Random Thoughts

In honor of "Random Camp" at Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp, where I was recently a counsellor, here are some random thoughts...

Man, this blogging stuff is hard. I don't want to be one of those guys who writes down every mundane detail of their lives and exepects others people to care, but nor do I want to be one of those people who have blogs on the internet that never get updated and basically just sit there collecting technological dust.

It is now time to start wrestling season again, and for the first time in forever I will not. It feels wierd to be retired. It feels strange to be in miserable shape. I got to do learn some submission grappling at camp (I ran a "battle option" with a ju-jitsu guy) and man, I want to get back into it, or maybe give ju-jitsu a try... All the times I sat in the sauna, lips dry and bleeding and still not on weight, all those times I got off the mat, head hanging low in defeat, when I eplained for the thousandth time that my black eye was caused by a head butt and no, it's not allowed and yes, people do it anyway. when I ran my millionth set of stairs, I dreamed of this moment. Now it kinda feels wierd... While I didn't quite go out on top (in fact I went out throwing to my own back), I did medal in my last tournament- the Greco National Championships.. and that'll have to be enough for now. New rules Greco, by the way, is equal parts exhilerating and pure terror. "Here, grab me around the waist and pick me up while I stand there"...
















When I go to South Africa, I'm going to catch a huge fish. A shark or a swordfish or a tuna. I've had it with all these people coming up to me and telling me how they caught a 30 lb salmon or a 100 lb halibut and whatnot, makes it hard to feel proud of the stupid lake fish I catch (except the 10 lb pike I caught with my hand, I will boast of that one forever) so it's deep-sea fishing time. By the way, all you people out there with a huge fish in one hand and a scale in the other, I caught giraffes once... wonder what that weighs:)
















Barbarian Camp pictures are now on the internet. Here's the link... http://www.crowcamp.ca/gallery/photo_thumbs.asp?catID=9&subID=80


If you're into wrestling, here's a link to watch a ton of cool matches on the internet. If you look through them, there's some Olympic champs and stuff going at it.
http://www.crowcamp.ca/gallery/photo_thumbs.asp?catID=9&subID=80


Finally, I'm very self-concsious of the fact that anything I write down can be read by the entire internet, including my mom, so yes deeper, more substantial thoughts do go on in my head but I am still figuring out how to write down personal and controvertial stuff without getting myself into trouble.

And apparently, in Australia, the word "filthy" means "filled with hot girls!" Take it as you will.

Barbarian Camp

So I directed a boys outcamp recently at Crow with my friend Caleb Davidson. I wrote up a summary for my friends, and it ended up in the church bulletin.. so here it is again, this time with spell-check and comments so it looks less like it was written by a moron. Again, not directly related to Africa, but I've had lots of questions about Outcamp.


Hey Everyone! Thanks to all those who offered up prayers for us at Barbarian camp. I am pleased to say it went well. I have never in my life heard to many prayers for safety, and apparently they worked, since we had no injuries except for cuts and bruises.

Some highlights of the week: Boys (11-13) just being boys and, in some instances, young men. My theory was correct.. that is, given the chance, boys will gladly burp and fart and cover themselves with mud and eat without utensils and generally be deliriously filthy. Oh, and they love to hack things, we had machetes and axes going non-stop for days. For us older people there was a chain saw! The kids certainly had an enjoyable time. In addition to the straight-up fun of being a filthy savage, I think many of them learned team work and mental and phyiscal toughness. Some of these kids have never been told to "tape it up and go back in" once they scrape their knee, but I think every little boy wants the chance to be tough.

We built a sauna (supposedly the hottest one ever at outcamp), a fighting log in the river, a "chair of highest honor" covered in animal skins, and spent hours making things from wood. Many thanks to my co-director Caleb, who can make just about anything.

Trial, Trial, Trail! Discipline was handled with trials and those found (inevitably) guilty were given the X of Shame, the Rock of Shame (carrying a huge rock in a backpack) or the Dunk of
Shame (jumping into cold water). The kids loved it, so much we eventually had to discontinue the trials and just hand out pushups and chores on the rare occasion it was necessary- the kids were pretty good.

Warfare! We had numerous fighting games, including the "epic battle" on the playing field (fighting with pantyhose filled with flour), jousting matches on logs, wrestling (freestyle and sumo), boxing and sword fighting. Rules of combat were always the same, and the kids chanted them entusiastically.. "No FACE, No GROIN!" (these are the boys parts the kids are not allowed to hit). Oh, and the kids tried to kill a deer with an axe... didn't get anywhere near it, of course, but i got pretty nervous when the savages started chasing cows. I had visions of explaining to a farmer why Bessie had a hatchet stuck in her skull. Those kids were pretty hard core by the end of the week.. we had a "training session" where they lined up and we threw sponges at them for them to block with their shields and they absolutely loved it.

