Personal Narrative: My Church's Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt

The Bible teaches that we should treat others how we would want to be treated; this past summer showed me how this applies to life in my church’s Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt. The hunt took place in a little town called Charlevoix located right on Lake Michigan. Around 20 adults from my church were all staying together in an enormous house near my family’s condo. A few of the leaders, one of which was my mother, had devised the race as a team building exercise. We would complete challenges at different locations in town. There were to be split up into three teams: Red, Blue, and Green. The day before the race we drew colors to see what team we would get; I got Blue. There were six people per team, plus a non-partial team leader to keep track of points and give us the supplies we would need in fulfilling each objective. Just from that I was told, I knew that

this day was going to be the best day of my summer.
The morning of the race, the sun was sparkling through the trees as I crossed the quiet street to the big house. The the scorching summer sun had only begun to melt away the cool evening air when I walked through the door of the living room where the teams were to meet. Like an airport on the last day of vacation, the room was crowded and noisy with people talking and finishing breakfast while sitting in small groups.

The smell of scrambled eggs and hash browns had not yet left the room as I weaved my way through people and chairs leftover from that morning’s small worship service. Finally, I made my way to the hall where one of my teammates was looking for the rest of our group. We searched around for a bit until we finally found our team leader calling annoyedly, “Blue Team! Blue Team right here!” When all the groups had been gathered and seated, the three team leaders stood at the front of the room and explained what we were to do that day. To start, our leader would give us a clue that would lead us to the location of the first challenge and instruct us on what to do. After completing the objective, we would receive the next clue, and continue on until the race would finish where we started. When the leaders finished talking, a prayer was said, and we received our first clue. The clue said that the challenge was to commence at Depot Beach, and we were to construct a float for a team member to

swim on to a buoy and back. After giving my teammates instructions on how to get there, I ran to the car and jumped in the back seat, eager to begin the day and win! After the others got in the car at a much slower pace, we were off! As the first ones to the beach, I was hopeful that the other teams might never show up, and we were the only ones who figured out the location. We began building the raft out of the noodles and rope we were given, but not before long, I was dismayed that the other teams showed up and began building. Frustrated, I turned to try and help build, but the raft only required two or three people. Finally, the raft was built, and the one chosen to swim was paddling out. The cheers of the three teams echoed over the water, each rooting their swimmer to victory. After a few minutes of desperate paddling, the first swimmer back was from Green team, followed by my team member a few yards behind.
When everyone was back on dry land and ready to go, we received our next clue. The clue said for us to go to Michigan Beach and either build a sandcastle or find a Petosky stone. As we drove over, we discussed on which task we should do. As the one who lived there, and had the most experience with Petosky stones, I stated that finding the stone would probably take longer. When we reached the beach, the leader gave us some sand toys and the requirements for the sand castle. As I began digging for the castle’s moat, lo and behold, I spotted a tiny petosky stone was mixed in with the other pebbles, like a small child at a rock concert. I exclaimed, “I found a Petosky stone!” and the others rushed over. As they oohed and aahed over the little rock, I notice proudly that Red and Green had only just showed up and hadn't even begun to start.
After giving our unneeded sand toys to a few nearby children, we headed to a nearby snack bar where our leader informed us we were to have lunch and perform a few activities. At the snack bar were a few empty picnic tables outside waiting for us. As we stood in line to order, our leader told us that while we were taking the break, we had to get a video of a stranger singing with us. We argued on which song to sing, and finally decided on America the Beautiful. After we ordered, I asked the waitress if she would sing the song with us. She looked surprised, but agreed to. After a few false starts, we sang. Our music didn't sound amazing, and the words were not all correct, but we sang with laughter and joy. When we finished our singing, we received our food and sat at one of the picnic tables. The air smelled of sunscreen and fresh homemade french fries right out of the oven and burning my tongue. I could feel a light breeze fighting the burning sun, and the sticky picnic table under my arms. The noise of people at the beach and one of the other teams singing their song was faint as my teammates discussed heath foods and what our next activity might be. After lunch, we received the last clue; go to Ferry Beach and launch water balloons at a target. When we arrived, once again, we were the first ones there. Unfortunately, shooting water balloons was not as easy as it looked, and my team lost our lead trying to figure out how to shoot. Red team ended up winning because they were the only ones who got remotely close to the target, and everyone else ran out of balloons. After cleaning up the balloon scraps, our group leader instructed us to travel back to where we started so we could find out who won. One short car trip later, we were all seated in the living room where it all began.
The three team leaders stood at the front of the room as the teams gathered around them, whispering with anticipation. When all had calmed down, one of the leaders stood and declared, “In my hand is the envelope containing the color of the winning team.” The leader slowly and painstakingly opened the envelope as we all leaned forward on the edges of our seats with excitement. Finally, she got out the paper and said, “Green Team wins!” A cheer erupted from where Green was sitting and they all began jumping and celebrating. I watched in disappointment as the judges gave them their prizes; baseball caps. My team should have won! Didn't we work the hardest?! Weren't we the best? After everyone had calmed down, the leaders explained why Green had won. They were the only ones who stayed behind to help clean up after each activity, and gave help when the other teams needed it. Although they didn't win many of the games, they showed the most sportsmanship. Though I was still a bit upset that my team lost, I was also glad Green had won. I realized that a true winner isn't defined by how well they complete the race, but how they treat the others around them.