Last June I attended BSA Wood Badge training in Pine Valley. I have been involved in scouting most of my life.
My Dad is a scouter. I remember climbing Mt. Timpanogos with his scouts at about the age of 12. I remember my Dad telling me to lead the way, and challenging me to beat them all to the top. I did. I remember as we summited that day the tip top of that peak, being proud of myself for setting goals and reaching them, somewhat disappointed that the shack we had seen from the valley wasn't a 7-11 with black cherry slurpees as I had been led to believe by my Dad! Nevertheless, I believed I had accomplished something by mastering that mountain. I knew my journey wasn't complete, but I had conquered a mountain, and I knew I could accomplish hard things. While on the way up the mountain, one of the other leaders in the group had smugly commented that my Dad was going to be carrying me by the time we got back to the car, inferring that I didn't have what it took to be on the trip. I was out to prove him wrong, so I knew the top was not the end of my journey! I remember coming back to the end of the trail, singing songs and skipping, ahead of all the boys.
My goals on that trip were certainly intensified by challenging comments of others around me, but through the experience I learned that I could conquer hard summits, and that I could do it with a smile and skip in my step! I remember that trip because so many others didn't think it could happen. They doubted, and were skeptical. I learned that I should take what others think with a grain of salt because that is not necessarily the truth! I am grateful to have learned this early in life, it has been a message for me many times over!
This year the LDS theme for our youth is "Be Strong and of a Good Courage" (Joshua 1:9) One of my goals at wood badge was to complete three complete sets of the values in the YW Personal Progress program since that is where I have been asked to serve currently. I have been working on this project, as I have encouraged the girls to complete their goals and move towards earning their YW Medallion. I have met with several girls who have said "I have the main projects done, I just have to finish the little goals. They won't be hard." Well, time has pasted, and those little goals don't get done! We (myself included) see the big elephants we need to eat, but try to skip the little steps, the little tasks that also need doing. The past several weeks, fellow wood badge members have completed their goals for wood badge, and have contacted me to see if I am done as well. I have struggled as I am not done, and have these "little" things left I also need to complete.
Many of those goals include recording feelings in a journal following an experiment i.e. Good Works goal #6 reads "Spend at least three hours giving service outside your family... Record in your journal the reactions of the person you served and possible goals for future service opportunities." I decided my service project here would be helping with my Dad's Great Salt Lake Council Spring Camporee. We have worked on that project for months, and I am so grateful it was so successful! One day while talking about it, we decided that it would be awesome for our family to help make this project happen all together. Many of Dad's grand kids are boys, and they are just entering cub age or just prior to. We decided it would be so fun for them to see Grandpa serving and giving with the Boy Scouts, it could be a memory they cherish for the rest of their lives.
We also discussed that it would be so good for our family to have a work project together instead of always just play. This would require entire families to come support - son-in-laws and all to make it happen successfully. They could see our family in action, and hopefully catch the vision of what scouting can do! It was just that! It was a very positive memory which will be cherished by all who came!
Special highlights included P.M. memorizing and presenting the "Ragged Old Flag" poem to all at the fireside that night. Grandpa set the stage - perfectly, under the star lit sky with the fire glowing. P took the stage, scared to death, but well prepared having practiced and practiced memorizing, presenting, this rather long poem. He did awesome! That night that young man learned from his Mom and his Grandpa that he can do hard things too! He did fabulous! Immediately following his beautiful presentation (we cried through) a color guard entered with three tattered flags that needed to be retired. They respectfully lowered them into the fire, showing respect and dignity for the flag that has led our nation through hard times. It was a beautiful, eternal memory!!
The next morning we all scattered around the Heber valley to fill our responsibilities at stations for the troops to come to: Egg Launching for the McNeills, Tearing phonebooks for the Staples, Win in it a Minute for Whitney and
Liesl, Golfing with Brad and Dad's scouting leadership, to name the ones our family helped with (there were others as well!) and then the finale was back at the Heber property with the Mystery Dare and the Linfords! All were fabulous! The last will be remembered because after successfully building a fire, one member of each troop had to prove they were "survivors" by catching and swallowing a gold fish! They will never forget it! I won't either! The event was so successful! Everyone involved expressed praise and gratitude to Dad for his hard work! I am so grateful for his leadership, vision, determination, and commitment to completing difficult, huge tasks! It was a monumental effort and I am eternally grateful my family got to be a part of seeing it happen! Service to others is indeed rewarding. Service as a family must be a part of the equation. I am grateful for parents who see that all play and no work makes for shallow lives! I am grateful to have been taught how to work hard and play hard! I am grateful for memories for eternity of huddling around the campfire together, sleeping on the floor of the garage with cousins, and seeing the smiles on the faces of all as they conquered difficult ropes courses, tore phonebooks, launched eggs through the air, struggled to master tasks in a minute, and yes even big eyes as they watched the swimming, determined gold fish fight to stay in the cup, dumping slowly into their mouths! :)
My Dad is a scouter. I remember climbing Mt. Timpanogos with his scouts at about the age of 12. I remember my Dad telling me to lead the way, and challenging me to beat them all to the top. I did. I remember as we summited that day the tip top of that peak, being proud of myself for setting goals and reaching them, somewhat disappointed that the shack we had seen from the valley wasn't a 7-11 with black cherry slurpees as I had been led to believe by my Dad! Nevertheless, I believed I had accomplished something by mastering that mountain. I knew my journey wasn't complete, but I had conquered a mountain, and I knew I could accomplish hard things. While on the way up the mountain, one of the other leaders in the group had smugly commented that my Dad was going to be carrying me by the time we got back to the car, inferring that I didn't have what it took to be on the trip. I was out to prove him wrong, so I knew the top was not the end of my journey! I remember coming back to the end of the trail, singing songs and skipping, ahead of all the boys.
