In December 2009, Doug and Dorothy Wiebe ventured down from Abbotsford, BC, to enjoy an evening attending The Lights of Christmas. As they roamed about the event, they bumped into Camp volunteer photographer, Patrick Taylor, who offered them a tour in his brightly decorated golf cart. As he drove, Patrick told them about the volunteer opportunities at WBC. They were intrigued.

This past Memorial Day Working Weekend, the Wiebes enthusiastically joined the small army of volunteers helping get the Camp ready for summer. The Wiebes were assigned to work alongside Dwight Vlach in the Accommodations Department. They saw how much work there was to be done in keeping up the guest facilities.

But the Wiebes didn’t come just for Working Weekend. They stayed the entire month of June! They each spent 20 hours a week deep-cleaning the dark and long-forgotten corners of the Camp. This not being a very glamorous job, Dorothy’s response was surprising when she was asked how she felt about her volunteer experience.

“We discovered muscles that we didn’t think we had. In that way, we felt invigorated even throughout those ‘not-so-lovely’ jobs. We were so glad that we had the opportunity to work alongside the operation of the Camp in general. We felt we understood better the challenges you people sometimes face. In this way, we were enlightened!

“Then, being able to attend the daily devotionals was the highlight of the day. Some of the sharing was heart-rending. We felt encouraged and challenged to walk the ‘straight’ path to the cross and, thereby, closer to Christ. In this way, we were uplifted.”

One morning during the Camp staff’s devotional time, Dorothy shared one lesson she learned through her volunteer work at the Camp. Most of what she and Doug did was done in solitude, and, at first, Dorothy was frustrated that no one would notice her work. Then, she realized that her pride was in the way.  She didn’t need the glory for her labors—God should have the glory. “Thank you so much for enabling me to see this in myself,” she shared.

WBC thanks the Wiebes for their hard work and for the encouragement they were to the Camp staff.