up to a 1000.
00:35:31.80\00:35:33.06
You know, really a
year or so constant years.
00:35:33.09\00:35:36.61
Yep. Yeah, that is great.
00:35:36.64\00:35:39.52
And I want all three
of you to respond to this.
00:35:39.55\00:35:42.43
Talk to me about lives
that are being changed there.
00:35:42.46\00:35:48.29
You know you get a
young person out of the city,
00:35:48.32\00:35:50.79
get some good
cleaned air in the young's
00:35:50.82\00:35:52.49
and you get Jesus
hopefully into their heart,
00:35:52.52\00:35:54.02
but all three kind of
weigh in on it for me.
00:35:54.05\00:35:57.31
Justin, you want to start?
00:35:57.34\00:35:58.39
Well, I'm excited
when I see the children,
00:35:58.42\00:36:02.48
the youth, coming from
the twin cities particularly,
00:36:02.51\00:36:06.50
but also several examples
00:36:06.53\00:36:09.55
I could think of that
people are coming from homes
00:36:09.58\00:36:14.35
that are not what we
would think of as traditional.
00:36:14.38\00:36:18.31
There's a lot of
single parent homes,
00:36:18.34\00:36:21.62
a lot of children
coming from the cities,
00:36:21.65\00:36:23.50
particularly that
face some challenges that,
00:36:23.53\00:36:28.54
you know, I didn't have
to face as I was growing up
00:36:28.57\00:36:32.01
and I look and see how the camp
00:36:32.04\00:36:34.83
is able to through the staff
really to make connections,
00:36:34.86\00:36:39.51
let's say
somebody cares about you.
00:36:39.54\00:36:42.35
Yeah, yeah.
00:36:42.38\00:36:44.05
And then they're
able to show them,
00:36:44.08\00:36:45.90
God cares about you too,
00:36:45.93\00:36:48.22
and this picture
just keeps getting
00:36:48.25\00:36:49.66
bigger and brighter for them.
00:36:49.69\00:36:53.27
It warms my heart when
I see the kids at camp.
00:36:53.30\00:36:58.13
They really are, it's
almost a refuge in some ways.
00:36:58.16\00:37:03.11
You know it's probably
the highlight of their year
00:37:03.14\00:37:06.18
for many of these kids.
00:37:06.21\00:37:07.78
Great, great.
00:37:07.81\00:37:09.98
For me, I got baptized
there, two summers ago.
00:37:10.01\00:37:14.25
And that was
life changing moment
00:37:14.28\00:37:16.56
and not only like I did it
and my parents weren't there
00:37:16.59\00:37:19.72
and most people want to
baptized with their family,
00:37:19.75\00:37:21.41
but I was just so touched
00:37:21.44\00:37:23.33
and just caught up with Jesus
in my heart I couldn't wait,
00:37:23.36\00:37:26.75
I just had to get baptized
then and there and I loved it,
00:37:26.78\00:37:30.16
it was it really did
touched me all the testimonies
00:37:30.19\00:37:33.42
and activities
got me closer to God.
00:37:33.45\00:37:36.32
And you find
yourself just thinking about
00:37:36.35\00:37:38.56
like how your
life is at back home,
00:37:38.59\00:37:40.01
you're like I
need to make changes
00:37:40.04\00:37:42.48
and things
happened and things changed.
00:37:42.51\00:37:44.75
Let just hold it
just a little bit, David,
00:37:44.78\00:37:46.79
because describe
for me as best you can
00:37:46.82\00:37:49.69
what your experience
was with the Lord prior,
00:37:49.72\00:37:52.80
running with the
Lord, limping along,
00:37:52.83\00:37:54.86
wandering kind
of treading water,
00:37:54.89\00:37:58.13
young person growing up.
00:37:58.16\00:38:01.24
Give me a little flavor
of your Christian experience
00:38:01.27\00:38:03.39
prior to the camp?
00:38:03.42\00:38:04.74
Before the
camp, like the closest
00:38:04.77\00:38:08.71
I was to God was
probably when I was young age,
00:38:08.74\00:38:11.35
elementary school and that's
because you know my parents
00:38:11.38\00:38:14.04
definitely had a lot
more control over me,
00:38:14.07\00:38:15.64
and they were forcing
me to do all the stuff
00:38:15.67\00:38:17.70
that you know I'd play church,
I'd go to church, sit down
00:38:17.73\00:38:20.50
and be a good little
kid and then like later on,
00:38:20.53\00:38:22.83
got to high
school and middle school,
00:38:22.86\00:38:24.65
I kind of slipped
because I had excuses like
00:38:24.68\00:38:26.61
homework or sports
00:38:26.64\00:38:27.79
so I didn't get
my daily prayers in
00:38:27.82\00:38:29.94
or I forgot to say grace before
dinner like the simple things.
