School Camp-Out
There's something magical about Managaha. All year long, the students talk about the annual school trip in anticipation. The new teachers always wonder what it's really all about until it finally arrives. And, as the weekend rolls around, it always seems to be the perfect balance of everything: work and play, learning and games, relaxation and exhaustion, stress and enjoyment, interaction and reflection. All the essentials of life are included throughout the weekend: good food, interactive classes, playing on the beach, worshiping God, team building and bonding, campfire and S'mores, beautiful sunrises and breath-taking sunsets, Sabbath, time in nature, and a good game of jungle capture-the-flag in the dark! When all is said and done, everyone comes home exhausted but with a million stories and memories that will be etched in time forever. Like I said, there's something magical about Managaha. It's not even something that can be explained, it must be experienced, but I will do my best to share a glimpse of the magic through words and pictures.
Friday is a school day filled with hands-on, practical learning. First, Pastor Eliki did a group presentation about jungle survival. He showed us how to climb trees, husk coconuts, and locate water in the jungle.
Then, we had a guest speaker from the Department of Environmental Quality who spoke about the harmful effects of marine debris and how we can prevent it.
Parents are always invited to come for the day and bring food to share for an international potluck. This year, a lot of parents opted for the easy way out and brought donuts..........we ended up with 24 DOZEN donuts. Do the math - that's 288 donuts! There was more than enough to go around....all weekend long!
There's always time on Friday afternoon to play in the water! The kids love it and it's a lot of fun to play and splash in the water with them.
Later in the afternoon, the younger students had a sandcastle building contest while the older students had another class. I had fun working with my group - we even had a real, live inhabitant: a baby praying mantis!
By mid-afternoon all the younger kids, preschool to 2nd grade, leave for home. They're too young to camp overnight. That relieves a little bit of stress!
For Friday night supper, we break up into groups to cook the meal. It was all pre-planned by the students who had to buy and bring the ingredients, and then put it all together. My group made colorful fried rice and Oriental salad. It was all very yummy!
As the sun sets on Friday night, we welcome the Sabbath. For most of the students, this is a very different and unique experience because they come from non-Adventist homes. It's neat to give them the opportunity to keep the Sabbath. We had a guest speaker from Florida who came do to week of prayer which ended with our trip to Managaha. He did a great job. He didn't preach, he simply spoke to the students, told them stories that they could relate to, and showed them who Jesus really was. His words often touched deep in my heart, too - I think God brought him out here for more than just reaching the students!
The most beautiful thing about having Pastor Glenn out here was watching the students respond to him and what he had to say about Jesus. It was so amazing watching the students gathering in huddles to pray, responding to appeals, and standing up to say that they wanted to use their lives to serve Jesus. It often brought tears to my eyes, because these are my kids, my mission, the reason I'm out here!
On Sabbath, after Sabbath School and Church in the morning and a yummy Sabbath lunch, the afternoon is filled with team building activities. The first one my group did was where they had to figure out how to get their team through the "spider web" without touching it. The first person thought it would be a good idea to dive through it..... it took him a couple tries, but finally he made it without touching.
After that, they proceeded to pass people through. Only one person got hurt after being thrown through with nobody ready on the other side to catch him.
From there we went on to other challenging activities where they had to work together and really think.
After closing the Sabbath on Saturday evening, we always have a campfire and S'mores. This year the fire was a little sketchy. In Sean's words, it was "flash-roasting." Either the fire was roaring and the marshmallows instantly caught on fire, or there was nothing but a few coals that everyone had to share to barely warm up the marshmallows. I was content to sit by the box of supplies and create "Marshmallow Accessory Kits" for everyone - basically I handed out the chocolate and graham crackers.
