Brethren Woods – Keepin’ It Extreme

“I think I’ll try climbing the most difficult rock face, because we keep it extreme!”

“This down hill crawlspace looks like a tight fit…I’ll do it head first! Gotta keep it extreme.”

“Let’s see how many people we can fit in one canoe…and let’s act like pirates at the same time! Keepin’ it extreme!”

The Campers of Youth Challenge Camp at Brethren Woods no only know how to have a fun filled week of camp, but, as their motto for that week says, they “Keep it extreme!” From a day worth of canoeing on the rapids of the Shenandoah river, to crawling into the depths of the Earth with caving and then climbing vertically to the clouds with rock climbing in West Virginia, what an adventure it was to be a part of this group all week! While Peace Team got to lead a session for the other younger campers, we primarily followed the youth challenge camp’s schedule. What a blast!

What was most “extreme” about the senior high campers was the joy and compassion in between the official “adventures.” Like staging a spontaneous “sit-in” after a meal or creating a human tunnel for other groups entering the dinning hall; what fun! Or, accepting everyone in the group and forming meaningful friendships; what compassion! Or laughing for hours as we looked at God’s star-filled sky; what community! Those youth at Brethren Woods, like the other campers and counselors there, taught us a thing or two about how to keep everything in life extreme…specifically the joy in community.

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