Leadership Pursuit (installment 1)

This week I have had the opportunity to lead Leadership Pursuit camp, which is the most intense course, and one of the few courses where kids come without their own counselors and chaperones. Most of these kids come with high recommendations and even some with scholarship to be here. Our goal for leadership camp is to truly push these kids beyond what they are used to, equip them with experiences and tools for leadership and prepare them to leave this camp and make an impact on the world around them. So, needless to say, I was very excited to be assigned to this course.

Yet, after one week this has been the most difficult, frustrating, and unresponsive group that I have had. Don't get me wrong, I love these kids, and we have had a lot of fun, but amidst all of that I have yet to see that real desire for leadership; that passionate and strong longing to step out for God. And it has been difficult. These last couple of days have been real good, but there is so much more in store for these kids and I wish they could see that. God has been teaching me a lot of patience and perseverence...that real love does not always impact someone off the bat, but rather, is a gradual process that takes time and continual amounts of effort.

To show y'all (yes I said y'all) what we actually do with these kids, I will go through what we have done this past week:
Moday morning the kids arrived and we hung out with them and played games until lunch. After lunch, we took off for the zipline where I introduced the story (which is the story of the Good Samaritan said dramatically with hand motions) and the theme (leadership and influence). After going through the story with them I brief the zipline, all the equipment being used, and the method of procedure we will take. However, since most of these kids have been here before, they all act like they know everything, which is probably part of the problem. After the zipline, we all hike back down the hill for an hour of freetime, which consists of ultimate frisbee, playing cards, or just hanging out. At 4 o'clock we jumped in the truck to go over to the horses and spend some time grooming and feeding them. That night after dinner, we took them out to the IG (initiative games) trail and played some games that are created to teach us experientially. Games like, Islands, Team Wall, or Wild Woozy can show us emerging truths (we call it etruth) that speak to us metaphorically in our walk with Christ. In everything that we do, IGs, high elements, horses, everything, we come back to the theme and the story, seeking the metaphors that give us the emergent truths which call us to live intentionally for God. Every debrief I have had, no matter which element it was on, there has been different metaphors seen. Yet, this group was a lot less willing as a whole to seek the etruth, being more concerned on what we were doing next.

Anyways, after sleeping with the boys Monday night (because they have no chaprones) I woke up and got the kids up a little after 7 am. A part of leadership camp entails service through working in the kitchen each meal. The kids take turns for each meal, preparing/serving and cleaning up, which I think is a very cool thing that we do. And because there was another group here this past week, the leadership kids served them as well. After breakfast I led a quiet time, where we look into a passage and take some time to apply it to our theme, the elements, and the story. We then went up to do the Flying Squirrel and then after lunch we took out the Giant Canoes to Indian Creek. The Giant Canoes are a huge tool for learning teamwork, and in leadership you will never lead others if you are never willing to follow. Afterwards it was just amazing to talk with Abbie and Allen, the other staff with me, about all the metaphors and what we, personally, can learn from just 2 hours in the river. That afternoon the kids went to the horses and then came back for dinner and their evening activity, which was getting deeper into their story by writing comic strips about it from all perspectives.

For me, Wednesday started with quiet time and then the X-Team, where we got poured on by an early thunderstorm...it was actually kind of fun. I had the afternoon off, while the kids went to the AP to participate in rock climbing and the high ropes course. That night, myself, Andy and Ashley made hobos with the kids for dinner. Hobos are basically chopped up carrots, potatoes, peppers, and onions with pieces of hamburger meat with a bunch of salts and spices and sauces, all wrapped up in foil and thrown on the fire to cook. SO GOOD! It is the best food we have, in my opinion. We let the kids make their own with whatever they want and have them chop up all their veggies. After dinner, Brittanie and I prepared to take them into the cave that night and have the kids participate in the labyrinth as their evening activity. After getting the kids settled down, we tried to get some sleep. With a lot of groups we have, we sleep in the cave and then make breakfast the next morning and go through the rest of the cave to finally come out at lunch. What most people don't understand is that, while the 50 degree, moist cave feels great at first, when it comes to sleeping in it, it's a totally different story. If you come in without a sweater you will be miserable. I woke up Thursday morning to some kids who hadn't slept all night. One boy who said he wanted to sleep without his sleeping bag, had changed his mind in the middle of the night and had made himself a coccoon.

Both Brittanie and I had off that morning as Andy and Ashley took the kids through the cave. That afternoon we took the kids canoing again, only this time with 2-person canoes, in preparation for the more serious canoing they will be doing this next week. We had to teach them how to steer from the back and control the canoes well enough to work the current in a bigger river. After dinner and another evening activity, I had to sleep with the boys again, who were starting to get on each others' nerves...and mine.

Friday the entire staff participated in the Golf Relay fundraiser which was a blast. It was awesome to see the kids thrive in serving those around them and participating in the event fully. I was very excited to see a lot more comradery among them all and much more respect given to one another as well. Today, I haven't seen the kids yet. Larry (co-owner) took them all to Virgin Falls to hike for the day and give Brittanie and myself the day off. Tonight I will be back with the guys and we will start a brand new week tomorrow morning. I don't know for sure what I will be doing after Monday, but I certainly hope that I can spend as much time with these kids as possible. This past week has been the most tiring of the entire summer, but I am looking forward to what God has in store for myself and these 15 kids. I hope the impact, if only in just one kid's life, will be great. That is why I am compelled to pursue and push these kids throughout the most difficult and annoying circumstances. As Christ loves me, I have no excuse not to love each one of these kids day by day...

Please pray for me this week, that God would give me strength and desire and a passion for these kids. Pray for the kids of leadership camp, that God would open their hearts so that they would see what He has in store for them. I don't even think that a few of these kids are actually Christians, so please pray for their hearts to break.

until later,
Ben