Mount Ellis Academy Adventist Church in Bozeman, Montana, supports its members in gathering for outdoor worship, fellowship and fun during several weekend campouts each summer. This one, however, was the strangest one to date.
I set up a camper on Wednesday to hold the church’s site, and I went back Thursday to stay — but I wasn't alone anymore. A truck and trailer had pulled into our spot. I went over to the man standing there and asked, “Hey, are you with us, but I just don’t recognize you?” thinking he might be from a sister church.
He was not. He explained that he had a mining claim to this stretch of river. The campsite was forestry land, though, and he said he didn’t mind a big group of campers coming in and sharing it.
I have to admit, I was not a happy camper: far from home, in remote territory, with a strange man at our location and probably alone for the next 24 hours. The worry was real, and I prayed for safety and guidance. I also asked God to help me find another location, and if He didn’t, I would assume maybe we should stay there. An unfruitful search made that decision.
My family joined me on Friday evening, and I was so relieved! We decided to set up our chairs around the fire pit and proceed like it was a regular church campout.
Except, it wasn’t a regular church campout. Nobody showed up — seriously! Not one camper showed up that evening. We started our fire, though, to make supper. The fire quickly drew someone else — the miner’s 10-year-old son, Landon, whom I hadn’t seen. We officially met his dad, Chris, too, and learned they were on a road trip from Missouri to mine for gold at their Montana site.
The father and son joined us for dinner that night. They came again for potluck lunch the next day — once a few more Mount Ellis Academy Church members had arrived — and stayed for conversation around the campfire Saturday evening. They seemed to enjoy the fellowship so much and asked about our future campouts. We exchanged contact info and are happily adding them to our church email.
I don’t know why we ended up with such a small and personal group, why we ended up at the same site as a gold miner and his son, or why they connected with us so easily and want to keep contact, but maybe Somebody does.
