A Letter to Alabama Baptists
Dear Alabama Baptists:
Recently I spent many hours in a room with 26 active two-year-olds. Oops, that's redundant. I am not "called" to care for two-year-olds. Yet it was a time of great joy and great fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Even as I write this, I can see those beautiful faces looking up at me. We were at camp!
Volunteers at the annual Alabama Baptist Children's Homes Camp of Champions receive back far more than they give away. Old friends reacquaint and new friends are made from all over the state, everyone uniting to create a time of unconditional love for children. Some kids and parents are biological or foster or adoptive but you can't tell which is which; like vegetable soup, they are all mixed up together.
Some of these children come from hard places. Your heart will break when a child asks if he can eat all he wants, then hoards an apple for later. You will shed tears when children who have never had much fun in their lives run completely amok, squealing with delight at balloon popping and funnel cakes and bounce houses and water slides, wondering if they have arrived in Heaven. You will be changed when a little girl shares that she is burdened by not living with her biological parents, thinking she is the only one, and then is stunned to find the room is full of children carrying the same burden.
When you volunteer, you might deliver snacks and drinks, stuff bags with supplies, pray with an eight-year-old, sanitize toys, cry with a foster child, drive a golf cart delivering families to their next event, encourage a worn-out foster parent, rescue a lost little one separated from his mama, haul suitcases for folks with more stuff than hands. And the hugs. Oh, the hugs! This is the 21st-century equivalent of washing feet; you become the hands and heart of Jesus for some of the least of these.
But don't wait for next year's camp. ABCH is statewide and year-round opportunities exceed the number of volunteers. The demand is great, the benefit is immediate, and the results are eternal. Make the call and get plugged in locally. Get your pastor signed up and get your church involved. Send your youth group to camp to volunteer. Babysit for an evening so foster parents can' have a night out. Help remodel and furnish a group home. Adopt a whole family and become fast friends. Help equip a starting-over mom with the household stuff she needs to care for her children. Fund college tuition for a foster child. The need is enormous and, of course, ABCH always needs more money, but your time, presence, talents, and prayers are just as valuable.
James D. Fisk
**This was originally a letter published in The Alabama Baptist newspaper. You can see the original article here. To learn more about ways you can serve children in Alabama, visit here.