7:37am. Phew! What a late sleeper I am. Well, it was two hours later than I usually do on a week day and my exhaustion had me in bed at 10:30. Plus I'm rested AND have the whole day ahead of me. Yay!
Well, rested is a general term I think. Intense activities won't calm down for a little while, but I'm okay with those. I like people.
Intense. That is what this week has been and that is the most suited description of our leaders retreat. I don't know how other ministries bring about unity and team bonding but ours operates a little like boot camp. I mean, last years team bonding activity was a little intense, but I loved the rush of it. I mean, sure we had to swim across a lake and back carrying a log in our arms and you had to run all over the yard doing various activities, and while we ended the thing tired and one girl threw up, overall it wasn't that bad. So as I went into this year's retreat, I was thinking it'd be intense but nothing too bad.
Ha well, sometimes I forget that one of our staff leaders was the strength training coach for the Jets football team.
This years leaders retreat activities:
-balance all 5 team members on a "lily pad" in the lake. (A large styrofoam floating pad). That wasn't bad, just took a little muscle control.
-Balance on a inner tube and catch a frisbee thrown out into the lake
-Answer 5 trivia questions. That doesn't sound bad either. Except you had to swim across the lake and back for every question you got wrong. (WHO WAS THE 9th PRESIDENT??)
-Speed walk a mile. Up and down hills. Keep in mind you are racing against all the other teams and timing is everything. It was actually 1/2 a mile to one of the activity stations and 1/2 a mile back. So it wasn't straight up a mile long race.
-300 push ups. (Guess which staff member chose this activity.. Jets coach guy, of course) We were able to split it up, though. I only did 60. (After I'd speed walked a mile, swam across the lake and back and a few other things) Does any other ministry have them do 300 push ups to get ready to lead bible studies??
-Kayak across the lake and back. This was easy. Apart from the fact that mine was filled with water when it was passed off to me and in my eagerness to turn around and race back to shore, I was dumped out into the water with an upside down kayak and a lot of mud. I was laughing at myself, but apparently one of the staff ladies looked out across the lake to see the upside down kayak and my oar but couldn't see my head above the water which incited a little worry and some one was sent in the remaining kayak to rescue me.
-Make it from one side of the yard to the other using 3 logs of wood. If you fall, you have to start over. The logs were heavy and it was a balancing act to have two people going on the logs.
-Pick a number and eat the mystery bag with the corresponding number. My team got to eat a large red onion. I enjoy onions, so I volunteered to work on it til I couldn't any more. That was rough. The acid in the onion hurt so bad I may have started to cry. But it was a little funny I suppose. Just how bad it was.
-Shoot a basket into the trash can in the yard from the upper deck. Every time you miss, your whole team has to run down the stairs, tag the trash can, and run back up.
-Drop three marshmallows consecutively into someone's mouth off of the upper deck.
-Get your whole team over a 3 1/2 ft high rope with out touching it at all. If anyone touches at any point, you have to start over.
-Read Song of Solomon passages out loud for everyone to hear.
-Build a spaghetti tower 18in tall with a marshmallow on top.
I think that's it. I can't remember if there was anything more. It might not sound that intense, but I'm still feeling it in my lower abs just a little. We went at this Amazing Race/Surivor challenge thing for 3 1/2 hours before a team finally finished and the rest of us bowed out with grace.
Those things are great for revealing people's character. You see how they treat their teammates under the stress of time pressure. You see if people will push their whole team to be the fastest or if they'll hang back with the ones who don't have the same capacities of others.
You see if people jump over the rope first themselves because they can, or if they are focused on getting their team over the rope. You see if they push eachother through the push ups or volunteer to do extra for some of their team mates.
You see how they treat the other teams with smack talk or encouragement. You see how they encourage eachother or just push to go faster.
You see if they want to win or if they just want to see their team get through it. I love that. I love seeing how a body of believers takes on physical and emotionally exhausting situations and brings in buckets of grace to wash over the situation.
Concession starts next weekend. 8 hours on your feet with drunk customers, half time slams, and the need for extrem caution as every cup, tray, hotdog, and lid must be counted and accounted for by the end of the game or risk getting charged. Extreme caution and extreme pressure for quick service makes for a very intense bonding experience for the Salt Company leaders. I'm ready. I'm excited.
It's just been a difficult week, emotionally. My transmission has gotten worse (if that were possible). Besides the fact that it can't go more than 35 mph. It randomly drops into neutral at the most inconvenient times like at the bottom of a big hill in heavy traffic. I can't do anything if my car dies in the middle of traffic. I've had this happen so many times to me before. It's never easier or less stressful. It's awful every time. So as the start of school approaches, the wonder after how I shall make it to class and such adds just a little more tension to my life.
*sigh* Life. And cars. I hate vehicle problems with all my heart and soul and mind. I hate the helplessness of being stuck in traffic with a car that won't go and smoke pouring out of the engine. I hate that my van can't go more than 35 mph and so it would take me 10 hrs to drive home and swap out for a new one.
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