blurted out, “ You all know how bad I’ve been, but Jesus is in my heart now and He is going to help me behave like a good boy.” Then he bolted back into the darkness. Conchita (Little Shell) was very sure of what the Lord had done for her. The first time she or any of her family ever heard the gospel they gave their hearts to Christ and just couldn’t get enough Bible study. “ When I go home,” asked Conchita, “ I will need to live differently, won’t I, now that Jesus is in my heart?” Last March a new overseas Word of Life camp closed its first season. It is “ Acampamento Palavra da Vida ” (Word of Life Camp) located near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Word of Life missionaries Harold Beimer and Harry Bollback raced against time to build this camp in a seclud ed spot in the mountains. The first week accommodations were ready for about 48 campers, but by the time camp closed, over 100 were en rolled at Palavra da Vida. Here is the fascinating history of its estab lishment. It was at an early morning prayer meeting on the island in New York when the first ideas of beginning a Brazilian camp were introduced. Bollback and Beimer, home on fur lough from Brazil, were kneeling with Jack and other staffmen. Each one prayed the Lord’s blessing on the Latin American camp work which they were to undertake upon their return. “ That’s strange,” said Beimer, rising from his knees. “W e’re all centering our prayers on a camp ing program. But that was to be considered later as our ministry grew.” “ If the camp is God’s plan for now,” said Jack, “He will surely give you a ‘go-ahead’ sign.” It was still morning. Bollback went to the Inn to play the piano for the morning meetings. At the close of the meetings a lady came up to him and said that God had been speaking to her since Harry’s message the Saturday night past. She wanted to give a little of what she had to his South American min istry and handed him a check for $ 100 . Barely 10 minutes later Harry met a gentleman in the washroom of the Inn who encouraged him in his South American venture. “ God 14
has been good to me,” said the gen tleman. “ I want to put some of my money into the Lord’s work. You’ll be hearing from me.” That was all he said. At noon while Harry was eating lunch, a waitress gave him an en velope. Inside he found a check for $500 from the man who had pledged his support earlier in the washroom. Harry jumped up and ran to a phone. “ Jack!” he said, “maybe you’re used to receiving $600 in one morning for your ministry, but I’m not.” “ Praise the L o rd ,” Jack ex claimed, “ God has given you His sign to go ahead.” From August to October, when the Bollbacks sailed for Brazil, Word of Life young people and friends had given over $12,000 for the Bra zilian camp. Most of it came from the pockets of Word of Life camp ers who had found Christ at Schroon Lake. In Brazil, Bollback and his wife began searching for a site to accom
modate Acampamento Palavra da Vida. Five months later Reimer and his family joined them. They had no lack of realtors to hound them for sales. One day a Portuguese realtor took Bollback to a sprawl ing, luxurious resort hotel to be sold complete with all the furnish ings. “ If this were the place,” Boll back told Reimer enthusiastically, “ we could set up camp immediate- m . Reimer, the same day, had been shown around by another realtor who took him to a beautiful valley secluded high in the Monteigeira Mountains of Sao Paulo, not more than two hours out of the city. He also returned to Sao Paulo impressed by what he saw. The fellows decided to visit both places together. “ Bollback’s Place” they rejected as too fancy and fab ulous for a bunch of teen-agers bent on fun and relaxation. “ Reimer’s Place” on the other hand had three ponds on it, some fruit trees and a 45-foot waterfall. They pictured
Gray Shades by Charles J. Woodbridge
T h e last 20 years have witnessed in America a very distressing phenomenon. Christians are becoming theologically confused. Some leaders seem unhappy with the old evangelicalism. The message and method employed by Drs. James M. Gray, Reuben A . Torrey, William L. Pettingill, Harry Ironside and other mighty men of God seem to these people outmoded or in adequate. The very existence of this so-called "neo-evangelicalism” implies a discontent with and disapproval of the old-fashioned approach. It is felt that there must be a new, more moderate definition of orthodoxy, a milder view of the inerrancy of Scripture, less contending for the faith and more friendly give-and-take with modernists. The neo-evangelical’s desire seems to be to make as much common cause as possible with the enemies of the cross, to regard ministers who deny the Bible as "fringe friends,” to fraternize with unbelievers as though we were all in the family of God and to do theological evil in order that good might result.
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