Four reasons why I think the men's hiking was a blessing to our church. Since God calls men to lead, the men's hike contribute towards the biblical understanding in who is a man.
Here's my reasons:
Leader who trusts God
One of the events that we had at this men's hike was to look at the life of Joseph. We observed how Joseph was sold to slavery by his brothers, how he was slandered by Potiphar's wife. But through his life, even the circumstances that were unpleasant and hurtful, he remained trusting and fearing God. Joseph, looked at the evilness of his brothers and saw the good in it. "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:20). For the man to lead, he needs to put his trust in God and live the life to the fullest no matter how others treat him, no matter how different are the circumstances—a thought that was in my mind after those discussions.
Father and Son
The second thought why I think this men's hike served a blessing is because fathers brought their son's to this hike. I've observed like 6 young boys with an age like seven to ten, running around having fun. Their dads went through the pain caring heavy backpack with all the stuff so they can both enjoy the hike. I don't know if children at that age can understand and respect (probably not) what their dads did for them. Not every father is willing to put that much effort for their son to enjoy the nature together. Fathers and sons had opportunity to connect with each other at this hike.
Old and Young
The connection between old and young generation was clearly seen at this hike. We listened as the fathers spoke about their young life, life in the army. The experience in diversity brought a pleasant conversation. Eventually, ever conversation ended up on wives. Men spoke about their wives and how important to choose the right one. How can this be ignored in men camp, right? Different theories and suggestion were flowing around, but in general, most of the men spoke good things towards their wife's, but some were quite.
A Health Reason
This was truly a challenged for most men, especially me. I believe most would not go if they knew the pain and suffering from just few hours hike this mountain. This was an eight mile round trip, in just 2 miles, the hike goes up and down 1600 ft. Each men had to carry a bag that had food, sleeping back, tent. The hiking backpack was about fifty to eighty pounds that had to be carried up and down the hill. Hiking in general is not hart, but carrying an extra weight does makes it difficult. This got our heart pumping, this got our muscles moving. Few understood that they were out of shape but few were surprised that they had a shape. I personally got encouraged in doing more hikes after this hike.
In general, this was a great trip with men from our church. Big thanks to the guys who organized this event, lead the discussion, and who put their time to cook a great meal. Hope next year we can have something similar like that and more men joining us.
Here's my reasons:
Leader who trusts God
One of the events that we had at this men's hike was to look at the life of Joseph. We observed how Joseph was sold to slavery by his brothers, how he was slandered by Potiphar's wife. But through his life, even the circumstances that were unpleasant and hurtful, he remained trusting and fearing God. Joseph, looked at the evilness of his brothers and saw the good in it. "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:20). For the man to lead, he needs to put his trust in God and live the life to the fullest no matter how others treat him, no matter how different are the circumstances—a thought that was in my mind after those discussions.
Father and Son
The second thought why I think this men's hike served a blessing is because fathers brought their son's to this hike. I've observed like 6 young boys with an age like seven to ten, running around having fun. Their dads went through the pain caring heavy backpack with all the stuff so they can both enjoy the hike. I don't know if children at that age can understand and respect (probably not) what their dads did for them. Not every father is willing to put that much effort for their son to enjoy the nature together. Fathers and sons had opportunity to connect with each other at this hike.
Old and Young
The connection between old and young generation was clearly seen at this hike. We listened as the fathers spoke about their young life, life in the army. The experience in diversity brought a pleasant conversation. Eventually, ever conversation ended up on wives. Men spoke about their wives and how important to choose the right one. How can this be ignored in men camp, right? Different theories and suggestion were flowing around, but in general, most of the men spoke good things towards their wife's, but some were quite.
A Health Reason
This was truly a challenged for most men, especially me. I believe most would not go if they knew the pain and suffering from just few hours hike this mountain. This was an eight mile round trip, in just 2 miles, the hike goes up and down 1600 ft. Each men had to carry a bag that had food, sleeping back, tent. The hiking backpack was about fifty to eighty pounds that had to be carried up and down the hill. Hiking in general is not hart, but carrying an extra weight does makes it difficult. This got our heart pumping, this got our muscles moving. Few understood that they were out of shape but few were surprised that they had a shape. I personally got encouraged in doing more hikes after this hike.
In general, this was a great trip with men from our church. Big thanks to the guys who organized this event, lead the discussion, and who put their time to cook a great meal. Hope next year we can have something similar like that and more men joining us.
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