If you’ve been following the blog at all, you’ve already met Erik Wiebe. You’ll already know that he wakeboards, loves Copper a little too much, isn’t a fan of personal hygiene, had a gross lip at one point this spring, doesn’t use sunscreen, is a maintenance worker by day and railway worker by night, struggles with mountain biking, certainly cannot do a front flip, and probably some other weird things that I failed to mention.
Some people are just more outwardly outrageous than others, and Erik definitely fits into that category. But there is another side to Erik that may not be on the blog every week, but is evident whenever you spend time with him.
Erik has spent the last year going to school at the University of Winnipeg, for the sole purpose of playing volleyball. Although playing on a university team can prove to be difficult and gruling, it was off the court where God challenged Erik the most.
“God has been challenging me this year by putting me in situations where I can share my faith with those that are interested in Christianity, and with those who are critical of it,” says Erik. “He has really put me outside of my comfort zone and helped me realize that I need to know my bible much better in order to represent Christianity accurately.”
At the end of it all, we often don’t always have the answers, but it is not suprising to see Erik’s desire for truth, and judging by the way everyone gets along with Erik, it’s likely that he has represented Christ well. There’s a certain joy you get from talking with Erik, and that attracts a wide range of personality types. Whether he’s singing in his breathtaking falsetto, imitating the way babies crawl on carpets, or when you’re just looking at how big his mouth is, Erik can make you smile. And although he’s a humble guy, he seems to know that as well.
“I feel like I just want to make people happy,” he says. “Sometimes if that makes me look like a complete idiot, I’m okay with that. Bringing joy to people also brings me joy, so it makes sense that I would want to do it.”
Erik knows his role here, and he executes it well. But it wouldn’t be an Erik Wiebe quote if there wasn’t some sort of out of place reference involved. So preceding the previous quote regarding his role here at camp, Erik said this:
“I think my role at Red Rock is whatever Red Rock needs me to be. I guess I’m kinda like Batman to Gotham city, except I’m no super hero and I’m not clean shaven.”
Classic. Erik, at least you’re right about one thing, you’re definitely not clean shaven. Congratulations on your gross beard, you earned it.
