MEMORIES OF OKABOJI

An occasional vacation spot for our family during our years at home was Lake Okaboji about 80 miles from our home. It was quite a resort area with fishing, swimming, and an amusement park. One week each summer there was a missions conference sponsored by the Christian Missionary Alliance and the Omaha Gospel Tabernacle. Dr. R. R. Brown was the pastor during those year. As I think back, there were some significant things that occurred there. I have a distinct picture in my mind of seeing Billy Graham in the beginning of his ministry. I was baptized in the lake early on a Sunday morning with a number of others. I was 12 years old and the water was very cold. It was a special time for me of following the Lord Jesus. I remember another time as a teenager hearing a missionary from Viet Nam speak. She had her husband and children taken away when on the mission field. She had no idea what happened to them. She challenged young people to make their life available to God for His service. I remember going forward with many others making this commitment to the Lord. I looked up as she gave the dedication prayer for those who had come. Her voice was steady but tears were streaming down her face. I recognized in her a deep work of God produced from her suffering. I have fond memories of the fun being at the lake and am grateful for that which impacted me spiritually for the Lord at Okaboji.