A Home Run – Part One

“Did that really happen?” I asked my four Uruguayan friends. It seemed like it was just yesterday that they were arriving at the Greenville Spartanburg Airport. Here we were packing their luggage into the van as we prepared to head to the airport for their return trip to Montevideo. Their journey began thirty-six days earlier with a similar routine as they left Uruguay. As we backed out of my driveway, I looked in my rearview mirror, I remembered 6,023 miles traveled together across seventeen states, eight churches visited, and many other connections made with pastors and ministry partners. As I approached the departures lane at the Greenville Spartanburg Airport, I reflected back on the past five weeks and again said, “Did that really happen?” We had seen so many things and spent so much time together, and yet it was all just a blur. I am really thankful that I took a lot of photos. My Facebook album is a testament to that fact. I also had tried to journal some each day. I’m sure for my Uruguayan friends, like myself, it will take several weeks to try to process everything.

I had four goals for our Uruguayan missionaries, four bases that we wanted to touch. If we hit all four bases, then their trip would be considered a home run.

1) Camp at the Wilds
2) Connect with Churches
3) Connect with Ministry Partners
4) See the USA

My primary goal for our missionaries was for them to experience two educational and inspirational weeks as we would attend staff training week and the first week of camp at the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina. We touched this base.

The second base we would need to touch is that we would connect with churches, those who currently support Pedro and our camp ministry in Uruguay and also introduce a few new churches to their ministry. Each weekend we ministered in different churches. We touched this base.
The third area of focus was for our missionaries to connect with current missionary partners and also introduce them to a few new possible partners. By God’s grace, we also were able to touch this base.

The fourth goal was that in our time together traveling those 6,000 plus miles that they would have a variety of experiences that would give them a good understanding of our country. They saw, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Deleware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. We definitely touched this base.

I believe Pedro’s trip was a home run!

If you have followed EMU International’s ministry in Uruguay for any length of time, then you have heard us talk about Pedro Donzé. He currently serves as the Camp Director of Camp Emmanuel in Guazavirá, Uruguay. He also is the chief financial officer of our mission and runs our mission office. In addition, he serves on the Junta (Board of Directors) of MEU (in Uruguay, EMU is known as MEU, Misión Evangélica del Uruguay). Joining him on the trip was his wife Paty, and Carlos and Beatriz Silvera. Beatriz is Pedro’s right arm serving as a volunteer assistant in our camp. She works in an office for the Uruguayan power company and volunteers her services during the camp season, giving of her vacation time to assist in our ministry. Her husband Carlos, a painter, is also a gifted servant, volunteering in the maintenance and grounds at the camp.

For many years, Pedro has had a desire to visit the USA, specifically the Wilds Chrisitan Camp. It seemed like it might never happen as there always was some circumstance preventing such a trip. Two years ago, extensive plans began for this trip and we were determined to make his dream a reality. CampsAbroad, the mission arm of the Wilds Christian Camp had given a standing invitation for Pedro to attend two weeks of camp. Pedro had put together a plan of acquiring airline miles that would allow two couples to visit the USA. Last Fall, we determined that we were going to move forward with plans for them to visit this summer. Can you imagine all the logistical planning that would take place over the next few months? As they arrived in Greenville on Wednesday, May 15, it seemed like Spring Training was over and opening night was about to take place.

On Wednesday, May 15, I picked them up at the airport. Five weeks of luggage filled our Buick Enclave. One of the suitcases was completely full of medicine. Pedro’s wife Paty has what is called Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly known as Wegener’s disease. According to Wikipedia, “It is a form of vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels) that affects small and medium-size vessels in many organs but most commonly affects the upper respiratory tract and the kidneys.” Several years ago, Paty had to have a kidney transplant. She has to take medication for both the disease and to prevent rejection of the kidney. Knowing that her health would probably be an issue for this trip, we took every precaution possible. We were careful not to push too hard with our schedule. We also worked in specific times for rest and recuperation. We purchased international travel insurance which fortunately we never had to use. We committed Paty’s health to the Great Physician and He wonderfully took care of her.

After a stop at Walmart to buy some groceries and some clothes for their trip, we made it home. We enjoyed a late supper which is typical for Uruguayans, and then unpacked, and settled down for the night. My daughters are working at the Wilds Christian Camp so they were able to use Abby’s and Hannah’s rooms while they were with us.

Thursday would be a day of preparation for our weekend trip to New Jersey. Following a light breakfast, Pedro and Paty organized the pill boxes for their time with us. I went to pick up the rental vehicle we would use for our trip up north. We drove a new GMC Yukon that was perfect for our group of five. It provided not only a comfortable ride but also Apple CarPlay which helped with the GPS and to pass the time listening to music from my phone. Surprisingly, it got 23 miles to a gallon which isn’t bad for such a large vehicle.

