Today really rocked my world. I’m not typically a very emotional guy, but today I had tears in my eyes as I gently kicked a soccer ball back and forth with Gerald in the Camp Hope courtyard. How am I blessed with the opportunity to travel the world, see amazing places, hike incredible mountains, and partner with life changing ministries while this young man of 20 years can hardly feed himself, utter a clear sentence, or walk straight without extreme discomfort or pain. I had to walk away to contemplate such questions.
Eva, Teresa, and I took today to offer our talents with photography and video to partner with Camp Hope to create a documentary/ promotional video to raise funds for their ministry to the young, severely disabled people of Quito. Camp Hope offers a place for people with mental and physical handicaps to come during the day to be taken care of through a variety of programs. The participants have work done with their motor skills, are offered art classes, taught how to walk, have sensory experiences, are spoon fed lunches, and even trained in career programs that they may ultimately find positions in retail or hospitality jobs.
However, these programs require a lot of volunteers and workers to help the participants. Most of the programs require 1 on 1 assistance as they help move the kids from place to place and at each station they need help because their motor skills don’t allow them to be able to function on their own. They are completely dependent on the volunteers to participate.
The dedication of the volunteers and the girls from our squad was amazing to see! It is no easy task changing the diapers of young adults, spoon feeding kids who struggle to chew and swallow their food, teach 5 year olds how to walk, help kids learn how to use their senses, clean all of their toys, cook meals for all of the kids and workers, teach them how to speak, and cheer them on every step of the way. But today I saw these seven amazing girls from team Fierce do it all with such love and kindness for the kids. I am so proud of them for their dedication to this very involved, and heart wrenching ministry. I struggled to keep it together for a few hours, yet they give 100% to these children and adults with disabilities everyday and do it with a huge smile and the love of Jesus.
As I mentioned before, our ministry today was to film a promotional film for Camp Hope to raise money and interest more volunteers to run the programs. The last few years, numbers have been dwindling at Camp Hope due to lack of volunteers and funds. But the need is still very high in the Quito community to take care of those who have been orphaned or given up for adoption due to their disability. Please continue to pray for tis ministry and all of the volunteers who run it because it is a very repetitive and thankless job that requires an extreme passion for these people. Also pray for the disabled that they will find peace, joy, comfort, and love and through Camp Hope’s ministry, have an eternally restored body by Christ’s blood.
