Closer Connections (Bark Lake)

Bacala, Alexandra Rose Callanta

On 6 August 2018, the Bronzes and Silvers went cabin camping in Bark Lake Leadership and Conference Centre for three days and two nights. The trip was not only for the Visioneers to have some fun, but to also improve their team building and interpersonal skills.

On the first day, we met the Bark Lake staff that would facilitate the various leadership tasks: Alex, Jennifer, Val, Seana, and Andrew. For them to get to know the people of Vision Youth, plenty of icebreaker games were played. After that, we were given a tour of Bark Lake; with the Bronzes split into two teams: Martens and Fishers, whilst the Silvers remained as one group. All three groups had different activities to do during their stay which included: low ropes, high ropes, kayaking, canoeing, and voyageur canoeing.

In addition to the activities mentioned above, the Bronzes played “Capture the Flag” with the Bark Lake staff and volunteers. Moreover, we went on a night hike led by Jeffrey Zhang to go stargazing. Despite the difficulty of navigating to Second Beach due to water elevation, everyone managed to get through safely with the help of the volunteers. Also, once we arrived at Second Beach, there were only a few visible stars because of the cloudy weather, yet Karen Au made our hike worthwhile by telling us stories about the constellations. 

On Day 2, the Bronzes continued doing their team building tasks while the Silvers were tested on their survival skills. The Silvers were divided into three groups that had to canoe to different checkpoints and finish different team building challenges. Later, the Visioneers were assigned to create a skit in their superhero teams. They were to perform their skits around a bonfire after dinner and the bonfire was later used to make smores. Nonetheless, as excitement grew, so did mischief. However, after being warned once, the Visioneers behaved themselves immediately.

Last but not least, it rained on the third day, but that did not stop the Visioneers and Bark Lake from doing their last activity together. On the whole, the camp was a great time for relationships to deepen through communication and courage which was learnt through the many leadership activities in Bark Lake.