Ken and Joan stopped by for a brief visit and then I took them to meet Nelson Neal, one of our EMU International board members, for lunch. They enjoyed pizza with Nelson and Debi and then went shopping. Pedro wanted to stop by Best Buy to purchase a sim card and a cell phone plan that would give us unlimited data for our trip and allow us to communicate with one another and with his family back in Uruguay. Pedro loves Best Buy. If I have counted correctly, we stopped at six different Best Buy stores. In his defense, we visited at least that many Walmarts.

Upon returning home, they rested some in the afternoon and then five Spanish speaking young people from Palmetto Baptist Church in Powdersville came to our house. Jairo Villegas is from Tim Chapman’s ministry in Peru. He currently is working on his MDiv. degree at Bob Jones University. He and his wife Suzanne spent five weeks last summer in Uruguay. They never really got to know Pedro while they were down there, but because they spoke Spanish and because they hope to be a part of our EMU family, I had invited them to come to our house and prepare an authentic Peruvian meal for the Uruguayans. Of course, Joanna and I got to enjoy it too. They fixed a flavorful Peruvian chicken stew with rice and potatoes. They also brought a homemade key lime pie. Three other young people joined us, Bella, Ezra, and Priscilla Rodriguez who is from Uruguay. Her aunt Chicha is one of our EMU missionaries. The Spanish speaking young people were encouraged as we showed Pedro’s family video and the Emanuel Camp video. After they left, we packed for our upcoming six-day trip. I felt like we had a good start to touching all of the bases.

Friday morning, we left around 9:00 a.m. Even though we had a large vehicle, we had a lot of luggage. Carlos had half of the back seat with luggage stacked next to him. We stopped at Concord Mills in Charlotte. The ladies were looking for handbags, so we visited the Burlington Coat Factory. The discount prices amazed the Uruguayans and they took advantage of a few sales. If you visit Concord Mills, you must stop by Bass Pro Shop. After a few photos in front of the huge fish tanks, we had lunch at the food court. Villa Italia Kitchen was a great choice as we shared stromboli and salad. I had planned for a rest stop every two or three hours. It was going to be a long five weeks and I didn’t want to wear everybody out the first full day of travel. The rental car allowed me to call some friends over the speaker phone. Since we were on our way to Alexandria, VA, we called and talked with Brad Lapiska. He is a retired pastor from Engleside Baptist Church in Alexandria, and serves on EMU’s board of directors.

The Uruguayans had heard about Chick-fil-A and insisted that I stop there for supper. We found one on Jefferson Davis Dr. in Fredricksburg, VA. We passed several places named after Jefferson Davis. They found it interesting that my name was so famous. We arrived at Ben and Carissa Smith’s home around 9 p.m. Ben was Brad’s assistant and is now the pastor at Engleside Baptist. His church supports several of our EMU missionaries.

The next morning, we showed them Pedro’s videos and after a delicious breakfast, we left to tour Washington D.C. for a few hours. We needed to stop for gas. Do you remember the days of full-service gas stations? That is the way it still is in Uruguay, so I let Pedro pump the gas for his first time ever. I told him if this mission thing doesn’t work out for him, he has a future working in one of the full-service stations. We drove to the Pentagon City Mall to park and then took the Metro (subway) to the National Archives. Most of them had never been on a train. When we came up the escalator and saw the massive limestone and granite buildings the cameras came out. We walked to the Air and Space Smithsonian Museum. After touring the museum, we planned on taking the DC Circulator bus to visit the monuments, but the buses weren’t running that day. We would have to walk. We stopped for lunch at a food truck near the Washington Monument. We then walked around the reflecting pool, by the Vietnam Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial. After walking so much, we decided to call an Uber ride to take us to the closest Metro Station. The driver had a small car, so Carlos sat across everyone’s lap in the back for the one-mile ride across the bridge to Arlington Station. He dropped us off and we discovered that the station was closed. Fortunately. they had arranged free bus transportation to the Pentagon, so we took the bus to the Pentagon and then took the train to the Mall. We were definitely touching the base of seeing and experiencing the USA. We drove through Baltimore, into Deleware, across the river into New Jersey, and after many tolls later, we arrived at Hardingville Bible Church in Hardingville, New Jersey. We spent the next three nights at a wonderful mission house. We had walked 13,708 steps, equivalent to over 6 miles. Paty wasn’t the only one ready for bed that night.

