Narrative/descriptive EssayEssay Preview: Narrative/descriptive EssayReport this essayNarrative/Descriptive EssayDeep down the Princess Louisa Inlet hidden in between mystic mountains and enormous trees lies a small youth camp: Malibu. The only way to arrive there is either a six hour boat ride or a seaplane. The water reflects and doubles the beauty of the scenery. The only thing that disturbs the quietness of the camp is a seal or two romping around the calm waters. This is where I found myself for a week a few summers ago, accompanied by an amazing student named Eduardo Mendoza. I will never forget how one day on the ropes course changed how I see life and depravity.
The biggest challenge of the entire week was the ropes course. As we walked the short hike to the basin of the nearest mountain I was excited. As a cabin of 12 guys, we got the opportunity to conquer this task together and build our unity as a group. We were all ecstatic about the chance we were getting to participate. The ropes course was challenging to say the least. I remember looking up 50 to 60 feet and seeing several different sections of small ropes tethered between large trees. The only reassuring thing was the towering trees that served as the platforms in between each leg of the course. The gigantic oak and pine trees stood completely still as the energetic young kids screamed and rain from tree to tree.
The rope program is easy to set up, with a guide and a few hundred meters of ropes to rope with. There is also a quick, non-stop route that will allow you to walk right down the back roads. Also, the course allows you to learn from a lot of beginner safety videos you will see during the day. There is also a small course in which you can watch a video where students take handouts of the rope that they can take up in a second (that could be anywhere). In addition, there is a private lessons class about ropes as well as a lesson in how to rope with a real and real life safety instructor at the end of each class.
We decided to give the rope course one more go and start a challenge. We set up a quick day with a group of teens. After our first practice, we all started in todays training. We stayed with the girls on a 2-way trip to the basin before the sun set and then to the basin where, at 1:15pm, we stopped to test a few rope patterns and see what they thought we were doing. Our experience is worth repeating. All the young and inexperienced girls in the group who went on to teach our group were very interested in doing ropes too: they loved it. My own partner, John D. wrote an excellent review of the course on Instructables! I love my little group to watch the ropes.
The course has a fair variety of different courses ranging from beginner to class, including many in the first grade but they all get the point across that the more experienced the group are, the better they are. The course that we did today was our third challenge in a month, which we wanted to keep moving forward to a better beginning. We were impressed with the variety in the options the teams were given. We were encouraged by the diversity of our groups and the challenges they received. As far as the fun, the instructors did a great job with their presentations. We definitely like the “old school” ropes that they offer, though we did learn to use hand-held sticks to tie down rope sets and rope baskets. We would think that people would be used to some of their methods, but it paid off on a positive note, especially for the students. We’ve been using the rope for years now, but this one has always been our staple.
At this point, it seems like the group is finally making that transition from beginner to more experienced, which makes it a perfect change for our new season, though there will be a challenge on the line. At the end of the day, it really is worth it. With the lessons they gave us in this class alone, we had great fun and are pleased to see how the group has matured in the end so far and I encourage everyone to join us for the next few days
This week had gone so well thus far. I had felt blessed with the opportunity to hangout with these kids and see them hear and begin to understand the Gospel for the first time. There laughter and jokes were constantly ringing in my ears. The majority of the time though I was with Eddy as his personal counselor. He was an energetic 18 year old that should have graduated that year. He always had an enormous smile on his face and something funny to add to the conversation. He loved being around people and being the life of the party. A 58 hispanic kid with nothing to lose and a build that could be intimidating if you didnt know him.
Yet I found myself upset that brisk morning at the ropes course. Eddy was unable to join us on our adventure maneuvering the course. You see, Eddy wasnt your average high schooler, despite his constant smile Eddy has endured a lot of pain in his life. After Eddy had survived his first few years in high school he started to become pretty popular. He was one of the stars of the soccer team and everything seemed to be going his way. Until the summer before his junior year, something happened to eddy that would change his life forever. After collapsing on the soccer field one day during practice, and after enduring countless tests he was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. That summer he lost pretty much all use of his muscles. Since then through therapy he has began to recover his strength. But he is far from where he was and anyone else for that matter.
He now walked like a man who had never walked before just trying put one foot in front of the next. It was as though he was unable to relax his muscles at all. Often times I saw the judgmental glare of someone mistaking him for a drunk. His speech was that of a record with many nicks and warps in it. Skipping and getting stuck on words that seem so easy. It was a test of patience sometimes just to wait for him to address you. But his smile never stopped and it masked the constant pain that the disease was inflicting on him.
God had brought Eddy and I together just a little while after his disease had changed his life completely. For some reason Eddy attached himself to me immediately and didnt want to let go. I turned into a big brother to him and it is a relationship we still maintain today. I was even given the privilege to be his personal counselor at camp that year and I couldnt have been more excited about it.