Boys Passage to Manhood

Bob and seven dads organized a "Boys Passage to Manhood" overnight camp out for their sons. Their goal was to create a special father - son time through which they could speak into their sons lives about issues crucial to being Christian men. This event also provided a reference point in their lives when their dads acknowledged them as men.

We met at the local German High School and Hiked 45 minutes to our campsite.






It had rained for over a week, and more was predicted, so we brought some dry wood.



We stopped at a fork in the road for one of the dads to speak to our sons about the importance of making wise decisions.



Our arrival at camp!

A beautiful spot with a small cabin, or Hutte in German, with some grassy area around it to pitch tents.

Of course we brought our pocket knives!

Recognize this handsome dude?




We organized various team building initiatives to communicate truth to our sons.

Here there was a mine field of mouse and rat traps. Each boy was to pass through the mine field blind folded, and was to proceed by listening to his father's voice.

There were also distracting and annoying voices too, with intent to mislead....



It was a fun time in the Black Forest! God blessed us with holding off the rain.

Dogs and ho-bo dinners for supper.


Smores!


Night sounds and an organized time around the campfire when each dad shared something from his heart to the boys.


A night game of Capture the Flag!

Real Coo-coo birds woke us up in the morning, starting around 5:30am, and kept it up for the next few hours! It was beautiful.
Breakfast followed.










A time of worship followed by a message from Vince Purpero, a missionary with Campus Crusade who came up to speak for us that morning.







Team building - problem solving initiatives:
Tie an overhand knot.


Helping one another out of the "electric fenced" zone.



Boys crossing over into manhood.


Hammering in a point of reference (Spike) in time.

And leaving a personalized sign (initials in a beech tree's bark) to be revisited sometime in years to come.



There was also a time when each son read a letter written to him by his dad which acknowledged his transition into manhood along with words of appreciation and encouragement. Bob also invited his friend and colleague Brad Winslow to come along to be our photographer who took these great pictures. Although hardly twenty four hours, this was a time which our boys (now young men) will remember and look back to in the years ahead. We look forward to creating more events like these to continue speaking into the lives of our sons. Be encouraged to do the same with your sons and daughters as well!