Sunday, May 19, after a light breakfast, we drove about 20 minutes to Truth Bible Church in Alloway, NJ. Pastor David Field had invited me several months ago for a Missions Emphasis Sunday. We began with Sunday School where I presented the ministry of EMU. I preached during the morning service and then we enjoyed a delicious lunch with the church family. We were able to get some much-needed rest during the afternoon. That evening during the service, Pedro, for the first time ever, presented his testimony in English. Pedro understands a little English but doesn’t speak very confidently. This was a huge challenge for him, and he read most of the testimony. The congregation responded well to his impassioned story. I was really proud of him. I had the privilege of preaching again during the evening service. We enjoyed some refreshments afterward and then went back to the mission house. We had bought some groceries the night before, so I made supper for us, spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, and garlic bread. Pedro now wants me to cook next year at camp in Uruguay.

Monday was a rest day. We met Pastor Andy Merkle for lunch. He is one of the assistant pastors at Hardingville Bible Church. He arranged for us to take a tour of Lucas Greenhouses. Special thanks to George and Louise Lucas for taking time out of their busy schedule to show us their incredible operation. Keeping with the Italian theme for meals, I fixed chicken alfredo which we enjoyed with the left-over spaghetti and garlic bread.

We had been anticipating Tuesday because this was the day that we were going to cross the Delaware River for a drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike across Amish country. We beat the lunch crowd to the Shady Maple Smorgasbord which features a buffet of 200 feet of authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. I wish you could have seen the eyes of our Uruguayan guests. After lunch, we shopped in the 40,000 square foot gift shop. I had to pull the ladies out of the shop because we were headed to what I thought might be one of the highlights of our trip. It turns out that I was right as we attended the afternoon showing of “Jesus” at the Sight & Sound Theatre. “Incredible,” pronounced with a Spanish accent, was the word that they used to describe the dramatic presentation. They were really surprised that at the end of the play, a clear gospel presentation and invitation was given.

We left Pennsylvania to spend the night in Frederick, MD, with my friend Pastor Kent Ramler. Last year I had preached in his church and school for a mission conference. We had a little bit of time to kill before meeting with the pastor, so we made a quick stop at Gettysburg at dusk and took a few photos. We climbed over the rocks at Little Round Top and I tried to tell them about that awful chapter of American history. We truly were touching all of the bases.

Tuesday morning, we enjoyed breakfast with the pastor and then drove to meet with another pastor friend for lunch. Our picture-perfect drive through the valley took us across the Shenandoah River, down I-81, to the historic town of New Market, VA. We met my friend Pastor Brent Hockema at the Smith Creek Baptist Church. His church was incorporated in 1756, twenty years before the United States would become a country. The area was known as the Cross Roads as two well-known Indian trails crossed here. It is the third “regular” Baptist church started in Virginia. The pastor gave us a tour of the church and also shared with us its history.

Pastor Brent not only serves as pastor of this church, he also is the President of Camp Rapidan in Virginia. We enjoyed talking camp ministry with him and we had lunch in one of those quaint small-town diners. The drive home that day was long but beautiful. We stopped at an overlook around dusk to take photos of the mountains. It was good to be back home for the night.

The next couple of days we spent in Greenville. We were able to get some much-needed rest, but we still took time to explore and shop. The Uruguayans enjoyed getting to know my mom, Elaine Davis, who lives in our basement apartment. On Thursday, mom threw together a quick lunch of ham and several salads along with homemade pimento cheese. I think Pedro wants her to come to cook at camp now. That afternoon we explored downtown Greenville and drove through Bob Jones University. It had been a hot day, over 90 degrees. We stopped for a drink at a QT station. Pedro wanted an icee so we all got different fruity icees. We were so thirsty that we started to guzzle the drinks only to all five grab our foreheads with brain freeze. The clerks behind the counter laughed at us. My daughters were home for a couple of nights before camp began and needed their rooms to pack so Ken and Joan Jensen graciously hosted the Uruguayans for the next two nights. On Friday evening, the Jensens hosted a last-minute drop-in at their house. Several folks from the Greenville area came out to greet the missionaries.

On Saturday morning, Ken and Joan dropped the missionaries off at our house. After packing the car, we left for the windy drive to the Wilds. When we arrived at camp, we met Paul and Theresa Bixby. For many years they served as missionaries in Spain. Last year, they were our featured speakers at the Family Camp and Workers’ Conference at Camp Emanuel in Uruguay. It was good to have my wife Joanna join us for the weekend. That evening, we were introduced to the leaders of CampsAbroad, Matt and Kelly Collier, Dan and Amy Brooks, and Tim and Rachel Endean. CampsAbroad is the missions arm of the Wilds Christian Association They send experienced camp leaders to churches around the world to provide practical, hands-on training—equipping local churches to better evangelize the lost and build up believers through Christ-centered camping. When Pedro first saw Matt, he expressed, “This has been a dream.” Another base touched.

