Spiritual ground taken

In the mid-1960’s, a young man was living a life of rebellion against his parents and the Lord, in Chicago, if I am remembering the story correctly. At some point, he connected with young minister called Bill Gothard. This lad was the son of missionaries in Bolivia. His heart had become sick of the life that separated him from his family and the Lord he’d turned his back on. Bill Gothard had just recently begun a ministry among the teens on the streets of Chicago – beginning to share the message of God’s love for these hurting teens. His teaching was to gave them direction and skills / guidelines for making choices that would bring healing and stability into their often shattered lives, after they turned their lives over to the Lord. Bill Gothard would later organize his teaching into a syllabus and begin to give seminars called “Basic Youth Conflicts”

In dealing with the young man from Bolivia, Bill recommended that he return to Bolivia and be reconciled with his father and submit to him.. As part of that reconciliation that young man became a student at Tambo. He had a fine intellect and I was honored to know him. He had a questing mind and wanted to understand the doctrines of the Christian faith. I hope that he did find the peace and assurance in the Lord he was seeking.

As a result of that meeting in Chicago, Bill Gothard came to Tambo and gave the High School students that foundational teaching that we would later take to several generations of men and women in America. Yes, I have heard that later Satan came in to try and destroy that ministry. My prayer is that it did not destroy the man, and for me, I know it did not dim the truth that I felt Mr. Gothard seeded into my own life.

His teaching deeply affected and influenced my own life, and walk with the Lord. A major teaching he shared was that of honoring our parents. He taught us they had been given their authority over their children by God. I know many people bulked at this teaching, including my own parents. Bill Gothard taught that even though sometimes parents were wrong, we must respect them. This was especially true in big issues, he taught, in choice of who we would marry. I believe Mr. Gothard was correct in this, that in our submission to our parents’ guidance, even to listen if they felt we were making wrong choice, that God would accomplish a greater good in our lives. That if our parents were wrong and this was God’s partner for us, He would work the details out. And, in that work, bring great good to all, perhaps even winning of the hearts of parents to Christ who didn’t believe.

Bill Gothard also spoke of being a rather poor student in high school. He studied hard but without the reward of good grades. After a life changing encounter with the Lord he started to memorize whole passages of Scripture. One of the things he began to notice was his grades started to go up. He was not studying more, but he told us he believed that in memorization of the Word of God, his mind was sharpened. Shortly after he left I began to memorize Matthew 5,6 & 7 and then went on to memorize the Book of James. I chose these a passages because of my own struggle to understand them. During that period of intense memorization, my grade did in fact go from B’s up to A’s and even some A+.

At that time in my life I was pretty much a loner at Tambo with no real friends. It was easy to spend the time alone, up on the hillside behind the dorms. Another favorite spot was up among the rocks above the River, just below the Pista. Even now, when I remember, my heart leaps for joy.

But, suddenly I found myself with more friends, girls who seemed to enjoy being with me and I began to take more pleasure in this new socializing experience and less time in memorization. That became my loss. I am not saying those friendships were wrong. I loved those friends, but I could have been friends and carried on memorizing the Word, but I allowed that discipline to drop out of my life. I did find out however, that memorizing the Word did sharpen my mind and strengthen my spirit. I wish I had remained diligent, and was more diligent today in ‘hiding the Word of God in my heart”

Another thing that Mr Gothard spoke of that really affected me was the dangers of reading horoscopes, checking out our star signs and reading the newspapers with their ‘predications’ for our sign, playing games like the Ouija board or other things like dangling a ring on a string over our wrist to determine number of children we would have and other silly games kids play in this vain. He spoke very strongly about it leading us to seek esoteric knowledge outside of Christ, and more, being molding in our thoughts and character by what those prediction and star signs ascribed to us.

I don’t remember Mr. Gothard making this connection, but I’ve come to believe it is also an entry into our lives of some of Satan’s nastier traps.

I for one continue to praise the Lord that one man listened to the Lord, and was willing to take the time to go to a Missionary school in the heart of Bolivia and teach a handful of students what the Lord was laying on his heart.

