#30 REACH Camp

 

A quick story about my husband and I that leads up to why I got involved with REACH Camp:

I was in the process of getting a divorce from my first husband and feeling like a failure, like I was going to spend the rest of my life alone, when my best friend told me about my "soul mate". He was her husband's friend from medical school and she listed all of the reasons she thought he and I would get along. The more she went on with things like "he's funny, he talks a lot like you do, he loves kids and is going to be a pediatrician, he wants to do work in Africa, he's a Christian..." and so on, and so on--I thought that she was making things up about him so I would give him a chance. Nobody could be that perfectly matched to me. Long story short, it turns out all those things she said about him were true as I discovered through our lengthy emails and phone conversations before hanging out with him. One of the things he told me about was working with REACH and how it was a big part of the reason he wanted to become a pediatrician.

I can't really explain what REACH Ministries is without sharing their mission statement:

"REACH Ministries builds relationships with youth and families with HIV/AIDS and other populations in need, in order to equip them for experiencing God's design, which is a lifetime of hope and purpose."

I knew that REACH Camp is for families that are affected by HIV/AIDS and that Brian goes on and on about how much fun it is (he's been volunteering with REACH since 2000), but I didn't really know what to expect beyond that. Because we were living in Nashville and in the process of moving to Idaho, we couldn't make any of the volunteer trainings but Brian assured me that he knew the ins and outs and I'd be fine.

IT WAS AWESOME!!! I was paired with another counsellor  (also AWESOME) who has been involved for a while and we were assigned to a group of late middle school-early high school age girls.  What did we do? We had FUN! That's it! We ate meals with these fun teens, climbed rock walls, did a ropes course (my favorite! Heights have nothin' on me! Well, when I'm in a harness), horse back riding, and there were other fun things to do like swimming, miniature golf, basketball, etc., etc., etc. We had campfires every night where we sang like idiots and participated in silly campfire games. We played Minute To Win It games. We basically danced and sang until midnight every night! We had a hilarious scavenger hunt where my co-counselor and I forgot to give very important clues to our team which led to some awkward, last minute conversations about golf since that was where we were going to be hiding, saran wrapped, with the clue.  We laughed so hard at our "Counselor--FAIL!!!" that I had tears streaming down my face, which I could not wipe.  haha!  My husband even led a game of mud football. It was evident in the several times I saw him over the weekend that he likes REACH Camp so much because he gets to act like the big kid that he is! I had countless people who have worked with or been mentored by Brian over the last 13 years tell me how amazing he is and how much they missed while he was in residency. Not that I didn't already know how amazing he is just from learning about him from my friend over three years ago.

OH YEAH!!! The Talent Show! The themed nights! Ahh!!! First of all, it must have been a prerequisite to attend camp to sing, dance, and play an instrument because those kids were TALENTED! There were hula hoops, break dancing, cup flipping, singing, comic sketches...INCREDIBLE! Every night there was a different theme that I liked to take seriously like 80s athletic instructor, Oregon Trail, and Favorite Country were a few of the themes. Because there is such a strict policy on confidentiality and photos, I don't have very many. I will definitely post the link once they are up on the website though. :)

Does this camp not sound incredible?! If it is something you would be interested in helping out, check out http://www.reachministries.org/index.htmlAl

Here is a MUST WATCH video from a couple years back to give you a taste of what REACH Camp is like:  http://vimeo.com/26203867

Also, you should check out this website.  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/redefine-positive .  This is the mom of a child with HIV that is trying to get updated and accurate educational videos about HIV/AIDS into the public schools since the ones they use are from the 80s or 90s and aren't always factual with the current medical knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

We had a Color Dance and this was my aftermath

This was 80's night and all the volunteers.  Can you find Brian and I? ;)

#29 Relay For Life

I don't think there is a person out there that doesn't know someone that has been affected by cancer. Relay For Life is a part of the American Cancer Society that raises TONS of money to help find a cure for this terrible, often times deadly, disease.  What happens is people put together teams to raise money. At the event, teams are responsible for decorating a tent that follows whatever the theme is for that particular event. They also come up with something to sell from their tent that proceeds go to the American Cancer Society as well. There is a big opening ceremony with music and a Survivor's March. Each team is then presented and walk their opening lap around the track. From that point on, each team must have a member on the track at all times throughout the next twelve hours (at night!). When it gets dark, people put out luminaries around the track with people's names that have dealt with cancer and a message to that person, if desired. This is always a very emotional time. It is ended with a breakfast and a closing ceremony where the money raised is announced along with any other awards.

This was my second experience with Relay For Life. I remember walking around a track in Yakima, WA and trying to find the luminary that someone made for my Grandma Rena when I was a little girl. It was fun to participate this year with my sister's church group. I'm not even going to try and take any credit for how awesome our tent turned out because The only thing I really brought to the group was an outlandish outfit. Haha! I totally appreciate the hard work they put in. Organizing that kind of stuff is not quick and easy.

Having grown up in Gooding where the event was held allowed me to see a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a long time like past teachers, co-workers, volleyball players, and students! That was pretty awesome to catch up! My dad even came down to walk with my sister and I and helped us make luminaries for his mom, dad, brother, and our mom's dad. It makes me sad to think about how this disease has plagued not only my family (I often "joke" that I'm genetically screwed), but friends and friends' families as well.

Bottom line: get screened for the things you ought to be screened for and support great causes like Relay For Life and American Cancer Society. :)