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Men’s Camp 2008 - Showdown with the Devil
By Marc | May 5, 2008
A good friend invited me and our oldest son to his men’s ministry campout. At first I was a little leery because I really don’t like intruding on someone else’s get-together and I also hate meeting new people. I don’t relate well at first and usually stay to myself.
But Julie encouraged me to go because I really needed a good quality Christian experience for just men. She’s had Women of Faith and Joyfest for that recharge of camaraderie. But Promise Keepers hasn’t had very many conferences the last few years (the closest has been around 700 miles away), and it’s difficult to find a good source for just men. Getting men to do anything together is a chore, let alone for ministry. I discovered I really needed time to connect with God away from my usual life and to reconnect with other men on what being a man living for God can be.
I am so glad we went. We left town Friday afternoon to stay at Wolfe Canyon at Camp Kitaki. Wolfe Canyon is set up to look like an Old West town. There are four bunkhouses that look like storefronts on the outside, a 2-story meeting place (the “town hall”), a campfire pit with seating, and a restroom/shower building. It was the perfect place for a theme called “Showdown with the Devil”. The main scripture as a starting point was 2 Timothy 3.
Friday night started out with a camp welcome, then praise and worship. At Promise Keepers, you get the experience of a crowd of just men singing, but there are also instruments and someone on the loudspeaker with a good voice drowning out everyone else. This was no PK singing. This was a group of men and their sons, no star, no instruments, no need to impress any ladies present, singing for the Lord. There was someone, of course, who led the singing, but it had a feeling that everyone would have picked any song amongst themselves and just wanted to sing. There weren’t many perfect sounds by any stretch of the imagination, but listening to my brothers raise their voices to God was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.
Then there was a cookout of bratwurst, burgers, beans, and potato chips. Even though Julie and I try to steer clear of pork, I couldn’t resist these brats and brats are one of my weaknesses. These weren’t your regular store-bought garden variety pre-packaged links. These were fresh-made at the market for our group.
After that was a night sounds nature walk. Most of the guys stayed around camp playing football or talking, but the four-year-old and I went on the hike. He really likes walking and that set the pace for the rest of the time he and I were there.
I didn’t get much sleep because I kept worrying if my son would be okay. I was on the top bunk and it felt like every ten minutes or so I would lean over the side to make sure he was asleep and safe. He would never wander off, especially at night, but we were in an unfamiliar place and I was in charge of him. I woke up at around 3:15 or so on Saturday morning for the day. He got up at 5, because he didn’t want me to leave him there by himself.
We had a sunrise devotional, then breakfast at the camp’s dining hall. After breakfast, we had a guest speaker on the topic of “Doing Battle with Satan”. A good talk, mainly using the example of Daniel chapter 3.
The rest of the morning the boy and I spent a lot of time walking trails, just him and me.
After lunch, a half-hour praise and worship, then we went with a group on another hike along the riverbeds until we came as close as we could to the Platte River and taking trails back.
Finally, everyone met back at the camp for a closing prayer, a critique of the weekend, and worship time.
I had a lot of fun there. I was expecting a bunch of grown men sharing their feelings, crying about how their fathers were never there for them, and lots of Iron John moments. This was not that. This was men coming together to get away from their day-to-day lives, sharing their faith, encouraged to be the men, providers, and protectors they were created to be.
And even though I’m not a member, just a visitor and a guest, we were made to feel welcome and one of the group. It was also weird yet great not to hear that common guy small talk question: “So, where do you work?” They weren’t there for the cock-of-the-walk competition. They were there for Christ, so that job ladder garbage and the job field didn’t matter unless it was relevant to the conversation.
I think the greatest thing I came away with, though, is the time I spent with my son. He really enjoyed it a lot too. No Mom, no little brother, just him and his dad. He does want to go back and go camping and hiking with them, too, though.
Now for my impression of the campgrounds: Camp Kitaki is a blast. The staff was very helpful and friendly. The facilities were very clean and well stocked, with an abundance of firewood, water, and toilet paper. The dining hall: clean, well-lit, modern, and the food was nourishing and tasty. Plus there are a variety of things to do so that nobody has an excuse for boredom.
A good men’s ministry is hard to find, mainly because of the schedules and priorities most men have. Plus, like I said before, it’s hard for men to get together to do anything, especially something that will take them away from what little time off they get. If you are a man and find something encouraging in a church like this for men, hold on to it. Don’t lose that, because it’s something that is rare and much needed.
Topics: Life and Living, Miscellaneous, Reviews |
May 6th, 2008 at 7:00 am
Glad you had a good time, Marc!
ah well.
It’s been a few years since I’ve had the chance to do something like that, and the last time it happened, my eldest son was not able to go…
Hopefully next time the chance comes, I’ll be able to as well
You’re right about PK… less conferences in fewer places… too bad, so sad
P.S. enjoying the comic, too
heheheh (j/k - i know how hard it is to keep up with everything we have going on!)
My only complaint is that it’s only once a week!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Thanks, Mike!
I’m glad you like the comic. I would love to do it more often, but work and family take up quite a bit of time. Wednesday evenings I’m almost invisible at home. I started out putting the comic out as often as I could work on them, but went to a schedule for the sake of reliability.