Árdís - 01.01.1949, Page 18

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ÁRDÍ S
camp. The very friendly and efficient Director, Rev. Berkheimer,
the Councillors, Instructors, and Dining Hall Crew and the whole-
hearted participation of enthusiastic campers, create a spirit of
good fellowship that permeates the very air throughout the camp.
May I briefly outiine the reason for this camp and how it came
into being. You may find some similarity to the reasons for, and
the beginning of our own Sunrise Lutheran Camp at Husavik.
Dr. Hadwin Fischer, a Lutheran minister from our U.L.C.A.
had, in some of his earlier pastorate years, served in rural districts
and in smaller towns. In those years he, like many other ministers,
struggled with general inefficiency and the great lack of adequate
leadership in Church and Sunday School. He did much to remedy
this in his parishes, but oft times was discouraged over the results
of his labors. He tried various methods of training workers and
imbueing them with enthusiasm and as he labored he gradually
gained a vision of a camp, where, with the aid of God’s glorious
out-of-doors, he could gather people (young and old) together and
by religious instruction, fire them with a desire for service and
make them more efficient workers in their respective parishes.
The idea of camps (especially church camps) was in its infancy
and he met a great deal of apathy and oft times opposition
from his parishioners. Year by year this vision became clearer and
he was able to transmit his ideas to others, who soon became his
co-workers. Thus a site was found and the experiment begun.
I do not propose to outline the story of this splendid camp from
its beginning, twenty years ago. Suffice to say it was indeed a
venture in faith, a desire to serve God and Dr. Hadwin Fischer’s
vision has been made a reality. Today, through years of unabated
enthusiasm, unstinting service and generous giving, Camp
Nawakwa in its aims and purposes, stands as a memorial to a
Christian’s dream.
The three great aims of this camp are: lst—to discover ability
for leadership; 2nd—to train leadership; and 3rd—to link leadership
with the local church.
This immediately shows that the camp is not an end in itself,
but a means to better Christian living, through the vital religious
training received by these children, youth and adults, and the
results of this instruction carried into the many communities rep-
resented by the camp enrollment.
The possibilities of leadership qualities are boundless and
every person everywhere has greater possibilities than those