After the campfire died out, we dressed up and headed into the eerie darkness for a good game of Capture the Flag. I was on Sean's team again this year, and at first it all seemed like deja vu. We started out playing on the same side of the field as we did last year, and although I caught numerous people and took them to jail, within the first hour the other team snagged our flag and retreated to safety. For the second game, we switched sides, and again, I found myself hiding in the darkness waiting for someone to try to steal our flag.....just like last year. I even think I was hiding under the same tree! But I was certain about one thing - I didn't want this game to end the same as last year - it was our turn to steal the flag. After awhile a student came to relieve me of my position and I headed into the jungle alone, in search of the flag. I felt confident that I knew the territory fairly well since I had guarded it in the previous game. I soon found myself within 20 paces of the flag......but then came a tap on my shoulder - I was tagged. I went to jail, but we had strategically planned my attempt so that in the event I was caught, I would only have a few minutes to sit in jail before the buzzer went off that signaled the release of all prisoners. I headed back to our side with a new game plan. This time, I wanted to take two of our key players with me. I would lead them, since I knew the area, and I'd act as the decoy. After I got caught, they could grab the flag and run - between the two of them, someone should be able to come out with the flag. It was a good plan, but it didn't quite end up like I thought. After we crossed over into enemy territory and were about halfway to the flag, someone detected us. My boys jumped behind a tree on one side of the path, and I laid flat out, face down on the other side. I could hear foot steps and the next thing I knew, the boys were caught. I held my breath, hoping I wouldn't be seen. The voices continued on and soon I was left in complete darkness. I waited. I wanted to be sure I was in the clear. I slowly stood up and waited for one of "the enemies" to flash their lights so I could see where I needed to go. Each time they flashed their light I caught a glimpse of the flag and then quickly moved a few steps in that directions before their eyes adjusted to the darkness and could see my movement. Before I new it, I was hiding behind the last tree that stood between me and the flag. I waited, trying to know when the right moment was. Finally, not wanting to chance it any longer, I slowly walked out into the open, step-by-step until I was right under the flag. I reached up and firmly gripped it as I quietly pulled it out of the tree. Then I silently turned, switched on my flashlight, and ran like the wind. Before the other team realized what happened, it was too late. I was halfway back to my own side, dodging branches, running like crazy. It was a pretty glorious moment - Not only had I never in my life been the one to capture the flag, but I had never even played the game with such aggressiveness! It was a lot of fun and very satisfying!
The morning after Capture the Flag is always a painful one. My body didn't want to get up, but my mind wanted to go down to the dock to look for Spotted Eagle Rays. I pulled myself out of bed at 6 a.m. and headed down there - alone. I sang, talked to God, and waited for a ray. And sure enough, I was rewarded for my patience. One, lone eagle ray swam by and then later traced his stokes and passed by again. It was too dark yet to get a good picture, but he was close enough see the spots on his back and his cute little face. I was also rewarded with a beautiful sunrise! It was a great way to start the day.....and end my time on Managaha.
A few hours later we were packed up and headed home, with only memories and stories to hold us over until it all happens again next year!
Here are a few more random pictures from the weekend.....
This is my favorite tree in the whole world! It also happens to be kinda the dividing line in our game of capture the flag.
A baby sand dollar... Since Managaha is protected area, we're not supposed to take anything from there, so I took pictures of it because it was so cute!
Well, there you have it. It's not the same as being there and experiencing it for yourself, but I hope you got a sense of what a wonderful time we had!
Friday is a school day filled with hands-on, practical learning. First, Pastor Eliki did a group presentation about jungle survival. He showed us how to climb trees, husk coconuts, and locate water in the jungle.
Then, we had a guest speaker from the Department of Environmental Quality who spoke about the harmful effects of marine debris and how we can prevent it.
Parents are always invited to come for the day and bring food to share for an international potluck. This year, a lot of parents opted for the easy way out and brought donuts..........we ended up with 24 DOZEN donuts. Do the math - that's 288 donuts! There was more than enough to go around....all weekend long!
There's always time on Friday afternoon to play in the water! The kids love it and it's a lot of fun to play and splash in the water with them.
Later in the afternoon, the younger students had a sandcastle building contest while the older students had another class. I had fun working with my group - we even had a real, live inhabitant: a baby praying mantis!
By mid-afternoon all the younger kids, preschool to 2nd grade, leave for home. They're too young to camp overnight. That relieves a little bit of stress!For Friday night supper, we break up into groups to cook the meal. It was all pre-planned by the students who had to buy and bring the ingredients, and then put it all together. My group made colorful fried rice and Oriental salad. It was all very yummy!
As the sun sets on Friday night, we welcome the Sabbath. For most of the students, this is a very different and unique experience because they come from non-Adventist homes. It's neat to give them the opportunity to keep the Sabbath. We had a guest speaker from Florida who came do to week of prayer which ended with our trip to Managaha. He did a great job. He didn't preach, he simply spoke to the students, told them stories that they could relate to, and showed them who Jesus really was. His words often touched deep in my heart, too - I think God brought him out here for more than just reaching the students!
The most beautiful thing about having Pastor Glenn out here was watching the students respond to him and what he had to say about Jesus. It was so amazing watching the students gathering in huddles to pray, responding to appeals, and standing up to say that they wanted to use their lives to serve Jesus. It often brought tears to my eyes, because these are my kids, my mission, the reason I'm out here!
