Tripping in the Wilderness

"99 bottles of pop on the wall. 99 bottles of pop. Take one down, pass it around. 98 bottles of pop on the wall. Etc. etc. etc."
"We get to have HOBO DINNER for dinner tonight!"
"I've never been so thankful for Port-A-Potties."
"The water tastes like iron." "I don't care, it's so good."
"Campers will think that you're so tough because you can kill ticks with your bare hands."
"So... how long of a detour did we take?"
"Pine is my favorite kind of toilet paper."

All of the Res Camp staff women
Just a few lovely quotes from our 4 day/3 night wilderness trip we went on this past week. On Monday afternoon, 1 unit leader and her 8 ducklings aka us SLSers, set out into the Northwoods wilderness. We canoed for the first half of the trip then switched gear with another group and hiked the rest of the time. We stayed in 3 different camp sites which was fun since we will be leading campers to those sites at some point in the near-ish future. We learned how to make fires, set up tents, properly tie down bug nets and rain tarps, put our food on a bear pole, navigate, orienteer, get lost then get un-lost, and so much more. We shared our life stories, cooked food over the fire, laughed till our sides hurt, saw the dirtiest, literally, of each other and bonded as a unit, Sierra Sisters, holla as my unit leader would say. Our refrain is... wait for it... "Onwards and Upwards!" which, I believe, is taken from the quote, "Further up and further in!" from The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis which also happens to be the name of my blog which you're reading. What. How cool is that?! God definitely placed me in the right unit this summer. Though for more reasons than just the refrain.

Hobo dinner complete with charcoal and dirt!
I had never been camping in the wilderness before so trip was a totally new experience for me. I didn't shower or use deodorant (apparently it attracts critters). I gave up brushing my teeth after the first night and slept in the clothes that I had worn the rest of the day. All in all, I really enjoyed it. Granted, I was happy to come back to sleep on a mattress, take a shower, have clean clothes and use running water. But I had a great time because I got to bond with my unit and learn more about my unit leader. What made the trip worth it was the people that I got to spend it with. We got to do life together intimately for 4 days in the wilderness which just brings you closer exponentially. We got to know one another more deeply, hear the stories of the past that shape who we are now, see each other's goofy and tired sides and encourage and trust one another in the challenging and joyful times. It wasn't about standing alone or doing it all ourselves. It was about being a community, journeying alongside one another, asking for help and giving grace for mistakes. We didn't do it perfectly and we definitely annoyed each other at times but we were able to love each other through it.

How many ENOs can you see?
Yesterday, when we were talking about the wilderness trips that we'll be leading our campers on eventually, our supervisor said that we are attracted to the wilderness because it reminds us of how small we are. I am so tiny in comparison to the vastness of the Northwoods alone. The world is so big and our God is greater. The lakes seem to go on forever but God is eternal. The forests are beautiful but my God is even more majestic. I have fallen in love with His creation and need to be reminded to look to the Creator. This trip showed me how privileged I am, how much I have materially, the beauty of space apart, the challenges that remind me of my limitations and how much I need other people and need to see God in new ways. I hope that I can remember these truths when I'm with my campers. I always feel closer to the Lord when I'm in creation and I pray that they will too. The wonderful and crazy thing is that this is just the beginning of my HoneyRock summer. Let's go.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

::everything stripped away::

Image
She trembles. "Please don't", she whispers. So much has been taken from her already. Must this also be torn from her? "You can do it, you can do it", she mentally recites to herself. She's made it through many storms before but nothing like this. They were always by her side before. They were her foundation and her safety net to come back to. Now, it isn't like that. She has no place to go. No place to hide. She can feel herself splintering into a thousand pieces. Her world has been shattered and she is at a loss as to how to pick up the fragments. Rebuilding seems like a gigantic task and she wonders if she really has the strength to do it. She concentrates on one thing at a time, compartmentalizing to survive the pain that is part of every day. "Why? What happened? What now?" The questions perpetually swirl in her head. Some days she forgets what happened and you can hear her laughter and see her smile. Other days, something triggers her an...
Read more

::courage, dear heart::

Image
This is the first post I didn't want to write. There have been posts that felt yanked out of me or that clawed their way to the surface. If I'm being honest, this is one I didn't really want to touch. Each year I choose a word to be my anchor, reminder of truth, aspiration, etc. and my word for 2023 was 'courage'. Writing plays a critical role in how I reflect and all the more so in how I look back on each year. But I haven't desired to look again on 2023 because I needed so. much. courage. I stared fear, heartbreak, uncertainty, and pain in the face in fresh ways. Yes, I made it through by the grace of God, but not without new scars and aching undercurrents that are still with me today. Why would I want to evoke it all again if I don't have to? Because that is courage. Courage  (n.) - the ability to do something that frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief The root of the word, "cor", means 'heart' in Latin. Courage can also b...
Read more

fake it till you make it - adult edition

Image
Is it ever okay to fake it? Is "faking it" lying to people? If so, am I a terrible person every time I do it? These are moral questions I don't have answers to. Either I'm lying almost every day of my life or it's not truly a lie. We've all done it. We have all faked it till we made it, whether it's through a class, a day, a meeting, a season. It hurts, it's hard, it's not necessarily healthy but it is a regular occurrence. The funny thing is that pretending things are (mostly) okay usually works out in the end. I do still hold to the principles of honesty and integrity but I've also learned that sometimes you have to act like you can do it, pretend you feel it, or whatever it is, in order to do the good and needed things in life.  In college, I learned particular forms of faking it in regards to homework, relationships, extra-curriculars, existential and identity crises, and everything else in-between. And look, I made it! Out of college at le...
Read more