Amazing Opportunity to Serve
My first flight of this amazing opportunity began in Huntsville at 6AM on Sunday December 25. I was able to observe this stunning sunrise above the clouds at roughly 6:40 inflight to Houston where I met up with Kayla Weaner, Mr. Martin and Mr. and Mrs. de Campos. From this point on we were inseparable for the next week.

Once in Houston we had three more flights to catch! From Houston we flew to Panama, from Panama to Manaus and from Manaus on to Boa Vista. We made it to Manaus at 9PM local time and filled two taxis with the five of us and our luggage to take us to the hotel where we spent the night waiting for our final flight to Boa Vista the next morning.

Shortly after noon on Monday we arrived in Boa Vista where we met up with three other volunteers that applied to serve at this camp. Esteban Morales and Michelle Roig were from Chile then Michelle Macedo from Brazil. From here, Ronaldo, the owner of Eco Park, where the camp took place, was waiting at the airport to take us via bus to the camp location 45 minutes away.

Shortly after we arrived at Eco Park the brethren from Maloca de Moscou and Dave Middleton (the final volunteer from New Zealand) arrived on a charter bus. We could easily see the smiling and waving from the moment they turned off of the road. For me, this was the moment when I got the “camp vibe;” it was from seeing the others. I said to myself, “Camp has begun.”

Everyone was very welcoming and greeted each other through handshakes and hugs just as if we were seeing a long lost friend once again. After exchanging names, we went to our sleeping quarters to unpack, settle in and hang hammocks in the men’s building.

Tuesday began the start of activities, Learning God’s Word in Christian living class and making wonderful memories throughout the week that we will all treasure forever. This was an amazing and productive experience! I would tell anyone to apply for if you have the opportunity. Helping to serving others, meeting brethren, and seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces was well worth the traveling time and being exhausted by the end of each day of camp. We were blessed with wonderful weather for the duration of camp; and the landscape was just beautiful. Thank you, to everyone that was involved by donating funds, putting in the hours and labor to make this United Youth Corps project happen!