Discovery Four Day Backpacking Trip and Some Ah-Ha Moments

Discovery!

Last week Wednesday, Discovery left on its first adventure, a four day backpacking trip in the back country of Sweden. Life leading up to it was busy with preparation and trying to get ahead on reading that would be due after we got back. In addition to the normal busyness, I discovered that I had a bug bite on my leg that was more than just a normal mosquito bite. I went to see a nurse before I left and she gave me some hydrocortisone cream and told me to come back if the bite didn't get any better.

The Discovery leaders, Timo and Alfred, didn't give us much information about the trip ahead of time. We were told that we were backpacking, and they helped us figure out what to pack. We didn't know where we were going, and we knew the day we would leave and that we wouldn't miss morning lecture but not what time beyond that. At lunch we were told to be ready to leave in 20 minutes. Everyone managed to make that deadline except one girl, who was four minutes late so we all got to do 20 push-ups (5 for each minute she was late). We got into two cars and drove for about 45 minutes before being dropped off on the side of the road near a trail head. We spent the rest of the day hiking, following Timo and Alfred to our first camp site by a lake. Since we were told we weren't allowed to bring any watches or mp3 players or other electronic devices, we didn't know what time it was and went to bed when we felt tired. The next morning we were woken up to Timo's "Good morning! 20 minutes to get up and take your tent down!" which threw us into a bit of a panic as we threw on clothes, threw our backpacks out of our tent and proceeded to take down the tent. Each day started pretty much the same way: get dressed and take down tents, eat a quick breakfast and head out. Each day two students were assigned "Leader of the Day" which means they were given the map and the responsibility to take us to our camping spot for the next night. Each evening we debriefed the day, discussing how the leaders did, what made the group hard to lead or easy to lead and how the day went in general. I learned that leading was more than just walking in front to provide direction, it included setting the pace, encouraging the group along, making sure everyone could keep up, letting the group know when breaks are coming so that people don't spontaneously take their own breaks when they feel like it, and listening to the groups' opinions as to when a break is needed. On our trip we also learned about using a compass with a map, how to take a bearing from a map and translate into real life and vice versa and how to orient a map to your surroundings. One day when we were following orange trail markers, Timo and Alfred took away the map and told us that we had to draw our own maps as we walked along, using our compasses and the number of steps and noting any major landmarks. On the last day, instead of being given destinations, we were given bearings and distances and the map and we had to figure out where we were going and then which trails to use to get there. We walked back onto campus, coming over Sunrise Hill, at about 2:30pm on Sunday. The highlight of the trip was the scenery: sunny weather, beautiful lakes, spectacular sunsets and sunrises, the variety of plants and trees that we saw. Unfortunately, my camera battery died at the very beginning of the trip so now I'm going to have to get pictures from my friends before I can post anything.

Ah-Ha Moments

Yesterday during the third lecture hour we were give some time to reflect on what we had learned so far. I went back over my lecture notes and wrote down the things that had struck me or challenged me at the time but I'd since forgotten about and I thought I would share them here. There's a lot of different thoughts and mental struggles that have gone into this list so if you're curious about any of these points, feel free to ask me about them :)

• "To give praise when you don't feel like it is not hypocrisy, it's obedience." ~ Dr. John Mitchell
• emotions are not the same as your attitude
• Trials rip away the flimsy fabric of your self-sufficiency.
• When writing the Bible, the authors may have used their own words but the message is exactly as the Holy Spirit intended
• I'm still chewing on this one so my paper topic for this class is about the Bible's "inerrancy"
• I am called to submit to authority; therefore, I should be more worried about disobeying God, about disappointing and hurting him, than about being caught by the cops for speeding.
• Learning to abide in Christ requires a lot of patience with myself and with others because it's a life-long process.
• Repentance is an ongoing activity.
• Do everything without grumbling or complaining.
• I need to know when I'm tempted most and what my weaknesses are and put up safeguards and make plans against temptation.
• Why do I do "spiritual" things like devotions, singing, prayer, ministry? What's my motivation?
• Give thanks in all circumstances.

It's breakfast time now so I have to go. I'm interested to know what's happening in your life too so write me an email or even a letter (it's exciting to get mail here!) and I'll do my best to write you back!