Torch, Summer 1983

Helping Jamie Grow by Martha Baldwin This is my story, this is my song: Praising my Saviour all the day long . T his is Jamie ' s story - and mine . It's about growing in Christ - and about overcoming fear - and how the Lord superintended in both. Jamie was a freshman at a nearby state university when I met her. My husband and I, along with several others from our church, were working with the Campus Bible Fellowship program on the university campus at the time. This was a ministry with which I had not really wanted to become involved; I was not comfortable on secular campuses . The lifestyle, the attitudes toward authority, the dress - all of these offended me . I much preferred the atmosphere and , yes, the security, of our own Christian college campus. However, our group afforded "safety in numbers" and soon I was enjoying the interaction with the university students at our weekly Bible study. And the Lord was producing a harvest. I remember the night the Lord saved Jamie. A number of students had gathered in our usual meeting place in the Student Union to see the film, Thief in the Night . After the showing, I began to talk with two or three girls about the film's impact. Beside us was another girl whom I did not recall seeing before and, as I turned to include her in our conversation, I was struck by the intense expression on her face. My spirit told me that God was working in her heart. My next words came out effortlessly, almost as if someone else were speaking. Before I even knew her name I asked gently, "Would you like to have Christ as your Saviour?" She nodded her head and said quietly, "Yes." The Lord just took over, and Jamie became His child that night. She showed much interest in the Scriptures I shared with her and we both had the desire to get together again. I wanted to take her to my church, but she went home every weekend. I felt a real responsibility to help her to grow, and to grow quickly, for there were only a few weeks left in the school year. I prayed, especially for myself, because I was fearful of going to the campus alone without the support of my husband and our C.B.F. team . However, the Lord gave me courage to suggest that I come to her dorm room and we set a time. A few days later I set out for the campus, armed with two Bibles and two copies of MILK (the first in a discipleship series by PRO-TEEN). Many doubts assailed me as I drove to the university that afternoon. Was my own spiritual condition mature enough for this task? Would Jamie remember I was coming? Would she think the material was too childish? Could I even find a place to park? Maybe it would be