Survivor Camping Trip

   The whole point of this Survivor Camping was to get a glimpse of how many people all around the world live in similar conditions on a daily basis. Of course, many people are treated much worse; they are beaten by the corrupt governments in their own countries, and denied from any food or shelter. We were doing this so we could relate, in a small way, to them with some of the feelings and experiences they were dealing with. Also, another point of this is to see what kind of conditions we could be in if we go into foreign missions, or even to prepare us for outreach. It was hard for a lot of us to not focus on how we were feeling and how hard it was to do  the extreme camping and deal with the corrupt government. We noticed a lot of us had the same feelings of: anger, bitterness, tiredness, and injustice. Once we shared our feelings and our struggles we realized these are some of the same things that people all over the world are going through on a daily basis. We only were going through a small sliver of what they go though for 4 days (originally). We then watched some videos about the child soldiers and LRA in Gulu, Uganda and how the children had to leave their villages every night to walk to the city in order to sleep safely. If they didn't go they would be risking there lives by being taken by the LRA during a “night raid” on their villages. The young boys would be forced to join the LRA, which would involve killing others, even their own family members. And the young girls would be forced to become sex slaves for the LRA. These videos really broke our hearts and helped us to not focus so much on our current feelings/circumstances, but on theirs. Since we now had a tiny glimpse into what they may be feeling it was beginning to stir our hearts to how we could help. We then had Quiet Time and worship while we asked God what he was teaching us during this time, and what rights we needed to surrender to Him (such as: the right to shelter, the right to 3 meals a day, the right to sleep, etc.) This has really been an awakening experience for me once I got past the feelings of anger, jealousy, and tiredness. This must be what others around the world are feeling who go through similar injustices.

   Another part of the game was to go out and minister to the other tribes and the government to get to know them and tell them about Jesus, trying to convert them to Christianity, by asking the right questions. All the while, the corrupt government was out patrolling the roads, trying to stop us from spreading the gospel. They did a really good job, we had to try 3 different times before we actually reached another tribe. They kept sending us back to our base, when they caught us, but finally we went off the road and just found our way through the woods.

   When we finally arrived at the location, which turned out to be YWAM North Woods in Northern Wisconsin, we were all dropped off by the bus driver. He told us to stay there until a leader came. It was pitch dark, except the light from the moon and starts. We were all amazed, though, by the amount of stars we saw in the sky. It was a really clear night and we were in the middle of nowhere. I had never seen so many stars in my life! After a few minutes a leader came and told us to go find “baggage claim” to get our bags. We had to follow the instructions given to each tribe. We had to walk a long time on the road until we came across the government riding over to us on a gator. They shined the lights on our bags and we all quickly grabbed our bags, mats, and sleeping bags. Once we got them we followed the government to “Customs”. They had the building set up very similar to an airport customs area. It was interesting to walk in an see the staff members all serious and with army clothing on, it was hard not to laugh. We were told to get in a line. They kept saying “wrong line” once we got up to the desk. There was only one right line, so we all had to find out the right one and get in that one. When it was our turn they made us show our passport, take off our coats, shoes, belts, empty all our pockets, and give them our bags to search.  They searched everything and took random things from us, but we didn't argue because we weren't sure what they would do. Once we all got through customs we were given a team supply bag that had some supplies for cooking, eating, and making a fire pit. Next it was time to get our rations. They rudely asked us random questions about our passports (we had to have the information memorized). We got a tiny dot of toothpaste to put on our toothbrushes, a small amount of toilet paper, and a tiny bowl of uncooked mixed beans and rice. We were told this was for breakfast and lunch the next day. I didn't think they were really serious, I thought for sure they would give us something else in addition, but they didn't  Once we got our rations we were each escorted by tribe to our different bases (campsites). They were roped off with tape and very small.   We had 11 people on our tribe, so we had to figure out how to fit everyone under a shelter we made out of a tarp and some yarn they had given us. We put everyone’s mat on the ground and sleeping bags on top. Next, we dug a fire pit and got some twigs for a fire later. Then we heard the air hone blow. That meant it was time to play capture the flag. Each team had a team flag and some smaller colored ribbons we had to put around our waist. Each team was to send several people out to capture the other team’s flag’s and try to also get people out by grabbing their ribbon off of them. If they got out they had to be taken to the government and held hostage until the game was over. Each team also had to have a few members back at their base to protect the team flag. I was one of those for our team. It was quite hard because we kept hearing noises in the woods, that turned out to be leaves falling, or animals, but we kept thinking someone was coming. No one actually found our base, since it was nestled at the bottom of a hill and off of the trail. We did well, but none of the teams ended up getting any team flags. When the game was over it was time for bed.  We had to sleep close together to keep warm. We didn't end up going to bed until midnight. I slept pretty well despite being on the hard lumpy ground. We were rudely awoken 4 hours later by a “night raid”. Some of the government had snuck up on our base and lit some fire crackers and set off some smoke bombs. Then they screamed “Get up! Get up!” So we all jumped up out of our sleeping bags and we very startled. But then they left so we were all confused as to what we were supposed to do. We didn't know if this was the wake-up call for the day or not. So some of us started to get our shoes on and get our things together. Before long they came back to intimidate us more. They asked us why some of us were getting ready. Then they lied and said it was only 2 in the morning we should go back to sleep. Then as they were leaving they asked us why we don’t have a fire, and that we should make one. It really confused us, but we decided to just go back to sleep. So we all slept until about 7:30. Then we got ready and started a fire for our breakfast of rice and beans. We boiled them in water for a little while, but not long enough because they were still crunchy. We weren't sure how much time we’d have to eat, so we went ahead and tried our best to eat some. It was really gross, but we were all really hungry. Soon after we heard the air horn blowing, which meant it was time to meet at the “government territory”. Our team ended up being the first one to arrive, which they liked, but we still had to do some random things for them. They made us do jumping jacks, star jumps, pretended to be lions, and made a 10 person pyramid. Finally, some other teams arrived. So they told us to just sit down and watch them do the random things. Since we were first to arrive we were able to pick 3 people from our tribe to get a ride in the back of the gator. I was one of them, thankfully. Everyone else had to run after the gator and try keep up, (except our team was allowed to walk). Once we got to the building we all transitioned into it being “DTS Safe Zone”. It was funny to see all the staff members turn back into being our staff instead of the corrupt government. It was really relieving knowing that we were safe there, though. Then Paul (the school leader) spoke to us on the goals of survivor. It was great to finally get some insight on why we were really doing this. 

   We played some team building games, and finished the day. We ate rice and beans for lunch and dinner as well.  Then after dinner we had to stop Survivor games because of some injuries and health concerns. Also, it was really cold and the wind was really blowing hard, so it was too dangerous to continue. We all slept inside the building that night and returned home early the next morning. Even though we weren't able to finish, I think it was a positive experience for everyone and we really learned a lot. I don’t think we will ever forget Survivor Camping!