Camp Sage and Sand

Richard C. Smith

Description

It wasn’t easy being a volunteer at a Christian boy’s camp in Indian country.

Being in the right place at the right time.

At 34 years-old, Melvin Van Alan worries that his life has about reached the half-way mark and he is yet to do something significant with it. Then an appealing radio commercial sparks his interest and he suddenly decides he wants to teach writing as a summer camp volunteer.

After all he is a New York public relations expert and he knows young people would benefit from the value of his experience. This is just the beginning of a series of innocent blunders Mel makes as he takes on the challenges of counselor at Camp Sage and Sand, a Christian boy’s camp in Indian country, near Cortez, Colorado.

From his first hour as counselor, Mel is thrust into one situation following another that totally forces him out of his comfort zone. Yet, he struggles to win each challenge with the help of his newly made friends on staff who call on God at every turn and demonstrate to this puzzled Jewish newcomer that they know how to put their Christian faith to work.

Mel starts to hate, then comes to like and then love the hot, dry surroundings and the overall purpose of the camp for disadvantaged youth. In the biggest public relations scheme he has ever proposed, he gambles to save the land of Camp Sage and Sand from being taken over by officials connected with the federal government. It does appear God has placed Mel in the right place at the right time to help secure the future of a little mission camp in Colorado.

Sujets

• Religious
• Ángel (desambiguación)
• American Indian
• Angels
• Fiction
• Colorado

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 29 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664277090
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Camp Sage and Sand
RICHARD C. SMITH


Copyright © 2022 Richard C. Smith.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. With the exception of locations, all of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7707-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7708-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7709-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022916138
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 9/29/2022
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34

Other Books by the Author
Bouquet
Dreams of Gold
The Alpha Project
Siberian Sons

When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility, there is wisdom.
—Proverbs 11:2
Chapter 1
I WAS TUNING BETWEEN various radio stations, looking for my classical favorite, when I realized that I had somehow strayed off FM and was being assaulted by a heavy dose of AM commercials. The announcer was just saying, “Yes, you can turn in your old car in any condition and take a tax deduction on the vehicle. Your used automobile donation will aid the ongoing work of Camps with Kids summertime programs throughout America.”
I thought how I certainly could use a hefty tax deduction on my rusty 1994 Volvo. Besides, I would hardly miss it since I rarely drove around where I lived and worked in Manhattan. I wrote down the 800 number and was about ready to get back to the FM dial when the announcer made one last appeal.
“Not only do we need your old car, but we need you! Camps with Kids has many openings for volunteer workers willing to share their own personal time and talents with eager boys and girls of all ages. This is your opportunity to change even one life for a lifetime! We are looking for craft instructors, riding instructors, gym teachers, personal counselors, and people who just want to be a big brother or sister. The need is so very, very great. Please call us today.”
The commercial struck a chord deep within me. Here I was, a single thirty-four-year-old whose life was more than a third of the way over. I was making an OK living as a public relations freelancer, but it seemed a waste not to share some of the tricks of my craft as a writing instructor like the announcer said. If I could change just one little person’s life, I would love to do it.
My resolve mushroomed faster than I could contain it. I ran to get a clean pad of paper in front of me and then called the 800 number before I changed my mind. While the phone rang, my heart started to race. I tried to think what I would say. Before I was even mentally ready, a friendly person was saying, “ENDCO. How can I help you?”
I cleared my throat. “I’m looking at the possibility of helping at Camps with Kids this summer. Your radio commercial sort of got to me, and I thought maybe I could be of assistance to some of your young people.” I started to say how the announcer had made me think of how my life was a third over, but a new connection was already ringing in my ear.
A very sweet female voice—perfect for soothing any doubt I’d had in making the call—identified herself as Miss Abrams. When I gave my name, Melvin Van Alan, and a quick resume of myself, she sounded very pleased. Her main thrust was to encourage me to come in for an interview as soon as possible. “The summer is already upon us, and we are eager to fill several important positions,” she said. So, we made an appointment for the very next day.
The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I owed it to myself to take some time off. I hadn’t bothered to slow the treadmill I’d been on for I don’t know how long—three, maybe four years. The last time I could remember was when a cousin was getting married in Stony Brook, out on Long Island. It was quite a trip, so it made sense to stay over. And when I got there, it was so beautiful that I just hung out for three days. I even got to go sailing.
The idea of camping in the woods seemed equally exhilarating. The smell of pine after a brief rain, smoke wafting over from the cookhouse. Maybe even songs by the fire after dark. I definitely felt the need for a break in my relentless schedule, and this assignment could undoubtedly renew me in body and mind.

A VERY ATTRACTIVE MISS Abrams met me in her office where the walls were adorned with large photos of children from every race and color obviously enjoying the great outdoors. I didn’t see any woodland classrooms, but I expected that showing indoor activities was perhaps less marketable. She explained that Camps with Kids was a division of the ENDCO Corporation. The company’s founder and president, General Robert Enders, had originally set it up to give New York children from the ghettos the advantage of a summer away in the Catskills. The program had taken off, and now there were some thirty-five camps scattered across the US.
“Let’s get some background on you,” she said.
We sat on canvas camp stools at a peeled-log table as she pulled out a questionnaire. “This will help me find just where you will be the most help to us.” She took me through several areas in which I identified myself, and as we went on, she seemed a little hesitant.
“Your prep school background and handball activity could be of some use, I suppose, but have you had any one-on-one experience with youngsters about twelve years of age, for instance?”
I couldn’t come up with many offhand, until I remembered how I had roughhoused with my friend’s two nephews one afternoon up at the lake. “The kids I supervised last summer thought I was pretty terrific,” I said. “They still talk about the fun we had and beg me to come again this year.”
That helped a little, I think, but it was the very mention of my seven years with the Upper Bronx Saddle Club that perked her up. As a freelancer, I had written many stories about the club. Unfortunately, I was not a member, but I had watched many a blue-ribbon dressage program from the stands.
I began to feel the passion Miss Abrams had in inspiring possible volunteers by her enthusiasm and breathless rush in describing the successes of Camps with Kids. In particular, she told me that their newest camp was situated in southwestern Colorado. Here, among the various native Indians of the region, low-income boys were being given the chance to get away from an environment of poverty and learn basic industrial skills that could give them a chance for a better life. She encouraged me to visualize such a place and think of myself becoming one of their key volunteers.
I have to admit that I am completely awed by the beauty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I still keep last year’s Gunner’s Gin calendar hanging over the phone. Month after month, I get to review again the lovely mountain streams pouring down rock formations and valleys of wildflowers. All year it had made me want to throw caution to the winds and invest in a one-way ticket to pursue writing my first novel from a little cabin in the woods.
I left Miss Abrams’s rustic office proud that I might inspire even a few young American Indians with some sound writing techniques. She promised to call immediately following a required background check.

MISS ABRAMS CALLED TWO days later with the exciting news that I had been accepted into the Camps with Kids volunteer ranks for the full summer. By then, I had built up an eager anticipation about going. I would need to leave for Colorado the following Tuesday, giving me only six days to wind up my client affairs and update my will. I asked her if I would be required to have immunization shots, and she assured me that this wasn’t really necessary, although I might want to take some bottled water to start me out until I could buy some locally.
I wasn’t much of a traveler, having driven only as far as Lake Erie, and never out of New York state. Considering the extreme distance to Colorado, I worried about my unreliable Volvo, but on the other hand, I couldn’t be without my own transportation. I asked Mis