Guest Writer: Matthew Dooley

Camp twin lakes is a place where people come together despite their disability. We do a variety of activities and different fellowship gatherings. We have a ropes course where people do activities such as climbing wall, zip line, in the air swing, and a high ropes course where individuals have to come together as a team in order to complete it. As I wake up every morning, the first thing I think about is all the wonderful faces I’ll get to see throughout the day. All of the staff at camp twin lakes work tirelessly to ensure the campers have a wonderful experience. As this week comes to an end I will never forget the new friends that I have made.

One of the most memorable moments of camp was when a camper named Justin came up to me. He was a first time camper at ESP. He was very shy and timid, but when you looked into his eyes, you could tell all he wanted was someone to talk to. When I realized that, I thought to myself….. I’m going to reach out to this individual that needs a friend. He spent all the time that he could around me. As he got to know me, he started talking more. He allegedly told me that he got to camp himself; I didn’t know what he meant by that. As the conversation continued, he told me he was at a disabilities convention, and he saw that ESP was taking campers. On the last day of camp, he came up to me and he gave me a note that said “ thank you for being a good friend”. The very moment I read the note, I realized I had made a difference in one person’s life. When you think of ESP and what they try to achieve, you realize what their mission  is……. to make everybody feel accepted for who they are and not who they’re not.

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