What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “team building”? Some people think fun, others, tough, and others tend to think of boring!! When I first heard we are doing a team building exercise with just the guys, I was super excited until we learned what it was. Men’s team building occurred at Currahee from Band of Brothers.
Watch video here.
For those who have not seen Band of Brothers it was the first episode where Easy Company trained before heading off to combat during WWII. A training time that Captain Herbert Sobel liked was three miles up, three miles down. Soldiers had a time limit to back to the bottom. Sometimes they did this with or without full gear. Our training exercise was just to get up the hill.
I could not imagine doing this with full pack but, I experienced something close to it that hit my character the most.
When we heard we were doing the exercise where they filled this part of Band of Brothers we got excited and started talking about it. First thing we had to do was run 1.5 miles. Being a cross country runner this was nothing…where is the challenge? We debriefed how that was and got into our squad teams to await the next team building exercise.
Instructions we got was we had 40 minutes to go 1.2 miles up one of the steepest parts of the hill. Different part was two people had to be blind and two had to be carried at all times. Let that sink in for a moment… After a while it changed to three people had to be carried and then the two heaviest people carried. Being one of the lightest people I was being carried almost the whole time.
This tore my character apart! I was being carried and I do not like being carried (I only like it when I need to be like when hurt or something.) I am the type of person who helps all the time and that was taken from me. Only thing I could was encourage. I felt helpless and weak, all I could do was be on someones’ back and no do anything cause I was small. I starting thinking of David and how he was a man after God’s own heart and God him in a way beyond than I can think of. The phrase make the weak and make them strong slowly came to life as we headed up that hill.
Making our way up that hill in 90 degree something weather plus humidity we were sweating like no other. Got comfortable with others sweat on me in a big hurry. Bigger guys on my squad were getting tired especially when we stopped and were told a third person needs to be carried. Being a smaller guy I got tired of being carried, i felt just helpless and useless. During I asked to carry someone cause he was exhausted, it started happening when it got switched again for the two biggest people to be carried.
God started using my weakness and turned into strength. I stepped up and starting carrying! I have never felt so torn apart and tired in all my life. Helping has never been so tough in all my life, and that is part of my character and the Lord tore it apart and gave me a new look at it. It is ok to be carried when you don’t need it while you look to the Lord to renew your strength. Isaiah 40:28-31 came to mind a lot during this exercise.
Made it to the top and the view was amazing. Was it worth not only seeing a spectacular view the Lord had created, but having the Lord build and tear your character apart. Absolutely, he is making me into who he wants me to be.
