Camp Agape Vermont

 (from the Spring 2008 Newsletter)

Karen Lawsing, one of the members of the Organizing Team, was talking with a parole officer from the Department of Corrections and she heard this story:

The eight-year-old daughter of a woman with a serious problem of drug addiction who has been in and out of prison for a number of years attended Camp Agape last summer – her first camp experience. She returned home to her grandmother who is taking care of her and could talk of nothing else but the wonderful time she had in camp. The little girl, “Angie,” continues to have contact and visitation from her mother.

Mom is currently in an alternative treatment program. For the first time, she is working her program and is drug free.

What brought about these changes? Why now and after all this time and heartache? Perhaps, the change started in the relationship with her daughter. No longer are they mired in shame, guilt and abandonment. The little girl now brings joy and happiness. Mom can see hope for herself and her daughter. The world is full of opportunity when you have hope.