Solid Ground

At the request of the still ever wonderful Anne Therese I shall write a post on Arcatheos.  Not just an ordinary post saying you should go, you should go, here’s the link.  She wants a post describing my experience with Arcatheos.  Quite a tall order... These friends of mine sure are picky. :)

Let’s see...Well the #1 thing I love about Arcatheos is the idea that there are all these other Catholic men and boys on the same path of life as me.  It reinforces in my head that I’m not alone in the world.  That there are tons of other men going through the same trials as me and I have support to fall back on when I need help.  Another thing I’ve seen about camp is that it is SUPER INTENSIVE.  Especially for the councillors - called officers (for now, we’re working on a better name.) - as they have a couple days before the camp officially starts where they have an excruciating schedule meant to show what they can and can’t do, what they’re good at and what they’re bad at.   The really nice thing about this is when I get back from camp, everything seems easier.  You could say life is thrown back into perspective.  Also, there is an enormous sense of accomplishment as an officer.  Especially last year.  Last year, the officers helped built the main fortress and we worked on building a fort from scratch.  Cutting down dead trees sawing them into size and building walls.  It was nice because when you stood back you could say: “Wow!  I built this with my own sweat!”  Spiritually, it was also terrific as there was daily mass and the rosary and the angelus and morning and night-time prayers and terrific talks to help build us up.

That was generic experiences that probably every officer had.  There were also specific experiences that I had.  I helped out a lot with the theatrics this year.  I helped out with special effects and I managed the costume tent.  That was a blast.  I also helped with running errands and helping out with whatever.  I feel that it really helped me grow as a person and really improved my initiative.  What was really nice is that when I got back from camp there was a message on my family’s phone saying how a friend of my family, who was at camp, was impressed with my initiative and how helpful I was.  That made my week..*sigh*  Nostalgia...Great times...

And that is why I reccomend Arcatheos to almost every boy and man.  (If you can’t handle sleeping outdoors under the stars for a day don’t go as an officer.  If you can’t handle sleeping in a tent, don’t go at all.)
Well,
That’s all for now...

P.S Anne Therese, the answer to your other comment is: I’d love that.

P.P.S That’s really all for now...