Battle Hardened. Battle Weary.

We went paintballing last night with a group of mostly kids from the ward. I've never done this before. It was an indoor arena so the floor was all squishy with paint and you can't help but get a little messed up. This may not have been the greatest thing to do for an LDS youth activity. But, I think there were valuable lessons to be learned, especially for the boys. I guess this is as close as you can get to real combat without certain threat to life. The first game we had no strategy, hadn't taken the time. So most people stayed in our initial position, which would have been fine if part of our team had spread out to cover our flanks. I had balls flying all around me, kids behind me screaming and crying and shooting blind over our bunker. Another kid was at my feet cowering after being hit in the head. He was also screaming and crying. The whole situation engendered real confusion and fear about being hit with a paintball. I kept thinking of Blackhawk Down. Honestly, one kid looked just like Viggo Mortensen. I did feel one direct hit on my arm. That's all I thought I had until I got home and found three more on my arms. One of the ones I hadn't noticed looks a lot worse than the rest. I guess the pain could be compared to receiving a shot in the arm.