Campmeeting

Chapter 7
Campmeeting

"Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted 
for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look 
as our guide in the future."

— President Ulysses S. Grant

Michael and Pamela took a short time to pack for Campmeeting. The two took the Memorial Day Weekend for a short honeymoon. But in Michael's mind the Campmeeting that goes back as for as his memory as a youngster goes, is the best time of the whole year. He gets a chance to meet some old friends, some young friends and some new people to be friends with forever.


Campmeeting would be new for Pamela. She has a few friends from her neighborhood and homeschool meetings, but they all live in the same area of her home State. Pamela also made some friends as she advanced in ham radio.

Michael did not know a whole lot of Pamela's experiences in amateur radio. She did a bit of continuous wave (cw) Morse code QSOs (contacts) when she was young. She began as a novice when she was 8 years old. She next earned a technician ticket when she was 12. She enjoyed doing many QSOs on 2 meters and 450 MHz.

However, she talked to and cw'd with some folks that on good sunspot years, fooled around with 6 meters with skip to far places. But this trip to Campmeeting will have to make it with a 2 meter FM handie-talkie and her TNC to hook to her laptop.

On her Debian GNU/Linux Sid software there were many programs for AX.25 and other packet sort of software. So Pamela expected to make contact with a many digipeaters around Boise and Meridian, Idaho.

Michael threw his 10' by 10' tent in his Chevy Cobalt automobile. He was ready for Campmeeting this year. Michael knew how Campmeeting got its name. Years ago, out of town, people went camping and met with Sabbath Christians from around the world. Since Israel has been a country in the last century, Christians from Israel made it to Campmeetings. Some folks have made it from South Africa, South America, Mexico, Panama, Canada and the U.K. That's why Michael liked Campmeeting every year. It was a time to meet friends from around the world.

Michael and Pamela had discussed their trip over to Campmeeting. The automobile trip is over 950 miles and can be done in about 15 hours. They decided to go out US-34 to Brush, Colorado, to I-76 and then up to I-80. They plan to connect to a US highway, down to US-34 again and then over to the Lake of the Ozarks.

But Michael figures that the two of them can complete a trip into an Iowa campsite.

They can camp Thursday night and be at the Lake of Ozarks, setup camp and attend the first meeting Friday evening.

The two arrived Friday afternoon, setup their camp, picked up a Campmeeting schedule, and made it in the Campmeeting cafeteria for supper. The newly married couple looked at the Campmeeting schedule to see who was speaking this year.

A Messianic Jewish group was scheduled to speak and they also had some choreography on the list too. The Campmeeting schedule also has Victor Mordecai as a speaker. Michael leans back in the chair, ponders a few seconds, and asks Pamela a question, Do you think that Monday's speaker is using a pen-name?

Yes, I believe it probably is a pen-name, but some names are rather strange. I had a friend who's sister took a teaching job in the prison town of Iowa, and one young girl there who's first name was Lasagna, like the Italian dish! So Mordecai as a first name may be true, but as a last name means it is probably a pen-name.

As Michael finishes the apple pie in his supper, he mentions to Pamela, You appear to be finished with your supper, I think we can go over to the chapel tent and get ready for the meeting? Pamela finishes her cup of coffee, nods to Michael and stands up to go to the tent.

On the way, Michael explains how calling the chapel a tent is wrong. He explains how the Campmeetings were before the new area was developed behind the local churches brick chapel. He tells Pamela that the old area was behind the K-Mart grocery store on a area that looked like a park with only one building, the cafeteria, and a huge round tent frame that seemed to go up at least 60 feet with a diameter of about 100 feet.


The new Campmeeting chapel had a sheetmetal frame, a huge air fan in the peak of the roof, and cloth doors around the west, north and south sides.

The distance from the cafeteria to the chapel is only about 50 feet, but there were many old friends to talk with on the way after Michael explained the initial 'tent' words that he used in the explanation to Pamela. Pamela, let's stay over here by the open side of the chapel. I have some history to explain about the 'why.' They both sit and lay their Bibles next to them, and Michael turns toward Pamela. Years ago, Mom and Dad had some friends that never went into the chapel. They said they were not 'good' enough to go inside and sit next to the 'good people' there. They sat outside the chapel in a folding chair back at the old Campmeeting site.

Sometimes, after the meeting, Mom and Dad would talk to the 'outsiders' in the cafeteria 'til midnight. Talking about the talks from the previous meeting or about Church leadership, and the direction the Church or America was headed. Sometimes, the fellowship AFTER the meetings are the best part of the whole day! The Holy Spirit is there sometimes, to witness of things that have some consequences that last forever! said Michael as he used his hands to sign 'all done.'

