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Published: July 22nd 2008
Photo 1
Kristi jumping at the end of the ropes courseI'm finally home from Oregon. Ok, so I've been home for about three weeks, but it's taken me this long to get back into my groove. Let me just tell you that this camp is not what I expected. When I think of Oregon, I think of forest and mountains and those tall trees you see on the license plates. Well I definitely saw that when I landed in Portland, but the camp is a good four hours east of Portland. So I took a shuttle driving right next to Mt. Hood and cutting through the towering forest. After a while, we finally pull out of the tree line, and suddenly there are wide open plains that eventually turn into Canyons. I get dropped off in Madras, and picked up again for another hour of driving. I finally made it to Wildhorse Canyon at 11 pm.
The camp sits on this massive ranch (something like 400,000 acres) owned by the Washington Family. It boasts, two reservoirs, roads and infrastructure, some 400 plus buildings, its own air strip, and a river. Now Young Life had no money for this camp, but the Washingtons gave them the land for free, and the
Photo 2
There was no shade, ever. rest the Rajneesh did for them.
The Rajneesh was an Indian cult back sometime in the 60's that had about 7000 followers. They spent all this money building up the area, eventually trying to take over by poisoning the town, so that their leaders could be elected. Well once the leaders were deported, everyone disbanded, and the site remained vacant until the Washingtons bought it. So Young Life has only had to build three new buildings; all the rest have just been remodeled since the Rajneesh days.
Anyway, the experience was amazing. I got to do some hiking all around the area which was great. Working the ropes course was a blast. I got to meet every camper individually and help them overcome huge fears and trust issues. The best part was working with so much that I had never come in contact with before. I worked with deaf people, and even helped deaf kids through the ropes course. I worked with inner city kids and Hispanics. I even got to personally take a handicap kid through the course. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I made friends that I will keep for
Photo 3
Sunrise over camp from Communication Hill. the rest of my life, and I had an impact on someone that I will never know about.
The trip really inspired me to get out and explore the world. I decided I'm taking a year off after college and before I apply to medical school. I might intern at a young life camp, or I might just travel the world. All I know is that I want to get a way, and find God in all His glory in the untamed parts of the world.
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