Category Archives: People I’ve met along the way

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True Joy

See that smile? The young child just caught her first fish. What was just an ordinary day at camp suddenly turned into a lifelong memory filled day at camp when the young girl suddenly shouted out one of those most famous of fishing quotes,…… “I got one, I got one!”

This past summer I got to witness a moment of true joy, joy that had to come from Heaven. You see that smile? The young lady on the right is one of the church camp’s fellows/interns. Their “job” is to provide the guests with, well, any and everything. The “fellows/interns” are an amazing group of young people. They commit to giving of themselves for one year here at camp. One full year of serving God by serving man in this most beautiful of mountain camps. One full year of Bible studies, serving meals, cleaning, preparing for the next family group, praise and worship, making lifelong friends, enjoying God’s majestic creations, and picking up straw and pine cones (an inside joke 😉 ) Today her “job” was to help this family go fishing. It’s pretty obvious that she too was filled with “Joy from Above”.

You see that smile? The young lady on the left is the Mother of the young child who just caught her first fish. Now, get this. She caught her first fish when her Mother took her fishing at this very same pond at this very same church camp 27 years ago. A tradition continues!!

You see that smile? Well, it’s the one I’m wearing behind the scenes. This past summer I got to take lots of folks fishing. I know, I know, it’s such a terrible suffering that I must endure having to take folks into the mountains here to fish. But what I’m fixing to say is so true. Yes, I take people fishing here in the mountains, but honestly I take them to experience God! Ask any or all of the families, or dads, or children, or grandpas,…….. or the Mother of this child. Ask them did You feel God’s presence today? Was the joy that you experienced something that had to be supernatural. A joy that could only be described as a “taste of what heaven is like”.

That’s my “job” here at the church camp. Well, my job description on paper is that I’m the groundskeeper. You know, chainsaw work, weed eating, landscaping, (and picking up straw and pine cones).

But here’s a little secret. I’m here to help people experience God. To truly see Jesus and His Love, to feel His presence in these mountains and streams and pond here at church camp……that’s my mission. Here’s how it works.

This particular day, I’m cleaning up the property of fallen limbs from the storm. (I call it dancing with the chainsaw,…… I dance a lot!) I notice several people at the pond fishing. This particular family is fishing, but they are using the wrong bait. Oh, the bait would be great for 5 pound bass, but not for the small brook trout in this pond. I go back to the truck and get a few flies that I know these fish will bite. Something about fishing over the years, I enjoy seeing others catch a fish as much or more than me catching one myself. I tell the young child to try one of these baits. I share one of another of those famous fishing quotes,…… “The fish will bite this!” The young Mother helps her daughter put the bait on the line and casts it into the pond. Now we wait.

The wait is not long. Fish grabs hook. Child shouts “I got one, I got one!” Everybody goes from half asleep to “Battle stations”! “Get the net”, another famous fishing quote is heard in all the business of landing her first fish. While all this hectic activity is going on, I run over with my phone and begin taking pictures. My daughter has taught me a lot about photography. It’s all about the angle. It’s all about the lighting. But today, …..today,…… it’s all about the moment!

Look at the picture. The moment was captured on that image. Oh sure it’s a picture of someone fishing. But, it’s more. It’s a picture of true joy. Joy like that can only come from one source…….. God.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Joy is a state of being. Happiness comes from circumstances. That’s why fishing brings joy to so many people. Even those days when the fish aren’t biting there is this sense of joy. But man when they do bite. Woohoo!!!!!

Now let’s talk about you. What’s your “job”? What’s your mission? This story shares some of the “behind the scenes” things that happened to make this fishing adventure come alive. (Example: Getting the right bait) You guys that are reading this have so many opportunities to help others see and experience God’s Love and Joy! (Examples: a kind word, a helping hand, sharing with another person’s burden, on and on) If you can spread a little joy, especially with all that’s going on in this world, there will be someone who has that smile of “Joy from Above”. And that someone, may even be YOU!

