Florence Schmunk Bauder, the eleventh of twelve children, recalls growing up in Oregon to immigrant parents who arrived in the United States in 1908. As a child, she learned how to play the piano. By the time she was a teenager, could play songs by memory, including the hymns she sang at church. While still a teenager, she attended a missionary conference at a friend’s church where she heard God’s voice speaking to her about her future. She grew up hoping to pursue a special ministry that was different. It wasn’t until after she married that God challenged her to start a ministry that would continue long after she died. Later, she heard the Holy Spirit say, “It’s a fact that there are not enough Christian camps — and the great majority of persons in the Christian ministry made their decisions while attending a camp. Why not consider developing one yourselves?” This is the author’s story of how she teamed up with her husband and others who believed in their mission to organize a nonprofit corporation, Camp Emerald Forest, an official member of Christian Camping International.