Somewhere along the way the desire to teach children grew in my heart. "But when was that seed planted?"I have often wondered. I remember my Great Aunt Linda, who was a teacher herself, giving me a brief case with worksheets one Christmas. Boy, I loved that. I even began a school for my stuffed animals and dolls using those worksheets!


As the seasons of my life changed so did my desires. Becoming a wife and mother always ranked my greatest desire yet beyond that I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I would read about Clara Barton starting the red cross or Mother Teresa caring for the poor that I would lie awake at night dreaming that someday I would make a profound difference too. "But how?"


When anyone asked me what I was going to college for, I would cringe and say "I don't know yet." It seemed that most of my peers confidently knew what they were doing with their lives, at least majoring in college, but me. Until one day, in a class called 'Care and Prevention of Athletic Injury.'


It was a quiet morning. Most of my classmates put their heads down for a snooze while our substitute sat in the front silently reading. Someone had turned on the t.v. Some got out their iPods and then there were the few of us who read. I did not like those mornings. I loved learning, especially when it came to athletics. Hence, why I took the class. Well, there were several magazines laying near the window and so I retrieved them and began mindlessly reading through them. At one point I paused to look at my peers. I envisioned some of them going off to college and making a great life for themselves. Pickens was headed to be a pro baseball player, get married, have children and be a fisherman. Not that it really happened. I just made things up. I continued to envision my peers potential, or lack thereof, and I asked the Lord, "where am I headed? What do you want me to do? I feel rather stuck Lord. Please, give me some purpose. I have so many ideas, I don't know where to go."


I had ideas like:

  • becoming a nurses assistant in the maternity ward. I dreamed of praying over the babies and moms, whether they knew it or not. I dreamt of being there for them in their weakest moment, encouraging them to press on because soon they would be holding their new bundle of joy.  
  • I dreamt of becoming a Personal Trainer or Athletic Trainer.
  • I dreamt of becoming a professional Photographer and even found a school in Rochester, NY to attend.
  • I dreamt of becoming a teacher but decided against it, knowing that I would feel trapped inside school walls. [I hated the idea of subjecting myself to a classroom with barely any windows and forcing students to sit in desks.]

Looking again at the magazine, I read about a YMCA camp. Then something happened, like a title wave crashing into shore, I knew what I wanted to do with my life! It all played out before me, like a movie trailer. I was going to start a children's camp! I nearly jumped out of my seat and shouted to the roof tops. Nothing, I mean nothing had fired me up like that. That's it! Lord! That's it!!!


When I arrived home I burst through the door as fast as I could. "Mom?!" I yelled through the unfurnished ballroom like entry. It echoed throughout the large house. [That's a story for another time.] 

"I know what I'm going to do with my life!" I yelled once more walking towards the kitchen. 

I can't remember what she had been doing but she came out one of the rooms and was all smile. "I know what I'm going to do with my life!" I told her yet again.

"What are you going to do?!" She inquired and laughed. 

"I'm going to start a children's camp!" I said nearly exhausted. "It's not going to be just any camp. It's going to be a sports camp. It's going to be a camp for everyone. Young and old. I will have lots of land with creeks and hills, even horses. Children are going to be sent from all over to attend. I also don't want it to be a "Christian Camp". I would hate that to be a reason some children don't come. It's going to be a place, where I will be able to get on each child's level and encourage them. I'm going to learn how to speak their language so to speak. I want to inspire them where they are at developmentally. I want to provide a place for them, where they are valued and taken care of. A safe place. I want to speak life into their life! It will be a place where they are active in sports and activities while being inspired to be the best they can be! Where they get to know the love of God through action and are encouraged to dream big dreams and equipped to reach their 'impossibles.' Does that make sense?!"I spewed out, unsure I made sense. 

"Wow!" My stunned mom half chuckled, yet sincerely supported me. Ha, I can just remember her large stunned eyes!


Moments later I began a journal and recorded all my ideas. The ideas came faster than I could write. But write them I did. That was my junior year of High School. By the time my Senior year drew to a close I still had no idea what to go to college for. "How does one prepare to start a camp?" I would often contemplate. The fact of the matter was that there were many things I could go to school for. Business, psychology, athletics...etc. But none of it, I mean none of it seemed right. Plus, I disliked school very much. Therefore I had the hardest time justifying spending money, which I did not have, on education I was not certain I should take. Don't get me wrong, I think it's wise to take those courses but it just did not sit will within me, the timing if anything did not give me peace whatsoever. 


Well, never would I have guessed I would become a missionary to Africa, South America, Arkansas, Texas and Europe. Never. Never would I have guessed I would drive onto the very land I had literally envisioned when thinking about a camp. Even down to the exact slopes and tree lines. Never would I have guessed that the Lord would have paved the way as He did to give me the most amazing training experience. But that is really a story for another day.