Iguana Soup

Any retreat with the theme of "Survivor" is bound to be a little crazy.

Our 4th - 6th grade students were on eight different tribes. We spent the morning pushing our students physically through various activities. Running, swimming, climbing, searching, crawling, they did it all. They were exhausted by lunch time.

After free time in the pool, the students rotated through different workshops. They learned to read and follow a compass, pitch a tent, create an SOS signal, and build a fire.

The real fun came at dinner time. Two of the workers from NCA came out to the retreat center to show my students how to kill, skin, and cook iguana. We received a lot of different reactions - screams, shouts of "This is the coolest thing ever!" and some tears. After everyone calmed down, each group got their own iguana and set to work. The brave students handled the iguanas, while the rest cut onions and tomatoes for their soup and rebuilt their fires. It soon became dark. I loved watching all the groups huddled around their fires, mixing soup, and hearing them talk about the experience. By the time the soup was done, most were either 1) brave enough or 2) hungry enough to eat the soup. Did I try it? Of course! Wasn't bad. Imagine tough chicken with a slight fish taste.

Here's a look at our day in pictures:

Getting ready for the day's activities

Mid-afternoon visit from a scorpion

Mr. Iguana

Ready for some high quality reactions?

Soup preparation 

Iguana preparation

Showing off his iguana skinning skills

My first taste of iguana soup

More than outdoor survivor skills and teamwork, we wanted our students to walk away from the retreat with spiritual truths that they can apply to their lives. During our chapel sessions, we learned that in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. (Romans 8:37)

Ending the retreat with a little water fun