The Beginnings of True Community

This group now calling itself Wellspring, was becoming a true community of like-minded people.  One of the couples who sat with us during the discussion that evening was Charles and Kay Bascom.  God creates community, and I fully believe that he brings together those with gifts to accomplish his purposes.  Through the years, Charles has served in an unofficial capacity as “pastor” to our little community, and Kay has been the model of gracious love, hospitality, wisdom, and a true support to her husband.

I remember working with Kay setting up the farm for that first Spiritual Dynamics conference.  As we were winding up our preparations in the house Kay turned to me with a twinkle in her eye,  “Ah, Nancy,” she said in hushed tones, “we are standing on tiptoe to see what God is going to do now.”

Kay and Charles have walked with us all the way:  from the inception of the small group, to the naming of the group, to the incorporation of Wellspring.  In the early years on the farm, they  purchased several acres from us and together with their sons (actually while Charles was doing a summer stint in Sudan) built their log home.

They had stepped into our lives with their rich history of walking with God.  In their early married life, Charles and Kay “stood on tiptoe” watching God work in their lives in north-eastern Kansas.  Charles became the beloved “country” doctor in a community where they immersed themselves into the lives of the people.  As Charles doctored the physical bodies, and many times the souls  of those communities, Kay led Bible studies. Together they watched God change lives as they also poured themselves into the ministry of  Young Life.

On tiptoe, along with their young family (Johnathan, Tim, and Nat), they responded to God’s call to serve in Ethiopia. Charles and Kay watched the work of God flow from their lives as they loved the people in the country they loved dearly.

Forced to leave Ethiopia for an extended period of time because of the Marxist revolution, the Bascoms moved to Manhattan.  Our family arrived in Kansas shortly after the Bascoms arrived from Africa, and we immediately were drawn together by a mutual vision and commitment to serve God through hospitality:   hosting an ongoing discussion of how we can address relevant social, ethical, and lifestyle issues in our community. Although these L’Abri type discussions were  a major focus of our early years of ministry on the farm, and the focus was to extend far beyond  . . . to hosting sundry events, ministries, and outreach over the years that were to come.

Our family was privileged  to observe Kay and Charles and their family, our role models here in our little community, as they welcomed old friends from around the world to stay in their home (any and all the time); walked through culture shock with the many internationals that call them their “adopted parents”; wrote and taught The Messiah Mystery, a study that systematically brings to light the Christ of both Old and New Testaments.  They have modeled family, faith, and gracious hospitality for our family.

After the revolution in Ethiopia was over and the country had settled to a more peaceful existence, both Charles and Kay have had opportunities to go back to their beloved Africa, working for a time in southern Sudan with refugees (Charles) and later in a hospital in southern Ethiopia (both).   Kay, with her heart for written expression, has put into book form some of the personal stories that came from the “amazing saga of the church in Ethiopia” in her book entitled Hidden Triumph in Ethiopia.

Lovers of God’s nature, a typical Bascom day will end with Charles and Kay (graciously inviting whoever may be visiting at the time) taking a quick drive up Kitten Creek Road to the top of the flint hill pastures.  As they watch one of the beautiful Kansas sunsets in the west, their voices will blend together in a hymn or chorus of praise to their Father.  And this is the essence of our friends, Charles and Kay . . . standing on tiptoe to revel in the handiwork of their Creator.  These are our neighbors, our co-workers here on Kitten Creek Road.