Yesterday, Ed Watkins and I left St. Charles at 7:30 am to drive to Windermere, a Christian conference center located on the shores of the Lake of the Ozarks. 176 miles to Winderemere aand 176 miles back to St. Charles at $3.49 a gallon. That was the only painful part of the trip, but it paled in comparison to what my son Rick paid to fill his Tahoe. $81 was the price for that.
Windermere is a beautiful Christian conference center with great facilities and is located, in my opinion, on the finest part of the lake, the Niangua arm. The water in that area is almost always clear and beautiful.
Dr. Arthur Mallory, chairman of the Windermere board and Dan Bench, the CEO greeted us and took us over the campus to see the varied parts of the center. It was fun touring and visiting. A highlight of the tour was a visit to the prayer chapel that is located on a hill that overlooks Windermere on one side and the lake on the other. What a special place for being alone with God!
During lunch we began a two-pronged conversation. Could we come up with a plan to bring people to Windermere during the off-season? The four of us talked and listened. Ed is in the beginning of a program for non-profit organizations to count the number of volunteer hours that help those folks and verify those hours on the internet. That was one way we could help Windermere. I suggested that perhaps having a state Upward basketball tournament at Windermere. What a great expereience for those little folks to come to Windermere and play basketball and have spiritual experience. Last year more than 1500 decisions for Christ were made at that facility. Arthur suggested that we find a way to bring minority kids to Windermere. I mentioned a man to Ed and he said that person was the perfect individual to make that happen. So Ed and I will meet with him and a leader in the Black churches of St. Louis and bring them to Windermere for more discussion about reaching those important kids.
Dan Bench is a special servant. He served our country in the United States Marine Corps. He SERVES as president/CEO of Windermere for zero salary. It is so easy to see his love for the center, its employees and it volunteers. What a servant! Arthur serves on many boards and is THE expert in the field of education.
Before driving back to St. Louis, Arthur agreed to help us in any way with the MOHELA "College Begins in Kindergarten" program. His first task will be to talk to Senator Kit Bond and seek his help. Sen Bond is the former auditor of the state of Missouri and two-time governor. He has represented us in the US Senate for many years and has great influence.
The drive back to the city, with a stop in Jefferson City for ice cream, was a great time of reflection. I was in the company of Christian Serving Giants. What a great experience!!!
2 comments:
It was fun to read about your day here! What a collection of cool people:-)
Thank you so much for thinking of the minority
children! What an awesome experience for them!
I can assure you it will be a positive event in their
lives that they will never forget.
God is using you in huge ways to impact many children.
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