Last November, as Ricky Hitt volunteered at a Camp Builders project in Floydada, an emotional thought crossed his mind: “This is the camp my grandkids go to.”

After 36 years in the chemical plant industry, Hitt retired with one thing certain: he was not going to be a “couch potato.” Since becoming volunteers with TBM Camp Builders in January 2021, he and his wife Linda have embarked on 14 projects together and have no plans to slow down soon.

“I love working with my hands, and this is a way I can help,” said Hitt, who has remodeled houses and often spends his free time building wooden crosses. “This is also a way to serve the Lord and help kids – just like my grandkids – in an indirect way come to know the Lord through the camps.”

When Hitt realized his work at Plains Baptist Camp and Retreat Center would impact his grandkids who live in nearby Lubbock, the meaning behind the work became even more important.

“It was just so neat that while I was working at that camp I could actually envision my grandkids being there,” he said.

Linda Hitt also contributes many volunteer hours on each project partnering with other ladies on the campground to create quality sewn items, including dresses and skirts, sanitary pads, fidget quilts and more for various ministries.

The fidget quilts the ladies create give nursing home residents and special needs children a unique and creative thing to do with their hands and minds. “The fidget quilts are something that I especially enjoy because my own mother was in a nursing home and sometimes they really didn’t have anything to do.”

When the Hitts are not on a Camp Builders project, Ricky is often finding his inner child exploring a cave on their land near Jarrell, while Linda is joyfully planning the next family get-together or cousin camp for their eight grandchildren.

They also both enjoy singing in the choir at First Baptist Church in Salado. And, as often as possible, Ricky joins the Singing Men of East Texas in their choral concerts. 

TBM Builders ministries – including Church, Camp and Cabinet Builders – empower churches, camps and other ministries to accomplish their God-given visions of expanding the kingdom of God. Click here to learn more about opportunities to volunteer with TBM Builders.