Mud-Lympics – The Ultimate Competition!

Outtatown South Africa – September 19, 2015
By Dayna Goerzen & Katie Hutchins

Once we warmed up from the canoe trip and all showered (hallelujah!), we continued our week, starting up our sessions with some guidelines to have a great year. We made our group covenant, discussed ways to work well with each other, and heard stories from all our leaders (Rianna, Sean, Liz, and Joel). Other great highlights included singing worship songs together in the evenings, building and racing human-size rafts as committee bonding, playing games together, and becoming closer as a community.

Saturday afternoon, we had the option to participate in some Mud-Lympics led by the leaders. We all gathered around a puddle of mud and water and painted ourselves in it to start the event. The first game we played was Tug-of-War across the mud pit, ending in one side splatting into the puddle each time (and soon our warrior paint didn’t matter anymore).

Next we had to first carry mud across the field 3 people at a time to fill a bucket, and then use our backs or necks (anything but our hands) to carry mud to fill the bucket. It was…interesting, and definitely funny to watch.

After that, we played Steal the Bacon, where each team finds a partner of the same height/size as them. They both get a number, and when their number is called they run towards each other from opposite sides of the pit and try to get the ball that’s in the middle of the mud pit. People dove, collided, and slid together to try to bring the ball to their side. It’s a mucky struggle that was super fun and competitive, with only a few injuries. All worth it!

Finally, we played Snake Pit. This physically was a ‘team bonding’ experience. Your team had to ball or link together in the mud pit while the other team tried to pull you apart one by one as fast as they could (the faster team wins). It was an epic competition until Aaron was the last man standing for his team, as it became the ultimate competition.

“This is MY pit! MY PIT!” (Last man alive!).

We finished the day by jumping in the lake and baking in a homemade sauna. All in all it was a great end to the week. Sunday we packed up, and travelled to Winnipeg for CMU’s M.U.D. Cafe (Mission Under Discussion), where the speaker shared his experiences and the importance of living missionally. Late Sunday night we pulled into Roseau River Bible Camp tired from a busy day filled with laughter, and ready for a week of sessions on theology with guest speaker Gavin Hall. Stay tuned for more awesome blogs coming your way!

First Week – Canoe Trip!

Outtatown South Africa – September 17th, 2015
By Dayna Goerzen & Katie Hutchins

Our Outtatown experience started Sunday, Sept. 13 by travelling to Manitoba Pioneer Camp in Ontario, after our welcoming service and registration at CMU. The evening included everyone starting to get to know each other with name games and other fun activities. Both the Guatemala and South Africa groups stayed together at the camp for a few days, each group interacting with each other before we left canoeing. Monday, we prepared for our canoe trips, separating into 2 groups and starting on our way shortly after lunch. Since we were in 2 different groups, we will tell stories from both trips.

Group 1 story, told by Dayna
The canoe trip adventure began on Monday, first learning how to paddle, then how to properly pack and what to expect, and finally started our daily devotion on beauty and brokenness, which Katie will talk more about later. We paddled out on Shoal Lake on a different route from group 2, heading against the waves (the entire trip) with our guides Alyce and Jeremiah. There was a noticeable difference from dinner the first night to the last, as we got to know our group more and more each day and therefore becoming more talkative and full of laughter. Our trip included a tiresome, interesting portage, a visit to an abandoned gold mine (with 6 extra kilometers to get there…), a nice swim in the lake, “slumber parties” (or just late night bonding) in our tents, and to end it off, a nice thunderstorm leaving us rather soggy in our tents.

One of many highlights of our trip was some late night campfire singing. It was really fun to experience how we all come from different areas or camps, and that we can share our unique and also similar songs together. Whether we sang a Tarzan song (Like! A! Banana) or some gibberish of Why not ‘n’ chew, everyone gave it their all. It did not matter what the song was or if we knew it, many of us participated anyways, just enjoying the moment together as we bonded even more. The cherry on top of this night was getting to do this beside the lake, the waves sounding along and the moon reflecting off the water. It was beautiful!

