"HIS GRACE WAS ENOUGH"
If you are taking a wilderness trip to L’Abri, a big part of your adventure will be the activities that we include in our wilderness programs. In addition to the typical camping activities like hiking, swimming, singing songs, telling stories around the campfire, and making memories, you will have a
great time to engage in some of the other activities we listed below.
Youth Camps
Invented Biography
We have participants partner up and quietly look at one another for about ten minutes. Simply from how their partner looks, they must create an entire life story for them.
● where they were born,
● where their family comes from,
● what they like best in life,
● their favorite food, etc.
● their field of study and hobbies
● their dreams for the future
This biography is shared with the group. The person who's "life story" was being told gets to tell the real story of their life! The roles are then reversed. This is especially effective with groups that don't know each other well, and is an excellent way to get people to think about how our stereotypes and first impressions can be mistaken.
Really Feel It
Facilitated by our instructors we encourage group members to "open" their senses; have them close their eyes so that they can listen to the sounds of the forest, their own bodies and the people around them. Next we move on to the smells of the trees and the dirt, followed by the feel of the breeze against their skin or the feel of their t-shirts on their backs. Finally we have them open their eyes and spend a few minutes focusing on really experiencing their surroundings. In conclusion the group will then discuss what they noticed during their exploration that they hadn't noticed before.
Found-Object Sermons
Once you're out in the Forest or at one of our Big Five Waterfalls we have everyone in the group find an object that they like the look at;- a rock, a particular branch, a leaf, etc. Then each member of the group have to deliver a brief "sermon" to the group about why they chose this object and how it represents or relates to their beliefs.
Fear in a Hat
On scrap paper, we have everyone in the group write down one fear they have about anything. Then, we place the papers in a hat, pull one out and read it to the group. We explore how others in the group may have similar fears and through group dialogue how the group can help you to overcome that fear.
What I Admire
On scrap paper, we have everyone in the group write down one thing they admire about every other person present. Collect these, separate them by the people they're addressed to, and place them in envelopes labelled with the appropriate name. At the end of the trip we hand these out for a memorable keepsake for all.
Nature Activities
At L'Abri there are many educational and uplifting ways to incorporate the wilderness into your camping activities. We offer hiking trails, waterfall visits, sleepover at Camp SKABA and many more.
Natural Symphony
We send everyone out to find something in the forest that can be used as a musical instrument - two rocks to clack together, a blade of grass, sticks of different weight, etc. Then we bring everyone together to create a well-known song of hymn at or creating your own “camp song”.