00:38:29.97\00:38:33.55
Dave, listening to the language.
00:38:33.58\00:38:34.64
They were forcing me to
go, I was kind of you know,
00:38:34.67\00:38:36.64
they had control you know.
00:38:36.67\00:38:38.58
I am listening, I'm passing
the language here, yeah--
00:38:38.61\00:38:40.55
And it's external.
00:38:40.58\00:38:41.67
Yeah, it's all external
and nothing going on inside.
00:38:41.70\00:38:44.62
So obviously the camp experience
00:38:44.65\00:38:45.91
began to change
things for your heart?
00:38:45.94\00:38:47.51
Definitely, it built
in responsibility for me
00:38:47.54\00:38:51.02
to want to try to
get close to the Jesus,
00:38:51.05\00:38:54.31
so I would before I
would probably go to bed
00:38:54.34\00:38:58.52
and probably read one
of my books for school
00:38:58.55\00:39:00.43
or just read for
fun and now every now
00:39:00.46\00:39:02.96
and then I'll open
my Bible and just read
00:39:02.99\00:39:04.78
or just look at Ellen
G. White writing and stuff
00:39:04.81\00:39:07.35
and right before I go to
bed did a devotional hymn
00:39:07.38\00:39:10.20
and it's, it's not
that long it's 15 minutes,
00:39:10.23\00:39:12.62
but it helps
because you're learning
00:39:12.65\00:39:14.33
something new everyday
00:39:14.36\00:39:15.48
and before that I
didn't make any effort,
00:39:15.51\00:39:18.53
I was like I'll be
fine when Jesus comes,
00:39:18.56\00:39:21.18
I'll be fine, you know, I
go to church and everything,
00:39:21.21\00:39:23.21
but people don't realize
that you had to actually try
00:39:23.24\00:39:26.03
and camp did that for me.
00:39:26.06\00:39:29.25
Yeah, Jeff same question.
00:39:29.28\00:39:31.96
I had the
privilege of baptizing David,
00:39:31.99\00:39:36.09
and that was a
little shock to myself,
00:39:36.12\00:39:39.03
he said, "Well, I
wanted to be baptized."
00:39:39.06\00:39:40.53
I'm like well, let
me talk with your dad,
00:39:40.56\00:39:43.15
so I did and his dad said,
"Well, let me talk to David."
00:39:43.18\00:39:47.39
Two of them talked and
then I talked to his dad again
00:39:47.42\00:39:50.37
and he said, "Well, you know,
he really wants to be baptized,
00:39:50.40\00:39:53.46
I'm okay I can't be
there because I got some,
00:39:53.49\00:39:55.63
I've got to run this
afternoon at the church."
00:39:55.66\00:39:58.05
I said you sure,
like we can do this later,
00:39:58.08\00:40:00.57
we can do it at your church.
00:40:00.60\00:40:01.88
No, he wants to make a decision.
00:40:01.91\00:40:03.45
It's his choice
to follow Christ.
00:40:03.48\00:40:04.51
Yeah.
00:40:04.54\00:40:05.57
This is powerful, powerful.
00:40:05.60\00:40:08.51
Before I finish answering
00:40:08.54\00:40:09.57
can I show you some
images that we have.
00:40:09.60\00:40:11.51
Yeah, so now we go
to the pictures, yeah.
00:40:11.54\00:40:12.96
Because it has to do with
some of what you're asking.
00:40:12.99\00:40:15.07
Okay. Okay.
00:40:15.10\00:40:16.35
So, you can see
the first image is,
00:40:16.38\00:40:19.02
that's a picture of
our lake from our beach.
00:40:19.05\00:40:21.58
It's beautiful location.
00:40:21.61\00:40:23.74
The next image I think
we're gonna see David here.
00:40:23.77\00:40:29.10
One of his first
summers there and you know
00:40:29.13\00:40:32.19
and David can speak to this more
00:40:32.22\00:40:33.67
but you know the
activities engage you.
00:40:33.70\00:40:36.01
Yeah.
