From the Moderator
Contributions to the column reserved for the moderator will present meditations, written by members of the congregations in the IL/WI District.
While in college, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Romania and help teach English at a summer camp. It was very similar to what you would picture summer camp here in the United States to be: games, songs, cabins, communal meals, etc., although there were a couple vast differences. One, the restroom facilities was a hole in the ground with four walls that went from the ground to almost your waist. So, when you were using the facility you could easily see who was walking by. Two, the shower was a hose stuck through a wall of a cement building. Each cabin had their shower time assigned every couple of days; we learned to adapt.
One of the activities for the whole camp on Wednesday was to hike up this mountain to visit a monastery and enjoy the view. I was somewhere in the middle of the pack as we started our journey. Then one of the girls in my cabin slipped and badly scraped her knees. We took the time to clean and bandage her up. When given the choice to move forward or return to camp, she wanted to continue. As we continued I noticed we had fallen pretty far behind, even though I could still see the group ahead. I didn’t want to push the young lady too hard until I could see if she was more injured than she let us believe. We were able to pick up our pace after some time, yet it was not enough to catch up with the whole crew.
I became extremely nervous and scared. I was with a good friend from home, yet we had no idea where we were going. Do we turn around? Do we keep going? What if we get lost with the 9 children we have in our care? This was about the only time this week we were thankful they couldn’t understand English very well. It protected them from any fear. They laughed and teased one another on the path as my friend and I discussed what we should do. We noticed ahead about 50 yards was a sign. We decided to get to the sign and see if it gave us any direction. Then we would determine our plan.
Once we got to the sign, we quickly discovered it was written in Romanian. This was not going to be much help. A young man, Vlad, that was walking in our group stepped forward to see if he could translate, as he had taken other classes and his English was better than most. The look of hope on Vlad’s face diminished as he told us it was only a sign marking the name of the path we were on. It is safe to say that I was absolutely terrified. I am not sure I have felt fear as deeply as I felt it on this day. It was more than me that was at risk. I had a dear friend, and 9 children aged 9-17 with me; children whose parents dropped them off and I looked them in the eye and said I would care for them for the week. Yet here I was, lost in a foreign land, in the wilderness, on the side of a mountain, with NO map. The fear was so strong I was becoming sick to my stomach, and the lump in my throat was getting more and more difficult to swallow.
I wish I could put into words what happened next, but I don’t believe there are words designed for this type of thing. I was in the middle of what I would call a mini panic attack. When I dropped my head and whispered, “Help me Lord”, I was suddenly overcome with peace and comfort. The fear that was living in my heart had vanished and was replaced with determination. I was going to finish this hike with the children. They deserve to see this view they have been promised. With little confidence, my friend agreed and we continued. It was possibly 100 yards from the sign when we followed the path around a corner and over a small hill to discover the rest of our group enjoying the magnificent view. The children we had been hiking with trotted off to join their friends and a feeling of total relief bubbled up and overflowed through my eyes. My friend looked at me with the same relieved expression and we walked arm in arm to the rest of the group.
How many times in our lives do we find ourselves in the same position? We are so overcome with fear we are almost paralyzed. Sometimes we take that fear and use it and sometimes we let the fear use us. If I would have let the fear use me, I would never have seen that most incredible view or the delight on the children’s face as they saw it. I also wouldn’t have been able to share their joy of accomplishment.
There were two scriptures running through my mind that day the first being, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4. You may find that humorous, and now as I look back I can laugh at the thought. Although, there was about 15 minutes left on that hike when I didn’t know if I was going to find my way out of there.
Then at my darkest moment and in my deepest fear, this verse came into my heart. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3.
There are days when we will be afraid and we will wonder just how far we must go to see that promised view. Do not turn around, dear friends. Do not allow the fear to paralyze you. That view may only be 100 yards away. It was later that night around a campfire when we joked about our journey, when it dawned on me that I never asked Vlad what the sign said. Literally translated the name of the path was, “Fear Not”.
