For many years, I've wanted to go on the summer Capuchin Appalachian Mission (CAM) but family and work commitments stood in my way. To make a long story short, I started serving children living in poverty when I was in high school and thought then that this would be my life work. But, God apparently had other plans and guided me in a slightly different direction of supporting people with disabilities for over 50 years. Participating in CAM this year (without those other commitments) is, in a sense, an incredible opportunity to get back to my roots, so to speak, by serving people living in poverty in Harlan County, Kentucky, and to do this alongside others who share my deep Catholic faith and commitment to doing what we can for others less privileged than us. I believe doing so on my part will bring me closer to God (who seems to approve my CAM participation at this time!), seeing Jesus in the faces of people I would never otherwise get to meet, and, hopefully and prayerfully, improving their lives in the process. I am so blessed for this gift.