CASS, ARKANSAS—Twenty-five men and boys, ages 2 to 53, hiked into the Ozark National Forest for the 10th annual Arkansas backpacking trip from January 8 to 10. From their campsite on a hillside surrounded by tall trees, “Reese Creek,” a valley, and two dogs named Jack and Lady, the group experienced the great outdoors firsthand, ate often, shared life lessons and funny stories around the campfire, and contemplated God and His creation.
Arkansas members David Zoellner and Justin Bacon, deacon Ray Zoellner, and Herbert W. Armstrong College freshman Jesse Zoellner scoped out the campsite the evening of January 7. A caravan of Edmond members and college students led by Local Elder Roger Brandon arrived the next morning after a four-hour drive, meeting the Arkansans at the last outpost of civilization: a small convenience store in the town of Cass.
From Cass, the Arkansans led the group from Oklahoma up a steep hill, down a narrow trail, and across two creeks to the campsite. The men and boys carried with them everything necessary to survive the frigid wilderness: a tent, hammock or tarp for shelter; pumps, bottles or boilers to purify water from Reese Creek (informally named after Ray Zoellner’s son who discovered it last year); sleeping bags and endless layers of clothing; dry snacks such as trail mix, beef jerky or carrot sticks; and cold meals like burritos, hot dogs or wraps to heat up on a metal grate over the campfire—all packed into bulging backpacks.
The men spent Friday afternoon erecting an array of shelters. Most campers set up standard two-man tents or slung hammocks between trees, with tarps serving as triangular roofs. Several freshmen built a four-walled rectangular structure out of tarps, then lined the outside with sharpened sticks—perhaps useful in the imaginary event of a wild boar attack. Three other groups stretched tarps overhead and built small fires at the foot of their temporary domiciles. All the while, the joyful shouts and tearful cries of 2-year-old Jack Rambo echoed down the hill.
As the sun set, men migrated toward the main campfire. Conversation that evening centered on loved ones who once attended the Philadelphia Church of God but have since left. Many campers shared stories of happenstance interactions with these people. To all, it was a sad reminder of the seriousness of the Christian walk.
The main event on Saturday was Sabbath services, where the group heard a recording of a sermon by Herbert W. Armstrong from the early 1980s. In the third year of “getting the Worldwide Church of God back on track,” as he put it, Mr. Armstrong spoke about issues that on the surface may seem unimportant: poor dress standards at Sabbath services, parents allowing children to cause disturbances, mothers chatting for prolonged periods in the mothers’ room during services, children roaming free of adult supervision, members arriving late for services and getting up from their seats throughout the main message, the misuse of songbooks, and especially the divisive issue of cosmetics.
Afterward, the men and boys chatted around the campfire about vanity—the chief motivator of all humans, according to Mr. Armstrong—and practical ways to apply the instruction they had just heard. “The lively discussions that ensue in such an idyllic setting are really up-building, and create memories of shared values that we will all cherish for a lifetime and hopefully long into the future,” Mr. Brandon said.
Saturday night, the men and boys filled the night air with jokes, laughter, yodels and the sounds of wild boars, chickadees and other noises. Sophomore Adiel Granados told a joke about math sequences, to the delight of the few math enthusiasts and the groans of the riff raff. For hours, the men took turns telling jokes, singing songs, and reenacting humorous personal experiences.