One day he was asked to play the piano for a church in Sao Paulo. During the meeting a Christian ar chitect named Dr. Walfredo Thome, 25, was called up to show his plans for the new church building. At the close of the meeting Harry told the young man about the mountain camp. Thome leaped at the oppor tunity to help and become a part of the camp staff. Besides giving his professional help he “ talked camp” to everyone he met in Sao Paulo. Camp was scheduled to be opened on January 11. Two weeks before one of Reimer’s old friends at Mato Grosso, a highly-trained engineer, drove out to the camp and put the finishing touches on the buildings. The staff expected about 200 peo ple for the dedication service on January 4. Instead, nearly 500 came to join in the ceremony to dedicate the camp— a gift from North Amer ican young people to their South American friends— to be used for the glory of the Lord. Some of the campers came only for a good time. A group of five ruffians turned up one week. Two left, but three stayed and were con verted to Christ. One testified, say ing, “W e wanted to come only for a good time— to see how many rules W'e could break.” When his buddies came back the counselors heard him say, “ Man, you should have been in the meeting last night. So many got saved!” Another boy who spent two weeks at camp also arrived at home a new crea tu re. He started attending church and Sunday school and tak ing part in all of the activities of the church that nobody could drive him to do before. He even turned up at the women’s missionary meeting with a Bible tucked under his aim. A third boy wrote back, “ The only thing wrong with Acampa- mento Palavra da Vida is that you have to go home again.” What this lad in Brazil was so fervently expressing seems to be the trademark of a Jack Wyrtzen camp. Whether the camp is in Bra zil or Mexico or New York the spir itual enthusiasm generated seems to be the same. For those who wonder what Jack Wyrtzen’s success for mula is he has a ready answer. “We simply try to obey the Great Com mission to disciple all nations by ‘holding forth the Word of life.’ ”
in the area. “Daddy” subsequently became the foreman to build the camp in the valley. With the ring of hammers and saws were the tunes of hymns and choruses from happy hearts. In July of last year Reimer and his family moved into a mud shack on the property to supervise the work. Having spent several years among the Indians in Mato Grosso it wasn’t too difficult for them to re adjust at first to life without water, electricity, refrigeration or bath room facilities. As these necessities for a modern camp were being in stalled Reimer kept the workmen on the job, seeing that the walls were straight, doing all the carpentry work on the cabins and buildings. Later Christian friends loaned him an electric power mower. From the motor he rigged a power saw and thus smooth boards rolled out. Bollback worked on the supply end hunting good bids on cement, tile, nails, screws, pots and pans and beds.
the ponds dug out for swimming, cabins on the cleared ground, a din ing room, chapel and picnic area at the base of the cataract. After two weeks of negotiating, the price was fixed at $6,000 and the 45 acres of valley floor became the Brazilian version of Word of Life. The exchange of the Ameri can dollar to the Brazilian cruzeiro was much in their favor. The end result was a savings of $2,000 on the deal because of it. One day after inspecting their property, Bollback and Beimer were walking back to the main road from the camp site when they passed a couple of little girls watering their vegetable garden. And as they w ork ed the girls sang a hymn. Through them the men learned that they had bought ground for their camp in a Christian community and most of their neighbors worshiped in a little church down the road. Further, they discovered that the girls’ father was a bricklayer and had done several construction jobs
This Jesuit attitude is not advocated in the Bible. Indeed it runs precisely counter to the plain commandments of the Word of God. The true believer is to have no spiritual traffic with sin or error. God honors His Word today just as He always has. When the grand and holy themes of redemption, victory and testi mony are explained and applied, the results are swift and sure. I think this holds a great lesson for all summer Bible confer ence speakers and counselors. Young people appreciate a two-fisted, double-barreled, straight-forward message. They do not want mollycoddling or honeyed words. They respond to the call to a disciplined life. Otherwise there would be no waiting list for admission into West Point and Annapolis. Young folks want no part in a meek, hazy, tremulous form of challenge. Far better to bluntly describe sin and worldliness as they actually are. From here it is a natural step to make an appeal for an all-out dedi cation to Christ. In a society of gray shades and half-truths a clear-cut black and white gospel message still "pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.” About the author. A former Fuller Theological Seminary professor, Dr. Woodbridge is the Bible teacher for Jack Wyrtzen’s Word of Life camps. Woodbridge is a graduate of Princeton University and Seminary and holds a PhD. degree in church history from Duke University. He has also studied in the German universities of Berlin, Gottingen and Marburg and in the Sorbonne, Paris. The King's Business/May 1958
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