Scout Camp

I had to leave the family again and leave them without the family wagon (The Expedition).  I went to Camp Maple Dell with the deacons.  It was re-emphasized to me a philosophy or theology.  "It is not the obstacles themselves that define us.  We are defined by the way we deal with those obstacles."  So, we can either succumb to obstacles, whether they be problems, challenges, mental, physical, emotional or spiritual.  Or, we can rise to the occasion and let our light shine.  The youth's theme this year is "arise and let your light shine that thy light may be a standard for the nations and that others may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  And how is Father in Heaven "glorified?"  When His children are buoyed up and drawn nearer to Him.  He wants all His children to return to Him and we are here to try and make that a reality.

I felt I did pretty good with this philosophy with the exception of 1 time.  We have 1 young man who, by definition, is a little "slow."  His demeanor, mannerisms, and the way he conducts himself is just so different from the rest of the group.  The great thing is that the whole group sees this and understands him, they tolerate him and even try to include him.  Well, on Saturday morning he was being a real pill.  We were trying to clean up camp and get things packed up.  He was going super slow with everything he was doing, whether it was packing his personal gear or asking him to do a simple chore or task.  The fact of him moving super slow was bothering me but then he ticked me off when he started impeding the progress of the other boys.  He was not letting 1 boy wash out the water cooler that had punch in it during the week.  He kept kicking the cooler over.  Well, I got pissed and said in a really harsh voice, "what the heck are you doing James?  We're trying to clean up and get things packed and you're over here not doing anything and kicking the cooler over."  Well, he got super sad and kept saying the rest of the time until we got back and unloaded the trailer, "I'm surrounded by mormons, and I hate mormons.  I'm Christian."  This boy is not an LDS boy but rather is a member of another Christian denomination, the Baptist church.  No matter how much I tried to tell him I was sorry for getting upset with him, I am confident the only thing he'll remember is my instant reaction to his behavior, which I know he just thinks he was not doing anything bad and just having fun with the other kids, and not even at their expense.  It is not up at a pulpit when testimony is borne that has the most influence but rather in the everyday spontaneous moments when testimony is applied and speaks to the heart and soul.