Oshkosh Highlights I Can Recall
By Russell:
The Oshkosh Pathfinder Camporee is so big, everyone has a different experience. Here are some highlights I saw as I ran around with Matt, Jeremy, Caleb, Moy, and Micah. I was really curious to see what spiritual training and blessings the kids and staff would receive. It seemed like God really blessed with providing traveling protection and good weather. The afternoons did get uncomfortably hot, up to about 92 in the shade by my thermometer. A few of the days my unit chose that time to cool off with showers and find shady places for activities. Evenings were perfect with a slight breeze.
The first morning there were no activities scheduled until noon, so we headed out to explore and see if anyone wanted to trade pins that Charlie provided. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea, and I had no idea how big a deal the pin trading was going to be. We talked about how the pin trading was intended to help us meet people and be friendly, and the boys made great efforts to do that. We met two girls from the South who didn't bring any pins and were watching the action. I gave one girl a Washington pin, and Caleb gave a pin to the other girl. They danced around for joy. I think that was my highlight for pin trading. The best pins were the ones I gave a way. The boys did a great job being friendly. There was mild competition to trade up for the best pins. It seems without the pin trading, there would be much less interaction with kids from other clubs.
The crowds and the heat and humidity in the honor hangars made it difficult to try for honors. (Few trees in this part of the country) My unit did get the Dog honor and worked on about half the Animal Tracking Honor. It was the activities and meals that ruled the daytime. The obstacle course had some neat rope bridges. They had motor cycle stunt riders, a trick bicycle riding group. A puppeteer used his act to illustrate values. Heading back to camp for meals was a highlight. Gary and the staff did a great job feeding us. I'm sure their perspective was a lot different than ours with needing to run for food supplies and haul water from about 100 yards away or more.
One day Brenda Kapush helped out with my unit as we went to the German Carousel, a four seat frame hung on a pole with ropes. We sat in the seats while the helpers turned the frame which twisted the ropes around the pole. When they let go, the frame spun around, giving a fairly strong amusement park ride -- all without any motors and metal machinery. In the afternoon we tried for the Gold Prospecting honor, but got there just a bit too late. The park was shady and cool, so we hung out there with the boys jumping this great dried up creek. Brenda had Jason's camera so she got down in the creek bottom to take pictures of the boys jumping. Got some great group shots. On the way back to camp, Brenda put up with constant teasing by the boys. She must have the patience of a saint! A definite highlight for the boys to have her spend time with them. We had fun watching the wild cat exhibit with baby tigers, young tigers and other wild cats.
There was a trip to the lake to cool off. We spent a little time in the giant souvenir shop and trading a few more pins at the entrance. The shuttle buses helped relieve our feet after walking so many times back and forth from camp, over a mile each way.
The community service project was a highlight. Jason and I scraped old paint from the peaks around the entrance. The others sanded the wood in the playground area. I like Jason's picture of one boy hanging out of the giant wooden head's mouth! Then we took our sack lunches over to the lake and cooled off, providing a second time at the lake.
The best highlight was Tasha's baptism on Sabbath afternoon. What a great place to get baptized! Most of the kids including Tasha wore their uniforms.
Another super highlight was watching Jason, Anita, and Natalie get inducted as Master Guides at the Sabbath service.
The evening meeting with singing and the Esther plays were the spiritual highlights. I think the singing with 35,000 other pathfinders and praising God was the most inspirational part of the whole event. The Esther play did a fantastic job of focusing on God's leading and love for us. They had some very thought provoking twists on the story. Did Esther have any doubts about who she was and what God's plan was for her? Sure, just like any other kid/person. What was the meeting between Esther and King Xerxes like? In the play, it was Esther's personality and understanding of the king's problems that won him. Did she choose to stand for God against popular opinion? You bet, just like we can.
A funny story, was Matthew inviting another club to supper on Sabbath. He met a girl he wanted to visit but since he couldn't hang out at her club, he got permission to invite their club (all 17 of them) to come over for supper. It turned out to be the Scappoose, Oregon club where my aunt and uncle and cousins live. Four of the kids are my relatives, although I had never met three of them before. It made a light supper, but a great thing to do, and a fun experience.
Were there any problems at the camporee? Sure, like the toilets, the heat, some squabbles among the kids, not enough time for sleep, noise, etc. I'd like to see the camporee managers make sure everyone has proper outhouse facilities if they are going to invite that many people. Towards the end, there were getting to be some sore throats and sniffles. A good reminder that sanitary conditions are important. I tried to help resolve issues where I thought I could do something, and I tried to watch and listen to the kids to see how they responded to it all. It seems like the kids roll with the problems a bit better than us grown ups. Probably not having the responsibility helps with that.
The other thing I watched for is to see what spiritual elements the kids were absorbing. Adrian asked what religion we were and was interested in talking about vegetarianism. There were opportunities to talk with boys about behavior and choosing to make good decisions. It is a mega program that gives each person the opportunity to let it be a life changing event, and see that many other people are thinking along the same lines. I know that a previous smaller camporee had a significant influence on my life, so this one could easily have a similar influence on others. We'll hear more reports from the kids as we go.
Rough summary of my unit from what I can recall:
Day0 (Mon): Travel, set up camp
Day1 (Tue): Green shirts, pin trading, souvenir shop, shaved ice, obstacle course, evening meeting
Day2 (Wed): Blue shirts, honors, activities, afternoon to lake, evening meeting
Day3 (Thu): Yellow shirts, community service, lake, afternoon showers, dog honor, activities, evening meeting
Day4 (Fri): Red shirts, Wa conference picture, German Carousel, Backstage tour, afternoon showers, shaved ice, cats, park with dry creek, evening meeting
Day5 (Sab): Uniform then Purple shirt, induction, sermon by James Black, Tasha's baptism, International club visit, squirt gun fight, hauling water, Scappoose OR club, evening meeting
Day6 (Sun): Packing, picking up garbage, travel home, bus to Chicago, SeaTac 11:30pm
