A Little Bit of Heaven

Well, I wanted to share with you an experience I 
recently had with a group called the Christian Overcomers.
They are a group whose ministry is to share God’s love 
with the physically disabled people. This group ministers 
to the handicapped and this year I attended a one week camp 
as a volunteer expecting to lend a helping hand. 

The camp ( Spruce Lake Retreat ) is located in Canadensis, 
Pa ...it’s a Christ centered facility and is ran by a group 
of Mennonites although this week Debbie and Jeanne from the 
Christian Overcomers were the camp directors. They are great 
ladies doing a great job for a very deserving group of people. 
This was the deal.......each disabled camper is assigned a 
volunteer to help them out with their needs for the week. 
Now the campers have all sorts of serious disabilities such 
as Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy 
and many other types of problems that have caused them to 
seek out a place like this.

My camper was named Ed.....what a great guy he was......he 
was hit by a car when he was 3 1/2 years old and it left him 
a paraplegic. He is now forty and has the personality of an 
angel. Ed knows most of the folks here since he has attended 
a few camps in the past. Believe it or not, Ed and I hosted 
the talent show one night. People get up and wear funny hats 
and wigs, dance in wheel chairs, sing songs and recite poems 
and do all sorts of stuff that they would never do otherwise. 
Needless to say..........it was a very happy time for all!!!

To be honest with you I was a little scared when I made the 
commitment to myself and God to volunteer for this camp but 
believe me when I say I received more blessings then I could 
have ever imagined. I went there to help out and I returned 
knowing that I was the one that was helped... blessed is 
probably a more appropriate way of putting it!!! Everywhere 
you look you see kind, caring, loving people willing to touch 
and hold a fellow human being that would otherwise never get 
that kind of attention. They were willing to take the time 
to talk to them...to listen to what they have to say... to 
be patient as they try to express themselves. Some of these 
campers live in an institution or a group home and never come 
in contact with that type of behavior. When I looked around 
at chapel service ( and any other time for that matter ) I 
saw people that were doers....not just talkers. Their actions 
spoke for themselves....they were doing what Christ had wanted 
them to do....His work..... to serve others!! Taking care of 
people that were less fortunate then themselves...what a 
great thing to do and be part of!!! 

A minister friend of mine once said that going to church is 
like having your batteries recharged. How true that is!!! I 
guess you might say going to a camp like this is a very 
similar experience...but so much more when it comes to 
touching someones heart. I have no doubt in my mind that I 
was the one that was blessed that week and I thanks God for 
that blessing. I also have no doubt that I will go back...
as often as they need me. 

I would just like to add that years back when my children 
were young we used to go to church camping quite often and 
we would always sing songs around the camp fire....what 
great memories those are !!! One verse that stands out in 
my mind to describe this week was “ They will know we are 
Christians by our love, by our love....... yes they will 
know we are Christians by our love “ So, as you see folks, 
I was very touched this week by “A Little Bit of Heaven” 
right here on earth. 

Thanks for listening to my story !!!  

Dennis