Every once in a while, God brings someone into your pathway who changes your life unexpectedly. Let me tell you about one such man.
Earl H. Camp was born in central Africa in 1919, the son of an ambitious American missionary to Belgian Congo. With meagre supplies on hand during those early years, Earl was malnourished, and as a result he became bow-legged. Slight of stature and weak in body, he never developed athletic skills. His health was so poor that at one stage a doctor gave him two years to live–a prognosis which he significantly outlived. He lived most of his years in Congo, learning Swahili and French much better than English. Earl loved teaching, and he began lecturing in one of the Bible schools in what was then called Zaire.
Tragedy struck when his wife passed away and left him with three young children, but he remarried and carried on with his work. A few years later, his house burned to the ground. In the late 1970s, his family was nearly killed when a falling tree crushed their car while they were driving down an African road. He was a man who knew the value of pressing on in spite of his shortcomings.
I first saw Earl in September, 1980. He walked with a limp. He had bushy eyebrows and dishevelled hair, and he seemed to fish for words as he spoke. He was not the kind of person to which anyone would be attracted. No, perhaps quite the opposite. But then, something interesting happened–I married his daughter.
During those early years of our marriage, we lived about a mile away from my in-laws. Every time we visited, Earl proceeded to share spiritual insights with me. He seemed to be obsessed with teaching me things, and I must admit, I was not all that interested at first. But it wasn’t long before I started to see something in this man that was unique. Although he was weak in body, I began to see the glowing treasure in this jar of clay. He radiated the love and joy of Jesus like no one I had ever known. He was a humble man that led not out of strength, but out of weakness and brokenness. Everything about him exemplified the gentleness of Jesus and the true nature of intimacy with God. I started to listen to what he was teaching, and this training experience over the next few years helped to build a rock-solid foundation in my life.
Why was Earl such a strong man of God? Curious, I eventually asked him what gave him such a deep passion for the Lord. He told me that several years earlier he heard people praying that God would fill them and satisfy their hunger. He decided to pray the opposite prayer–“God, let me always have a hunger for your Word.” That prayer changed his life and set him on a new course. When he retired from the mission field, he dedicated his time to writing commentaries on the Bible–not in English, but in Swahili–to continue helping the Africans learn the Word of God.
Unfortunately, our relationship didn’t last long. Twenty-five years ago today, on the evening of April 19, 1989, Earl Camp lay on his bed and fell asleep for the last time. I will never forget the devastating feeling of losing him. My best friend and mentor was gone. That was half a lifetime ago for us, but it seems like yesterday that this young farm boy was sitting at his feet listening with great eagerness. How great to marry a woman like Judy, but God showed me especially great favour by blessing me with a father-in-law who was such a spiritual giant.
I only had a few years with this man, but those few years changed my life forever. This is the true essence of what it means to make disciples. “Daddy Camp” was, and remains today, the single greatest spiritual influence in my life. Oh, how I miss him. But oh, the joy of knowing that he is now sitting at the feet of Jesus, the One he loved so dearly.
