Building the bond of brotherhood

SkillSource, CBYD take group of men on annual Polar Bear trip

MOSES LAKE — Wind, rain, freezing temperatures or homesickness could not keep Ignacio Gonzalez, brother Jose Gonzalez and Tommy Quintanilla from going on their first outdoor adventure trip to Mt. Baker this winter.

Going as part of an annual men's Polar Bear trip organized by the Columbia Basin Youth Dynamics and SkillSource, the trio spent five days skiing, snow boarding, sharing personal faith stories and challenges they've each faced and even learning to cook their own food using snow melt for water.

"I feel like (I learned to be) a man," Jose Gonzalez said of persevering the frigid winter weather and living off staples of pasta and canned food. "If I put my mind to it I could do it."

The one thing that mattered the most though, was not giving up.

"Keeping (motivated) to put your mind to it and don't quit," Quintanilla said was one thing he learned from going on the trip.

"If I didn't quit this, I knew I wouldn't quit anything else," Jose Gonzalez said, recalling waking up early and living without radio, television or music. "I liked the physical and emotional challenges; it was the first time being away from home for so long," he said.

But the hard work had begun before the group even set foot on Mt. Baker, paying their way for the trip by volunteering to clean and move items for others in the community.

Even when the group became weary or thought they might turn around and quit, SkillSource instructor Don Key said it was the group's ability to look beyond the challenges in front of them that enabled them to endure.

"They summoned it within themselves to say, 'No, I'm going to go the extra mile,'" Key said.

Evening times were often left to discuss questions about courage, faith and reading excerpts of the book "Wild at Heart," which discusses what it means to grow up as a man in today's culture.

For discussions that, at times, became personal and private, Key said the group had no problems being open and honest. "These guys had no difficulty (saying) this is what I'm made out of," Key said.

Part of being far away from people and city life was what made the trip a success, said Dave Oliver, a youth ministry staff member at CBYD.

"Friendships that would have taken a year could be made in five days," Oliver said. "We had to lean on each other for everything that we did, from keeping warm to keeping dry and you had to be able to trust each other."

Future trips include a co-ed excursion called Bob's Island Getaway which is scheduled for April 1-4 in Friday Harbor and will include such activities as paint ball, skate boarding and sea kayaking.

A mountain bike trip is also being planned for this summer.