00:40:36.04\00:40:37.71
And they get excited,
right? They really do.
00:40:37.74\00:40:40.27
At home I would never
even set foot in the boat
00:40:40.30\00:40:42.84
like that's how
my family is we're
00:40:42.87\00:40:44.95
not necessarily
the outdoors type.
00:40:44.98\00:40:46.92
You know we go
camping with pathfinders,
00:40:46.95\00:40:48.36
but I wouldn't call that camping
00:40:48.39\00:40:49.49
because you know
you get bad houses.
00:40:49.52\00:40:51.30
You got cars right
next to you and everything.
00:40:51.33\00:40:53.30
You go out for
breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
00:40:53.33\00:40:55.91
But so, it really gets you
in touch with the outdoors.
00:40:55.94\00:41:01.28
I finally got to ride a boat
00:41:01.31\00:41:03.04
and go tubing
and that experiences.
00:41:03.07\00:41:05.10
Yeah, if I was in
that boat I'd be praying.
00:41:05.13\00:41:07.90
I'll find the Lord. Right.
00:41:07.93\00:41:10.85
But, that's no problem.
But you have fun extremely.
00:41:10.88\00:41:15.65
You find something
new to do every day
00:41:15.68\00:41:17.21
from riding horses
to archery to canoeing
00:41:17.24\00:41:19.97
going to a sunken
island and just having fun,
00:41:20.00\00:41:22.81
meeting kids your age
that are also Adventists
00:41:22.84\00:41:25.15
which you don't normally do.
00:41:25.18\00:41:26.56
So, it's just good
times. Great, great.
00:41:26.59\00:41:29.19
Let's go back to those pictures,
00:41:29.22\00:41:30.27
there's some good stuff.
00:41:30.30\00:41:31.80
We mentioned
some of the building.
00:41:31.83\00:41:32.99
This is one of the interiors
of one of our staff cabins now,
00:41:33.02\00:41:36.96
so you can see this
beautiful construction.
00:41:36.99\00:41:39.97
The next image I
think is one of our cabins,
00:41:40.00\00:41:42.39
we have pictures of some of
our new cabins for the campers
00:41:42.42\00:41:45.66
and we got 12 of
these cabins around the camp
00:41:45.69\00:41:48.65
and they, you know,
they are bunks inside them
00:41:48.68\00:41:52.85
and it's great.
00:41:52.88\00:41:54.55
Next to them
they have bath houses
00:41:54.58\00:41:56.45
that we've also remodeled.
00:41:56.48\00:41:57.95
And you can see here we have,
00:41:57.98\00:41:59.55
this is an artist rendering
of the proposed new lodge.
00:41:59.58\00:42:04.33
Wow, it's beautiful.
00:42:04.36\00:42:05.73
It is beautiful.
It is very beautiful.
00:42:05.76\00:42:07.61
Lot of light open space.
00:42:07.64\00:42:08.77
Right. Yeah.
00:42:08.80\00:42:09.83
And this is the
outside of that new lodge,
00:42:09.86\00:42:12.45
it's you know and
we'll see what we can do
00:42:12.48\00:42:16.38
when the fundraisings all done
00:42:16.41\00:42:17.90
but its Lord's
blessing there with that.
00:42:17.93\00:42:20.26
Praise the Lord.
00:42:20.29\00:42:21.39
So and you know
this is the thing,
00:42:21.42\00:42:25.02
this picture right here
I'll never forget one summer
00:42:25.05\00:42:27.30
when I said, you
know, let's try something
00:42:27.33\00:42:31.59
you don't normally do this
in school or other activities,
00:42:31.62\00:42:34.71
but this young lady right here,
00:42:34.74\00:42:37.05
she's studying
the Bible outside.
00:42:37.08\00:42:39.16
I said, let's,
let's, to my staff,
00:42:39.19\00:42:41.04
"Let's take these young
people out as teen camp.
00:42:41.07\00:42:44.41
Let's take them outside
and let's give them an hour
00:42:44.44\00:42:47.18
they can't talk to anybody,
00:42:47.21\00:42:48.25
let's just give
them an hour to pray
00:42:48.28\00:42:49.58
and be in the word and
we'll give some directions
00:42:49.61\00:42:51.53
if they want to
read something specific
00:42:51.56\00:42:52.84
we can give them some directions
00:42:52.87\00:42:53.90
but otherwise they
can read what they want."
