When I was a kid I can remember crawling through Eagle Cave and spending time in the lakes of Boundary Waters between the US and Canada. The people who took me on these adventures helped me create memories. I strive to do this same thing for the young men that spend time with me in CTO. I want to create memories that will last a lifetime.
This year we made memories by taking the CTO Sportsmen off-shore fishing in Lake Michigan with Confusion Charters (which turned out to be a fitting name as summer camp unfolded). I wanted to give them the experience of pulling in some big, heavy fish and then trying to hold those fish up for the picture. I know some of the fish got the better of some of the boys, especially when after reeling the big whoppers in, they had to uncramp their hands in order to hold them up for the picture.
I was super excited when two of the boys were able to catch their limit on our second day of fishing, and one boy only missed his limit by two. There was another smile on my face when each of the young men tried to fillet the monsters they caught. It was a bit trickier than they had anticipated.
As amazing as the fishing was on this trip, our campfire times were even more meaningful. The theme for the week was discussing the more difficult Christian beliefs. I was led by God to let the boys ask me questions, and I would prepare answers and help them come to an understanding of the scripture they were struggling with.
The first confusion (other than the boats) that needed discovery was the Trinity. The question was how can God be all these different things? I asked for something more specific, and the young man clarified, “How can God be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time?”
As this question was being asked, my first thought went to the different backgrounds these young men come from. Some come from denominations which hold strict views on the trinity. Some come from denominations in which God is the most important with the Holy Spirit and Jesus coming in second, and some come from denominations in which the trinity is viewed as one, as equal. I didn’t want to cause arguments, and I didn’t want my teaching to cause tension in the home.
Then God reminded me of the words from one of the mothers before we left for camp, which I now believe was a Holy Spirit inspired moment, “Teach my boys what you feel you need to.” There was my confirmation! So we discussed the Trinity in the comfort of the hot tub at the hotel.
The second confusion that was asked was why did God create us if He knew we were going to sin. The quick answer was because he loved us, but more on that for another time.
