Armadillo

Today, Sasha was going through some old boxes. There were some keepsakes from my teen years. In one box, she found the shell of an Armadillo. Why would I have the shell of an Armadillo?

The shell was from a Royal Rangers campout that our church took during Christmas Break. The campout consisted of three of my friends, our commander and myself. It was freezing cold outside. When we arrived on the land in South Central Texas, our objective was to earn our survival badges. We had decided that we would build our own shelters and live off the land on one night of the campout to fulfill the requirements of the badge. We came up with a plan to trap and kill an armadillo to eat. We knew that armadillos were blind. So, we stayed down wind and would get close enough to try and hit it with a hatchet. Somehow, we were able to have some success at killing the animal. We got the shell off. I somehow ended up with it.

As I mentioned before, it was freezing outside. So, after looking at the nasty Armadillo and feeling the cold air, we abandoned our shelters and headed back for the comfort of the campfire and the safety of store bought food.

The point of this whole blog is not to gross you out. However, it is to instill the value of making memories. We went to that camp area two years in a row. It was at one of those camps that one of my friends accepted Christ. I'm thankful for a commander that gave up his time to hang out with some 13-15 year old boys. The memories of chasing Armadillos, throwing Buffalo Chips, hiking across the land, making our own meal and many others are well worth the time. 3 of the 4 young men are in ministry today.

If you are a leader, don't underestimate the impact you are making in the lives of those you lead. If you are a parent, what are you doing so that you are making positive memories for your kids?

By the way, we eventually did get our survival badges.....when the weather was warmer. :)