Blind Camp holds a special place in Jeannie Wicklund’s heart. She loves going to camp and sharing Jesus, especially through music. Blind from birth, Jeannie, attended boarding school at the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Janesville, WI. While attending the school for grades 1 through 12, Jeannie picked up skills reading Braille, using a Braille Writer, and running track and field events, but her favorite activities involved music. Jeannie shares, “I borrowed an autoharp from the school’s music department during Thanksgiving break when I was twelve. I took it home to my grandmother’s place, where I lived, and learned to play it in one night!” She also learned to play the accordion, and pump organ over the same holiday break. Her mother gave her an autoharp of her own for Christmas that year. She says, “There’s a quote that I really like: ‘Keep a song in your heart, and a smile on your face; and Jesus will see you through.’”
Early in her journey of faith, Jeannie discovered the support of Christian Record Services (CRS). She recalls learning about Braille resources from CRS when she was about seven years old. She remembers using their cassette library after a representative from this ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist church came to her grandmother’s house.
About 25 years ago, Dan Miller, another CRS representative, visited Jeannie in her home and asked if she would consider becoming a volunteer Christian Record Services representative. Volunteer representatives share literature, help connect people to resources, and share Jesus with them. Jeannie reports, “I love CRS and going to camp, talking about Jesus and that’s why I decided to be a CRS volunteer representative.”
Jeannie enjoys sharing her love of Jesus as a representative of CRS at blind camps. Her favorite camp activities are sharing music, doing crafts, and witnessing. She started attending Blind Camp at Camp Wahdoon and then started coming to Camp Wakonda. Most recently she has attended North Star Camp in Brainerd, MN, which is close to her home in Frederic, Wisconsin. Tammi Baker, Associate Director at North Star Camp, shared that Jeannie has been a great representative for CRS for many years. Tammy says, “She loves to share her love of Jesus with everyone she meets by sharing crafts she has made, playing one of the many instruments she brings to camp each year, and telling others how much Jesus loves them.” Jeannie eagerly anticipates attending Blind Camp again and says, “Most of my friends from Janesville days came to Blind Camp at Wakonda. A lot of them know about Jesus now.”
For many years, Camp Wakonda was able to host Blind Camp. They are looking to start up this ministry again to help campers like Jeannie find the love of their Savior, Jesus Christ. Stories like Jeannie’s help us see the lasting impact that our summer camp programs have and also inspire us to share our love for Jesus wherever we are.
Amy Manly, Member of the Rice Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church
Link for today’s Camp Lamp: https://wi.adventist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-Camp-Lamp-Friday.pdf