Saranac Village

SARANAC VILLAGE — 1969

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

As Young Life continued to expand and grow in its third decade, there was an urgent need for a camp on the East Coast. In the words of Jeff Chesemore, “After tirelessly looking at dozens of camps, Dr. Bill Keisewetter, a lifetime board member and a renowned physician from Pittsburgh, stumbled upon Camp Navarac.” Camp Navarac, at the time was an exclusive girls’ camp; however, it had originally served as a summer home for copper magnate Mr. Adolph Lewisohn in early 1900. Young Life President Bill Starr’s assessment of the potential new camp was as follows: “It has beautiful features of a complete water sports program with sailing, canoeing, small boating, waterskiing, and swimming coupled with a fabulous lawn recreation field which could accommodate a couple of football fields and lots more room left over. It would be a program director’s dream. Up the trail from the waterfront are the housing units, which are large, hunting-type lodges. They would be most adequate for a total capacity of 300.” Young Life was able to purchase the property for $400,000 in September 1969, due to the generous gifts of several donors. In the words of one of these donors, “At that time in my life I invested in three major things: a jet, a yacht, and Saranac. The jet is rusting in a field somewhere, the yacht is transporting drugs off the coast of Cuba and Saranac is changing thousands of kids’ lives for eternity… I should have donated to three Young Life camps.” (MFT, p. 67)

Saranac Lake, New York

When you consider the verse and the donor’s quote on the opposite page, what thoughts are stirred up in you? Are you prone toward storing up treasures on Earth or in heaven?