When their mother went to prison in 2006, siblings Deidreana and Daniel saw their family further shattered when their father abandoned them.

They went to live with their grandparents, and lost contact for years with their brothers, who were taken in by another relative.

"I felt at a dead end," said Daniel, now 17.

Fortunately, their mother had signed them up to attend Camp Agape (which means "God’s unconditional love"), held annually by New Hope Oahu for children who have a parent or parents in prison, said Deidreana, 12. (The family asked the Star-Advertiser not to publish their last name.)

It was hard to trust anyone that first year, but "when we went to camp, the wall breaks down," Daniel said.

The two will return in September as junior mentors of Camp Agape to help lift the spirits of more than 120 children of incarcerated parents statewide, said Pastor Roy Yamamoto, head of New Hope’s prison ministry for 15 years. The event will be at Camp Erdman Sept. 2-5.

"Kids who have parents in prison have the highest chance of becoming criminals," Yamamoto said. "They’re hurting; some have a lot of shame or have been physically or sexually abused. They’re struggling with abandonment. This is a chance to put them on the right track."

One longtime junior mentor, Nicholas Bartolome, 15, said first-time campers "have a heavy heart when they come. We want to help them get rid of that heavy package."

His 17-year-old brother, Joseph Bartolome, added, "We’re the ones who show God’s love to the kids. We want to let them know we’ve been there, what you’re going through."

Deidreana, Daniel and the Bartolomes are among several kids who have been coming back as junior mentors for six years in a row after participating as campers. "It’s amazing — they’re all doing so well," Yamamoto said.

He made Deidreana a mentor at age 7 because "she’s an amazing leader. She’s unbelievable. Deidreana attended every follow-up outreach the church held throughout the year, and showed she was really able to minister to young children and comfort them. She was just a great example."

Camp Agape was founded in 2006 following a promise Yamamoto made to God when he was in prison on drug and assault convictions nearly 20 years ago. "I told him, ‘I’ll give you my life if you give me one more chance to come out,’" said Yamamoto, who was released in 1996.

"There is so much healing" at the camp, where most of them come forward to accept Jesus as their Lord on the final evening, Yamamoto said.

Before he started attending Camp Agape, Daniel said his grades had slipped and he had a record of acting out at school and at home.

"I always wondered, why did this happen, and why did it happen to me?" he said. At camp, Daniel said he shared with others about "how scared I was to tell her (their mother) how bad she made me and my sister feel, and that she never said she was sorry. I told about how much I miss my brothers and cared about them. I felt all the love as I shared my testimony.

"I envy others, that they got what we didn’t have — a mom who cares about them. I wonder why our mom wasn’t like that, why she chose the bad stuff over us."

Deidreana said the hardest thing for kids is to forgive their parents and themselves, and decide to move on from a place of pain.

"I know they’re (parents) very sorry for what they’ve done. In January my mom told me, ‘I’m sorry for everything I’ve done.’ I could see it in her face, that she’s really sorry. She saw some of the camp video (of Daniel’s testimony) and didn’t realize it was hurting us so badly. So I could give her another chance," Deidreana said.

Nicholas Bartolome said it took a while for him and his brother to forgive their stepfather for getting himself in trouble, as they miss all the fun activities and having a father figure to talk to.

Joseph Bartolome said since the camp is only four days long, the mentors don’t have much time to get through to the kids, but giving them the warmest welcome gets everything off to a running start.

"The first day the aunties and uncles (adult mentors) are all waiting on us as we come off the bus. They’re all cheering and hugging us — that’s the best thing that happened, the best first impression," he said. They leave camp feeling that "God has a bright future for all of us," Joseph Bartolome said.

To give monetary or volunteer support, call Yamamoto at 478-4228 or email royyamamoto@enewhope.org.