00:42:53.93\00:42:55.83
And I can't tell how
many kids came back to me
00:42:55.86\00:42:58.76
and said that was
amazing, you know,
00:42:58.79\00:43:02.10
I've never had so
much, I want to do that again
00:43:02.13\00:43:04.96
can you give us another hour,
00:43:04.99\00:43:06.25
I want to read the Bible more.
00:43:06.28\00:43:07.38
Yeah.
00:43:07.41\00:43:08.59
And there's just
something about being outside
00:43:08.62\00:43:10.62
and give them permission to
say I've got time to do this.
00:43:10.65\00:43:14.16
I've got time to
connect with Jesus.
00:43:14.19\00:43:15.88
I got time to be in the
word, I got time to pray,
00:43:15.91\00:43:18.56
you know, it's, it's amazing.
00:43:18.59\00:43:20.11
Yeah, yeah, Justin.
00:43:20.14\00:43:21.17
This past summer
Jeff asked me to stand in
00:43:21.20\00:43:23.71
as sort of an
emergency pastor for one week
00:43:23.74\00:43:27.79
and he asked me to
share a Bible study
00:43:27.82\00:43:30.88
with each of the cabins.
00:43:30.91\00:43:33.09
So each day, I would've
one hour with one cabin.
00:43:33.12\00:43:37.10
I've guess it,
morning I did one group
00:43:37.13\00:43:38.92
and the afternoon
I did another group
00:43:38.95\00:43:41.16
and so I shared
the same Bible study
00:43:41.19\00:43:43.32
so they all got
the same Bible study
00:43:43.35\00:43:45.89
and I wasn't
sure what to expect,
00:43:45.92\00:43:47.63
but their first
day the Bible study
00:43:47.66\00:43:49.96
I was sharing was
on the origin of evil
00:43:49.99\00:43:53.52
and it culminates with
showing how God loves us
00:43:53.55\00:43:57.79
and He's gracious towards
us and gives us a redeemer
00:43:57.82\00:44:01.95
and we have salvation in Christ.
00:44:01.98\00:44:04.21
By faith, but the first
group was a group of girls
00:44:04.24\00:44:11.24
and I wasn't
sure how to proceed,
00:44:11.27\00:44:14.06
it's all girls here
and I know I don't know
00:44:14.09\00:44:17.38
if they're going to want to read
00:44:17.41\00:44:18.88
the Bible out
loud or not and I said
00:44:18.91\00:44:21.16
so we're going to have the Bible
00:44:21.19\00:44:22.86
and whoever like
to read can read.
00:44:22.89\00:44:24.09
Well they all
wanted to read the Bible.
00:44:24.12\00:44:26.67
And I so I said,
okay, let's take turns
00:44:26.70\00:44:28.48
and we did and it was very
interesting experience for me.
00:44:28.51\00:44:33.01
We went outside afterwards,
I was showing them things
00:44:33.04\00:44:35.70
that God had created and
asking them to find things
00:44:35.73\00:44:39.10
that they didn't think
would be in the new earth
00:44:39.13\00:44:41.99
and some three
things that would be
00:44:42.02\00:44:44.92
and showing them the
variety of the mushrooms,
00:44:44.95\00:44:48.66
and the leaves, the blossoms,
and they're all excited
00:44:48.69\00:44:51.97
and when it's all done
can we do this again tomorrow.
00:44:52.00\00:44:55.18
Well, the second
group was a group of boys
00:44:55.21\00:44:56.89
and that was a whole
different experience.
00:44:56.92\00:45:00.07
None of them
really wanted to read,
00:45:00.10\00:45:04.92
so I let them
pass if they wanted to
00:45:04.95\00:45:07.93
and when it was all
done we went outside
00:45:07.96\00:45:11.25
and I showed them the flowers
and they whacked the flowers
00:45:11.28\00:45:13.90
and I'd show them mushrooms
and they whacked the mushrooms.
00:45:13.93\00:45:15.45
They whacked the mushrooms.
00:45:15.48\00:45:18.01
And I showed them the leaves,
00:45:18.04\00:45:19.36
they rip them off
the tree and went back
00:45:19.39\00:45:23.42
and we close with
prayer and they said
00:45:23.45\00:45:25.17
can we do this again tomorrow
00:45:25.20\00:45:27.76
and it's a different
response to Bible study,
00:45:27.79\00:45:31.65
but I was hopeful and
I think they were seeing
00:45:31.68\00:45:35.21
that God does
love them and for me,
00:45:35.24\00:45:38.62
Jeff, may be you want to
share the mission statement
00:45:38.65\00:45:41.10
but it shows how
the kids are seeing God
00:45:41.13\00:45:45.08
in this Northwoods environment.
