Amazing Week

Wow. This past week was amazing. Though I enjoyed going back to Powhatan, I believe what made it great was the adults and boys that I spent the week with. They made it memorable and fun.


I was grateful for the opportunity to blog. Not only did it give many of you an opportunity to see what your boys were up to (thanks to all those who have emailed me), but it gave me an opportunity to record this event for myself.


So as I mentioned before, I hope to have a web album of photos up by they end of the week…stay tuned!

Driving home

This is a post-posted post (How did you like that?). This post chronicles the adventures of troop 996 as they traversed the hills and plains of Virginia toward home with two wounded vehicles. The following will be periodical posts that were created throughout the journey home.


Post one

It is 1:02pm on Saturday. We should be several away from Camp Powhatan well on our way home. As it is, most of the troop is currently sitting in a Christiansburg Pizza Hut about to eat lunch. Shortly after leaving the camp, my van stop to get some gas. There it was discovered that two of the four remaining vehicles had serious engine problems that needed to be address immediately. So with two wounded cars and other needs that must be met, we have decided to stake out in Christiansburg until the cars have been fixed by a local mechanic. With that, we sit in Pizza Hut figuring out what pizzas to order.


Post two

It’s 3:41 and we are still within sight of the Pizza Hut. Rather than still sitting inside of it, we can look down on it from the auto repair shop we are sitting it. At this point, one of the wounded vehicles have been fixed and we are awaiting the last to roll out of the shop. For a while the boys have been occupying themselves by playing card games…in the kiddy section of the waiting room. Now they are disbursed throughout the waiting room reading and talking. Considering the six hours we have before us, the sooner the care get fixed, the better.


Post three

Two hours and fifty minutes later (6:31) and we are on the road. We have been on the road now for over an hour and have recently finished watching Follow Me Boys. It is a old Disney classic about a man who throughout becoming a boy scout leader in a small town has a tremendous impact on the future of countless boys throughout the years. It is an amazing movie about the impact an individual can truly have. If anyone where to ask you what Boy Scouting is all about, I would recommend they watch this film! Even if not, I would recommend you watch this film!

Anyway, our estimated time of arrival is somewhere after 10:00 p.m. I suspect that it will be later than that, but time will tell.
Post four

It is 10:01 and we are about 35 minutes away from the church, The boys in my care hare now resorted to singing songs they learned at came and reciting our came related phrases. I believe that answers my previous questions about traditions. Though there was a few tradition that carried over from my time, they have created new ones that appeared to be firmly planted in the minds of the boys.

Post five

At 10:30, the trip came to a successful conclusion!!!

At the church.

Colors and Plaques

Troop Update:

Yesterday and today have just been beautiful! The rain has decided to stay away and the sun has been shinning!

Today our guys conducted the morning flag ceremony. They did some serious practicing and it paid off. In addition to the normal command calling and raising of the flags, our guys had two pipers play a marching note, one playing the snare drum, and a bulgur! They looked spectacular and after they were done the camp gave them a rousing applause!

Two photos of the Color Guard

Up in the trading post there are plaques created by troops throughout the years that line the walls of the shop. For many years, our troop created a plaque for thee trading post wall, but for the last couple of summer camps, the troop has not. This year we decided to change that and a big hand in making it a reality was Mr. Stauffer. Once he caught wind of what we wanted to do, his creative juices started to flow and the rest is history. Many individual help to create this year’s amazing plaque, but Mr. Stauffer was the mastermind behind it!

Wall of plaques

This year's plaque

Today the boys only have merit badge classes in the morning. They will spend the rest of the afternoon playing games and getting ready for the closing campfire. They will also have the opportunity to watch the scoutmaster whip the camp staff in a “friendly” game of volleyball!

It is amazing that camp is almost over. It has been a fast and amazing week. The boys have grown a lot over the week, as have I. I came to make the boy’s week great, as it turned out, they gave me the opportunity to have a stupendous week! I believe that when we give, we get more in return than what we originally gave. Summer camp is amazing time for boys and the adults alike. I was glad I was able to be a part of it.

