Work hard; play hard. Celebrate. Bond the Tribe.  Make new commitments.

For the last six weeks, our Eagles have worked extremely hard.  It was time for some well earned play.  So we piled into a mini-bus for the Ranch Olympics, a twenty four hour celebration held forty miles west of Austin.

We divided into four teams, each fancifully named by their members.  The first competition was paintball accuracy, eventually including a few volunteer Eagle targets.

Next came two rounds on a punishing obstacle course.

Then, a raft building contest, where each team had to build a raft and paddle it across the lake and back without sinking.

Along the way, we did have a few transportation mishaps, which led to the new sport of Car Surfing.  As one Eagle exclaimed: “Try this at a real school!”

Then, telling Ancient Stories by the campfire,  followed by flashlight tag, capture the flag and a movie.  That night, some slept in bunk beds; others in sleeping bags, and the most adventurous in hammocks in the forest – soon to be roused by a late night thunderstorm.

The next morning, we watched the sunrise together from a mountaintop, a reminder of how far we have come, with hints of great struggles and adventures to come.

One Tribe.  Each member on a Hero’s Journey.