A Passion for Adventure

Nobody fits perfectly into a stereotyped box. God has made each of us very unique, allowing us to function in different roles of society. However, we do see some general, overarching characteristics of mankind that were designed by God. These traits were instilled in us to help us accomplish the tasks that God has set before us. One of these tasks is what we have called, “The Creation Mandate.” This is the calling by God to have dominion over the earth, subdue it, fill it, and care for it. As you might imagine, this job is a huge undertaking – but incredibly rewarding! What traits might God have instilled in us to help us accomplish this task? I would argue that one of these traits would be a sense of adventure. Imagine yourself as Adam: God had tasked you with the care of the world He had just created. One of your first tasks was to name the animals, calling for the innate trait of creativity. That task alone would certainly call upon that spirit of adventure, as you walk along the creatures that God has brought to you to name. Although initiated by the fall of man, when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, God essentially opened the world up for them. Granted, the amount of work that was needed to care for the earth had increased exponentially (but even that work can be an adventure). There was a world that they had been tasked to care for that was ready to be explored and experienced!
 
We still are exploring and experiencing that world today. Generation after generation, history has shown us the adventurous spirit of mankind. Through God’s grace, we have accomplished much in the way of caring for the world He has given us – and there is still much left to do! Interestingly enough, our current generation of children and young adults have seemed to lose touch with some of this innate spirit of adventure – or, at least, have “reassigned” this spirit to something other than the physical world. They have turned their focus and have found a sort of “escape” into technology. Carl Pickhardt, in “Aspects of Adolescent Boredom," stated, “Tolerance for boredom, particularly among adolescents, has been greatly reduced in a world where escape into the many screens of electronic entertainment is so easily accomplished. We have created a culture in which many young children and adolescents have grown used to being electronically over-stimulated from birth, a condition that makes meeting the offline routine and repetitive demands of home and school difficult for many of them to endure. And as on-line escape increasingly substitutes for off-line engagement, as virtual world competence is gained at the expense of real world experience, practice dealing with real life challenges, shouldering real life responsibilities, and developing real life skills can decline.”
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So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a generation that is disconnected from “real world experiences.” At WildHeart Adventure Camp, it is our desire to lead our campers to rediscover their sense of adventure. We offer outdoor experiences, such as rock climbing, white-water canoeing, backpacking along Lake Superior, and mountain biking. We give our campers the opportunity to experience God’s creation first-hand. Through teaching camping skills, we also encourage growth in leadership, responsibility, and respect. All of this is taught and led from a Christian worldview, with the purpose of encouraging our campers to live an adventurous life to the glory of God!

Ben Barrick

Program Director