Amanda (Mandy) Rahn
Member of: Lanark Church of the Brethren and District Leadership Team
waaupau@gmail.com
While in college, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Romania and help teach English at a summer camp. It was very similar to what you would picture summer camp here in the United States to be: games, songs, cabins, communal meals, etc., although there were a couple vast differences. One, the restroom facilities was a hole in the ground with four walls that went from the ground to almost your waist. So, when you were using the facility you could easily see who was walking by. Two, the shower was a hose stuck through a wall of a cement building. Each cabin had their shower time assigned every couple of days; we learned to adapt.
One of the activities for the whole camp on Wednesday was to hike up this mountain to visit a monastery and enjoy the view. I was somewhere in the middle of the pack as we started our journey. Then one of the girls in my cabin slipped and badly scraped her knees. We took the time to clean and bandage her up. When given the choice to move forward or return to camp, she wanted to continue. As we continued I noticed we had fallen pretty far behind, even though I could still see the group ahead. I didn’t want to push the young lady too hard until I could see if she was more injured than she let us believe. We were able to pick up our pace after some time, yet it was not enough to catch up with the whole crew.
I became extremely nervous and scared. I was with a good friend from home, yet we had no idea where we were going. Do we turn around? Do we keep going? What if we get lost with the 9 children we have in our care? This was about the only time this week we were thankful they couldn’t understand English very well. It protected them from any fear. They laughed and teased one another on the path as my friend and I discussed what we should do. We noticed ahead about 50 yards was a sign. We decided to get to the sign and see if it gave us any direction. Then we would determine our plan.
Once we got to the sign, we quickly discovered it was written in Romanian. This was not going to be much help. A young man, Vlad, that was walking in our group stepped forward to see if he could translate, as he had taken other classes and his English was better than most. The look of hope on Vlad’s face diminished as he told us it was only a sign marking the name of the path we were on. It is safe to say that I was absolutely terrified. I am not sure I have felt fear as deeply as I felt it on this day. It was more than me that was at risk. I had a dear friend, and 9 children aged 9-17 with me; children whose parents dropped them off and I looked them in the eye and said I would care for them for the week. Yet here I was, lost in a foreign land, in the wilderness, on the side of a mountain, with NO map. The fear was so strong I was becoming sick to my stomach, and the lump in my throat was getting more and more difficult to swallow.
I wish I could put into words what happened next, but I don’t believe there are words designed for this type of thing. I was in the middle of what I would call a mini panic attack. When I dropped my head and whispered, “Help me Lord”, I was suddenly overcome with peace and comfort. The fear that was living in my heart had vanished and was replaced with determination. I was going to finish this hike with the children. They deserve to see this view they have been promised. With little confidence, my friend agreed and we continued. It was possibly 100 yards from the sign when we followed the path around a corner and over a small hill to discover the rest of our group enjoying the magnificent view. The children we had been hiking with trotted off to join their friends and a feeling of total relief bubbled up and overflowed through my eyes. My friend looked at me with the same relieved expression and we walked arm in arm to the rest of the group.
How many times in our lives do we find ourselves in the same position? We are so overcome with fear we are almost paralyzed. Sometimes we take that fear and use it and sometimes we let the fear use us. If I would have let the fear use me, I would never have seen that most incredible view or the delight on the children’s face as they saw it. I also wouldn’t have been able to share their joy of accomplishment.
There were two scriptures running through my mind that day the first being, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4. You may find that humorous, and now as I look back I can laugh at the thought. Although, there was about 15 minutes left on that hike when I didn’t know if I was going to find my way out of there.
Then at my darkest moment and in my deepest fear, this verse came into my heart. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3.
There are days when we will be afraid and we will wonder just how far we must go to see that promised view. Do not turn around, dear friends. Do not allow the fear to paralyze you. That view may only be 100 yards away. It was later that night around a campfire when we joked about our journey, when it dawned on me that I never asked Vlad what the sign said. Literally translated the name of the path was, “Fear Not”.
Amanda (Mandy) Rahn
Member of: Lanark Church of the Brethren and District Leadership Team
waaupau@gmail.com
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