My goals on that trip were certainly intensified by challenging comments of others around me, but through the experience I learned that I could conquer hard summits, and that I could do it with a smile and skip in my step! I remember that trip because so many others didn't think it could happen. They doubted, and were skeptical. I learned that I should take what others think with a grain of salt because that is not necessarily the truth! I am grateful to have learned this early in life, it has been a message for me many times over!
This year the LDS theme for our youth is "Be Strong and of a Good Courage" (Joshua 1:9) One of my goals at wood badge was to complete three complete sets of the values in the YW Personal Progress program since that is where I have been asked to serve currently. I have been working on this project, as I have encouraged the girls to complete their goals and move towards earning their YW Medallion. I have met with several girls who have said "I have the main projects done, I just have to finish the little goals. They won't be hard." Well, time has pasted, and those little goals don't get done! We (myself included) see the big elephants we need to eat, but try to skip the little steps, the little tasks that also need doing. The past several weeks, fellow wood badge members have completed their goals for wood badge, and have contacted me to see if I am done as well. I have struggled as I am not done, and have these "little" things left I also need to complete.
Many of those goals include recording feelings in a journal following an experiment i.e. Good Works goal #6 reads "Spend at least three hours giving service outside your family... Record in your journal the reactions of the person you served and possible goals for future service opportunities." I decided my service project here would be helping with my Dad's Great Salt Lake Council Spring Camporee. We have worked on that project for months, and I am so grateful it was so successful! One day while talking about it, we decided that it would be awesome for our family to help make this project happen all together. Many of Dad's grand kids are boys, and they are just entering cub age or just prior to. We decided it would be so fun for them to see Grandpa serving and giving with the Boy Scouts, it could be a memory they cherish for the rest of their lives.
We also discussed that it would be so good for our family to have a work project together instead of always just play. This would require entire families to come support - son-in-laws and all to make it happen successfully. They could see our family in action, and hopefully catch the vision of what scouting can do! It was just that! It was a very positive memory which will be cherished by all who came!
Special highlights included P.M. memorizing and presenting the "Ragged Old Flag" poem to all at the fireside that night. Grandpa set the stage - perfectly, under the star lit sky with the fire glowing. P took the stage, scared to death, but well prepared having practiced and practiced memorizing, presenting, this rather long poem. He did awesome! That night that young man learned from his Mom and his Grandpa that he can do hard things too! He did fabulous! Immediately following his beautiful presentation (we cried through) a color guard entered with three tattered flags that needed to be retired. They respectfully lowered them into the fire, showing respect and dignity for the flag that has led our nation through hard times. It was a beautiful, eternal memory!!
The next morning we all scattered around the Heber valley to fill our responsibilities at stations for the troops to come to: Egg Launching for the McNeills, Tearing phonebooks for the Staples, Win in it a Minute for Whitney and
Liesl, Golfing with Brad and Dad's scouting leadership, to name the ones our family helped with (there were others as well!) and then the finale was back at the Heber property with the Mystery Dare and the Linfords! All were fabulous! The last will be remembered because after successfully building a fire, one member of each troop had to prove they were "survivors" by catching and swallowing a gold fish! They will never forget it! I won't either! The event was so successful! Everyone involved expressed praise and gratitude to Dad for his hard work! I am so grateful for his leadership, vision, determination, and commitment to completing difficult, huge tasks! It was a monumental effort and I am eternally grateful my family got to be a part of seeing it happen! Service to others is indeed rewarding. Service as a family must be a part of the equation. I am grateful for parents who see that all play and no work makes for shallow lives! I am grateful to have been taught how to work hard and play hard! I am grateful for memories for eternity of huddling around the campfire together, sleeping on the floor of the garage with cousins, and seeing the smiles on the faces of all as they conquered difficult ropes courses, tore phonebooks, launched eggs through the air, struggled to master tasks in a minute, and yes even big eyes as they watched the swimming, determined gold fish fight to stay in the cup, dumping slowly into their mouths! :)