He looks right into Pamela's eyes as he tells her that some of the 'outsiders' changed their attitudes and actions in their lives, and are now leaders in the Church! Pamela had an anxious look on her face as waiting for words to help God's work.

Pamela, something you will also find out about this group of Sabbath keepers, is that the leadership is more-or-less from the bottom up. Next Tuesday, is the business meeting. Any changes proposed in this group will be voted on by the members present and members who have a member to proxy vote for them.

Also Pamela, later in the meeting, there will probably be a sort of corporate prayer, where we knell. For us, knell with your back to the front of the chapel. Some people just feel that it is just more comfortable. To keep your elbows on the pew. But the political side to it is that the clergy is not your final leader. God is our leader, with Jesus His Son, our mediator to God.

Mmmm. Okay. The Temple inner vail was torn. The High Priest doesn't have to be there. Jesus, Pamela pauses, is my Saviour, period said Pamela.

As Michael and Pamela came in from their tent on Monday morning, Michael saw an old friend, Eric Jones, with a travel cup of a steaming liquid, cross over from the cafeteria to the chapel.

"Eric, how's life for you now?" said Michael.

"Great Michael. Who's your close friend with you Michael?" said Eric.
"This is Pamela, my wife!" said Michael.

"So you had to get hitched, huh?" shouts Eric.

"No Eric, not a 'had to,' but an official courtship. We met at school, at CSU, and after a 'teacher/student' relationship, we both decided to make it a bit closer relationship" Michael said as he put his arm around Eric.

"Okay Michael, I know you had your eyes on some women last year, but their lives had some 'missing-spots.' Their most important relationship with our Lord and Saviour was lacking a little. That group from Missouri came last year, and they made sure that they were on the 'very attractive' league of young women, but after some conversations with them, I could tell that some things were missing. So it seems that with a relatively short courtship, kind of implies that Pamela's heart and the Word of God have a very close relationship?"

"You are right on the nose Eric! The Word of God and the Holy Spirit played, or rather, plays a role in our relationship all the time. I think we are together in the Book of Life! I mean we were meant to be together!" Michael exclaims.

"Okay Michael, I will pray for you two always. I assume it's like we talked about relationships last Campmeeting, that you two indeed are ONE." Eric says as he binds his hands together with intertwined fingers. "The same ONE for God and His Son, Jesus. They are two entities, but they are on ONE MIND!" Eric emphasizes.

"Correct" said Michael, "Let's go in the cafeteria for some coffee before breakfast!"

Eric speaks first, "Michael, have you made it through Joseph Story's book on the Constitution? Since the last national elections, America seems to be going off the left side of the table!

"You are exact in your perception of the United States now Eric. And yes, I did finish Joseph Story's book. It's my understanding that it was a common freshman textbook in America's law schools, but now, they first study International Law!" shouts Michael.

"Yes. So new lawyers don't see how the Federal Reserve, our own private bank, violated the US Constitution Article 1 Section 10 "No State shall...make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts;". Joseph Story spends a couple pages explaining the 'why' of using paper as the financial base of a country's money. It's all what is happening in our second depression!" said Eric.

"Yeah, I see it now. It was all written on the wall before it happened. Our country had trillions of dollars debt, and many of our bonds from the Feds were owned by foreigners. So when they all redeemed them at the same time, it made trouble. Then, also, many of our corporations are owned by foreigners too. Like the City of Greeley depends on Swift, the meat packing giant, that is really a Brazilian corporation that bought Swift from the American group! And when the foreign groups want to sell the American sites all at ounce, it makes trouble too. And then the housing market fell out. The politicians started to call it a 'recession' but when the markets fell out all together, it quickly became a DEPRESSION!" concludes Michael.

Pamela excites her words with raised brows, "And Eric, you were very correct in stating that we appear to be falling off the left side of the table! The past Supreme Court Justice, Rehnquist, wrote in one of his books about the foundations of the First Amendment. In some places in the colonies, the elections were based on being a Methodist from Pastor Bob's congregation! So if you were not in that particular congregation, you didn't have a CHANCE of being elected. And in the early colonies, almost ALL of the first people in the colonies were Christian, so the religion in the First Amendment were different versions," and Pamela emphasizes her words with her hands "of Christianity! Not Buddhist, Muslim, Zen or atheist!"

"Yes Pamela" states Eric, "and most ignorant souls in America don't see the lop-sided anti-Christianity atheist religion we 'teach' in public school. I did some research about a teacher up in Tacoma, Washington and how he taught both sides of the evolution/creation/intelligent design situation in his class. The ACLU picked him apart and the school changed his position from a science teacher to a gym instructor!"