I’m not sure I really knew what I was getting into when I signed up to help with Whiz Kids. I knew it was a tutoring program and that I would be working with a student each week. I’m not a teacher, so I was slightly concerned that I wouldn’t be qualified. I was assured that being a teacher was not a requirement.
When I was just starting on the pathway of doing children’s ministry at Council Road Baptist Church, I encountered that quote. As I remember, it was credited to a man who was a famous actor, singer, dancer and comedian. His name? Danny Kaye. Now I don’t know if he was a particularly wise man, but I do know that he realized a truth about children: they are a treasure of great value and it is imperative for the future that we protect, nurture, guide and love them.
I can remember being a little girl and knowing exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. Chasing these Oklahoma storms every Spring season invigorated me to learn more about weather and how I could keep everyone safe. Meteorology was something that I felt I was supposed to do, and I still enjoy the smell of summer rain and thunder in the distance.
The year was 1986 and I was at a missions summer camp called Camp Nunny Cha Ha, held on the grounds of Falls Creek Baptist Assembly. It was a camp I looked forward to every year, where campers and counselors studied scripture together, sang songs, heard testimonies from foreign and local missionaries and had lots of fun in the Oklahoma heat. On the last night of camp, the guest speaker led us into a commitment time explaining that he felt the Lord was speaking to some of us in the room, calling some to accept Christ and others into special service (which was the term used for a call to ministry of some sort.)