Considering how fast things will be moving tomorrow morning as we head out, I may not have the chance to post again. If I do not, please check back here over the next week. As the week progresses, I hope to create an online album of the photos taken here at camp. Not only will I be placing the photos I have taken online, but the photos from many of the other photographers in our group as they send them to me. Thanks for the opportunity to spend a week with all of your boys. It was a blast!

Troop 996...only the best!

Our tremendous adult leaders!

Shooting from the Hip

Quick apologies to all of the English folks (and anyone with a proper grasp of grammar). As many have probably noticed, initially many of my post have been filled with typos and grammatical mistakes. Due to the slow connection (and just purely wanting to get back out into the camp), I have not been as diligent to catch all of these mistakes as I am normally (Professors do not like typos) and thus figuratively shooting from the hip.


Talking about shooting, the Scoutmasters (and Assistants SM ) get to take part in a shotgun contest. I am very much looking forward to this!

Quick Photos:

Boys eating dinner Tuesday evening.

Camp before breakfast today.

Polar Bears and Floods

The Polar Bear swim came early this morning. The call to get up came around 5:15 am while the actual plunge took place around 6:00 am. As we marched through the breath-taking cold air, the ice hung ominously on the edge of the dock that we were about to make the fateful plunge from.....

Haha...not really, but it was a little chilly. It wasn't too cold walking up to the lake. The coldest part came when our warm bodies hit the chilled water! As challenging as Polar Bear swim sounds, it was went quite well.

Earlier this morning after the Polar Bear swim.

As great as the swim was, greater joy came today in the form of a morning without rain...so far. As can be imagined, the rain has left quite an impact on the campsite. The center of camp looks more like a mud pit than a camp and the water keeps coming. As I mentioned, the rain has stopped, but a spring like fountain has appeared in the upper portion of the camp, which is feeding our newly formed riving flowing directly through the center of camp! Be this a spring or a busted water pipe, we do not know, but what we do know is this, lots of water, dirt, and young feet equal mud!

The river flowing through our campsite!

Here are more photos.

The river flowing around the tents.

Morning troop Assembly.

Lunch and a date with the lake

Troop update:

So some of the boys got their opportunity to serve lunch today. I was with them and you wouldn't believe how fast that hour and twenty minutes of time went! I had the duty of serving brownies and it was quite a challenge. You might not think so, but when a batch of brownies came glued to the pan, I could hardly prying them off fast enough!

Many of our boys are off for their Wilderness Survival overnighter. Taking just the essentials, the boys will spend the night away from the comforts of camp (cough, cough) and prove their ability to survive in the outdoors. If that wasn't enough, when they join us back in camp around 5:30 am they, as well as the rest of the troop, have a 6:00 am date with the lake!

Here are some photos from earlier this week:

Lined up on the parade field.

Before bed assembly.

Catch of the day.

Rain and Knots

Troop Update:

It is still raining today, and according to weather.com it still looks like it could be raining for a bit more.

Still brought to you by Weather.com

Yesterday it rained throughout the day. There was a brief period that it stopped, but it was short-lived. Despite the rain, the boys still appeared to be having a fun time. With so much up here to do, they can for the most part always find something to do.

Later on after dinner, several of us went over to Scoutcraft (one of the merit badge areas) to learn how to tie a Monkey’s Fist. I previously knew how to tie this knot, but having forgotten, I decided it sounded like fun to relearn. As it turned out, not only did I relearned the Monkey’s Fist, but I learned to tie a Turks head (a very decorative knot. It makes a very nice bracelet). Myself and the other guys got caught up over there tying and learning knots for over an hour! It was a lot of fun!

Today the boys will get the opportunity to serve the rest of the camp lunch. This not only gives the boys an opportunity to serve others, but also the opportunity to eat as much of the food as they want! Considering that normally the main dishes consist of only one serving per person (there is always unlimited filler-food available), the boys will enjoy this.

Personal reflection

My younger brother finally passed the 100 yard swim test! Up until recently, my brother has had difficulty swimming. So yesterday was his third try at the test, and he made it successful! It took a lot of perseverance to jump into that lake to take the test so many times.

My brother swim testing in the rain.

Here are some more photos.

