Page 5 - The Channel Spring 2021 _FINAL_

DEDICATION IN MEMORY OF

BOBBY WILLIAMS

April 8, 1961 - December 13, 2018
By Karen Williams

As a young person, Bobby’s only ambition was to live on the beach, swim, and surf.
His parents gave him two choices after high school, attend college or serve in the
military. While at Clearwater Christian College, a friend convinced him to be a
summer camp counselor at Camp Gilead in 1981. One night after his campers
were asleep, he slipped out to the ballfield bleachers to meet with God. That night,
he surrendered his plans to the Lord and committed to serving Him. Bobby and
I met at Camp Gilead the following summer and married on December 21, 1985.
We served at camp for several summers before Bobby turned to me one Sunday
after the final hymn and said, “God has called me into full-time camp ministry.”
He truly loved camp ministry and we both loved seeing how God used it as a place
for meeting new people and changing lives.

Why CBM? At first, we hoped to find a camp that would pay us to be on staff,
but God quickly confirmed that part of His plan was for us to learn to be faith-
supported missionaries. We were invited to be childcare workers during a national
conference and there fell in love with the rich heritage of CBM.

Why Camp Grace – how did God lead us there? In the summer of 1993, we visited each of the CBM camps to get to know CBM and to see
where God might want us. Without any specific direction we assumed that we would be at Camp Gilead until we were encouraged to visit Robeson
County, NC to consider the need for a new CBM camp in that area. There wasn’t any camp property but we attended a Released Time class where
public school children sang “Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise Ye the Lord” with such enthusiasm that the Rolling Chapel swayed back
and forth. We immediately fell in love with the area and knew that God was sending us there.
Bobby LOVED his family and friends! His wife and children were his pride and joy. He loved CBM, playing golf with friends, making new
contacts, making plans, dreaming of the future, etc. He struggled with clearly communicating but showed love for others with acts of service. He
lived life with passion, worked hard and pushed hard, often challenging us to do things we didn’t think we could do. He was committed to being a
faithful servant of God. I wonder if God designed him to have such intensity because He had a mission for him to do and a short amount of time to
do it.

Bobby’s favorite hymn was Great is Thy Faithfulness. What would Bobby be saying to everyone now?
I imagine that he would have a big smile as he bragged about
Books that had recently challenged and inspired him: True escaping the pandemic; and then his eyes would sparkle as he
Spirituality: Becoming a Romans 12 Christian by Chip Ingram and reminded us of his favorite verse:
Prophecies of Pale Skin by D.S. Phillips. “Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
In his last years, Bobby’s daily routine included reading his Bible, I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,
listening to podcasts by David Jeremiah and Chip Ingram, and I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
praying through the lists in his prayer journal. Isaiah 41:10

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