THE SEDRO-WOOLLEY CONNECTION
By
Elvin Huston
(REWRITTEN SPRING 2008)
For
me, the Sedro-Woolley connection to the Alumni of the 60's reunions
goes back to 1956. I was 11 years old, and that was the year my
family moved back from the Ozarks of southern Missouri to my birth town
of Sedro-Woolley, Washington. Rev. W.V. Kononen was pastor of
Bethel Assembly of God church just down the block from our house on
Northern Avenue. It was the same humble little church across the
railroad tracks where my Father and Mother had accepted Christ some 17
years earlier.
In
1956, Danny Vandenburg, the current host of our Alumni Reunions, was
the 26 year old teacher of the Junior Boys Sunday School Class.
Danny didn't just teach a class at church, he adopted his
students. He invited them into his home, and took them hiking and
fishing. His faith had arms and legs, and humor and heart.
When I was no longer in his class he never stopped mentoring me.
He helped me learn to play the guitar; he urged me to join the
church orchestra; he encouraged me to sing my first solo in church; he
took me with him to jail services. When I was about to turn 16,
Danny agreed to give me his 1941 twilight turquoise Chevy in exchange
for 50 hours of labor helping to clear his property ... property which,
for the past five years now, has served as the exquisite setting for
bringing together my old college classmates and friends from the 60's.
Danny and LaVonda Vandenburg never attended Northwest College, and until five years ago, they only knew a scattering of alumni from there. They knew those who came up through Bethel Assembly, and went out to attend Northwest, and they knew those who came to minister at Bethel from Northwest. But, early in 2003, while on a trip through Southern Oregon, Danny and LaVonda stopped to visit me. When they heard about the reunions we were proposing, they invited us to bring our celebration to their place.
That spring, Ed Benintendi, Eunice Wheeler
and I made a trip to Vandenburg Campground to explore the possibilites.
We found it to be a perfect environment for our 60's Alumni
Reunions. It was an inviting place that filled the senses with the
influence of nature, and impacted us with the beauty, wisdom and
power of the Creator.
(In the picture on the left, Danny Vandenburg and Ed Benintendi are on the ropes swinging out over the pond)
Each summer, for the past five years now, 75 to 120 Northwest Alumni from the 60's have converged on this lovely place for a weekend of personal renewal and spiritual refreshment. As we now prepare for our 6th annual gathering of 60's Alumni at Vandenburg Campground, I am amazed at the way God has woven the tapestry of all of our lives together. As a young boy God touched my life in a profound way through Danny & LaVonda Vandenburg. Then the Lord caused all of our lives to connect in unique ways during our years together at Northwest College. Now these many years later, Danny & LaVonda are being touched and blessed by all of you, and you are being blessed by their Christian love and generosity. In a marvelous way this all flows out of their investment in one little boy's life.
In
1956, Danny Vandenburg, the current host of our Alumni Reunions, was
the 26 year old teacher of the Junior Boys Sunday School Class.
Danny didn't just teach a class at church, he adopted his
students. He invited them into his home, and took them hiking and
fishing. His faith had arms and legs, and humor and heart.
When I was no longer in his class he never stopped mentoring me.
He helped me learn to play the guitar; he urged me to join the
church orchestra; he encouraged me to sing my first solo in church; he
took me with him to jail services. When I was about to turn 16,
Danny agreed to give me his 1941 twilight turquoise Chevy in exchange
for 50 hours of labor helping to clear his property ... property which,
for the past five years now, has served as the exquisite setting for
bringing together my old college classmates and friends from the 60's.Danny and LaVonda Vandenburg never attended Northwest College, and until five years ago, they only knew a scattering of alumni from there. They knew those who came up through Bethel Assembly, and went out to attend Northwest, and they knew those who came to minister at Bethel from Northwest. But, early in 2003, while on a trip through Southern Oregon, Danny and LaVonda stopped to visit me. When they heard about the reunions we were proposing, they invited us to bring our celebration to their place.
That spring, Ed Benintendi, Eunice Wheeler
and I made a trip to Vandenburg Campground to explore the possibilites.
We found it to be a perfect environment for our 60's Alumni
Reunions. It was an inviting place that filled the senses with the
influence of nature, and impacted us with the beauty, wisdom and
power of the Creator.(In the picture on the left, Danny Vandenburg and Ed Benintendi are on the ropes swinging out over the pond)
Each summer, for the past five years now, 75 to 120 Northwest Alumni from the 60's have converged on this lovely place for a weekend of personal renewal and spiritual refreshment. As we now prepare for our 6th annual gathering of 60's Alumni at Vandenburg Campground, I am amazed at the way God has woven the tapestry of all of our lives together. As a young boy God touched my life in a profound way through Danny & LaVonda Vandenburg. Then the Lord caused all of our lives to connect in unique ways during our years together at Northwest College. Now these many years later, Danny & LaVonda are being touched and blessed by all of you, and you are being blessed by their Christian love and generosity. In a marvelous way this all flows out of their investment in one little boy's life.