“I’ve got that Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart…..” See Ya Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, fishing guide

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Bearing One Another’s Burdens

I’ve been asked to be a mentor at the church camp. I’m guessing what qualifies me for that is that I’m an older guy with experiences in life (both good and bad). So they match me with this younger guy from Arkansas. Hey, at least we can understand each other being from the South and having the same “accent”. Hmmmm,…… what should I say to a younger person who is looking at me as his mentor. Does this make him my “mentee”? Should I invite him over for coffee and share our life’s stories? Staci would be so much better at small talk than I. I’ve always had a dread for that “awkward silence” that shows up when I’m trying to lead in conversations with people. Well, Dan being Dan, I did what seemed to me to be the best way to get a conversation (and hopefully a new friendship) started. I asked him a question. A most unusual question…….

“Hey Chris! I’m going on about a five mile hike in 10 inches of snow to find a dead elk, cut his stinky, rotten head and horns off, (elk had been dead close to three weeks), then bring the trophy horns out, clean them up, and have them on display at my house. You want to come help?”

I hadn’t gotten the words out of my mouth before these thoughts hit me. First of all, this guy doesn’t even know me. Who wants to hike with some guy he doesn’t know five miles into the wilderness? Second thought is why would he even WANT to help me haul out a dead elk. (Did I mention this animal had been dead and had a very putrid smell.) I’m almost regretting asking him, well, because I probably put him on the spot and everything. I’m already expecting to hear him say he’s already got plans, or he’s got work to finish at camp. But his reply is this. “Haul out a dead elk? That’s right up my alley! Count me in! Yes Sir, I’d like to go!” ……And this is where today’s story begins…..

I had a group of hunters up this week for Archery elk hunting (and fly fishing). Shout out to C J, Tyler, Jody, Wendall, and Dave. These guys are super fun to be around! They are also top notched hunters and fishermen. Even where we hunt in the wilderness, you can still send out texts. They informed me that they were in elk, and while hunting they walked up on this dead elk. They also sent me a picture of his horns. Once I saw the picture of the horns, I told them keep hunting, but tell me where this animal is because I didn’t want to see those horns go to waste.

Now, I’m realizing as I’m looking at the map that this is going to involve a fairly long hike in the ten inches of snow that hadn’t melted from the storm a couple days earlier. Traveling in the wilderness by myself is no problem as I have gone many times in the past. But I’m not stupid. I probably lean more on the cautious side. Trips I make by myself are always on specific trails, going to specific lakes to fish. If something were to happen to me, twisted ankle, some type of physical ailment, a bear attack(just kiddin’) someone would know where to find me. On this adventure, no one would know how I’m going in, or how I would be heading out. I need a safety net. Someone would need to go with me. Hopefully someone with young legs and strong muscles to help carry this twenty- five pounds of horn and bones of a burden that I’m wanting to haul out. The mentor’s “mentee” will fit this position perfectly.

The first couple of miles were not that bad. Horses and hunters had already established a trail which we gladly followed. Once we reached the top of the pass (see picture above), we were on our own. We now had to bushwhack our way to the coordinates my hunter buddies had given me to get to the dead elk and those horns.

The storm that came two days earlier had dumped up to two feet of snow. What made my footing so treacherous, was that the snow had melted, refrozen, and was melting again. Every time my hiking boots landed on a smooth sided rock underneath the snow, I fell. Probably fell fifteen maybe twenty times before we made it back to the established trail. I was surely glad I had my “safety net” of a guy there with me.

When we were within a couple hundred yards of our dead elk, we ran into a lot of these………

Mountain Lion Tracks!!……. and lots of them. They actually led us straight to the elk carcass. Hey, it looked like the mountain lion himself had fallen a time or two in the slippery snow. I didn’t feel quite so bad about my capabilities of hiking after seeing that. 😉 As we approached our target, closing the distance to about fifty yards, the smell became overwhelming. The ravens let us know where they were feasting, so we knew right where to go. Now the fun begins………

I have a picture of the carcass, but Staci said don’t show it because someone’s probably eating breakfast. I will just describe the scene for you. Picture a dirty diaper, a dead mouse caught in a trap for 3 days, Sour milk, my son’s tennis shoes, and road kill……. all put into a blender and poured out onto the snow. I then kneel in this substance as I cut the head and horns from this mixture. Lots of gagging, and grimacing going on, but hey it was worth it. You never know what goes on behind the scenes of a picture!

