Camp Barnabas, Heaven on Earth!

So we had an easier time dropping Monte off this year, a few less tears, and lots of enthusiasm! All summer, anytime Monte heard the words, "Camp Barnabas!" he'd burst into smiles and start laughing. So this week as we started the countdown he got so happy!! As we lined up with the other wheelchair vans prepared to drop him off to a cheering audience of counselors, Piper kept taking pictures of Monte and saying, "Are you excited to go to Camp Barabas??!!" It was a happy car!
We were thrilled to be partnered with one of the world's special spirits, Blake, an adorable 16 year old boy who has volunteered for 2 years and drove up in 2 busloads of kids from Dallas Texas. He loved Monte so much from the get-go, and the bond got stronger everyday, as you can see from the pictures! At the end of camp, I thanked him with these words, "Not very many people take the time to get to know the true Monte, and you really did. We will be forever grateful to you, and you will always be a special friend to him. Thank-you."
He told me that through the week he was so concerned about Monte that he found that he forgot to take care of himself! "There were days I forgot to take a shower or brush my teeth, or eat or go to the bathroom, but I always make sure he did!" He also was devastated when I asked about Monte's superman trip off the bunkbed..."I'm so sorry, it was inexcusable...I was on my break...I'm so sorry..." I though he was going to cry, he was so upset!
Anyway, he reported that Monte LOVED the shooting range and shooting the guns, he "slept in till almost 6, then just jumped into the party going on in the cabin with the campers that woke up even earlier!" He enjoyed smelling lemon leaves in the gardens, making pretzels, fishing, making Indian noises and drums in the "new world," swimming almost every day, and flying in the parachute tents.
What a perfect week.
His cabin 'dad' was an amazing man in his late 20's who had a sister with a similar condition that passed away a few years ago, at 25. He is a youth pastor who drove 19 youth from Ohio to volunteer with them. He said, "If only my sister could have been a part of this when she was on this earth...but it doesn't matter now, she's in a perfect body in Heaven, doing all of this and more now. I just want to be with these kids to help them have a wonderful week and be able to do anything they want without being told 'no'"
Anyway...
Here's some pictures!