Eating dinner on the parade field.

Boys doing push-ups.

Enjoying the Grits!

The Stinger

Troop Update:

It is raining today and according to the weather it looks like it could be raining for a bit more.

Brought to you by the Weather.com

So our Summer camp Scoutmaster started this game called stringer yesterday and it has been quite some time! There is an object, in this case a flat washer, that is the “stinger”. Whoever has the stinger tries to place it on another person within our troop without them realizing it. Once the person realizes that they have the stinger or is told that they have been “stung”, their objective is to place it on someone else. The overall objective is not to be the one to have the stinger at the morning and evening gatherings. This game has turned out to be so much fun that there is even a specific adult stinger going around! To people on the outside we must look odd because of how paranoid we act around each other in order to avoid being stung! Haha, it is a lot a fun…and oh ya, the boys are enjoying it as well!

Here are some more photos.

The famous Troop 996 Girmoose guarding the entrance to camp.

Some of our New River Participants doing a team building exercise.

The boys in a troop assembly.

Me just acting goofy for the boys around me.

Merit Badges and Leadership

Troop Update:

The boys spent much of the day getting familiar with their merit badge classes and their daily schedules. For the next week they will essentially have school periods throughout the day that will correspond to their various merit badges that they are earning.

Boys eating at the Dinning Hall

Earlier today our Senior Patrol Leader (The head youth scout, also called the SPL) had a conversation with another troop's SPL thats worth retelling. They were talking about various things when the other SPL made the comment that our troop always looked very sharp on the parade field. (Every breakfast and dinner, all of the troops line up on the field directly before the Dinning Hall. There the Colors are raised and lowered each day, in addition to disbursement of important information.) So it was very encouraging to receive that kind of a compliment from a non-adult scout.

Personal Reflection:

So it is amazing how much you can learn if you are actively doing. Today I had an experience which really help me to reevaluate myself. It also reiterated to me something else about leadership. Leaders lead and when a leader does not exist either one of two things occur. First, a leader arises. If this does not happen, chaos insures. This is the natural course of events and sometimes it takes a period of chaos to produce a leader. Many times this process cannot be cut short or manipulated. Leaders can come along in the process and guide, but many times individuals need to be allowed to experience failure in order to truly grow into a successful leader.

Photos

More photos from the Dinning Hall

Camp Powhatan and Wi-FI

Alright, as it turns out, the camp does indeed have internet. And not only does it have internet, it was Wi-Fi! I get a tremendous laugh out of this considering that I get phone service in only half of the camp.

So with my new found joy of internet, I will be blogging live from Camp Powhatan throughout the week.

By now it is afternoon here and the troop has gone through most of the required instruction segments informing them on what will occur throughout the week and what will be expected of them. What has been most interesting to me is seeing camp staff that was here when I was (which was from 99-02). The stories and traditions all are coming back to me and I am looking forward to seeing if any of them have been carried on or if they have created new ones. Really, it is simple things like that which make camp memorable.

Tonight we have our opening campfire which will bring all of the troops together. The opening campfire will set the mode for the rest of the week.

Well, as an adult it is my responsibility to make sure the boys have a good time, so duty calls and I must head over to our camp.


The Troop getting instructions on the rules associated with the water area.

Internet and Camp

So I would like to take this moment to thank my sponsor, Panera Bread....

I love Panera Bread, not only do they have pretty good food, but all of their store provide wireless internet free! I once was out of town for one of my brothers races, and I needed to do school work, so I searched before I went to the race and found a Panera Bread nearby. So I ended up going over there a couple of times to use the internet so I could complete my school work. I also love the environment in their stores. At this moment I am outside in a patio like area with cool Jazz playing in the background.

Anyway, I am going out of town for a week starting tomorrow! I am going as an adult leader to summer camp with my younger brother's boy scout troop. With it being in the mountains, I am not sure that they will have internet access for the adult leaders to use, but I am hopeful :-D. If so, I will be blogging live from summer camp...so stay tuned!

