I had the honor last year of accompanying a paramedic to a camp of roofless friends to administer vaccines. When I entered the camp of tents, there were clothes hung on rope between trees and debris on the ground. Their only possessions were stacked outside their tents, but their treasures were kept inside. Parts of the camp were covered with tattered tarps to keep the rain out, and the creek flowing nearby was the perfect home for huge mosguitos and insects. I soon learned that we were also there to have a memorial service for two of the camp members that recently passed away. One lost his battle to Cirrhosis of the lIver, and the other was struck by a car as he was walking. I listened as this community of ten shared stories of their friends caring for them and laughing with them. A beautiful eulogy was read with words of hope and endurance. I watched as their hearts broke at the thought of not being able to see them again. They stood and held hands, we exchanged hugs, and tried to offer words of comfort. It was there in that forest surrounded by total strangers, that I was able to witness the beauty of love and joy in the most dire of circumstances and the hope of better days to come.