00:45:45.11\00:45:46.78
It's awesome.
00:45:46.81\00:45:47.84
Praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord.
00:45:47.87\00:45:50.67
There's a
couple of more pictures
00:45:50.70\00:45:52.24
that I want to show.
00:45:52.27\00:45:53.30
Let's go
through them. All right.
00:45:53.33\00:45:56.06
One of our
activities, horseback riding
00:45:56.09\00:45:58.24
and then we have a waterfront.
00:45:58.27\00:45:59.57
Well, I think we'll have to
show the waterfront picture,
00:45:59.60\00:46:02.29
but yeah there we go
a young man wakeboarding
00:46:02.32\00:46:05.59
and it's pretty
exciting, and fun, and intense.
00:46:05.62\00:46:10.23
And here are some
of our young people
00:46:10.26\00:46:11.80
just amazing young
people that come to camp.
00:46:11.83\00:46:15.20
And this is our
staff, I wanted to talk about
00:46:15.23\00:46:17.81
that for a minute
to your thoughts there.
00:46:17.84\00:46:20.48
I get staff from
all over Minnesota,
00:46:20.51\00:46:23.19
come from Adventist colleges,
universities, academies
00:46:23.22\00:46:26.80
and we've been
talking the whole time about
00:46:26.83\00:46:31.25
how it changes
people that go to camp.
00:46:31.28\00:46:33.16
It changes the staff. It
changes them in a huge way.
00:46:33.19\00:46:37.79
I had some
staff that stay years,
00:46:37.82\00:46:39.41
they come back year after year
00:46:39.44\00:46:41.08
because it's
something where I'm serving,
00:46:41.11\00:46:44.15
I'm giving, I'm
connecting kids to Jesus.
00:46:44.18\00:46:46.87
Did you realize in 2008,
00:46:46.90\00:46:49.16
they did a study
for Adventist camps,
00:46:49.19\00:46:52.59
across North
America and roughly 80-83%
00:46:52.62\00:46:57.23
of all staff are now leaders
00:46:57.26\00:47:00.16
in the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:47:00.19\00:47:02.29
So, we're developing
leaders through the staff,
00:47:02.32\00:47:05.37
that are there
learning how to serve
00:47:05.40\00:47:06.92
and connect people to Christ.
00:47:06.95\00:47:08.73
Praise the Lord.
00:47:08.76\00:47:09.81
And one more picture,
I think there's one more,
00:47:09.84\00:47:13.27
it's about-- It's my
favorite picture here.
00:47:13.30\00:47:17.11
That's my oldest
son and my youngest son,
00:47:17.14\00:47:19.81
they were both baptized that day
00:47:19.84\00:47:22.10
and, my youngest, my oldest
son I'll never forget the day
00:47:22.13\00:47:25.42
I come in on a Sunday
after the campers have left
00:47:25.45\00:47:28.75
and we do a debrief and
get ready for the next camp
00:47:28.78\00:47:31.57
and one of the
staff leans over to me
00:47:31.60\00:47:33.32
and says you might
want to look at this,
00:47:33.35\00:47:34.78
this piece of
paper and I said okay
00:47:34.81\00:47:37.92
I said what is this
and I started reading
00:47:37.95\00:47:40.62
and my eyes starting welling up
00:47:40.65\00:47:42.09
and I'm starting
to do that now again.
00:47:42.12\00:47:43.49
Yeah.
00:47:43.52\00:47:44.56
My son had said "I
want to follow Jesus"
00:47:44.59\00:47:47.51
and he did that at
an evening program,
00:47:47.54\00:47:49.19
he wasn't even
part of that camp,
00:47:49.22\00:47:50.64
he was just watching
00:47:50.67\00:47:51.71
because he's there
all summer with us.
00:47:51.74\00:47:52.87
Right.
