OA Ordeal

September 20th-22nd Letter:

Dearest Joshua David, Grace Elizabeth, Faith Olivia, Jacob Samuel, and Jeremiah William-

What an interesting weekend! First, I'll start by saying ....

Happy 70th Birthday to Grandpa Jim! He did a sprint triathlon on his birthday on the 21st at Wrightsville Beach. We called him the day before to wish him a Happy Birthday since some of us didn't have access to our phones (or would not have reception) on the Saturday of his birthday. This was because this weekend was the Order of the Arrow Fall Fellowship for Grace, Joshua, and myself .... and we were completing our Ordeal!

Back in March or April of this year, we got nominated by the Troop to be candidates for the Order of the Arrow. To become a member, you must complete the Ordeal within a year and it's offered two times a year.

To complete the Ordeal, you must go through several 'trials' to test yourself and sacrifice ....

-Sleep under the stars (you have a tarp and a sleeping bag)
-Take a vow of silence
-Eat scant food
-Complete ardrous labor

This was the hardest campout I've been on .... and I was so glad to complete it with Joshua and Grace near me! Our service project (ardrous labor) was fixing a long walking path from the Grand Lodge down towards the Maple campgrounds. We had to remove cement blocks, level them, replace them, and haul wheel borrow after wheel borrow of rocks to fill in where the rain had carved out paths and washed away parts of the path. We then had to haul wheel borrow after wheel borrow of smaller rocks/soil to then pack on top of that. And, it was in direct sunlight. Whew! I was sweating so much! We worked so hard and I am so proud of everyone who came and completed the Ordeal. We had 3 from Troop 321G - Grace, Aubrey, and Myself. And 8 from Troop 321B - Joshua, Gavin, Evan, Sebastian, Luke, Kyle, Mr Jeff, and Mr Tony. Our ceremony was Saturday evening and the vow of silence was lifted! We all earned membership and are now Ordeal members in the Order. It's a Scouting Honor Society, so it's an honor to be a member. :-)

We got home around lunch time Sunday. The twins had a sleepover at Ronin's while we were gone. Faith helped daddy sell popcorn for the Troop. At our Troop 321G meeting Sunday afternoon, Faith had her Scoutmaster Conference and Board of Review .... you are now Tenderfoot Rank! Way to go!

I'm so thankful that I am able to experience this with you all!

Sleep tight little ones!

I love you all so much!

~Mommy