Richard's Reflections on Camp

Richard’s thoughts: At first there seemed to be no reason to be there, and no blessings, only horrible saggy beds and hordes of mosquitoes. And even though we knew the kids were “handicapped,” it was hard at first to relate to them. But this is how it goes with us if we just listen and obey. First we get “stretched,” then we receive the blessings God gives when we do something in His name. We seem to think that we might bless others, but we are the ones who get blessed. We ended up falling in love with the kids, especially some of the weakest ones. Little Nastya was my favorite; Vladik was Vicki’s. We could make them smile, hardly a world-shaking development, but of great importance to us, and hopefully to them too. And who knows, maybe in God’s eyes their smiles are of greater value than the majority of all my previous accomplishments. For I am continually reminded that what I can see and quantify is only the physical and obvious, not the eternal. Ya just never know.