This post shares Lukes 9th birthday and the fun all of us men and our sons had. We had the great fortune of having 4 cousins and their fathers camp together and Lopez Lake. Mike Easter and had a special experience for the boys in store and our pre-planning did not dissapoint.
We designed an adventure race course for the boys complete with compass navigation, map reading, mountain biking, trail running, swimming, special tests, weapon shooting (sling shot) and generally working as a cohesive team. They had a surprise challenge at the end to "leave no injured men behind." The course had 7 check points (CP's) and covered much ground that took these young men nearly 2-1/2 hours to complete the course. They were rewarded honorably by Mike Easter in a ceremony and were each given a personal "dog tag" complete with their name, date of birth, and instead of blood type, their favorite scripture on the tag. Mike gave them a knowledge of the history surrounding the dog tags.
We had a fine time as men that weekend. It was sad to see it come to an end. We ate together, told stories, laughed, shared life, and simply enjoyed being the men God designed us to be. We truly hope we are giving our boys experience and skill to be adventurous with basic skills in working in community with other men, especially in the outdoors. It reaches them much, and provides a desire for fitness and athleticism outside conventional sport formats. We hope they got a glimpse and a building passion for the outdoors.
Big thanks to Mike Easter for bringing the idea together and giving the boys a very special weekend. It had a profound affect on my son Sean who loved the time of adventure and spending time with the men and boys.
The Men and Their Sons (from left to right: James and Levi, Mike and Luke, Greg and Liam, Jeff and Sean)
Praise God for these men and boys. By His grace, we will finish the job he gave us in raising these young men.
