With the racial and political turmoil on the news, it was refreshing to see a vastly different group of people working together at camp this past weekend. We had different races, different ages, urban and rural all working together. It wasn’t us and them- it was just us caring for each other and working together to make Camp David of the Ozarks a better place for families of prisoners. We laughed and worked hard and got a lot done. We spread mulch, cut brush, cut down trees, worked on roof trusses, and set porch posts for the shower house.

It was also neat to see young men enjoying the kind of work I remember doing at fourteen. Mr. Eldredge (now my father-in-law) would look at his 12 year old son and I and say, “There is an old stump up in the field up there, this afternoon I need you two to go up and dig it out with the back hoe and put it on the burn pile.” His trust and respect did amazing things for our confidence and in helping us grow into responsible young men.

I saw the same look in the young men’s eyes as they hauled around mulch with the four-wheeler, lifted me up in the tractor bucket to put up Christmas lights, and cut a log with a chain saw (with me standing beside them). This was their manly moment. Yes, they made a few more trips than they needed to on the four-wheeler, to deliver the mulch or haul logs. But it was worth it.

In the morning and evening we also had some good talks about God, life, and being someone worth following. We also played a few games of basketball and Apples to Apples. I am grateful to God for his work in these young men’s lives and for everyone’s help in getting some more projects done at camp. I am also grateful to everyone who has helped make camp possible.

Source: Ben’s Blog