Kawida Lodge Fall Ordeal - September 9 to 11, 2016
Location - Camp McKee
Total Mileage - Roughly 145 miles round trip.
Weather - High of 89 on Saturday. Cold Front came through around 6:30 Saturday afternoon. Rained for half an hour. It was 59 on Sunday morning at 8, and had risen to 70 degrees when I left the camp at 11 AM.
Clothing - Shorts & tshirt - Scout uniform shirt during ceremonies
Shoes - Keen Sandals - I took my hiking boots, but never wore them
Tent - I slept in my Slumberjack tent. I still love that tent very much! It is a double wall tent. It is the perfect size for a Scoutmaster! The cot fits inside, and I could put a chair in there too if I wanted to have it. It is not a great tent for backpack camping, but perfect for car camping.
Sleeping Bag - My red summer bag. It is a little better than the green one that I took to camp. I used it as a blanket.
Main Activity - I attended a late meeting on Friday night at Karrick Lodge with the Lodge Adviser and a few other people. We talked about where I will be serving next year with the Lodge. I ended up standing in the parking lot of Karrick watching the constellations until 3 AM with the Lodge Adviser talking about life. I was able to get 4 hours of sleep that night.
Saturday I helped a couple of Brotherhood Candidates memorize the obligation and the OA Song. We helped with digging of the drainage ditches at Campsite 3 with the Ordeal Candidates and the Elangomats. Tyler (my son) was an Elangomat for the first time. He really enjoyed it! He even joined the Elangomat Committee. He did a great job. The ceremonies (Brotherhood and Ordeal) took place at the OA Slab. I like it when they are held there. It makes it easy to hear the ceremonies. Hearing the words of the ceremonies, even for those who have been through the ceremonies in the past, are vitally important. It is more than just the obligation that makes you a member of the OA. Service is a key to being a member (of course), but also hearing the ritual is vitally important. The Brotherhood Ceremony is my favorite ritual of the OA. It talks about the "burden". It also explains the two bars on the end of the arrow.
Saturday evening when it rained, I went to my tent to take a nap. I was so tired! There was a group of scouts on the porch of Stamler Hall laughing really loud. My tent was only a few feet from the porch of Stamler, so I didn't get to sleep, but laying there seemed to help a little. When I went back in to Stamler, I talked to Frank and JD about 2017 NYLT. They had invited me to be a staff member of NYLT, but I had to turn them down. The Lodge Chief stopped by where we were sitting to talk about an event he is planning in 2017. He wanted our input. He called it the "midnight club", but it took place at 9:30. By 10:30, I was brain dead. I excused myself, and went to bed. I slept until 8 AM.
Sunday morning, I woke up as the call was being made by Shaffer to get the scouts in to Stamler Hall for prayer before breakfast. I got out of my cot, went to the porch of Stamler Hall, stretched for 10 minutes, which helped, and then got ready for the Scouts Own Service. I'm kind of in charge of making sure the Scouts Own Service takes place. The day before I asked C. Cassady of Troop 269 to do the Scouts Own. I talked him through how to develop a service. He talked about being Obedient. He did a great job on Sunday morning!
Sunday morning at Scouts Own, I looked up to notice Tyler was wearing his scout uniform, but not his OA Sash. After it was over, he told me that someone stole his sash. He said it was laying on his bunk, and he thought someone walked off with it. I went to where his bunk was set up, and asked him to look through his backpack. I also asked him if it was in his sleeping bag. He said no. He was really worried that someone took his sash. I told him he could get another one. His objection was that his sash was really special. It had been through a ceremony, and a new sash would not have been through the ceremony. He asked everyone if they had his sash. Later on while I was taking down my tent, he walked out where I was. He was wearing his sash. He said he found it in the bottom of his sleeping bag.
Extra Gear - I stuffed my gear in my new Osprey Duffel bag. I really like it. I had no need for extra gear. It was a great weekend.
Nights Camping - 2. I was tempted to sleep in Karrick Lodge with the other adults, but I stayed in my tent.
Next Campout - Hatito - Cub Family Campout Georgetown September 16 to 18, 2016. Troop 215 Scouts will be teaching First Aid to the Webelos just like they did last year. I'm also in charge of the Scouts Own Service. I will have some of the Scouts who were in my Communications MB class last week to put together and carry out a Scouts Own. This will complete a requirement for the MB for them. I'm only camping out 1 night at Hatito. Thomas and Tyler will be playing the band during the Homecoming Game, and I've decided to take the to the campout on Saturday morning instead of showing up at 11 PM to set up the tents.
Total Camping nights in 2016 - 17 nights so far this year.
Camp McKee waterfront on Sunday morning. Tyler Baker took this picture.
Call Out ceremony Friday night - Tyler was a runner. In this picture he is introducing the candidate.
Ordeal Work. Tyler is in the red shirt in the middle of the road. He was an Elangomat, which means "friend" in Delaware Indian language. He was the guide for the Ordeal candidates.
This is during the Ordeal Ceremony on Saturday afternoon. This is the first step of the Order of the Arrow new members.
New Ordeal members are receiving their sashes. Tyler is on the end. As an Elangomat, he does everything with the Ordeal Candidates, including what he eats, where he sleeps, and he even is part of the ritual as if he was a candidate, although he is able to wear his sash that he received at his Ordeal ceremony in April 2016.
Ordeal members, Ceremonialists, and Elangomats for the picture that is taken after each ceremony.
Indian Flute at the beginning of the Brotherhood Ceremony. In this video the candidates arrive at the end the video.
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