Similar to a summer staff coordinator at a Young Life
resident camp, Beyond Malibu has the opportunity to have people come and
be on assignment at Base Camp. These individuals join into the community life
with staff and help to nurture relationships with Christ and each other. Having people on assignment creates a steady presence in the midst of changing schedules and rotating guide staff. With
this being said, I would like to introduce to you the Wright family. They come
from Davis, California and have a strong investment in the Beyond Malibu way of
life and community.
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| Erica Wright with her husband Alex and their daughters |
“What does the Lord require?” This is a
question that plays in the back-ground of my mind once in awhile, usually when I
have a quiet moment. Those quiet moments, however, don’t happen very often. As
a Beyond alumni, a mother of two small girls, a wife, and a career person, I
often work at maximum capacity just to keep pace with the day. To change from
this fast paced lifestyle for a few weeks or even days is a rare experience. In
contemplating what our family’s summer would look like, my husband and I chose
to come back to the inlet to serve as “base camp family” for a few weeks, with
hopes of reorienting ourselves to the rhythm of the Beyond community.
Just as the tide regularly draws water
back to the inlet, so God’s spirit again brings myself and my family back to
Beyond. We are fortunate to actually tread on the ground here when so many
alumni only dream of it. Our family came to participate in community, serve
those on staff who continually pour their energy into making this unique Young
Life property run, as well as to bring to life for our children the beauty of
God’s creation, both in nature and in His people.
When I was a guide, we had two base
camp families, the Duykers and the Hardins. My years guiding coincided with Rob
and Laurie Duyker having their third child, Ben. The Duyker boys and the Hardin
kids were a source of great fun, entertainment and companionship. Laurie Duyker
and Mary Hardin did double duty watching over the little (and not so little)
ones, while investing in the lives of base camp and guide staff alike. Never
would I have imagined that I would be back at Beyond with my own girls, 4-years-old
Karis and Sophie-20 months, having the privilege of connecting with and praying
for the staff in the same way as was displayed to me 14 years ago.
The tide flows in and the tide flows
out. Those who choose Beyond choose to be shaped by God’s grace and love. They
leave this place different because they have been on holy ground in the midst of
a community that celebrates God’s mighty power to save and to transform. As my
kids make crayon drawings and create butterflies out of the used TP rolls from
the BIFFs (bathroom in forest floor), I am reminded that transformation is not
a one-way street, but rather a give and take, similar to the tide that raises
and lowers the dock. “What does the Lord require?” Beyond reminds me of my
answer: be available to others, serve freely, be an investor in people, all the
while allowing others to do those same things with me. Doing such allows me to
participate in the transformational work I know God is doing in these
mountains. Like the ever-present tide, God’s work is constant in this place and
I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of His work here at this time
and, hopefully, again some time in the future.
Erica Wright
Video Credit: Brandon Sawaya
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