In 2022 I was blessed to attend an OHD retreat at Camp Harmon in the Santa Cruz mountains. The retreat consisted of several veterans, first responders and counselors. Being in law enforcement for over 35 years I was a bit apprehensive about the whole process of the retreat. What I found was that we were all there for our own personal reasons. That soon was changed into an environment that brought us all together. We got to know each other over dinners and daily activities. We also made large handmade wooden flags.
The one thing that I found that brought us to a different level was the time with the OHD Chaplain Ed in the evenings. Chaplain Ed would read from the Bible and teach us about his reading in such an easy way to understand. After that we went to bed with a head and heart full of God.
Later in the week we watched a veteran who was homeless prior to this retreat take Christ and was baptized by Chaplain Ed.
Later during the week, we all began sharing our struggles and demons with each other. It put us all on even ground and really brought us together.
At the end of the retreat the counselors worked with us to continue our life plan.
I’m very grateful for the retreat and it moved me into service to others. I am now an active member of OHD, and I am forever grateful for this retreat and Our Heroes Dreams. I would encourage other first responders, veterans, and peace officers to reach out and give OHD a try.
