Why I took the Polar Plunge

The Bible School here at Parole de Vie holds youth winter camps throughout the months of January and February.  One of the events during the weekend camps is the "Baignoire de Polar Ors", or the Polar Bear Plunge.  The Students and campers fill a large outdoor tank with freezing cold tap water, and then take turns jumping into it.  My opinion of this, as we discussed it in our french class, was "STUPID".  (Just a side note, when you make really strong comments like that, they usually get you in trouble.)  Sometimes the language students are brave enough to join in the fun, despite the fact that they are at least twice their age.  It all started when one of our friends took the plunge.  Apparently some of the dads decided to do it together and they actually survived.  This got my friend Kerry thinking about it, and wanting to do it.  The last opportunity to take the plunge happened to fall on her birthday, and what else did she want than to have the ladies here join her.  She was quite convincing in an e-mail, calling all ladies to step up to the challenge and show those guys that the girls were just as crazy.  After 3 long days of debating the issue in my head, I finally decided to join her and take the plunge.

Below is a video one of our friends took, and another link of the event HERE by a fellow language student.  Saddly, with everyone talking in French, there were no clear instructions, as you can tell by our confusion at the beginning.  If you're wondering what our signs say, together they said CHAD.  Someday when we are sitting in 120* heat, we'll remember this day!

There were a few factors that contributed to my decision to take the polar plunge.  First, nobody just goes outside and jumps into the tub.  All participants spend an extended amount of time in a small room cranked up to about 90* doing some exercises to raise their body temperatures.  So it helps to think of it more like a spa treatment rather than jumping into a frozen lake.  Second, as I have looked ahead at some of the challenges that we face in a really hard place, I feel this great urge to do 'hard' things, so that I can know that God is with me, helping me do whatever the challenge is.  Now, I know that the verse "I can do all things through Christ" doesn't exactly apply here, but these small milestones really do help me to remember to look to his strength in a difficult situation, and not my own.  After the first plunge (yes, we actually jumped in twice) I was saying to myself, "I'm not doing that again", but somehow he helped me get up the courage to repeat the feat of stupidity again.  There were other small reasons to do it, like to feel 22 again, or to impress my kids, or to one up the guys, but the real motivation to make the jump, was to show a little love to Kerry!  I am so amazed how God gives us love for one another.  I have only known her for a little over a month now, but our hearts are connected in Jesus, and now we are Polar Bear sisters as well.  Thanks Kerry for that most memorable experience!

The "Warm Up."