Bonclarken My friend Billy Frye
CHIP SHERER President
recteth his steps.” I was reminded of this truth again this summer when I was able to see my good friend, Bil- ly Frye. I’ll come back to this topic later in this article.
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This year is Billy’s 40th year at- tending Camp Joy. He befriended as a Camp Joy counselor, and I have been so fond of him ever since. We laugh as he calls me Potato Chip and I call him French Frye.
Camp Joy was the brainchild of Ann Brice and Frances Sanders and was designed to be a Christian co-ed camp for those with special needs. Joy in 1980, and Camp Joy has now expanded with week-long camps in South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia. Bonclarken hosts four one-week sessions each summer. Camp Joy is under the oversight of the Brice-Sanders Foundation, which is an agency of our ARP Gen- eral Synod. Billy is from Greenwood, SC, but he has lived in a group home in Newberry, SC for many years. His family learned of Camp Joy through Betty and Hugh Tucker, members of Greenwood ARP Church. Betty was actively involved with special needs
e learn in Proverbs that “a man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord di-
adults in the Greenwood area and was actively involved with Camp Joy. She encouraged Billy’s family to consider his attending Camp Joy, and forty years later, the tradition continues. Forty different counselors have had the privilege of being Billy’s special friend during a week of Camp Joy. His pleasant and friendly demeanor, his cooperative spirit, and his love of all things Camp Joy makes him a wonder- Billy’s special friend, knowing that Billy will take good care of him! Billy loves to lead the “Good Morning God” prayer each morning and sing, especially the “fuzzy wuzzy hair” line of “Thank you Father for making me, me.” Billy can be fun, but he also has a serious side and has had many pro- found conversations with his counselor and other staff. A majority of Camp Joy counselors are either college or high school stu-
I graduated from Erskine in 1989, so I had been out of college for a year my being a part of such a wonderful ministry. Now, back to the opening paragraph of this article. I re- member thinking much about my own future during my time at Camp Joy in the early 1990s…what did I want to do… where did I see myself in twen- ty years…etc. So my heart was trying to devise a plan. Little did I know that through my love of Camp Joy (of which Billy was a key part), God was direct- ing my steps in preparing me to serve in this role at Bonclarken. I remember seeing Jim Brice (my predecessor and Bonclarken Director from 1988-2006) hard at work, but I could not have imagined following him only twelve years after my last full summer at Camp Joy in 1995. What a blessing! The Lord was truly directing my steps.
Billy Frye is a good friend to so many of us who have had the chance to get to know him through Camp Joy. How blessed our ARP Church is to have such a life-changing ministry which played a major part in my future and in the lives of hundreds of others.
An Environment for Christian Inspiration and Renewal 10 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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