Memories from a Former Ranch and Field Director

By Tim Potter, National Alumni Board

This year, all of us at Adventure Unlimited are exploring the idea of what it means to live generously – to live with a clear sense of the abundant good God provides. Within our organization, a name quickly comes to mind: Tim Potter. A longtime friend of Adventure Unlimited, Tim served the A/U Field program (now DiscoveryBound) on staff for 17 years and as a volunteer for several years before becoming ranch director at the A/U Ranches. He was also a trustee for 20 years and is now a member of the alumni board. Tim wrote the following letter to all of you as an expression of gratitude for these experiences.

Dear Alumni,

Tim at Adventure Unlimited’s 60th Reunion

As we kick off the new year, it is wonderful to contemplate all the good that 2018 will be bringing. At the same time, I enjoy taking a few moments to reflect with gratitude on all the incredible experiences and privileges I have experienced since getting that special phone call in 1965. It was from Cap Andrews, telling me of the slide show that Ranch Director John Boyman was going to be showing that very night in Sacramento, CA, some 70 miles south of where I was working on the Oroville Dam. Who says last-minute calls don’t work?

From that time forward, life has definitely been an unlimiting one! Here are just a few of those wonderful memories:

• Watching firsthand the active embracing and demonstration of so many wonderful experiences of healing and dominion through Christian Science (CS) during those early years of our A/U Ranches and chapter programs
• The privilege of working with hundreds of local volunteers, staffers, employees and trustees, at the A/U Ranches, around the country, and even the world – always inspiring me to newer heights
• Seeing the A/U Field program (now DiscoveryBound) grow beyond the U.S. to Canada, Australia and South Africa
• Spending a summer on the Navajo Indian Reservation with 70 CS staff located on 17 trading posts throughout the reservation, conducting remedial education, crafts and recreation programs
• As national field director, working with Field and A/U Ranches staff to bring kids from around the U.S. to the A/U Ranches; implementing a Youth Exchange Program in the late 1970s and early 1980s that offered high school and college-age Christian Scientists the opportunity to spend a holiday season, summer, or even school year with families in another country (the U.S., Australia, France, England, India, Germany and Nigeria); experiencing the thrill of traveling all over Australia, starting Chapter youth programs from Sidney to Perth

Tim during his tenure with the A/U Field program

• As ranch director, working with incredibly dedicated staff who were committed to sharing Christian Science with campers from all over the world; waking up early in the morning at camp to see elk grazing on the lawn outside my Tumbleweed cabin window
• Gratitude for the privilege of being a part of supporting those who became and will become workers in the CS movement in their appreciation and application of Christian Science in practical and joy-inspiring ways

As anyone knows who has been involved with the unlimiting idea called Adventure Unlimited, this is only the tip of the iceberg!

What are your memories?

All the best,

Tim Potter

Does this inspire you to think about what living generously looks like in your life? Click the button below for some of the ways you and your family can get involved, give back and be blessed through the A/U Ranches and DiscoveryBound.

 
Get Involved