Abilene Firefighters Spend Time At MDA Summer Camp
-->By: Morgan Bond
Updated: September 14, 2010
It's one week a year, all these kids have to think about is having fun. This year's MDA camp for our area is taking place at Camp John Marc in Meridian, TX. Gary Hamner has volunteered to be a councilor with MDA's camp for the last 10 years.
"The second I walked into this place, I fell in love with it," Hamner said.
From the time they arrive at camp, to the time they leave, volunteers like Gary are there to help the kids with anything they need.
"They need us for everything from helping them with their daily activities and personal needs. We are with them 100% of the time," Hamner said.
Chris Hale is a chaplain for the Abilene Fire Department and this is his first year at camp. He said volunteering for MDA's camp has been a wonderful but exhausting experience.
"All the kids and their personalities and their experiences and everything they've had to overcome in their day to day life. It's really amazing to see," Hale said.
They said it's also important for the kids to feel like they have someone to talk to about their illness.
"They are starting to think about their faith and their fate and how those two things don't seem to mesh at this time. We spend those quiet times talking about those problems," Hamner said.
Gary and Chris say the best part about the camp, is getting to act like a kid again.
"We're all 16-year-old when we are down here. We are here to have fun and that's what we are going to do," Hamner said.