Algebra, tests, teachers

In the years I was at Tambo, 1964 to 1967 we had unique teachers. I am mathematically challenged (need walls to my mind to keep facts inside) but the best classes for me was when Mr. Dave Lotz taught Algebra II. I loved the class and was able to understand the work. But best I loved his tests. He gave us the final exam, on a Friday, to be handed in I think by Saturday Morning but am not remembering for sure. He trusted the students, which I believe made everyone of us do the work without any thought of cheating. The test was hard, challenging all we had learned but not over long. I seem to remember only 5 problems.

On the Saturday Morning, fellow student Charlotte Metzgar and I were up at dawn. Charlotte had really struggled, but finally finished, as I had. But, we both were a bit wound up over the test. We dressed, leaving everyone sleeping, and went out in the hills on the other side of the main road. I had personally never explored in this area before, in all my wanderings. It was wonderful, the cool morning air and lovely crisp sun beginning a wonderful day. We went up and up the hillside til we heard the rising bell ring out and knew we had to be back at school in a half hour. On the way back at a run, where we could, we rounded a corner and there across the pathway was the largest spider web I had ever seen. I ran into it and did not break it. It had the toughness that reminded me of the web in the cave holding Frodo in. And BIG black spiders! My memory was they were not tarantulas. What a breath stopping fright.

We were allowed a great deal of freedom in the years I was at Tambo. There were hills all around, and a great river running below the school.

I remember one day coming down the hill up behind the dorms, going up to the Pista, and found a group of students all standing looking up the hill, a few hundred feet from where I had been. I asked what they were looking at to be told they had just seen a mountain lion. Boo Hoo, I did not see it then or ever.

Anna Foster and I often took off on Sundays and wandered the hills. There were all kinds of fossils to be found and what we really were amazed at was the present of sea fossils up at 6,000' above sea level. I can remember carrying fossils back to the school but as I have none, I obviously never kept any.

When my mom and dad visited for school events I can remember my dad often being busy and Mom and I would go out and wander in the hills and along side the river. I remember the year I graduated we waded into the river in our tennis shoes (not deep, but very rocky on the bottom and with a fairly strong current) and holding hands to keep up from slipping and falling in we walked up the river. This is a favorite memory. I thought my mom was so cool and determined that if I ever had children I would try to keep doing fun things with them. Mom was 53 that year I think. Of course, I am now 60 and know 53 is still young.

Coming to Tambo

January 1964 - Mom and Dad (Fred and Grace Borden) had come to Cochabamba Bolivia with Wycliffe Bible Translators to take over the running of the Printshop being set up by Dick James (Inventor of the Slinky toy). We'd been in the country for a little over a month and it was determined by my folks that I would attend Tambo, a New Tribes Mission School, but open to children of other missions. It was in the wilds of Bolivia. A seven hour bus trip (bus company then called Galgo) on the road between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz.

Cochabamba was at 8,000' above sea level and I was just beginning to be able to move about with out being totally exausted by it. We got on a bus, quite a few of us going to Tambo to begin the second half of the school year, on the evening bus. I was told we would get to the school around 2 AM. As we drove the road on this, my first trip to Tambo, in the dark I had no idea of what the road and land was like except for occasional glimpses of the road ahead and time when the lights as we rounded corners either lighted up cliffs or empty space beyond the road. But, I was to scared about going to a boarding school and not knowing anyone.

When the bus pulled off the road and drove into a place where under the dim light of the moon I could see only the edge of a soccer field and a huddle of adobe buildings. We stumbled off the bus, gathering our stuff and having to wait for the bus driver to take the suitcases and packages stored under the bus. Some staff members came out to gather the arriving students and take them to their various dorms. I became aware there was consternation about where to put me. I found out that at the school they thought Galilee was a guy and had reserved a bed for me in the boys annex. So there was a mad scramble to find a bed for me. All I wanted to do was stretch out and SLEEP.

Finally tucked away, and in my pj's, and on the edge of sleep I heard the most fightful sound I'd ever heard. I sat bold upright in my bed and whispered in a terrified voice "What's wrong with the sick cow?" Every girl in the room burst into laughter. "That is a donkey."

And so began my boarding school career.