Ropes Course 07-28-07

Saturday the entire CDTS gang, including kids, spent the day on the ropes course here on the campus. It was a blast! Most of us had really been looking forward to it. Some, not so much. The weather was great for it.


We started the day with some team building games on the ground. You'll note the pvc and rubber chicken. Our group adopted the name Cool Green Butterflies. We had an accompanying cheer as well.

After getting our harnesses on we were off to the Pamper Pole and the Zip Line. The Pamper Pole is so named because you may need to change your pampers upon returning to the ground. You climb a ~30' telephone pole, stand with both feet on the top, then jump off to hit a big orange ball. The hardest part is lifting the last foot onto the top of the pole. An incredible mental challenge! The Zip Line is an 800' ride across the campus starting about 40' above ground - it is a blast! Everyone loves the Zip Line.

Everyone in the family was able to do the Zip Line. I carried Annalise up the tree, but she was insistent that she wanted to fly alone. She was upset that she couldn't do the Pamper Pole, but the pegs were too far apart for her to climb and it isn't something that can be done by two at a time. Everybody else did the Pamper Pole, however. I'll tell you, it is tough!

After lunch, the entire group got back together to overcome the challenges of the low ropes circuit. The challenges can be tough, but it is only a foot or two above the ground. Most of the elements require some form of teamwork. Our groups worked so well together. The teamwork was spectacular!

Later the Cool Green Butterflies went to the infamous Giant Swing. It begins from a platform some 30' in the air. You step off of the platform and swing down the hill getting about 80' or so above ground at the other end before you lose your momentum and swing back up the hill. Yet another mental challenge as you step off of a perfectly good platform and freefall about 15' before you begin to swing. Annalise loved this ride! She went on it twice and wanted to keep going. (As I understand it, Annalise is the youngest to have flown solo on the Zip Line and the Giant Swing.) Alayna and Alexie went twice as well on the Giant Swing.

You may remember Lisa's fear of heights. Well, no challenge has been put before her that she hasn't overcome. I am really proud of her.

Of course, that is the purpose of all of these games and elements. They are designed to help you overcome inner obstacles and develop teamwork. Both of these will be quite important to our team as we leave our culture to serve in the Philippines. This was a great opportunity to form a strong unity within our group.

The video below shows the Maxwells doing the Zip Line, Pamper Pole, and Giant Swing. I apologize for the quality, I was trying to make it something that wouldn't take forever to download.



Grace,
Tom