Every teenager wants to become a man, to grow up. This is a good and natural desire. He imitates the attributes of adulthood that he sees around him. It's just that his environment is not always healthy, in which case his view of manhood is distorted. There is no need to go into detail concerning the errors that are part of these distorted views, but what they have in common is that the men who are deceived by them are unstable, uncomfortable to be around, and sometimes monstrous.

 

So how do you become a real man? What are the signs that define it, so that these same characteristics may become part of a teenager, his core? So that his life will have meaning and he will have respect for others? These are the questions that we (six graduates of Sunday school and I) decided to use a program of study for real men, which began with the 10-day Camp "Vertical" in the Carpathian mountains, and which will last a whole year. During this time, we will address theoretical and practical exercises offered above the program from Camp "Vertical". First of all, the program is designed to show not only what a real man is like, but also the achievability of the goal.

 

Ten days in the mountains without the usual conveniences and comforts helped to create the necessary atmosphere (on the physical level) for a deeper understanding of the subject at hand.

The Carpathian maountains are beautiful ... but very wet ... Getting up early in the morning in the cold and wet was a struggle. Because of the frequent rain clothes and shoes didn't get dry, and then you need a heavy dose of courage, to avoid complaining, and to gratefully accept the new day. These were excellent conditions for "showing your mettle" and our guys, in my opinion, handled it well - there was no whining.

After getting up and meditating on the Word, then we had the routine morning activities: raising the flag, the national anthem and the announcement topic of the day. Ten days, ten topics, ten values of a real man that we found in the Bible, ten golden verses learned by heart. The guys thought this was impossible at first, but then it became part of them. Abraham, David, Daniel, Joseph, Paul, Hezekiah, Jonathan, Joshua, Nehemiah, Samson - these were the examples that gave insight into a man after God's own heart. To believe, to love the Word of God, to pray, to keep purity before marriage and during marriage, to serve, to take responsibility, to tithe, to value friendship, avoid mistakes, honor parents - these revealed to us the essence of a real man.
We set up our own accommodations. We made a canopy in case of rain and to facilitate cooking dinner. Yes, the guys made dinner themselves over the campfire, lit with the wood they had chopped. Every night we hosted one of the camp leaders for supper! The guys coped with all of it - no one was complaining.

There were a lot of sports: soccer, volleyball, baseball, trampoline, archery, paintball, canoeing, hiking and an obstacle course, which our team managed very well, getting over the 4 meters smooth wall in 57 seconds. And that despite the fact that Sana had to go over twice, taking my place because of my leg injury (no allowance for that). By the way, our Sasha Triputen finished second in archery out of 86 competitors. In the general standings our team finished in 5th place out of the 14 participating teams. Two days out of ten won with the highest number of points. The winning team of the day was given the right to attach the banner with the theme of the day to their tent (they are in the photos). Points were awarded for knowing the golden verses, neatness of the tent, punctuality, team work and for general effort. For example, our guys took the initiative to build a three-meter cross, which came in handy in a rite of dedication, performed songs - in a word, they made an effort.

Of course, things did not always turn out the way we wanted. We didn't always have the patience and strength we needed, there were disappointments and misunderstandings, but the most important thing was that every day was not just theory, we lived it for real, the difficulties were real, and cuts, and injuries, and the cold were real. We could apply in practice the qualities of a man after God's own heart, and each of us could see what he was lacking, what he needed to work on and get into shape. Our prayer is that our attitude would be honest - to ourselves and before God, because only then is change possible. On the last day of the camp everyone who wanted to had the chance to go through a symbolic act of dedication - going over a bridge to the cross and express before God and other young men what you would like to change in yourself or what you wanted to devote your time, attention, and energy to. All seven of us took advantage of this opportunity and made vows before God and the others.

Do we need loving husbands and caring fathers in families? Do we need faithful servants of the Church? Do we need real men? These questions do not need answers. I would like to thank all the organizers of this project and Salvation Church for the prayers and financial support. We have a whole year to study the material and a lifetime to become and remain a man.

 

Andrey Churkin