“His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet,” Nahum 1:3
One of the most unforgettable people I have ever known was a man named Holman Johnson, affectionately called, “Uncle Johnnie.” He was an ordinary person who God used to build an extraordinary camp ministry for children. Camp Barakel was built totally by faith, each piece of lumber, nails, windows, buses were prayed over and paid for as they arrived. Volunteers came on weekends and built the kitchen and dorms. Thousands of children have passed through its doors, were blessed, came to Christ and their lives were forever changed. When Uncle Johnnie spoke to the kids in chapel, he would tell them there was enough talent in the room to set the world on “fire” for Christ. One of their favorite stories was about the Great Forest Fire of 1976 and Uncle Johnnie loved to tell it!
It was August 25, the children had all gone home for the summer. The woods were dry and a strong wind was blowing. Uncle Johnnie didn’t know it, but a fire had broken out in the adjacent national forest and the flames were heading straight for Camp Barakel! When he saw the black smoke, he climbed into his pickup and drove out the west gate and about 5 miles into the forest. The fire was increasing! The Firemen and National Forest Departments were there with their bulldozers and road graders and he asked, “Should I get excited about this?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” the firemen said, “We’re working on a fire break.”
Late in the afternoon, clouds of smoke still rolled heavenward. Uncle Johnnie and his son drove out again to the property line and realized the fire had jumped the first and second fire breaks and was heading for the third. The next was the Barakel fence! The smoke was so thick, they had to lie down to breathe fresh air. He said, “It’s a goner. We can never hold it. Let’s just kneel down under this fence and pray to the dear Lord.” So they did and prayed, “This has been yours for a long time, Lord, and we want it to stay that way. We pray that somehow, you’ll save it. You’ve brought this camp into being. It’s yours.”
As they got up from their knees, they saw a man in a bulldozer, pulling a seven-foot fire plow coming toward them. Where to go? The bulldozer headed right along the north property line. When he was finished, he cut a 15 foot wide fire break along the west side. Trees were falling and sparks were landing on the surrounding trees and dry grass nearby. They headed back to camp.
As they neared the valley, they saw that about 200 people had come to help fight the fire, men and women with shovels, rakes and blankets. Women brought sandwiches, coffee and lemonade for the firefighters. They fought the fire for 4 days. The miracle was that the fire came only to the property line and no closer. The fire burned about 1000 acres before it stopped at the west and north fence lines!
As Uncle Johnnie said, “Man proposes – we fed the firemen, hosed down the roofs and ground around the buildings, but in the end, it was God who moved in and disposes.” God did it! The fire was seemingly out of control, but not out of God’s! Our sufficiency is really in Him! “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,” James 5:16.
Your friend, Jean