Pastor Bob Caranicas

Chaperone and Supporter

There is no better way to get to true relationship than through a wilderness trip. It's a beautiful thing to watch unfold.

 

Bob’s Amnicon Experience

I am the youth pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church here in Bismarck, ND.  We have somewhere around 700 kids from K – 12.  They called me to work with the youth and rebuild a struggling teenage youth ministry. One of the first things that came to mind in the task of connecting kids was to take them into the wilderness.  We put together three canoe trips and a backpack trip for that first summer. The trips did not disappoint. The youth bonded together in a way that I don’t believe could be achieved in any other way.  It turned out to be foundational in this ministry

 

 

‘It’s a beautiful thing’

I have come to know for certain that there is no better way to get to true relationship than through the experiences that are had on a wilderness trip.  The façade that the kids create based on worldly expectations and norms is erased.  You need each other on a very real level and that leads to real, honest, respectful relationship.  It is a beautiful thing to watch unfold and happen. These trips into the woods have become one of the most amazing things that have happened in my life and the lives of those that I serve.  They are foundational.  They are relational.  They are a gift.  They are made possible by a camp staff that is really the best in the business.

 

 

Top-Notch Staff

All of this is due in a large part, at least in my experience, to the knowledge and training of the camp staff and guides.  They are top notch and I cannot say enough about their care and compassion for the campers.  They are very obviously highly trained.  They seem to be trained to the point where the mechanics of the trip come so naturally that they spend their time in intentional nurturing of the relationships between them and the campers and God’s creation all around them.