Thursday, 14 February 2013 10:33

By Clay Kimbro
Last year I had the amazing opportunity to serve at Holy Family Camp for the first time. The week of fun, friendship, and faith will be held again this year at Camp Hiawatha on June 10-14.
The camp is run by the diocesan Ministry of Persons with Disabilities and is usually attended by 80 of the most joyful, enthusiastic, and loving people you will ever meet. The long-time volunteers are amazing people as well!
Holy Family Camp is your call to serve this summer! Since most adults work during the summer weeks, I want to direct this call to service to high school students in the diocese. The camp would be a great way to get the service hours you need at your school.
Let me give you three great reasons why Christ is calling you to serve at Holy Family Camp this summer:
Working at camp puts your faith into action
During the Year of Faith, Pope Benedict is calling his flock to a deeper relationship with Christ. One of the main ways we can do this is to serve those who are in most need. In the Gospels, Christ heals the blind and cures those with all kinds of diseases. At camp we have a chance to imitate Christ by loving those who have more disadvantages than we do.
It is in giving that we receive
Like the Prayer of St. Francis says, we receive so much grace from the Holy Spirit when we take the focus of ourselves and place it on the needs of the other people. Pope John Paul II calls this idea “the law of the gift.” It means that we only find our true happiness when we give others the gift of ourselves in service. Service helps us to be grateful for all the blessings in our lives, and at the same time see Christ in others when we see the gifts they possess.
We learn so much from the people we serve
Ours is a culture that tends to frown on people who don’t fit in with the “ordinary” or “normal” ideal of the human person. This is evidenced by doctors who try to convince families to terminate pregnancies when babies are found to have physical or genetic anomalies. One of the things I quickly learned at camp is that those persons with disabilities really have abilities that are “extraordinary.” They have ability to love unconditionally, to forgive quickly, and to smile exuberantly at a moment’s notice. They are so unselfish that most times we end up on the learning end because of our prideful misconceptions about them.
If you’re open to witnessing the true joy that exists in the dignity that all human beings possess, come join our family at Holy Family Camp! See you there!
Kimbro is a seminarian for the Diocese of Wichita in his fourth year of college. He is a member of Sacred Heart Partish in Colwich.

Want to volunteer at the summer camp?
You may access a volunteer application and medical waiver form on-line at www.CatholicDioceseOfWichita.org. (Click on Offices and Ministries and then on Disabilities). You may also call the office of the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities at (316) 269-3900.