See Beyond – July 2019

July/August 2019 39

work. I did my best to help both Mike’s parents un-
derstand the value of this trip. They finally agreed
to let him go. We put Mike’s gear in my truck and
met early the next morning at the church.

To say that Mike had a great time would be a
complete understatement. In fact, he was having
so much fun that I actually had to establish some
ground rules because all he wanted to do was hang
around the rock-climbing walls. I told him that he
had to work on a couple of merit badges and not
just climb all week. It was hard to get him to focus
on anything else.

If he was ever missing or didn’t show up to class,
we knew exactly where to find him. Several times
we had to pull Mike down from the wall and tell
him that he could come back as soon as he fin-
ished some other obligations.

Every year, the scouts have a race through the en-
tire camp, called the Seneca Run. The competition
requires them to complete tasks at various stations,
like starting a fire with flint steel, throwing Toma-
hawks at logs, shooting bows and arrows. Between
each activity, they had to run carrying a ten-pound
boulder. The entire event was timed, and every
station awarded points, depending upon how well
the scouts accomplished the task. Although Mike
had the fastest time, he came in second place be-
cause he failed to start a fire with flint and steel.

Mike and another scout named Chris paired up
for a different competition, one entirely focused
on the climbing walls. The object was for one boy
to climb up the south wall and ring the bell. As
soon as that happened, the other would climb up
the much taller north wall and ring that bell. Years
ago, the record was set at one minute and fifteen
seconds. They practiced this race together a couple
of times during the week. But Mike spent every
moment he could at the wall.

When it was time to begin, interested scouts from

all the camps gathered around the central area of

the climbing walls. Several other troops did their

best, but no one beat the old record. Finally, Mike

and Chris were up. The rock-climbing coordinator

raised his hand and shouted, “Go!” Chris scram-

bled up the south wall and rang the bell. Mike

practically flew to the top of the north wall and

rang the other bell. The scorekeeper clicked the

stopwatch and stared in disbelief.

He handed it over to the rock-climbing coor-

dinator. They could not believe what they saw

and wondered if there had been a mistake, but

a second stopwatch verified the time. Mike and

Chris had accomplished this feat in just thirty-sev-

en seconds, beating the old record by thirty-eight

seconds—less than half the time! The boys shout-

ed and beamed. Our troop had won a significant

award.

In fact, they had won many awards. It was an

excellent experience for these young men. I had

promised that if they achieved a total of sixty-five

merit badges and rank advancements, I would

come to church with purple and green hair. When

we counted out all of the patches and awards,

they shouted for joy at our sixty-seven accom-

plishments. They all pointed at me and laughed,

looking forward to my new look next Sunday.

We arrived home in the evening on Saturday, and

Mike’s dad came to pick him up. Mike couldn’t

wait to tell him about his successes and how much

fun he’d had. But his dad stormed through the

door, demanding that he grab his things and hurry

home. Mike had work to do! I watched Mike’s

smile fall into a frown as he wilted under the real-

ization that nothing had changed. No one cared

about his experiences. His selfish and angry father

still only had one thing on his mind: Mike had to

pay for car repairs. That young champion walked

Mike and Chris practiced this race together a couple of times during

the week. But Mike spent every moment he could at the wall.