Here I Am, Lord
Written by Amanda Rasner, Camp Director
Fortune Lake calls and equips people like George Olson for ministry. When George was a young man in seminary, he was approached by the pastor he was serving under, Pr. Granquist, about serving at Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp as a counselor. George’s first thought was, “I’m not going.” He had heard about all of the awful things that campers do to counselors–things like putting frogs or snakes in their bed, throwing them in the lake, and generally making life miserable through pranks–and George wanted nothing to do with it.
It seems as though the Holy Spirit had other plans, as George indeed ended up at Fortune Lake. He was in charge of a cabin in the woods, which housed 22 boys for the week. He recalls a profound moment when Mrs. Eskil Bostrom was teaching on the hillside overlooking the lake. She was sharing a Bible story from 1 Samuel 3:1-10. For George, the parallels between God’s call to Samuel and his own call into ministry were undeniable. In that moment, Fortune Lake became George’s “Holy Ground.” He never did get any frogs or snakes in his bed, but he felt affirmed in his call into ministry and to service of the church.
George went on to minister for decades, serving first in North Dakota before returning to his beloved northwoods where he served in Rapid River, Stonington, and Peshtigo. At the age of 95, he continues to study scripture each week with clergy in the Menominee Valley Conference.
When people of faith dedicated the land that would become Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp to the Lord’s service in 1930, no doubt they prayed for affirmations of God’s call to lives like George’s. This “Holy Ground” and the teachers who lift up God’s word are still having a profound impact. God was calling then; God is calling still. We give thanks to Pr. George Olson and the countless others who have responded!
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