article from JULY-SEPTEMBER 2008
The Height of Enthusiasm!
Shouts of encouragement echoed throughout the forest. Young campers’ faces portrayed their enjoyment as they worked their way through both mental and physical obstacles.
The day had started off more challenging than most, with a temporary early morning wakeup call—a surprise cabin inspection!—followed by the real wakeup at 6:30 a.m. Yawns regularly emerged from many mouths, including mine.
The day was overcast, the hill to the dining hall had never seemed so long, and our usually upbeat songs were less enthusiastic than normal. Though at the time walking to the Linsly Outdoor Center did not seem like a happy prospect, in hindsight, the walk was beneficial, as it gave us extra time to wake up and consider what was to come.
As the girls began their song, I felt my spirits rise. The forest around us was green and lush and the wonder of God’s creation was truly evident. I felt slightly hesitant about the low ropes course—not because of the height from the ground—but the increased chance of failure. I came to realize throughout the day that success was not as important as the path you took to get there.
I was happy with my assigned group, as it gave me the chance to work with people I hadn’t spent a lot of time with prior to this event. Our first game—a simple name game—was fairly easy, as we all knew each other already. It did, however, provide a lot of entertainment, and got me accustomed to the campers I would be working with.
Next we were shepherded down to our first low ropes course of the day. It was at this point that I began to be excited, yet a bit apprehensive. However, I knew that I could not be a passive participant (as I am sure many other campers realized), and I felt that it was up to me to find answers to the challenges.
In the first course, we could use any object on our bodies to retrieve a rope hanging three meters away and then swing all team members to a small wooden square six meters away. I wasn’t feeling too confident with myself at this stage because this challenge had me baffled. After the coach ruled out some of the boys’ ideas for diving for the rope, the team really came together with a number of people donating chains and belts for this cause.
Different ideas were tossed around, and as each person’s proposal was seriously considered, I felt a sense of delight for my fellow campers. Even though we are constantly surrounded by those in the world living the “get” way of life, when we came together it was evident that we were truly striving to live the “give” way of life. With everyone putting in their best effort, the rope was captured on the second attempt. Looking around the group, I didn’t see any spectacular talent that was required to do the activity, but the full participation of the entire team easily allowed us to finish the designated task.
As the day progressed, our moods quickly improved and our enthusiasm increased. In only two-and-a-half hours, our team was able to complete five different tasks! No matter how difficult the task, we all persevered. We grew closer as a group, trusting each other and our abilities when we worked together as one. It was an extremely beneficial activity and was enjoyed by everyone.
Personally, I couldn’t stop talking about the ropes courses after the day had ended. I look forward to participating in these amazing activities again next year.