Overall, besides the sogginess or the portaging, the trip was a success, and was lots of fun! It was a great experience and chance to get to know some of our fellow travellers and get to experience the beauty in nature.

Group 2 story, told by Katie

On Monday our 4 day, 40km canoe trip began and was led by Steve and Carter Ben as well as site leaders Joel and Rianna. The first day we had an easy paddle with sunshine and light winds, ending the night with a campfire filled with songs, as well as “Who Sir Me Sir”. “Who Sir Me Sir” is a riddle game that creates lots of foolish ramble and laughter.

On the next day we had an overcast sky but were still able to do some cliff jumping on the way which was very fun to do as a group. Every time we reached a new camp site we split into groups that were assigned to different chores. These chores included, but were not limited to, collecting firewood, making dinner, and setting up tents. Our meals each night were full of conversation and never lacking cheese. On one of the warmer nights our group had a chance to go Gunnel- bobbing, which is very entertaining to be a part of and also watch. In this activity two people get on a canoe and stand on either end of the canoe and try to get the other person off by bouncing the canoe. In the end everyone eventually falls in, creating a comical scene for those around.

At the end of every night we had discussion at the campfire about our ideas on beauty and brokenness, as well as 10-15 minutes of silence each morning for reflection. It was amazing to ponder the beauty in the land around us as we paddled each day. The topic of brokenness is something one does not think of much when spending time in the wilderness, yet after reflecting upon it we realized brokenness and beauty sometimes go hand in hand. Whether it was the choppy waves against the boat or the harsh wind falling on your face, it is all from God.

On our last full day we started out as a large group to conquer the high winds fighting against us. It was a challenge to get passed the waves, but very rewarding once it was accomplished. After the winds calmed down we had a beautifully sunny day and smooth waters. Since the weather was so warm a lot of us of us jumped out of our canoes and enjoyed a refreshing swim in the middle of the lake. The morning we headed back to camp we talked around the campfire one last time as we passed around an easy bake dessert called moose poop. When we got back to camp we realized the friendships we built would last a lifetime and the memories would never cease to make us laugh.

Hello from your Leaders!

Hello everyone!

We are the Outtatown South Africa Site Leaders for this year and we cannot wait for our students to arrive and our journey to begin in a few short days! We’ve been in Winnipeg for the last two weeks training, bonding, planning, dreaming, and praying about the year ahead. Let us take a minute to introduce ourselves.

This photo encapsulates our group. We are an energetic, enthusiastic bunch passionate about faith, discipleship, young adults, and adventure. Starting on the left, Rianna has a (not so) secret love for dragons, Joel is gifted at acapella singing (which we discovered during a synchronized swimming routine we made to Let it Go), Liz once won a fencing championship (too bad it was way back in grade 5), and Sean is an elaborate, engaging story-teller. What a group eh!

One of our highlights from the last two weeks was when we spent an evening at our program manager Paul’s farm in southern Manitoba. We made tin-foil pockets stuffed with farmer’s sausage and vegetables and roasted them over the campfire. We then climbed on top of the farm grain bins to watch a glorious display of orange and pink fade west. Later, we were chatting around the fire, making s’mores, and playing lawn games the best we could in the dark, when someone looked up at the sky and questioned, “Hey, what’s that light in the sky?” We all looked to see and discovered it was the beginning of an incredible Northern Lights show that would continue for the next couple of hours. It began as bright glow in the sky and soon, white, green, and purple hues danced across the sky like piano keys playing a waltz. At one point, we were all giddy, exclaiming and marveling at the unexpected sight before us.

The Northern Lights show reminded us of the way God surprises us, awes us with His creation, and gives good gifts. In a similar way, we are eagerly anticipating the surprises, adventure, beauty, diversity, and gifts that God has for us in this year ahead.

Continue to follow along here throughout the year to share in this journey with us!