Fore and Aft
Being a camp director requires a lot of work on a tractor: mowing, raking, snow blowing, plowing, and more. (And you thought it was all shaving cream and hot dogs!) Much of the work done by a tractor happens behind the driver, so I have to keep an eye on where the tractor has been. Does the mower overlap the last line I cut? Did I rake over that huge mole mound? As I drive backward with the blower, is the edge moving in a straight line?
But I also have to look forward. I don’t want to hit a tree, get two wheels up in a ditch, or run into another parked vehicle. Driving in a straight line is the key to mowing in a straight line.
With a hand on the wheel, I have to keep checking front and back, front and back, front and back. I make little adjustments all the time—not too much, lest I overcorrect. I must be mindful both of where I’ve been and where I’m going.
Sonlight is in its 38th year. Winston and Mary, with the driving of the Spirit and thousands of campers, parents, volunteers, and donors, have cultivated an amazing camp and community. To look back on Sonlight’s history is to see rows and rows of beautiful works for the Lord. Hundreds of backpack trips that introduced youth to the joys of hiking. Hundreds of campfires at which young disciples drew closer to God. Thousands of delicious meals that embodied Christ’s call to join in table fellowship.
It is now part of my calling to look back on this rich ministry and ask, “How do we keep this going in the right direction?”
And there is looking forward. Every ministry must learn and grow. Sonlight must continue to “be with kids, and show them God.” But in a world of digital natives, twittering politics, and YouTube fame, how do we fulfill that mission best? The field before us is wide open, and we keep looking to the horizon. A new Gap Year program, a streamlined database, and alumni relations are in Sonlight’s future.
I hope and pray that by glancing fore and aft, over the past and the future, the furrows plowed by Sonlight will continue to follow God’s design of grace and love. God is faithful to keep our engine running, forgiving when we hit the rocks, and patient when we have to turn around and make another pass.
I hope you can look back on your experience of Sonlight with appreciation and joy. And that you’ll look forward with us to the bright horizon of the future. Together we follow the work of Jesus Christ, our savior and teacher before us. And we keep our hands on the wheel, ever ready to change for the better.
~ emrys tyler
Incoming Director