On Sabbath, after Sabbath School and Church in the morning and a yummy Sabbath lunch, the afternoon is filled with team building activities. The first one my group did was where they had to figure out how to get their team through the "spider web" without touching it. The first person thought it would be a good idea to dive through it..... it took him a couple tries, but finally he made it without touching.
After that, they proceeded to pass people through. Only one person got hurt after being thrown through with nobody ready on the other side to catch him.
From there we went on to other challenging activities where they had to work together and really think.
After closing the Sabbath on Saturday evening, we always have a campfire and S'mores. This year the fire was a little sketchy. In Sean's words, it was "flash-roasting." Either the fire was roaring and the marshmallows instantly caught on fire, or there was nothing but a few coals that everyone had to share to barely warm up the marshmallows. I was content to sit by the box of supplies and create "Marshmallow Accessory Kits" for everyone - basically I handed out the chocolate and graham crackers.
After the campfire died out, we dressed up and headed into the eerie darkness for a good game of Capture the Flag. I was on Sean's team again this year, and at first it all seemed like deja vu. We started out playing on the same side of the field as we did last year, and although I caught numerous people and took them to jail, within the first hour the other team snagged our flag and retreated to safety. For the second game, we switched sides, and again, I found myself hiding in the darkness waiting for someone to try to steal our flag.....just like last year. I even think I was hiding under the same tree! But I was certain about one thing - I didn't want this game to end the same as last year - it was our turn to steal the flag. After awhile a student came to relieve me of my position and I headed into the jungle alone, in search of the flag. I felt confident that I knew the territory fairly well since I had guarded it in the previous game. I soon found myself within 20 paces of the flag......but then came a tap on my shoulder - I was tagged. I went to jail, but we had strategically planned my attempt so that in the event I was caught, I would only have a few minutes to sit in jail before the buzzer went off that signaled the release of all prisoners. I headed back to our side with a new game plan. This time, I wanted to take two of our key players with me. I would lead them, since I knew the area, and I'd act as the decoy. After I got caught, they could grab the flag and run - between the two of them, someone should be able to come out with the flag. It was a good plan, but it didn't quite end up like I thought. After we crossed over into enemy territory and were about halfway to the flag, someone detected us. My boys jumped behind a tree on one side of the path, and I laid flat out, face down on the other side. I could hear foot steps and the next thing I knew, the boys were caught. I held my breath, hoping I wouldn't be seen. The voices continued on and soon I was left in complete darkness. I waited. I wanted to be sure I was in the clear. I slowly stood up and waited for one of "the enemies" to flash their lights so I could see where I needed to go. Each time they flashed their light I caught a glimpse of the flag and then quickly moved a few steps in that directions before their eyes adjusted to the darkness and could see my movement. Before I new it, I was hiding behind the last tree that stood between me and the flag. I waited, trying to know when the right moment was. Finally, not wanting to chance it any longer, I slowly walked out into the open, step-by-step until I was right under the flag. I reached up and firmly gripped it as I quietly pulled it out of the tree. Then I silently turned, switched on my flashlight, and ran like the wind. Before the other team realized what happened, it was too late. I was halfway back to my own side, dodging branches, running like crazy. It was a pretty glorious moment - Not only had I never in my life been the one to capture the flag, but I had never even played the game with such aggressiveness! It was a lot of fun and very satisfying!The morning after Capture the Flag is always a painful one. My body didn't want to get up, but my mind wanted to go down to the dock to look for Spotted Eagle Rays. I pulled myself out of bed at 6 a.m. and headed down there - alone. I sang, talked to God, and waited for a ray. And sure enough, I was rewarded for my patience. One, lone eagle ray swam by and then later traced his stokes and passed by again. It was too dark yet to get a good picture, but he was close enough see the spots on his back and his cute little face. I was also rewarded with a beautiful sunrise! It was a great way to start the day.....and end my time on Managaha.
A few hours later we were packed up and headed home, with only memories and stories to hold us over until it all happens again next year!
Here are a few more random pictures from the weekend.....
This is my favorite tree in the whole world! It also happens to be kinda the dividing line in our game of capture the flag.
A baby sand dollar... Since Managaha is protected area, we're not supposed to take anything from there, so I took pictures of it because it was so cute!
Well, there you have it. It's not the same as being there and experiencing it for yourself, but I hope you got a sense of what a wonderful time we had!
Comments
lots of love
sj