Success! Now to haul our elk horns back out of the wilderness. Chris was great at being a pack mule. He did more than his share of hauling out my burden. My burden became his burden.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

On our Christian adventures we should all bear one another’s burdens. We are all in this together, right? The struggles, the battles, the highs and the lows of life aren’t meant to be handled alone. God gives us so many opportunities to see Him when we share. My burden of “elk horns’, may not compare to the personal burdens you are carrying right now, or the burdens of someone you know. But when we share in others burdens, likewise when we allow others to share our burdens, we are fulfilling the law of Christ. What law is that? Loving our God with all your heart, and loving your neighbor as yourself. Truly a Godly way to live right?

So don’t miss out on those Godly opportunities to share with others in their burdens. Also realize YOUR OWN BURDENS may need to be shared with someone else. Again this Christian journey is not meant to be traveled alone. God has His all knowing abilities and power to show us things we need to see. Sometimes He uses other people for His purpose. Burdens whether great or small become opportunities for us to interact with each other while seeing God’s care and helping hand in the example of another human being.

“Dear Lord, thank You for Chris and his willingness to share in “my burden”. May his example help me and my friends reading this become more aware of the opportunities that You God give us each day. The opportunities to help and be helped. Those opportunities to Love God, and to love others as ourselves. Amen.”

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The Future Is In Good Hands

photo by Romalindasphotos

Meet the Maintenance crew at the church camp this summer. One’s a marine, one’s a geologist, one’s a draftsman in architecture, and the other is in wildlife ecology. The old guy,……..well that’s me. I had the privilege of BEING and working with these guys for part of this summer. I’ve come away with a better feeling of what the future holds.

These young men came ready to work,…….. and work hard is what they did. They would jump through a fire if it would have been asked of them. They jumped in the cold creek to clean out debris and improve the habitat for the trout. They danced……. yep they danced alright ,…….. with weed eaters, chainsaws, axes, shovels. (I think there was a little time for dancing with the girls on western dance night. 😉 ) They worked in rugged mountain terrain, under cabins, in the horse lots, and the cafeteria lines. They worked.

What impressed me most? Did I say how hard they worked? Let me fill you in on a little secret. We used chainsaws and weed eaters on acres of property. Impressive they were. But what I saw in these guys gave me such a bigger and better hope in the future. I saw young men being positive in how they viewed life. I saw young men seeking the true Christian journey for themselves and others. I saw such potential in all these guys. Not just possessing a good work ethic, but possessing something that is so needed in today’s world…….. A positive outlook on life…… and they have that because Jesus is their main focus.

1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

To everyone reading this let me say this…….. It truly was a joy, honor, and privilege to work with these young guys, and I do mean work. The future looks so much brighter now that I have seen some of the next generation in action. These guys (and so many more like them) will be daily setting an example to others of the true Christian walk.

To the guys let me share this……. Each of you guys possess gifts from God that each of you will learn more and more how to use. You had my back several times out there working. You made me look good! But know this, I’ve got your back as well. When you need a reference on that resume for the job you’re looking for………….. you’ve got a great one coming from me. Just say the word!

Know this as well my friends. God’s got your back as well. He’s always there to help you. Ask Him for the right words to say, for the directions to go in your life, and to guide you on your journey with Him………… and keep dancing!

“Dear Jesus, I thank you that these guys (and other young people in camp) were a part of my life for just a few weeks. They helped me “come alive” as I travel my own journey helping others “come alive”. Be with them as they move into their next chapter of life. Give them direction, show them Your love, let them see Your Power. I’ve got a feeling that they will be using it for Your Glory and Honor Lord. Amen”

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, groundskeeper, part time dancer