Paul and Purpose

Passion is amazing, but passion connected to purpose is extraordinary. Those who live passionate, purposed lives complete life's race knowing they gave their all and left nothing on the table. They also live their lives in such a focused and defined way that things in life do not distract them from their goals. In the paraphrase, The Message, Paul puts it this way:

You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

So, do you know what your purpose is and how it connects to your passion?

If you could not answer yes, I would recommend you take some time to pray and figure it out. It may indeed take a bit of thinking, but understanding this will enable you to better fulfill your God purpose in life and live a life that excites you on a daily basis!

What is your Passion?

Continuing to reference John Maxwell, he has three questions he likes to ask to help people discover their passion. They are:

What do you sing about?

What do you cry about?

What do you dream about? (p.37)

Have you every asked yourself theses questions? Are you be able to answer these questions right now? I believe that God puts a passion in each and every one of us because it is a powerful force for enabling us to reach our God given destiny. It allows us to overcome challenges and spark imagination in those around us. A passionate person is a energetic person. It is hard to be a quiet person when you are burning with passion.

The evangelist John Wesley is attributed this quote:

I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn.

Passion is a fire that everyone can see. It is irresistible. So are you burning so bright that people can't help but be drawn to you?

The Great Energizer

Currently I am reading Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell (2007). In one particualr chapter he quotes a study by authors Robert J. Kriegel and Louis Patler. The study, with followed the lives of 1,500 individuals over the course of twenty years, stated:

At the outset of the study, the group was divided into Group A, 83 percent of the sample, who were embarking on a career chosen for the prospects of making money now in order to do what they wanted later, and Group B, the other 17 percent of the sample, who had chosen their career path for the reverse reason, they were going to pursue what they wanted to do now and worry about the money later.
The data showed some startling revelations:

*At the end of the 20 years, 101 of the 1,500 had become millionaires.
*Of the millionaires, all but one -100 out of 101- were from Group B, the group that had chosen to pursue what they loved! (p.35)

Passion is the great energizer. Passion takes something that is ordinary and makes it extraordinary. Never compromises your passion for the security of today. Once people start a path rarely do they get off it. You can live outside of your passion, but unless you live within your passion, you will never had really lived. God has put a burning passion within each and every one of us. When we live within our passion, we have a sustaining strength that can carry us throughout the entirety of our lives.

Passion will allow you to run longer than others. Passion will push you to continue working when others have quite. Passion will enable you to rise above your limitations. Passion will set you apart from people who are more talented. Passion will never allow you to accept things as is. It will always strive for more,work towards a higher level. Passion is never satisfied and will never allow you to stay where you are today.

Passion is key to living life at its best. Are you following your passion or are you putting it off to a tomorrow which may never come?

RUC and the future

Yesterday we had our bi-weekly Regent Undergraduate Council (RUC) Meeting. I as a Representative sitting on the Council was very pleased by the progress and directions that is forming in the Council. Up till now we have really just focus on events and other related things, but I believe yesterday changed that. Though as a Council we do need to concern ourselves with creating and hosting events for the students so as to build community, but I believe the higher goal of the Council should be to begin to address the academic and school related concerns of the student body. We decided yesterday that this should indeed be a greater focus of the Council from now on. Though it is going to take commitment and focus to do this, I believe that we are up for it.
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In regards to RUC , I plan to over the next several months to help RUC begin to really promote itself among the student body. I know for myself personally, that I had been at Regent for nearly two years before I first really knew what RUC was. Considering that RUC’s purpose is to serve the student body, it is hard to address the concerns of the students if the students don’t know where to express their concerns to us.

So please let us know how we can help you. Contact us at RUC@regent.edu.

Driving on Water

This is awesome! Check out this video!

"Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor"

Who among us know the names and stories of men like John Hart and Francis Lewis. Most know the names of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Many also know that these men where among the Fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence. What most don’t know though is that Francis Lewis and John Hart where among them as signers of that document that would change the world.

At the end of the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers concluded the document with a phrase:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

What most also don’t know is that many of the signers did indeed support the Declaration of Independent with the sacrifice of their Lives and Fortunes.