On Sunday morning, the Uruguayans stayed at camp for the Staff Training Sessions while I preached at Bethany Baptist Church in Brevard. Joanna was able to join me at church and then at lunch with Pastor Collier and his family. On Sunday evening, we all attended church together and Pedro again shared his testimony in English, this time without notes.

On Monday morning, after breakfast, Paul Bixby translated one last time for our group. Rene Rodriguez came up from Greenville to spend the next four days as our translator. Rene’s wife Yani helps us translate the missionary letters of our Spanish speakers in Uruguay. Every day of staff training there were sessions dealing with both Philosophy and Program. Much of what we were being taught, we are already doing in Uruguay. The Wilds had reworked some of the material and it was good to be challenged in their approach of Hope, Help, and Hand-Off, in Humility. I am grateful for the excellent material that we were able to take home with us because there is no way that we could process all of the information.

One of the great things about being at camp is that Pedro already knew a few of the people because some had visited Uruguay to help on one of the Rick Jensen Work Teams. Following breakfast on Monday, Pedro pulled Paul Johnson aside and gave him an Uruguayan license (vanity) plate. Paul has been an invaluable help on two of the work trips. It was good to spend time with Rick and Kathy Jensen. He gave us several tours of the camp behind the scenes. On Monday night before the Big Ball game, we toured the kitchen and storage areas. Pedro was amazed at the number of freezers and he was obviously covetous over the dishwashers.

On Tuesday, in addition to the training sessions with all of the other counselors and operation staff, we met with Rick to discuss the upcoming work trip for October. This is Pedro’s Wish List for projects and their estimated costs.

1) Repair the bathroom partitions ($890)
2) New stainless steel shelves for the kitchen ($6,100)
3) Convert the old water tank into a storage area for games and supplies ($575)
4) Concrete work on the sidewalks for Cabins 1 – 4 ($2,915)
5) Concrete work on the floors in the cabins ($848)
6) Security bars for cabins 7 and 8, and for the Dining Room ($1,860)
7) Painting the security bars ($585)
8) Improvements to the game area including a climbing wall ($2,615)
9) Maintenance of current game structures ($630)
10) Installation of new screen and projector in the chapel ($830)
11) Installation of air conditioning in Dining Room and Chapel ($5,845)
Total: $23,693

He also would love to see us tackle two big projects.
1) Two new cabins made out of containers ($23,915)
2) Remodeling the barbecue area ($7,860)
Total: $31,775

Needless to say, accomplishing all of these goals will require God’s provision of funds and workers. If you would like to contribute, then visit the EMU International website’s give page for Camp Emanuel Projects.

Throughout the week, we were challenged with messages that touched our hearts. We were given instruction on how we could better counsel those campers that attend our camp. We were also encouraged by the time given to us by the CampsAbroad staff where they answered our questions and helped us understand how we could take what we were learning back to our ministry in Uruguay.

The Wilds is a beautiful place, a true mountain-top experience. We participated in many of the activities around the camp, including the giant-swing with its 65-foot drop. We also got to ride the new 250-foot high Zipline which has two sections and a combined length of 1,400 feet. Riders have an awesome view of the 3rd Falls and the Jocassee River Gorge. Fun Time, the weekly skit program put on by the program staff was hilarious. The humor of the night translated without an interpreter.

We were also able to help Rick Jensen and the construction crew as they were working on the new sponsor dining room in the basement of the dining hall. It is called the Cal-Zone, named after long-time cook Cal Maier. It was fun to return the favor for Rick and help paint and put together tables.

Our time at camp for staff training went better than I had ever imagined. We were touching all of the bases. The theme for camp this summer at the Wilds is “The Right Track,” a train theme that brings to remembrance the days when railroads began to cross the wild West. Counselors were working on their cabin cheers. My daughter Hannah is a counselor this summer at camp. Her cabin’s name is Northern Light. Part of her catchy cheer says, “Listen, everybody, we are on the right track. With our eyes on the prize, we will never look back.” It was full-steam ahead for the Uruguayans and myself and we were only half-way into their time with us.

We were off to a great start, touching all of the bases. Next month, I will tell you a little more about Pedro’s testimony. I also will share with you the second half of our trip as we participated in the first full week of camp and then traveled to Kansas and Michigan.