Young Mens Camp 2008

I arrived home on Saturday after a long and difficult Young Mens Camp. Our ward has 15 young men and last year no leaders from our ward went to help out. I decided that this year our ward needed to chip in so I took a week off work and spent 5 grueling nights in a tent. Another leader and I were assigned 8 boys to lead as our group. Once the group is formed you do everything as a group including cooking, eating, games and hikes. On Tuesday morning, we packed our backpacks and set out for an overnight hike. We hiked a total of 25 km that day which is about 16 miles. My pack was probably about 25 lbs and I have not done a hike like this since I was a teenager so it was difficult but as a leader, I had to do it with a smile on my face. I completed it and actually after the first 10 km, it got easier and easier. The next day we has a short 5 km hike to a beautiful lake that had a nice sandy beach. We spent most of the day there which was nice. On Friday we went to a rock climbing company. I had never done this and I hurt my shoulder during a game on Monday so I did not know how well I would do. I found that I am a climbing maniac. I may have a big belly, but I can literally pull my own weight. I was able to climb to the top with ease and I can proudly state that I made it in much less time than most of the teenage boys.

Overall, I would say it was a good experience. I did have a great difficulty with the language barrier. Though all the boys speak and understand English, respect was harder to earn because I could not shout out "orders" in their native language. Physically is was a great challenge but I met that challenge. In the end, however, I was able to get to know all boys in the stake a little and some a lot as well as them getting to know me. I have already seen a greater bond with some of the young men in my ward, especially the younger ones, that will help us become a stronger quorum.