00:47:52.90\00:47:53.94
Well, the next day,
over the next few months
00:47:53.97\00:47:58.27
we started talking
about having Bible studies
00:47:58.30\00:48:00.41
and to learn more so
we did over the next year
00:48:00.44\00:48:02.77
we studied Bible and
I'm studying the Bible
00:48:02.80\00:48:04.53
with my oldest
son his name is Zack,
00:48:04.56\00:48:06.87
one day and my
youngest son Elijah,
00:48:06.90\00:48:10.02
he comes up and he says
00:48:10.05\00:48:12.04
"hey dad, dad, I want
to study the Bible too."
00:48:12.07\00:48:15.30
I said, okay. "I
want to be baptized too.
00:48:15.33\00:48:18.21
I love Jesus."
00:48:18.24\00:48:20.72
I mean what father's
heart can say no to that.
00:48:20.75\00:48:23.30
And so I started
studying with him
00:48:23.33\00:48:26.65
and then their cousins
and my kids all four of them
00:48:26.68\00:48:30.10
were baptized the same day.
00:48:30.13\00:48:31.56
Praise the God.
00:48:31.59\00:48:32.62
And people ask me
what this camp mean,
00:48:32.65\00:48:36.62
it affects so many kids
00:48:36.65\00:48:37.95
and it has
affected my personal family.
00:48:37.98\00:48:40.61
How old are your boys?
Well they're 12 and 9 now.
00:48:40.64\00:48:45.43
When the older was
baptized how old was he?
00:48:45.46\00:48:47.98
He was 11.
00:48:48.01\00:48:49.10
That's the age I
got baptized at 11.
00:48:49.13\00:48:50.80
Yeah, only one in
our family. Praise God.
00:48:50.83\00:48:53.56
You may have heard something
that has intrigued you.
00:48:53.59\00:48:58.05
The camp sounds
like a great place
00:48:58.08\00:48:59.50
that sets a table for salvation
00:48:59.53\00:49:01.92
for young men and
women to know Jesus.
00:49:01.95\00:49:05.45
Should you liked to make contact
00:49:05.48\00:49:06.95
with Minnesota Conference
or with the camp itself,
00:49:06.98\00:49:10.29
here is the contact
information that you'll need.
00:49:10.32\00:49:12.88
North Star Camp
is a key evangelistic
00:49:15.51\00:49:17.96
in nurturing outreach asset
for the Minnesota Conference.
00:49:17.99\00:49:21.23
If you'd like to know more
or learn how to support it,
00:49:21.26\00:49:24.38
then you can write
to North Star Camp,
00:49:24.41\00:49:27.13
7384 Kirkwood Court,
Maple Grove, MN 55369.
00:49:27.16\00:49:32.88
That's North Star
Camp, 7384 Kirkwood Court,
00:49:32.91\00:49:38.02
Maple Grove, MN 55369.
00:49:38.05\00:49:41.54
You can call 763-424-9576.
00:49:41.57\00:49:45.88
That's 763-424-9576
00:49:45.91\00:49:50.15
or visit them
online at mnsda.com,
00:49:50.18\00:49:54.76
that's mnsda.com.
00:49:54.79\00:49:58.93
So that's the
information that you need
00:50:01.33\00:50:02.92
and we hope you
will make contact.
00:50:02.95\00:50:04.70
Justin, you were
telling me a story
00:50:04.73\00:50:05.89
just during a break there
about a particular constituency
00:50:05.92\00:50:09.08
that the camp ministries do.
00:50:09.11\00:50:11.02
Relay that stuff if you will.
00:50:11.05\00:50:12.61
I was sharing with you
00:50:12.64\00:50:13.70
and hopefully
with the audience here
00:50:13.73\00:50:15.56
that there are people who
come to the camp from homes
00:50:15.59\00:50:21.37
that are no
always the more solid.
00:50:21.40\00:50:25.03
This past summer, I was
asked to be a pastor for a week
00:50:25.06\00:50:28.68
and there were some campers
00:50:28.71\00:50:31.76
from one of the
reservations in Minnesota
00:50:31.79\00:50:34.99
that were in
conflict with each other
00:50:35.02\00:50:37.30
and weren't fitting in real
00:50:37.33\00:50:39.42
well with the rest of the group.
00:50:39.45\00:50:40.94
And as a pastor, I
want to focus on the kids
00:50:40.97\00:50:43.12
that aren't fitting in.
