Good Work at Camp Barnabus!

Wow, I’m not a big TV fan and after reading about one of the latest episodes from Extreme Makerover: Home Edition, I half wish I was. It all started a little over 10 years ago, in 1995, when the Tea family, Paul, Cyndy, Kayman, and Trace, purchased a rundown old campground. A little at a time, they built the place up, leaving their jobs and pouring all their life savings into it. Their dream? Well.. I found a description on the Camp Barnabas website that says it well:

“Camp Barnabas exists to offer childhood experiences to kids who have been robbed of them by disease or disability. These kids need to shift their focus away from sterile medical environments and the language of their illness to focus anew on activities that build their courage and expand their belief in themselves. Many of the children with special needs endure unthinkable pain and isolating treatment for illnesses such as cancer, hemophilia, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, cerebal palsy and AIDS. Their need for acceptance is overwhelming!”

And then.. The knock. The Teas answered the door and met the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team! The Tea family had put so much work into building the camp that they’d neglected to work on their own home. Extreme Makeover came in and in only 7 days, with the help of over 2000 volunteers, they tore down (literally burned it!) and completely rebuilt the teas home, as well as adding 2 new buildings and a bunch of other awesome features to the camp ground.

Cheers for Camp Barnabas! Check out their website at campbarnabas.org for more information and send them some love!

-Jonathan Wold