By Dr. Gerry Baughman - Founder and Director CAMP BIMI * SMART

"Ouch! Oh! Ugh! Wow! That smarts!" These were a few of the words I heard from the guy lying on the other side of the curtain. We were both having physical therapy - mine following surgery to repair my right rotator cuff. Some people just can’t endure pain. However, pain is a REAL thing, and sometimes, it even hurts! But…pain is necessary in the healing process.

I am the proud owner of nine body scars! I don’t know of a single one that I could say I enjoyed receiving. In each case, I could say that I was glad when it was over. Some of those scars were because of internal problems that needed to be corrected. Others are there because of my, well…you know…foolishness. My mind says I can do anything, but my reflexes don’t think so. A fall in Zambia and there went the left rotator cuff! A fall in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and there went the right one! At least I have a matching pair! A fall in Hungary caused the doctor to grind off the bone shard in my left elbow so it wouldn’t poke through my skin. Last year’s SMART trip was a great one for me…no injuries!

Yes, bumps, bruises, scrapes and scars are all part of our lives. As much as we would like to avoid them, they just seem to happen. Some of us are more blessed than others in this area…you know, we’re accidents waiting to happen. And so it is in our spiritual lives.

Warren Wiersbe wrote a small paperback book some time ago that was recently reprinted. The title is The Bumps Are What You Climb On. Great men in Scripture, as well as more recent history, have achieved great things for God. But as we examine their lives, we will find that each one experienced many adversities to stop them. However, they simply used those bumps on which to climb. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13

I used to run the hills when I was a kid. Climbing steep banks in the open coal mines became second nature to me. The smooth ones were the most difficult and I often rolled to the bottom only to try again. And try I did until I made it!

The Lord puts rocks and hills and fences and bumps on your path to test you, your faith, and your endurance. You must decide if you are going to sit down and lean against them or if you are going to climb over them.

Scars heal and bruises eventually go away, but the inward character that the bumps help you build spiritually will stay with you until the Lord comes. Caleb had a few bumps along the way, but at eighty years of age he said, ‘Give me that mountain!’ Read Joshua 14:8, 9, 12.

How are your mountain climbing skills? Do you need a personal trainer? I’m available. Atta way! Up and over…or is it ‘down and out’?

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Tammy - Christian School teacher

I will never forget the many valuable lessons that I learned from being part of CAMP BIMI and SMART. Thank you so much for touching my life, as well as the lives of many others; only God knows how much this ministry has impacted the world for Christ!

Kristine - Ivory Coast Missionary Nurse

CAMP BIMI continues to be a blessing. It is unlike any other camp – as we all know! – in that its’ lessons don’t end after a week or two but they continue on year after year working in the hearts of those who’ve attended. Occasionally, when I’ve come to a ‘speed bump’ along the way, I’ve picked up my CAMP BIMI notebook along with my Bible and found a quiet spot to read and talk to the Lord. One week before deputation meetings, I went through one of the toughest times of my life. The thought overwhelmed me. I wanted to run away from it. I felt very inadequate of the calling the Lord has given me. Then I read …‘Leaving home and your comfort zone will break your heart, but you HAVE to do it.’ I can’t put into words how wonderful it was to know that those feelings were completely NORMAL. I just needed to step out of the box, out of the nest, out of my comfort zone, try out my wings, and fly – with the Lord by my side. Everything would be OK. Then the Lord brought me Proverbs 16: 1, 3. He encouraged my heart and gave me back my excitement and fervor for deputation and Ivory Coast. My first meeting went very well! The Lord is good; He ever cares for His children and shelters them under His wings. I Corinthians 2:9 So thank you, again, for CAMP BIMI. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without those life-changing two weeks!

Mike & Katy – AZ Church Planters

I really don’t think a day goes by without thinking of you all there. Although our time at CAMP BIMI was only for a week, the impact and influence on us for Christ’s sake will last a lifetime.

Colleen – Thailand Internship

Something funny happened yesterday. We have a two week – short term missionary staying with us. I have been increasingly frustrated at her unwillingness to adapt. She complains about the food, the bathroom …we have to change our schedule to meet her needs. Here’s the funny part…Last night I was stomping around my apartment murmuring to myself about how I had tried so hard to adapt to the culture here and she won’t even TRY! Then it hit me…CAMP BIMI! If it had not been for CB, I could have very easily been in the same boat as this woman. You could never put a price tag on the wealth of experience you shared with us. Thank you!

