I was recently scrolling through one of my Facebook groups that I follow. I happen to come across an old photograph of Heidi and myself in the old Bear Trap Ranch laundry. The laundry was in the basement of one of the cabins. The laundry had one top loader and one front loader washing machine and one super-sized old gas dryer which from the looks of it could have been built in the 40’s or 50’s. Both washing machines drained into a single 5-gallon bucket that would then drain into a pipe which led to the sewage treatment plant. I learned quickly that you had to listen and to watch carefully for the spin cycles as it was common during the spin cycle for water to overflow from the 5-gallon bucket and on to the floor. If you were quick you could stop the top loader at just the right moment avoiding the overflow and having to mop up the water. To dry the laundry, you had to set the gas flame just right, too high a flame you would end up catching the load you were drying on fire which from the looks of the dryer occurred many times in the past. For my entertainment there was an old white tabletop radio which looked like one my grandparents had and you could on a good day get a few stations.
I first came to Bear Trap Ranch in the summer of 1981. After being encouraged to attend a new Christian’s retreat with other college students and my friend. During that week, we would take part in group activities like rock climbing and hikes. In the evenings we would gather to listen to speakers talk about aspects of the Christian life and then we would spend time actually practicing those aspects of the Christian life. One of those aspects we talked about was servanthood.
While we did many practical things that help me grow, servanthood wasn’t a top priority on my list. I was at that time more focused on understanding and growing in my faith. However, I never forgot the experience I had at bear trap ranch or how others made it possible for the camp to run. I remember at one point talking to my staff worker and asking him if he thought spending the summer on work crew at Bear Trap was a possibility. His encouragement was to write and see. I remember writing and getting an application and sending it back. I was clear with them that I had a disability but, I was also clear that I thought it wouldn’t be a problem. Much to my surprise, I received a letter of welcome to the work crew along with a note saying that they would commit to a one-month tryout to see if it would work. It wasn’t a letter saying no we have all the staff we need and it was not as long as I had hoped. Yet, the door was open and that was all I could ask for.
When I arrived, I spoke with the camp director and it was decided that my task was to work in the laundry. My first memory of seeing the laundry room was of seeing sheets, towels, and other assorted laundry stacked up to the ceiling. I learned later that no one had direct responsibility for the laundry. I was given some brief instructions and told there were no expectations on completing all the laundry. I just needed to keep up with what was needed.
Now, you would think I would be overwhelmed seeing a mountain of laundry. I saw it as a challenge like I see other challenges in life. And how do you face a challenge? You figure out the best method of achieving the desired goal which was to get the laundry done. Since I wasn’t often bothered in the laundry, I managed to figure out a system which worked for me. I quickly learned what machine worked best for the type of laundry I was washing. I also figured a system of how to fold and stack the clean laundry while sitting down. Slowly, load by load, I would take down that mountain of laundry. When the camp director came to check on my progress, I think he expected some movement of the mountain of wash but he must have been surprised because he offered to extend my month stay throughout the summer.
By the end of that first summer, I had made countless friends and when other tasks needed to be done, I would jump right in be it in the dish room washing dishes or pans or even peeling large logs that were used to build an additional lodge. What I learned that first summer was that it’s not the task you were assigned to that matters but it is how one task helps the whole group work together to achieve the larger goal.
I often think back to the summer I spent at Bear Trap Ranch. I often point to that summer as the foundation on which so many other things in my life rest. How those experiences shaped how I face other challenges and overcame the obstacles I encountered. I also remember that first summer at BTR when I meet a person who is just looking for that one opportunity to do something and how a simple YES can mean the world to them.
Thoughts? E-mail: francisearly@francisearly.com
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