00:50:43.15\00:50:45.27
And I went over to
some of these kids,
00:50:45.30\00:50:47.80
actually some had actually
been in physical conflict
00:50:47.83\00:50:51.75
and I had a soccer ball
and we started kicking the ball
00:50:51.78\00:50:55.89
back and forth and pretty soon
three of the native Americans
00:50:55.92\00:51:01.48
and myself were playing soccer
and we were having a blast,
00:51:01.51\00:51:06.39
they were having a
blast and it was just a little
00:51:06.42\00:51:09.40
while earlier they could hardly
get along with each other,
00:51:09.43\00:51:12.65
and it was exciting to me to
see the smiles on their faces
00:51:12.68\00:51:18.70
and that an
adult cares about them,
00:51:18.73\00:51:22.46
but that was evident.
00:51:22.49\00:51:23.79
Praise the Lord.
00:51:23.82\00:51:24.85
And we want them to
see that people care
00:51:24.88\00:51:26.92
and that God cares and I believe
00:51:26.95\00:51:29.47
that the camp
succeed in that week
00:51:29.50\00:51:31.94
in showing them the love of God.
00:51:31.97\00:51:34.52
And I'm impressed that
the conference president
00:51:34.55\00:51:36.58
becomes the camp pastor.
00:51:36.61\00:51:38.23
You know, I've
assumed during the summer
00:51:38.26\00:51:40.29
the conference work doesn't stop
00:51:40.32\00:51:41.75
so you're adding to your load,
00:51:41.78\00:51:43.28
but that's impressive
00:51:43.31\00:51:44.34
that you care enough
about that to do that.
00:51:44.37\00:51:46.11
I was an emergency
filled in and what I was.
00:51:46.14\00:51:49.18
Jeff had somebody cancel
on him at the last minute,
00:51:49.21\00:51:52.16
I said my daughter
is gonna be at camp,
00:51:52.19\00:51:54.92
I can be at camp, and
so I went for the week
00:51:54.95\00:51:59.27
and I haven't been a camp
pastor probably in two decades,
00:51:59.30\00:52:03.26
but I had a blast with kids.
00:52:03.29\00:52:04.78
Like ride a bike, you
know, you'll never forget.
00:52:04.81\00:52:07.30
That's right. Praise the Lord.
00:52:07.33\00:52:08.78
Being with kids was fun.
00:52:08.81\00:52:09.91
Yeah, Jeff, is
this a kind of thing
00:52:09.94\00:52:11.49
that you see every
year, you know, periodically
00:52:11.52\00:52:14.10
whenever you see
this reclamation of lives.
00:52:14.13\00:52:18.14
Absolutely. Yeah.
00:52:18.17\00:52:19.20
Absolutely, some
kids come to camp
00:52:19.23\00:52:21.19
never given
their hearts to Christ,
00:52:21.22\00:52:22.74
I mean every summer
we've kids that come to camp
00:52:22.77\00:52:24.87
and say I'm
recommitting my life to Jesus.
00:52:24.90\00:52:27.44
I remember one summer,
00:52:27.47\00:52:28.50
a young man
comes running up at me
00:52:28.53\00:52:30.57
you know, this is teen
camp, this very rarely happens.
00:52:30.60\00:52:34.70
I was a little
shocked, he gives me a huge hug
00:52:34.73\00:52:37.47
and I am like "what's up man?"
00:52:37.50\00:52:39.12
and he's like "well, I'm
just so happy to be here.
00:52:39.15\00:52:42.54
This is like my church." Wow.
00:52:42.57\00:52:45.10
And then he said and I need
you to baptize me this week.
00:52:45.13\00:52:48.68
I said, well, let's
talk with your parents,
00:52:48.71\00:52:50.39
and your pastor,
and we'll work on that.
00:52:50.42\00:52:51.75
Yeah.
00:52:51.78\00:52:52.81
And he'd been thinking
about for like last six months
00:52:52.84\00:52:56.28
and so yeah it
connects kids to Christ
00:52:56.31\00:53:00.78
most importantly to
nature, to the body of believers
00:53:00.81\00:53:06.36
that keeps them
connected with the church.
00:53:06.39\00:53:07.93
Praise the Lord. And
it's not just our camp.
00:53:07.96\00:53:09.40
Yeah. It happens all over.
00:53:09.43\00:53:10.60
All over, yeah, praise the Lord.
00:53:10.63\00:53:12.66
We're gonna go to a
newsbreak then come back
00:53:12.69\00:53:14.65
and then sort of
pull a little bow on this
00:53:14.68\00:53:15.91
with a closing
thought just after this.
00:53:15.94\00:53:18.41