David – Christian School Administrator

Sometimes I have trouble remembering things, particularly from long ago, but my memories and experience at the first CAMP BIMI are still so strong and vivid! I always tell people, besides my salvation and marriage, CB has had the single greatest impact on my life. I love getting the ENCOURAGER and also the prayer e-mails. Thank you! SMART

Rachel – IL – Pastor’s wife to Deaf

The Lord has already shown me practical things through my deputation time for the SMART trip…seeing what missionaries have to do to prepare mailings, waiting to see how God provides support, etc. Spiritual things were having opportunities to witness, being able to teach the deaf at my church more about missions, trusting the Lord, and praying for support among other things. This deputation time alone has been an encouragement and learning experience for me and I am eager to see what the trip will bring.

Cliff – AF Chaplain

I can’t help but think back to the SMART trip to Europe and the decisions I made regarding missions and the chaplaincy during and after that trip and at camp. That really was my first ‘stretch of faith’ with giving up a month of work over the summer, raising all that money, etc. I have clung to that many times. Thank you for sticking to it …you have literally been part of several of the most life changing situations in my life …which looking back now are catalysts to future faith actions for us in life, ministry, adoptions, etc.

Rebekah – VA

Being in two diverse countries and cultures for a short month with SMART, I can truly say that I have a fairly accurate view of missions work and that the Lord wants me to serve Him as a missionary. I learned many things such as how to effectively reach people for the Lord, adapt to a culture, how to budget my time and resources, and how to be not just flexible, but fluid, in ministry. I saw many areas that I must change in my own life such as …a good leader must first learn to follow before he can effectively lead. The importance of being prepared was a repeated lesson. I know that although missions is not easy, as Bro. B so clearly put it, the call of God cannot be denied or delayed – it is there whether I accept or reject it and people are dying.

Terry – Canary Islands — Lessons From the Field

I have not forgotten what a missionary in Mexico told me … the best advertising you can ever get is not with literature or radio, but with a national telling other nationals that you are ‘one of them’. It also helps to never stop learning the language.

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• If you have not been receiving the CB prayer loop, we do NOT have your e-mail address. Please e-mail that to us immediately for the latest information.

• If you are relocating or have ANY change in your contact information, please e-mail that to us immediately or phone 423.322.3790.

• If you need Reunion packets, they are available NOW. Call 423.322.3790 or E-mail us to request a hard copy or a pdf attachment. Online applications are currently under construction.

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Bathe the special project and its’ manager in prayer. It is 2/3 completed. Anything of this magnitude is met with tremendous obstacles, but the Lord is ALWAYS the VICTOR. We will announce its’ unveiling the moment it is ready to roll. It will happen, but in God’s Time – not ours.

James 5:16b

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"Six months before CAMP BIMI, I was off doing my own thing. I was a senior in college with no marriage prospects. This concerned me because I was not living right, and I knew I would never meet the one God had for me if I was off in sin. So by the Holy Spirit’s conviction, I began eliminating one thing after another that I knew was wrong. It finally came down to it…I knew I was not pursuing what the Lord wanted for me. The Lord laid missions on my heart and gave me a peace about it. So off I go to CB and there SHE was! That wasn’t in any way my purpose for going. But it was the original way the Holy Spirit began working in my life to bring me to missions…it’s always neat to see how God works!"

Jeremy Benbrooks, missionary pilot, married Mattie Monn in August 2007. They are heading to Togo West Africa to reach remote villages for Christ.

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fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid, too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe tuo fo 100 anc. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh, and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

If you can read this, your brain is 50% faster than those who can’t.

Isn’t this a bit like life and finding God’s Will? Often things seem scrambled and impossible to understand; but if we focus on what God’s Word is trying to tell us, it is there and not so complicated after all.

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On deputation, Holly (Ferguson) Johnson was teaching a third grade class about their ministry in Dominican Republic. This lesson made an impact on one concerned young man, so much so that he began praying for the Johnson family at home. However, he was a little confused about the people Erik and Holly were going to reach. His parents couldn’t help but laugh when he prayed for the ‘Johnsons, missionaries to the Democrats and Republicans’!

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It is impossible to lick your elbow.

Why isn’t the number 11 pronounced onety one?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

What hair color do they put on the driver’s licenses of bald men?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?