In a reprint of the 1848 book, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, B.J. Lossing wrote of John Hart:


The talents of Mr. Hart were considered too valuable to the public, to remain in an inactive state, and in February, 1776, he was again elected a delegate to the General Congress. He was too deeply impressed with the paramount importance of his country’s claims, to permit him to refuse the office; and he took his seat again in the body, and voted for and signed the declaration of Independence. (p.88)


Lossing went on to write:


Nothing would have seemed more inimical to Mr. Hart’s private interests, than this act, which was the harbinger of open hostilities, for his estate was peculiarly exposed to the fury of the enemy. Nor was the fury withheld when New Jersey was invaded by the British and their mercenary allies, the Hessians. The signers of the Declaration everywhere were marked for vengeance, and when the enemy made their conquering decent upon New Jersey, Mr. Hart’s estate was among the first to feel the effects of the desolating inroad. The blight fell, not only upon his fortune, but upon his person, and he did not live to see the sunlight of Peace and Independence gladden the face of his country. He died in the year 1780 (the gloomiest period of the War of Independence), full of years and deserved honors. (p. 88-89)


Lossing also recalled the great sacrifice of the forgotten Francis Lewis as well:


Mr. Lewis was a shining mark for the resentment of the British and tories, and while the former possessed Long Island, they not only destroyed his property, but had the brutality to confine his wife in a close prison for several months, without a bed or change of raiment, whereby her constitution was ruined, and she died two years afterwards. (p. 73)


These men did not have to do what they did. Most, due to their fortunes, could have lived the rest of their lives in comfort and easy while the British imposed its will on the colonies. It was not desperate times or needs that compelled these men to great feats of moral action. It was an overriding sense of duty to those of future generations that caused these men to lay down everything they had in this life. Most personally lost more than they ever gained by signing that document of liberty. Rather than being a document of liberty for them, it was a document of pain and suffering. Because they gave up their comfort, their fortunes, their lives, we today can enjoy comfort, make fortunes, and live lives in liberty.


To concluded, we must never forget their great sacrifice, for it is the foundation of our great republic of liberty and freedom.

"Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again." - Ronald Reagan, 1967.


"Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence" http://www.amazon.com/Signers-Declaration-Independence-Benson-Lossing/dp/0925279455

"Freedom is not free."

This is a repost of one of my old post. I repost again because I have something else on my heart on write about the 4th of July as well:

"Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor"

There is a statement inscribed on the Korean War memorial that few people understand today. The statement contains only four words, yet contains a truth that utterly transcends its simplicity.

"Freedom is not free."

The Freedom we enjoy today in this nation cost us personally relatively nothing and that is why so many trample upon it as yesterday's paper. Today so few people remember or even know about the signers of the Declaration of Independence and their lives. They do not know what they put on the line for us to have the freedoms we enjoy today.

When those men pledged, "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" they meant every word of it. So many of these men were so well off that they could have lived they entire lives and been relative unaffected by the British's harsh rule. Yet despite having so little to gain personally, they all risked so much so as to secure the freedoms of future generations.

So few people realize that we stand today on the shoulders of giants. We would be nothing today without every generation that has come before us. Let us rememeber today those that risked and gave so much for us to enjoy freedom. Let us also be prepared to do what is called of us to secure freedom for future generations.

"Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again." - Ronald Reagan, 1967.

Layovers and everything

So my sister left for her first overseas missions trip this morning. It is going to be an awesome trip for her. It reminds me of when I when on my first missions trip in 2003 to Ukraine. The trip lasted almost two weeks and we spent most of it ministering to orphans all over the country. You have not seen how inhuman a child can be treated unless you have been outside of this country. I saw a mentally handicapped child restrained by the wrist with a cloth bound so tight that her hands and fingers had turned purple. I walked into an orphanage where the smell of human waste was overpowering. I also met a mentally and physically handicapped "child" who was older than me, totally unable to move or communicate.

Despite this, I also saw smiles on child's faces when we gave them moments of our attention. I loved on children who rarely received attention from anybody. And I also met two physically handicapped boys who as an indirect result of our trip would be adopted by friends of mine to now live in the U.S.

Not everyone is called to mission, but when God calls you, for either a short or long term trip, go! Not only will God use you to change lives, but God will change you in the process.