Wednesday’s Journal Entry:
“So I woke up after nine hours of sleep, ate my oatmeal, and was welcomed by the announcement of solo day. I dropped Cody and Charles off at two other locations, and now I’m at a different campsie. I walked and talked with God while collecting some birch bark to write on. I have found a cozy spot here on this large campsite to think and pray and read and write.
“I am surrounded by towering pines and shedding birch which shade this forest floor carpeted by pine needles and leaves. The sound of loons can be heard on the lake, several birds are singing in the trees, and small waves crash soothingly onto the shore. A slight breeze gives further life to the foliage as it dances in response. God’s creation is absolutely beautiful, and even the dead trees and plants have a certain beauty that gives God glory.”
1:09pm:
“Just did my daily devos from I Timothy. God is teaching me a lot about evaluating others and evaluating myself. It’s important to evaluate why others do what thy do so that I know whether or not I should associate with them or help them. Are they truthful? Are they trying to reflect God? As for myself, am I truthful? Do I seek to reflect God? Am I leading by example and putting others’ interests ahead of mine?
“At home I often do a good job of spreading truth and leading by example, but I don’t always put others’ interests before my own. I like my agendas. But Paul is telling Timothy not to do that. As a pastor, I will also need to focus on being selfless, loving others with a single-minded heart. I need to work on this at home, at camp, at school, and in ministry.
“I came to W.I.L.D. hoping to be a more motivating, effective leader, to be more patient, to be content in every situation, and to be a better encouragement and friend to those around me. I still want to accomplish those goals, but this week has helped me realize that it all comes back to one thing- selflessness. If I am selfless, I will be a better leader, I will be patient and content, and I will be able to more effectively encourage those around me. So I want to re-clarify all my goals this week as a final goal of being more selfless.
In order to minister to others over these last three days, I need to practice being selfless. Do what I can for others and let God do for me what He wills.”
9:18pm:
“Back at the campsite now. After my devos, I spent the remainder of my afternoon writing out verses and praying for my family, church, school, and friends. Mostly praises, but I also offered up several prayer requests.
“As for the verses I wrote down, I spent most of my time in Psalms and I John. I tore birch bark off the trees, peeled it as thin as I could, then wrote on it. Thinking of my desire to be selfless, I wrote several verses about love from I John. Going to Isaiah 53, I also recorded all the things that Christ had done for me as written down by Isaiah. It’s inspiring but sobering to think about how selfless Christ was for me. I stuck the bark in my plastic, waterproof Bible to press them.
“The evening is now winding up, or rather, wrapping up and winding down. We ate macaroni ‘n cheese and sat around the campfire for a couple hours talking about our day and our week to date. It was a good time of fellowship and spiritual discussion led by Chris. Well, we’re getting up at 6:30 tomorrow morning, so I’m ready to finish up here and make an early exit to my tent.”
Additional notes:
-Solo day on W.I.L.D. consists of 7-8 hours of alone time.
-We didn’t bring any food; only our Bibles, devo books, journals, and writing utensils.
-It was a great day for both spiritual refreshment and physical re-energizing after two hard days of travel in the park.
-Solo day itself was worth me taking off the week to go on the trip.
Read about rest of the experience in these related posts:
W.I.L.D. 2011: A Wilderness Experience
W.I.L.D. 2011: Saturday/Sunday- Framing the Experience
W.I.L.D. 2011: Monday- Into the Wilderness
W.I.L.D. 2011: Tuesday- The Unforgiving Tim River
W.I.L.D. 2011: Thursday- Water, Wildlife, and Warmth
W.I.L.D. 2011: Friday- The End of the Adventure
“When the river finally widened Cody and I put our all into the paddling and set a snappy pace. We had previously gone really slow, maneuvering tight turns, narrow outlets, and trees on both sides that threatened to scratch us or slow us down if we got too close.
“The final portage of 840m beat me down physically and I kept stopping every few meters. But I finally made it and we reached our island campsite. For many, the long river was their source of tension. I thought it was fun and enjoyable, but it was the last portage and lake that proved to be my tension. Going to bed and resting were very welcome.”