Wow, what a wonderful experience I had visiting The Missouri Children's Burn Camp!
It's a 3 hr drive and it is a very nice drive for a Miata. When I arrived some of the kids were in the pool learning
how to scuba dive by a certified instructor and others were on the lake sailing, swimming or kayaking.
Several firefighters volunteer, along with nurses & police officers, and even a St. Louis Fire Chief.
I was given 'some' background information about the children. Many of them sustained their burns at the hands of
adults. Either neglect and/or abuse. Unfortunately, so many of these children are shuffled around from foster home
to foster home where even more abuse is common (I wasn't aware of that). Several even live in troubled and/or poor economic
conditions.
Yet, to see their sweet faces you really would fall in love with them. I did!
I sat down and had a wonderful lunch with the "kiddos". There were 72 of them and they range from about 5 yrs.
to 17 yrs. old.
I was at this one counselor's table who was probably in his early 20's. He appeared to be
in charge of the very young ones and no kidding, they followed him around like baby ducklings would follow their
mother duck! They NEVER let him out of their sight and he was always looking over his shoulder to make certain they
were all there. It was so funny and so sweet at the same time.
One teenage boy approached me and handed me
a water bottle. He told me I would need it because it was so hot outside. Then he just slipped away. He was
so kind.
After lunch, some of the boys discovered my Miata, "Nick" with the "BEAR" sitting in it. ( Oh,
it's a big white stuffed polar bear I carry around to club
events for the kids) They thought it was funny and wanted
me to take their picture with my car and some even wanted to hold the "BEAR"....one little guy wanted to sit in the driver's
seat and he could barely see over the steering wheel. They thought it was 'cool' that I named my car, "NICK"!
During this time,
another little 10 yr old boy walked up to me and said, "Who are you"? So, I introduced myself and told him I was
with 'The HeartlandMiata Club' in KC. He wanted to know why I was there. I explained that I wanted to see the camp and
meet everyone and that last year our club did a fund raiser for the camp and planned another one in September. Then,
this sweet little boy named Kenny, extended his hand to me and said "Thank you for helping us".....(I almost cried!)
So,
Kenny and I became fast friends. I asked him how long had he been coming to the camp (this is their 11th year in
operation) and he told me, "Since I was a little boy". He loves to scuba dive and take photos. He even took some photos
of me with my camera while I was 50 feet up in a tree getting ready to 'Zip Line'. Kenny gave me some of the best advise
that day that I will never forget...."Just Don't Look Down, Deborah"! He was RIGHT!
It's funny, I learned
from Kenny, that day, whether or not you're 'Up A Tree'....Just don't look down!
Some of the counselors explained
to me that the purpose of the camp isn't solely for the children to ride a horse (though some have never seen one)
or to sail (most don't have that option at home)....they hope to teach the children that they can 'trust' again
and have good self-esteem.
I saw even more....in my limited time there. They also learn empathy for each
other and friendship which no doubt they will carry through out their lives.
That comes from the wonderful
people who run this camp (The Hanson's/Counselors/Firefighters/All Volunteers and even The Fire Chief Who Ran Away
when I was trying to take his picture....hahaha)
One of our HeartlandMiata Club members (Dan) and myself are volunteering to be camp counselors this summer.
I guess they don't realize they are just getting "ONE" more big "kid" named, "DAN"!