Capture the Woman... we hope that this one will go down in camp histoiry.. it's something that hasn't been done much... our entire outcamp took the bus back into main camp (about 100 people there), painted in war paint, wielding shield and screaming endless war chants. We kidnapped the Program Director of main camp (with her full knowledge and participation) and her campers (who incidentally were at Superhero camp) had to come rescue her. We barricaded a cabin door with nets and shield walls and waged all out medieval style warfare, with water balooons, sponges and socks filled with flour flying everywhere... though the woman was eventaully rescued, the 25 of us put up a great show for over half an hour.. apparently the fearlessness of the barbarian horde and our shield training had worked. Other, experienced staff members told me that they had never seen an entire camp so entusiastic about a game. We couldn't even play a second time for fear of actual war breaking out!

The spiritual side of camp was handled by our speaker, the very barbaric 300 lb Perc Denam, who spoke on different men in the Bible, most of them warriors, who were used by God. He reminded us that, as Christians we are "barbarians"- strangers in a strange land.. and encouraged the kids to make their days count, do somethggn with their lives, like the barbarians of old who wanted to go out on their shield rather than live out their days doing nothing. The messages were pretty good, though I wish we (the program directors) had planned time and devotional materials for the messages better, and given more time for the kids to reflect. Hopefully God spoke to the kdis in spite of our imperfect presentation. Anyway, that was Barbarian camp, I loved it, I'm sorry its over, and maybe someday we can do something like that again.

Instead of Info

I have decided to embrace the self-importantness that is this the blogging, at least in my mind, by uploading pictures of me doing cool stuff. Enjoy.

And no.. I was never a shark, I was in a shark cage once though.

Hello, Internet!

So, I've finally caved. I've resisted the urge to blog for quite a long time because, quite honestly, it seems quite narcisstic to me. Who am I to assume that the entire internet wants to know what I am doing, how I am feeling, what I think about George Bush? However, I have finally been convinced, not because I have overcome that thought or because I have noble ideas the world simply must know, but because of two much simpler reasons: laziness and asking for money. I am, for at least part of the next year, going to South Africa and doing volunteer work there. This means that a) my family and (perhaps some of) my friends want to know what's going on, and I need to let them know and b) I need money. A blog seems just as convenient as mass e-mails for communicating the mundane details, and hopefully exciting stories with those who care. Also, since I may be looking to raise sponsorship for myself or for whatever chaitable cause I end up working for, it is nice to have something concrete to show people and direct them towards. Hence, bloggage!

FAQ (or "frequently imagined questions")

Q: WHAT DO YOU DO ANYWAY?
A: Well, I'm volunteering in Africa... before that: I recently graduated from University with a Bachelor's of Education with a major in science and a major case of cynicism regarding bachelors of education. I also wrestled for the varisty team. Most of my jobs have involved shovels- I was a tree planter and now install irrigation systems. My family is South African and I have lived there for 2 years, visited multiple times, and just keep going back. Africa is a mess, which is probably why I love it.

Q: FILTH-MAN?
AL I think it sounds funny. Besides I'm kinda messy.. and most of my jobs involve dirt... and I led a "no utensils" club and a barbarian camp... and I don't wash my clothes too often... or cut my hair... my nails are nice and short though, wrestlers hate getting scratched. The name does not mean "morally filthy man" or "emotionally disgusting man"!

Q: WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN AFRICA?
A: Soon, I hope to publish a post entitled "what I am doing in Africa"... so far it's still up in the air. I hope to become involved in prison ministry, as well as volunteer work in schools.

Q: MINISTRY: THAT SOUNDS SUSPICIOULY RELIGIOUS?
A: Yes, it is. Christian, in fact. I go to a Bretheren church- a self-sustaining,evangelical church. You can expect to read at least some Christian stuff on this blog. However, while my trip will involve Christian ministry, it is not a church trip. I am planning and travelling by myself.

Q: SO, YOU'RE ASKING FOR MONEY?
A: Yes, I am. While I will be able to pay for much of my trip with money I am making as we speak, I could definitely use sponsorship. The details of my asking for money will be, um, finalized when I actually figure out what exactly I'm doing, and hence, how much money it will take. Any sponsorship I recieve will go towards one of the following: paying for my personal food, accomodations and transportation; contributing financially to the organization I am working with, or assisting those I am working with. Many of the missionaries and aid workers in Africa are very poor themselves and rely on donations to survive. If you are some random person who happens to stumble on this and think "hey, I want to send this guy money", well, I will post an email adress for you to contact me shortly. More likely is that if you are think of sponsoring me we have already discussed it and I have asked you to look at my blog. In that case, contact me in whichever way is easiest for you.

More questions.. well I don't know.. post your comments and I will reply to them.