By Dylan McDonough
After a week of surviving the Polar Vortex, Dad took Daniel and me to Man Camp 2019 at Camp Roger. Man Camp focuses on father and son(s) bonding and spiritual growth while being outside together. I cannot think of a better way to spend a weekend.
One of the most important goals of Man Camp is to keep father and sons together. Instead of kids being with kids and dads being with dads, each individual family stuck together making memories. Through various activities, I noticed that our father/son bond is strong through our conversations. It was fun to see my dad do some of the things I do at Camp Roger. One of the most exciting things we got to do was sleep in a cabin together in bunk beds! It was our first time overnight at a camp.
Four devotionals were created for us about some of the greatest leaders in the Bible. We studied their flaws to see that even great leaders are not perfect, yet God still used them mightily. Moses was the Israelites’ leader for a long time. His flaw was anger that kept him from entering the Promised Land. Solomon was the wisest and richest king that ever was, but he spent too much time marrying women from foreign tribes. This led him to destruction. The disciple Peter was very impulsive and even denied Christ three times. God still used him to begin the first Christian church. The last devotional was about Saul, who hated and persecuted Christians at first. God changed his heart, leading Paul to become one of the greatest missionaries and preachers in the Bible.
On Saturday we did scheduled activities outside together. My favorites were ziplining, firemaking, and sledding. Within each activity we learned something new. To get up the zipline, you have to climb up a telephone pole with rungs. I was very proud of my brother, Daniel, who with Dad’s help, climbed all the way to the platform. When we were building a fire to pop popcorn, Dad had never made a fire with a flint. But this time he made a spark and our fire raged! Daniel and I thought Jiffy Pop over an open campfire was the best popcorn ever.
My favorite activity by far, was sledding. The fathers and sons had to build their sleds out of cardboard, sheet plastic, markers and duct tape. Our strategy was to
have the least friction. Dad showed me how to rip off duct tape, make the hand holders stronger and waterproof the sled. We named our sled The Super Star. It was the fastest sled down the hill! On the last run it turned backwards and kept going with us aboard! At the bottom we crash landed into the snow. That was epic! Each family member learned about each other in these activities.
There were some other games and contests at Ridge Hall too. In one competition we separated into about eight groups. Each group chose a name, ours being The Fireballs. The game was to earn points answering questions about Camp Roger and Michigan. Some of the questions I knew and others I had to rely on the other contestants in my group. We came in a close second place.
I really enjoyed my first Man Camp. All of the activities were fun. It was exciting to sleep overnight in a cabin. The devotionals were well written and I really liked spending time together with Dad and Daniel outside. We encourage you to go to Man Camp at Camp Roger!