If a pig loses its’ voice, is it disgruntled?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

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Diane Baughman

"Brother and Mrs. Baughman, this is ______ CB ‘95. I’m sure you don’t remember me but …" It always brings a smile and warms our hearts. Not remember you?! You’ve got to be kidding! Yes, we know each one of you by name and by face…unless you’ve had a major overhaul! We remember your testimony and your struggles, not only at CB, but through the years. You are our life and ministry and heartbeat. We love each of you just as you are although it is our desire to see you be in the very center of God’s Will.

I’ve thought long and hard about what the Lord would have me share with you. Thoughts of Reunion Week June 21 – 28 flood my mind daily. The planning, special events, ‘spoiling’ and encouragement–wanting it to be so refreshing and glorious that when you leave, you’ll be SO glad you came; feeling like you’ve had multiple B-12 shots and can face the world and all it has to throw your way while winning people to Christ. A new outlook, that ‘boost in your jets’…a ‘Wow! I needed that’ kind of feeling!

But then, so do thoughts race about each of you and your roller coaster lives. Some of you have, and are, facing some incredibly tough things in your lives - far tougher than you ever dreamed would come about when you attended CAMP BIMI seeking the Lord’s leading for your life. Life seemed so simple then, didn’t it? Thank you for trusting us enough to share your heartaches and grief and to allow us to pray with and for you.

Others of you face some really difficult things in ministry here and on the field…some dangerous, even life threatening, and needing to remain unspoken to the general public. Most all of you who are missionaries face financial crisis with the devalued US dollar and it is delaying your getting to the field, or staying on the field. Furlough or sticking it out…someone to take your place temporarily...what to do?

Many of you are experiencing the many blessings and joys of Bible College, a SMART trip, internship, survey trips, deputation, language school, seeing the Lord meet your every need in amazing ways! Others are thanking the Lord for the fruit that is coming as a result of faithful sowing wherever. Isn’t it amazing what little encouragement it takes to pull you out of a long run of discouragement?

Roller coasters! Some like them and some don’t. Some get ill and others get a rush of adrenalin. I am reminded that our lives are filled with the anticipation of climbing to tremendous heights, the enjoyment of the view from that vantage point, and hanging on for dear life when we plummet to the depths below. I’m so thankful that, as believers, we have God’s Word full of promises to sustain and encourage us in the toughest and best of times, aren’t you? Isaiah 40:31 Psalms 40:1-5 Proverbs 3:5,6 Jeremiah 29:13 33:3 are only a few that come to mind. Never let yesterday’s disappointments overshadow tomorrow’s dreams.

About that Reunion…who is eligible to come? YOU ARE because the only requirement is that you are a CAMP BIMI alumnus (or married to one). No, you don’t have to be a missionary; or in full time service; or with BIMI; or wearing a halo 24-7; or have the same goals you put on your CB application years ago; or any number of other excuses you can come up with. You are eligible because you are YOU! We love you and would be honored with your presence. There would be no greater joy than to celebrate 15 years of CAMP BIMI * SMART with YOU!

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In a blender mix 1 c milk, 1 c water, 1 Tbsp butter and 2 eggs. Start adding flour (about 2 c) and add until you have a loose batter. In a small lightly greased frying pan, pour out enough batter to make a thin pancake, turning as soon as it is lightly browned. Brown the second side. Set aside.

Simmer 1 large chicken breast in 2½ c water until done. Save the liquid. With a fork, shred chicken into little pieces. Measure 2 c of the liquid (add water if you don’t have enough). Add 1 chicken bouillon cube, salt, pepper (to taste), 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp minced onion, 1 small can tomato paste to liquid. Mix well.

In a buttered casserole dish, pour a bit of the tomato liquid in; then place a layer of pancakes (3-4 like lasagna noodles). Sprinkle some chicken over them; then a layer of lunchmeat ham slices; then some grated Mozzarella cheese; repeat these four layers twice. Pour remaining liquid over it all and bake in a 325º oven until cheese melts. Cut and serve like lasagna.

l Rarely made with hamburger l Usually ham and cheese

l Pancakes instead of noodles.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Scot C & Katie Daku -  AMERICAN SAMOA
Paul J & Wendy Daku Jr -  FIJI ISLANDS
James & Dawn Daley -  INDONESIA